Mendota Heights recently broke ground on a $6.8 million project to remodel and expand its 1980s-era fire station, which will add nearly 15,000 square feet to the complex.
The project will add an apparatus bay — where firetrucks and equipment are kept — along with a mezzanine area, training tower, offices, a classroom, kitchen and dorm rooms.
One of the smaller additions will include two garage bays for HealthEast ambulances.
Remodeled areas will include space for dispatch and storage, and a place to decontaminate and wash gear.
The price tag came in about 21% higher than initial estimates, which the construction firm attributed to "a less-than-competitive bidding climate," city officials said.
Erin Adler
Chanhassen
Five arboretum area roads to be studied
Transportation needs around the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum are being studied by Carver County and the Minnesota Department of Transportation, along with the cities of Victoria, Chaska and Chanhassen.
The report will address roadway safety, traffic management, pedestrian and bicycle connections, transit needs and environmental concerns on five roads: Hwys. 5 and 41, Rolling Acres and Bavaria roads, and W. 82nd Street. Drones are being flown over those roads to collect survey and engineering data.
The project team will offer several opportunities for public input. For more information, go to co.carver.mn.us/ArboretumAreaTransportationPlan or contact Angie Stenson, senior transportation planner for Carver County, at 952-466-5200.
Katy Read
Lino Lakes
County creates web portal for Chomonix
Anoka County this month launched a new online "transparency portal" that offers updates on its efforts to turn around Chomonix Golf Course in Lino Lakes.
Commissioner Mandy Meisner said at the April 9 County Board meeting that a resident's interest in keeping up with Chomonix's financial situation made officials realize that such information wasn't readily available.
The web portal, found on the county and Chomonix websites, outlines the county's plan to right-size the course over the next three years.
The golf course had a net operating deficit of nearly $642,000 from 2014 to 2018.
Hannah Covington
Ramsey County
Controlled burns to be done in park areas
Ramsey County Parks and Recreation will be conducting controlled burns of prairies and woodlands this spring.
The burns bolster native vegetation including shrubs, grasses and wildflowers, and control weeds. County staffers and contractors work to manage smoke during the burns.
Burns will be conducted at Battle Creek Regional Park, St. Paul and Maplewood; Lake Josephine County Park, Roseville; Long Lake Regional Park, New Brighton; Rice Creek North Regional Trail, which runs from New Brighton to Shoreview; Tony Schmidt Regional Park, Arden Hills; and Vadnais-Snail Lakes Regional Park, Shoreview.
Burns are dependent on weather and will be announced when possible on ramseycounty.us/parks. They are scheduled to end in June.
Shannon Prather
