This section includes regular messages from Mayor Mary Wingfield in 2020 about “what’s new in Birchwood.”
Week of January 12, 2020
New year. New decade. The council has opted to go back to having our own assessor value our properties. This used to be the case some years ago, but somewhere along the way, the county became our assessor and began charging for their services. The end result is our contract has gone up over 20% the last eight years. Now we are reverting to the rate we were paying eight years ago.
In addition, we lost touch with resident input on the process. So if a property owner wanted their property value reviewed, they would have to appear in Cottage Grove, Woodbury, Stillwater or Oakdale…along with all the other county property owners in the same boat. And the city never got any feedback from the county.
Starting in 2021, the city will hold its own “open book” meeting and give you the convenience of being heard with an assessor who will know our community and strive for fairness. In addition, our Assessor Chase Peloquin will be available to answer questions and review your concerns and schedule a personal meeting at your convenience. The council is in the process of being certified for participating in the process. We think you will find our efforts worth the change.
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Week of February 2, 2020
At the January council meeting the council discussed honoring our heritage by renaming Nordling Park to Polly’s Park in recognition of Polly Shank. Polly and her husband Jack were the force behind our annual 4th of July parade. She was involved with the Painters group and the establishment of the White Bear Center for the Arts. In my mind, she was the grande dame of Birchwood.
Here is an excerpt that brings home the point of why community is who we are and why we need to cherish it. It is from the autobiography of Hy Berman, distinguished University of Minnesota professor and frequent Almanac guest:
“A community without knowledge of its past is like a person with amnesia. It can exist and function from day to day, but its lack of memory leaves it without a feeling of purpose, direction, or identity. A sense of history is recognizing the influence of the past in the very web our daily lives– in our habits of thought and speech, in the streets we walk through, in the ways we earn a living. It is in the touch of humility that comes with knowing that wherever we are in life, we stand upon the shoulders of those who have gone before. For, …history is all of us.”
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Week of February 9, 2020
Last week the city council held a town meeting to discuss how we should pay for road mill and overlays. Since we are starting a new round of such improvements (the city last overlaid all its roads in the late 1990s), we wanted to lay a consistent path for the next round of improvements, starting with Lake Avenue this year.
The issue is whether it is better to pay for the mill and overlay through our annual tax levy or by special assessments to the affected property owners. There are many issues involving the decision: higher home value properties would pay a greater percentage under the tax levy approach, many properties are nuanced by multiple frontages and odd sizes, front footage versus per lot unit, etc. Plus should city assess city parks?
Then there is the fact that much of the town exits the city via Hall Avenue and Cedar Street creating more wear and tear costs for those abutting residents compared to other, less used roads. Special assessment statutory requirements add a lot of extra professional billable hours and costs. And some raised the question of how can you assess property when the value seems amorphous.
A good cross-section of the city attended with more weighing in by email. The discussion was helpful to most in attendance, and it showed the issues the council was having. In the end, a large portion (about 70%) of those weighing in decided it was best to pay for these improvements by general tax levy. The Roads Committee had previously endorsed this option as well.
Two residents summed up their support of a tax levy by stating we are a community in which we all enjoy the benefits of our resources together–the greater good is served by sharing the costs for such. (Both of these residents took this position despite the fact that they personally would incur more taxes due to the location of their residences.)
I was so proud of our residents who came together with different interests and perspectives and worked through the issue is a very thoughtful manner. It was the best of democracy in action. I and the council are very appreciative of the conversation. It allowed us to reach a consensus this week to pay for mill and overlay improvements via our tax levy. Next up: we will need to start long-term planning for paying for the upkeep of all our roads (the cost of mill and overlaying all city roads will exceed $1 million.) However, MNDOT previously told us that because we have been doing regular crack seal and seal coating of our roads, most of them should last another ten years. This gives us time to plan for our future needs.
