Mendota Heights Nixes Pet Pigeon Proposal

The Mendota Heights Council voted last week to keep the city free of pet pigeons.

The Mendota Heights City Council voted against amending city code to allow for pet pigeons at its Feb. 5 meeting. Vince Nonnemacher, a commercial contractor who raised racing pigeons as a child applied for a permit with the planning commission to build a dovecote for pigeons in the city, according to the South-West Review. But the city council decided against allowing pigeons out of noise and odor concerns. "There are many different animals that people would like to have," Mayor Sandra Krebsbach said, according to the Review. "We've had people approach us about having chickens, we've had someone with goats, and we have turned those down." The South-West Review has more about Nonnemacher's pigeon plans: Nonnemacher told the council his …

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LIVE BLOG: Mendota Heights Town Square TV Candidate Forum

Participate in Town Square TV's forum for candidates running for city government office in Mendota Heights by submitting questions on Patch.

Editor's Note: Patch is joining forces with Town Square Television to provide coverage of the 2012 elections in northern Dakota County.  Town Square Television is hosting forums for candidates running for mayor or city council in Mendota Heights. You can watch the forum live on Channel 14 or stream the forum on the Town Square Television link. You can also join the conversation we're having here on Mendota Heights Patch. We'll be fielding questions from blog commenters, as well as from Twitter and Facebook. Just post your question on our Facebook page, or tweet @InverGroveHtsPatch and be sure to include the hashtag #TSTforumQ. A few questions will be selected to pose to the candidates.  Live blog coverage on Patch will kick off 15 minutes …

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Mendota Heights Chooses New City Administrator

Justin Miller, city administrator for Falcon Heights, was chosen from three finalists.

The Mendota Heights City Council announced their pick for city administrator Friday. Their selection, Justin Miller, is the city administrator for Falcon Heights. He was one of three finalists interviewed Thursday for the position. The city received 45 applications for the job of city administrator following the departure of David McKnight over the summer. McKnight left to take the city administrator position in his hometown of Farmington. Council member Jack Vitelli said that the three finalists were all solid candidates, but he was particularly impressed by Miller’s forthright and intelligent responses to interview questions as well as his personality. Vitelli also said that Miller had been the second choice in 2009 when McKnight was …

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Brief: Mendota Heights Resident Airs Deer Concerns

Should Mendota Heights host a controlled hunt?

The Mendota Heights City Council heard from a resident Sept. 20 voicing concerns about the deer population in the city.  George Carter came to the city council meeting prepared with photos of the damage deer have done to his residence. Carter has been working with Police Chief Mike Aschenbrener to learn more about the nuisance and the possibility of a controlled hunt to thin the population. Also at the meeting: 

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Editor's Notebook

Mendota Heights City Council Agenda for Sept. 20

The council meets Tuesday night.

The Mendota Heights City Council is scheduled to meet 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 20 at City Hall. Included on the short agenda: discussion of upcoming events at Pilot Knob, and a continued discussion between the council and two private property owners to establish access to a portion of Valley Creek Trail.

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Mendota City Council Holds Taxes, Errs on Budget

The levy cannot be raised to cover a budget gap OK'd Tuesday.

Good news: The Mendota City Council approved a stable preliminary tax levy for 2012 at their meeting Tuesday night. Bad news: The preliminary budget also approved for 2012 is actually $14,114.13 over projected revenue, rather than a comfortable distance from the red ink as the council thought. The confusion most likely hinged on whether a $13,000 Local Government Aid payment was included in the figures or not while the council made additions and subtractions. “I just think it got overlooked,” said City Clerk Jennifer Bruestle. The budget will have to be revisited in October to correct the mistake, but the levy can only be lowered, not raised, once a preliminary amount is set. “The plan is we’ll circle back at the next meeting,” said Mayor …

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Mendota Heights City Council Approves Preliminary Budget, Levy

A preliminary levy and budget were approved Sept. 6.

The Mendota Heights City Council set a preliminary tax levy Tuesday night that increases by .43 percent over last year’s collection. The city’s overall budget for 2012 decreases spending by .97 percent, to approximately $10.4 million. The levy increases by $26,822 in part to make up for an increase in general fund spending of 1.9 percent. The council appeared particularly pleased with the results. “It’s hard to understand how messed up so many cities are in our state that they can’t run the city without completely messing up the finances,” said council member Jack Vitelli at the meeting. “… And I look at our situation and I don’t get it. This is simple stuff. And I’m very proud of what we’ve done.” Mayor Sandra Krebsbach agreed, saying the…

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Editor's Notebook

Mendota Heights City Council Agenda for Sept. 6

Approval of a preliminary budget and levy is expected Tuesday.

The Mendota Heights City Council is scheduled to meet 7 p.m. Tuesday for a regular business meeting at City Hall. The agenda includes approval of a preliminary tax levy and budget. Once approved, the city's levy for 2012 can be reduced, but not increased. A closed session is also planned to discuss litigation. The full agenda is attached to this post. The council also met last week for a special meeting called to review a senior development project at Mendota Plaza, and a work session to review applications for the position of Mendota Heights City Administrator.

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Mendota Heights Council Rejects Assisted Living Project for Mendota Plaza

The proposal can be resubmitted in three months.

The White Pine Assisted Living proposal for Mendota Plaza was denied Tuesday night by the Mendota Heights City Council. The applicants may resubmit the plan in three months. The proposal to build 100 units of memory care and assisted living diverts from Mendota Plaza’s developer's agreement on a number of points, according to city staff, and documents to support a request for transfer of the property have not been provided by White Pine. Mendota Plaza developer Ken Henk of Paster Enterprises spoke to the council, requesting that they follow the staff’s recommendation to send the proposal back to the planning commission. “I really feel there’s a lot of discussion that needs to take place,” said Henk. Paster Enterprises owns the property, …

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Updated Mendota Heights 2011 Fees Approved

Find out what it costs to license a pet, buy a map or do business in Mendota Heights.

An updated fee schedule for Mendota Heights was approved by the Mendota Heights City Council Aug. 2.

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