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Week of February 16, 2020
Argh. It’s been a “crappy” week in Birchwood and we need your help. Our sewer lift station (the one that serves the entire community) has been blown out of service. We are on temporary service now and need EVERYONE to create minimal sewage. Please help us by taking shorter showers (or better yet, take them at the gym), defer your laundry until Tuesday, and flush less frequently. The burden on the temporary system puts our low-lying neighbors at risk of a sewage back up. They have already had such on Thursday. Hopefully, we will be back up to full speed by Tuesday. We will keep you up to date.
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Week of March 8, 2020
There is a lot going on with our country, our region and our city. The unknowns are many. It can be depressing. But lets keep our eyes on what we can do– take care of yourself and your family. Make sure your choices are low risk for direct contact with others. And like mom always said, wash your hands and don’t touch your mouth and nose.
The City is involved with emergency operations that are being coordinated by the state and county. I trust that they will keep us informed and are prepared for whatever comes our way.
On a brighter note, my day was made Tuesday when two trumpeter swans flew overhead and landed on black ice. They thought it was open water, so they had a long butt-skid before they coasted to a stop. And the owls have been busy and prolific. I hope you have been able to see or hear them.
More on what is new here in Birchwood next time.
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Week of March 15, 2020
It takes a Village…now more than ever. I was struck by the recent story of an elderly couple in a Costco parking lot who were too afraid to go into the store. Let’s not let that happen here. We have a number of folks who would be compromised by an infection. Now is a great opportunity to check in with your neighbor. Tell them that you will pick up groceries and any meds that they need. Insist on it.
Then check in with them every day or two. The value you receive will far exceed theirs.
If you need help and don’t know who to ask, contact me. If you want to help, but don’t know who needs it, contact me. I will connect you together.
We are a team. Together we will get through this.
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Week of March 22, 2020
It’s been a week so far. I hope all our efforts pay off with good results soon. Here is another opportunity to help. ER nurse and former council member Trilby White is asking for donations of any N95 (respirator) masks you have. This is in conjunction with the Minnesota Nurses Association drive; all you have to do is drop off masks at the city hall (just outside the front door) between 9 and noon Mondays and Thursdays.
Also, we now have a pool of volunteers who want to pluck groceries for any seniors or folks with underlying conditions. Let me know if you need help or want to help. Our team is ready to assist.
We are all in this together. Stay well and be smart.
m
Week of April 5, 2020
Greetings neighbors.
My last post was a request for any masks and PPEs that residents were willing to donate to nurse Trilby White for her ER co-workers. Your response was amazing and overwhelming–Trilby was able to provide her colleagues with nearly a truckload of masks and other protective gear.
Needless to say, this has brought tears to us as we couldn’t be more proud of our residents’ responses. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
So here is another opportunity to help: Trilby says they are looking for ANY supplies that can be used or modified for protection such as booties, cloth masks, or anything else you have that is adaptable.
And of course, sending your thoughts and prayers to those on the front lines of this siege is also appreciated.
Keep up the good work on staying at home and being safe. We are making a difference.
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Week of April 12, 2020
For those of you keeping score at home, we have two lift stations and the main one (that serves the whole community) was knocked out of service in February by a water main break in White Bear Township. The damage was extreme: some residents had sewage back up in their homes, our contractors were summoned to set up emergency back up pumping, our sewage volume increased dramatically (remember, it costs 3x the cost of water to process), and it completely buggered up our electrical system that runs the pumps. This damage is a long-term issue as the corrosion that the break initiated, is now ongoing.
Our League of Minnesota Cities insurance claim will reimburse us for our loses, but only to the extent of “fixing” the damage.
They will not reimburse us to avoid the ongoing corrosion that the break precipitated. Since the lift station lacks any holding capacity to avoid a sewage back up during a pump failure, and since the station design is an OSHA hazard (a person needs to go down in the hole regularly to monitor the pumps, exposing them to sewer gas toxicity), we are now facing the reality that the Wildwood Lift Station needs to be replaced. However, this is not an emergency situation and we have time to seek funding grants and plan for costs. The council has initiated the first step of ordering an assessment study.
We will keep you posted.
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Week of April 19, 2020
A couple weeks ago representatives from the Mahtomedi council and Birchwood council met at the border of our towns to discuss the interface of the Lake Links trail there. Our city has been trying to make sure the transition will be safe and that needs to bikers and pedestrians are met. The meeting was essential to accomplish this.
A little background: Last year, our city held a town meeting to present a number of options for how we envision the best placement of the Lake Links route in Birchwood. I think six options were presented, from “keep as is” to “lets do a complete make over” and create a path along side. The vast majority preferred that we keep things much as they are and make the shoulders safer. That includes keeping lanes on both sides of the road for the “trail.”
Meanwhile, Mahtomedi had determined that all bikes and peds will use one path that hugs the lake side of Birchwood Road. That created a disconnect at our border. Councilmember Jon Fleck and I “attended” the last Mahtomedi council meeting and asked the city to help us reach a mutual resolution. Hence, the roadside meeting.
I am happy to report that we all came to a mutual resolution quickly once the nature of the problem was visualized. Mahtomedi will install a solar-powered ped signal and cross walks 100 feet east of our boundary. In addition, they will install thermo-plastic paving markers/paint hashmarks in the 100 foot transition space between the end of the path and our Hall Ave. This is a win-win for all in that we believe we will create visual awareness for traffic and safe passage for walkers and bikers. Even better, Mahtomedi has said they may reduce the speed to 25 MPH and probably install a stop sign at the Lost Lake intersection.
We believe these measures will improve the safety, but we will have to wait until fall when construction should be finished. Stay tuned.
Be well. Be safe.
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Week of April 26, 2020
Despite our continued sequestration, we are still working on making our city a great place to live. Here are some of the improvements we are making: wood chips, plantings and some landscaping will be done on our new Jay path, the Tighe-Schmitz ball field is going to be seeded with grass and made green again. (The backstop will remain in case anyone wants to play ball informally), Kay Beach city dock is going in, and kayak racks are open for rental.
And neighbors Mark and Mary Cahill, joined me in our annual litter pick up–which actually stretched into the Mahtomedi wetlands all the way over to the Lakeside Club. It was fun trying to snag things that tested the limits of our “litter” retriever without getting wet. We bagged seven large dog food bags full. Most common item: plastic. Oddest bit: a lemon in perfect shape. A number of passers-by thanked us. And it was a great way to be social and safe on a beautiful day.
Stay well!
m
Week of May 10, 2020
I usually start planning the Birchwood Parade around Memorial Day.
This year everything is different. Most popular events are being cancelled for the foreseeable future. Our parade is in the cross hairs of the same issues–too many people in a small area together with older folks along with those having pre-existing conditions.
Frankly, it is not safe to hold our beloved parade as we know it under these circumstances.
That being said, what ideas do you have to make Year #68 happen? Send your ideas to me at Wingfield.mary@gmail.com. If you get really trippy and techy on me, I will have to anoint you Tech Czar to help pull it off.
I will post your ideas in this space for others to weigh in on making a selection.
Thanks for pitching in to keep the tradition alive to make sure we are all safe and sound.
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Week of May 24, 2020
The silver lining in the corona virus Stay at Home situation is things are getting cleaned up around town. Polly’s Park (between Birchwood Ave and White Pine Lane) is looking better. Brush and big logs have been removed (Thanks Steve Dean) and the drainage weir has been rebuilt. It was fun to see neighbors coming by and checking on our progress and thanking us.
The second “Barn Quilt” has been hung at the Village Hall. Thanks to John Lund for helping hang it and to the Monettes for donating the wood. The Monettes spurred me on to the second phase of this project– they have their own creation proudly hung at their house at Cedar and Oakridge. Let me know if you want to join the movement. We have paint and expertise to share.
The village hall garden and window box are now ready to grow when the weather finally cooperates. And the beaches and Jay Path have been spruced up and the city dock at Kay Beach has been put out. With more people home, we hope you are able to enjoy the improvements.
Stay safe. Be healthy. And smile. We are making progress.
m
Week of May 31, 2020
Sometime in the middle of the night last Friday morning someone broke into my garage and stole my car. It was a rather brazen act and by someone who clearly is skilled at such behavior. The garage door was decoupled from the electric opener. I have since been told that crooks use slim jim type tools to release the guide from the track.
It is also possible that the burglar was able to use the proper frequency to trigger the opener. The door opener is older with much less security than current models. The garage service door was locked (although not deadbolted). With full candor, the key was in the car console. Nothing was heard, and the dog did not bark (he is generally very alert to any noise). The car may have been pushed out of the garage before starting it.
My car has Onstar and the police were able to recover it the next morning at the Emerald Inn in Maplewood. They are not sure if the perps will be on the surveillance cameras there. They stole the license plate off in case I had immediately reported the vehicle stolen. But the perpetrator was also a bit careless. He (I assume it was a he as my car stunk) left his rubber coated gloves inside my car.
That should be a treasure trove for a DNA sample. A crook like this no doubt has a history and is on file at the BCA so a match would seem likely.
I am bummed as I had just come home from a day-long bike outing in Alexandria and left my beloved bike in the car as it was late and I was tired. Its a small car and there is no room for anyone but the driver with the bike inside, so I suspect the bike was jettisoned.
(It’s a forest green Gary Fisher, straight handle bars and bar ends, and rack in case anyone sees it lying in a ditch or something). The car may have been used to go to the riots–it was driven 75 miles and probably fast as my MPG went down by 40%.
Virtually everything in the car was taken including my wallet (with fresh stimulus check), bike gear, gym stuff with my swimsuit and pickleball stuff. But they left the seven library books waiting to be returned. Got to love that. I have been inventorying everything. It adds up fast. Fortunately, my insurance will cover the losses after a $1500 deductible.
You should be aware that there have been a series of break-ins in the area. One unoccupied house on Old Wildwood Road nearby has been broken into a number of times. That crook is known to the cops, but he remains out of custody to this day. His MO is to do “soft hits” (taking small bits of stuff and coming back later) with stealth and cleverness. He is known to be about 5 feet seven, beard, late 30s, has a black satchel or backpack, wears a ball cap, hoodie, and uses rubber coated gloves. (He probably stinks as well). He can sometimes be seen hanging out at the Freedom station on Highway 120 in the early morning. He knows the back woods well so there are plenty of escape routes for him around here. A person matching that description was seen walking on Birchwood Road at midnight Friday night. Police were called at the time. I suspect he was not caught.
FYI, breaking into an occupied residence is a quick ticket to prison–it is a level 8 criminal offense (on a scale of 1-11, 11 being reserved for murder) with a mandatory minimum of 4 years in prison or more depending on the prior record. I trust the Washington County Sheriff will investigate the case quickly so that we all can breathe easier in our own homes and neighborhoods.
I live at the end of a dead end street. There is no quick escape point so we thought our neighborhood was safe…until now. Neighbors and I have motion/security lights and I am now upgrading to security cameras in and around the house. I also lock my house around the clock. It doesn’t help that the road construction on Birchwood Road in Mahtomedi has created more random traffic from outside the community.
It is a sad state of affairs with our country and the world these days. It looks like things may be hitting way too close to home as well. Keep alert and make sure your neighbors know to keep an eye out. We are really all in this together more than we ever thought.
Stay safe.
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m
Week of June 14, 2020
Sometimes it just does not pay to get out of bed. Last week, there was a broken limb on a power line on the wires near Dellwood beach. I noticed it and alerted our city administrator. XCEL was contacted but at 6 am the next morning, the pole snapped, taking out the Dellwood Lift Station power. XCEL denied responsibility for the pole. Thankfully, our White Bear Township sewer crew was able to get a VAC truck on the scene preventing any sewer backup to the neighboring homes. They were able to install a generator and get the lift station operational pending repairs.
Now we have a better picture of what needs to be done: the electric lines need to be buried, and the electrical system re-mounted. All this takes time. Meanwhile, we are renting the WB Twp generator for $1000/day. The good news is it appears our insurance will cover the cost of repairs. In the meantime, it makes sense for the city to look into a permanent generator like the one at the Wildwood Park. The Dellwood station serves the eastern third of our community and it probably is a good investment. And of course no longer having the Birchwood Ln Lift station has removed a huge potential liability for things like this. Stay tuned.
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Week of June 28, 2020
Seems I have recently exhausted most of the bits “on my list” and have morphed to tackling things in Birchwood.
This past week Chris Sorenson and I realigned the basketball boards perpendicular with the ice rink. Maybe they were installed kitty wompous or maybe a gale force wind did them wrong, but they are back in place now with new backboards and nets for the summer season.
Then Dave Trepanier and I trimmed up the ice rink arborvitae at the council’s request. Dave had some extra energy and space in his monster trailer so we trimmed all the trees in Tighe-Schmitz park, then hauled the debris off to the dump.
The next day it was time to get after the city garage. It had accumulated much stuff that made it difficult to get to the stuff we actually needed.
Luckily, Kelly and Dave Strobel walked by at an opportune time and hauled some heavy cast iron sewer parts down to the village hall lower basement.
(That is where things go to live out their lives until someone later decides it has value (think village hall bell) or declares the items absolutely unusable and they get tossed. All that usually takes a generation or two.)
Later in the week Dave Trepanier and his monster trailer were again enlisted and we loaded up 1/2 ton of extra road salt and headed off to the Washington County Highway Department. Washington County is doing the final repaving of East County Line/South Shore Blvd Birchwood Lane lift station removal project at no cost to us, so we figured it was the least we could do.
Then city worker Jim and I took care of marking the road salt bins to help a few people understand that they are not dog poo depositories. Poo baking in the hot sun is quite an odoriferous affair. Having to remove it is beyond any pay scale we have on staff. Hopefully, those few dog owners will now find the appropriate storage bin for their dogs’ business.
While Jim and I were doing that, I got a request to put up a sign at Grotto street. Got that done too.
Then on the way home from that project, new neighbors Bob and Rhea offered to join the invasive yellow iris pulling brigade. Actually, we three were the brigade. Within the hour we were decked out in waders and shovels and pulling up the buggers. I don’t know what hauling dead bodies is like, but it seemed we were doing just that. Bob, being an ex-firefighter, confirmed as much. We cleaned up in the lake and returned a tadpole that found its way into our waders before heading home.
Whew. That is enough for.one week. Now it is time to get back to taking care of the dog and going out on my bike…Bike #2 as Bike #1 remains on the lam. That one is probably in some pawn shop or at the bottom of a swamp somewhere. In the meantime, enjoy the amenities and let me know if you want to be part of the fun next time.
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Week of July 19, 2020
After our conversation with White Bear Lake officials about our water rates a few weeks ago, I got to wondering how well their water softening facility was doing its job. White Bear has a “pretreatment” facility by Gall’s Golf Course. During that conversation, we were told that their facilities were in dire need of repair.
So I took a water sample over to Finken’s (fka Zachman’s) recently and had it tested. It turns out the water is hard– 9 grains (which means the equivalent of 9 wheat grains of minerals per gallon of water). That is definitely hard water. Mahtomedi’s is even harder though…usually 10 to 15 grains.
Hard water causes scale on fixtures. It is hard on mechanical systems too (dishwashers, tankless water heaters, etc). For years, I thought White Bear water “softening” was extending the life of these appliances. Now I am not so sure it is any more.
As an informal survey, do you have a water softener? Have you noticed an increase in hardness (and mineral deposits) over the recent years? Let me know your thoughts. I look forward to hearing from you. Wingfield.mary@gmail.com
CRIME ALERT
Thursday night at about 8:45 pm, a black Ford pickup truck with an extended cab and a wide silver band across the tailgate came flying from Mahtomedi onto Birchwood Road at an extreme rate of speed. He missed two bicyclists and then three walkers. But he missed going past the barricades at the city border and plowed into a retaining wall at 704 Hall. It took about a minute or two but he was able to get untangled from the debris and went squealing west and clipped the barricade at Jay St. The police were immediately called.
The impact with the retaining wall caused his ball cap to fly out of the cab. The force might have caused the air bags to explode. Regardless, the vehicle must have sustained front end damage. The right side view mirror was broken off as well.
The speed and recklessness of this act was extremely dangerous. If you can aid with any other information, please contact the police.
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Week of July 26, 2020
Last week local elected officials were treated to a sneak preview of the new Wildwood Library. The building is light and airy with lots of tech connections. There are plenty of meeting areas and sitting areas. And it is 67% more efficient than the last building (which might have been a low bar as anyone who used the women’s restroom in the old building in the winter knew it was like going into an ice box). The centerpiece is a huge etching of the old Wildwood Park roller coaster “The Pippen” just behind the staff counter. Very cool.
During the tour, my thoughts turned to Marlyce Lee* and the fact that she had recently passed away. She would have loved being there. Marlyce (and the two librarians preceding her: Mrs. Garin and Mrs. Holly) was “Mrs. Wildwood” and all were instrumental in our community having such a great resource. We have come a long way from the days when the library was in the old bakery in Willernie (next to the Post Office). Let’s hope that this building lasts longer than the last…our tour guide was quick to point out that was Job One.
The library is now open with an official opening later in August. You can get pickup service if you prefer not to go indoors. Enjoy!
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*Marlyce was the Birchwood Parade grand marshal in 2006. It was something she cherished as noted in her obituary.
Week of August 2, 2020
I just finished filing for my property tax refund. Because of the local school district and city levy increases, I recommend you check into this. Anyone, regardless of income, is entitled to some refund if their property taxes increase by over 10% from the previous year. My refund is $250. And generally, those with an adjusted gross income of less than $100,000 are eligible for an additional refund.
The state website describes the deadline as “The due date is August 15. You may file up to one year after the due date.” To be safe, I filed before August 15th.
Please check with the Minnesota Department of Revenue website for additional information and forms. Good luck!
m
Week of August 16, 2020
There have been a number of new roofing jobs going on around town these days, especially Mahtomedi and North St Paul. I have heard a symphony of nail pounding morning, noon, and night, even on the weekends. So I asked my agent to inspect my roof. Turns out, my house is also in line for a new roof due to the June 2, 2020 hail storm.
You might want to have a contractor look at your roof to make sure all is well. I am told your insurance rates won’t go up, except as part of the whole insurance pool….which would go up regardless of whether you make a claim.
It would be worth the effort of checking it out. Good luck.
m
Week of September 27, 2020
A crew has been hard at it this past weekend adding pickleball lines to the Bloomquist tennis courts. Most of the work has been completed, we are just awaiting a back order this week of extra pieces. In the meantime, one court is fully operational. (FYI, the harder pickleballs do not work as well as the “softer” ones. Indoors balls also work well.)
Here are some pictures of the project. Those in the picture are Scott Zieman, Mary Wingfield, Mary Cahill, Mark Foster, Karen Hagan, and Bonnie Foster (in a “striking” pose). Not pictured: Sue Fleck, Mark and Julie Simanski.
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Week of December 20, 2020
The Village Hall Building committee has been obtaining bids to remove the siding on the Hall. The original facade appears to be underneath, but it remains to be seen what condition it is in. The committee is hopeful that the original siding can be restored, assuming it is cost-effective. We shall know soon enough. Meanwhile, the cedar boards we take off can be used to repair the rotten siding on the back, “new” addition. The goal is to get the exterior weather-tight before moving on to tackle the issues with the inside (ADA non-compliant, moldy office space, leaky office roof).
We have been looking in the archives for any documents to help guide us. We found the original basement plans and the building specs, but no elevations or first floor plans. If you have any pictures of the building (pre 1974 when the cedar siding was added), please let us know. We would love to have you share them with everyone.
Also of interest are the plans for two town halls that were submitted, but not built. Take a look at them as well as our building specs on our website. They are very cool.
CRIME ALERT
Another car was broken into on the 400 block of Birchwood Avenue.
Valuable contents were taken and the police were called. This may be
the same brazen crook from May. The doors, glove box and trunk were
left open much like the prior incident in which he left the garage and service door wide open before stealing the car.
If you see anyone suspicious in the neighborhood, please call 911. We don’t need any Grinches wrecking our holidays.
A merry Christmas and better new year to all.