Rice Creek Watershed District (RCWD) and Town Board Election

Greetings,

I just received a call from Harley Ogata.  Harley lives on Hugo Rd. Harley has been on the board for the RCWD.  In his tenure he has helped to guide the Alum treatment, the Oneka Ridge golf course re-use irrigation project and the dam replacement.   He has served us well!

Harley is resigning from the board.  Harley has represented Ramsey County, so we need someone from Ramsey County to step up and volunteer for the board.  You will need to decide quickly, the decision will be in November.  Harley would be glad to talk to anyone that is interested in taking on this role.  You can contact Harley at: 653-0885

I think you can also contact Phil Belfiori at:

Email:

 pbelfiori@ricecreek.org

Phone:

 (763) 398-3071

I took this photo on my way home from work.  It is the little lake next to the Gateway trail crossing on Hwy 96.  The sunset couldn't have been lined up any better and it just looked spectacular. Good thing I had my camera.

(click photo to enlarge)

(The following is only relevant to White Bear Township residents.)

On another note, I was trying to find out who is running for a spot on the White Bear Township board.  It took me a while, but I finally found the info. There are two seats open.  Seat A and Seat B.  People running for seat A are:

- Kevin Chandler

- Ronald J. Denn

- Steve Ruzek

For Seat B, Robert Kermes is unopposed.

I know very little about these candidates.  But, I do know that one of our neighbors is hosting a meet and greet for Steve Ruzek.  Tom Fiutak and his wife, Colet are hosting the gathering at 5770 West Bald Eagle Blvd, next Sunday evening, the 26th. 6:30  - 7:30pm.  If you are interested in finding out more about Steve, you can contact Tom at 651-724-1822 or.

I wouldn't have normally announced this, but I would hate for any of us to be ignorant of the candidates when we get our ballot.

I got to the sample ballot for my location via: http://xnet.co.ramsey.mn.us/elections/precinct_finder/ , then clicked on the sample ballot.

Obviously, if you don't live in WBT or Ramsey County this won't be of much interest for you.

Regards,

Jim Moore

Fall colors & Bald Eagle Island

Fall colors are amazing this year, so I went out last weekend to find some beautiful sights to photograph.  I have a favorite road just north of H2 on Centerville, in North Oaks.  It was prime last weekend.  I also drove around the neighborhoods near Pine Tree Lake (east of White Bear Lake) and found some beautiful settings to photograph.

Then on Tuesday, I brought my camera to work so that I could take some pictures in the evening in Stillwater and along Hwy 96.  I have been wanting to take pictures on this route in the fall since I started working in Somerset almost two years ago.  But last fall was such a bust for fall colors that I didn't see anything worth photographing.  Finally, this year's colors are amazing.  I don't think I have ever seen more beautiful fall colors.

So... This link will get you to my favorite shots of my two shoots.  Hope you enjoy.

Here's one of them:

On a Bald Eagle Island development front, the proposed development got a tie vote from the planning commission.  The next big event for this project is before the Town Board.

Public Hearing on the Bald Eagle Island Project

Nov. 3rd at 7:00 p.m. at Heritage Hall.

This could be an emotionally charged event.  If you want to have a say in whether it passes or not, I suggest you make it a point to attend.  I suspect it will be standing room only.

Regards,

Jim Moore

President, BEAA

Great news: Bald Eagle Dam update

I received some good news in an email from board member Jim Aschman, yesterday. 

Jim wrote:

I attended the RCWD (Rice Creek Watershed District) meeting today. They had a discussion on the Bald Eagle Lake dam replacement. It seems that the DNR is going to fund $160k and RCWD is going to kick in $120K.  Hugo is expected to leave in their $120K.  With MNDOT contributing $252K, we have a total dam fund of $652K. The updated construction estimate is $637,263.  Hugo needs to accept the grant at their meeting, probably on Oct. 22.  Should be a go for next year.

 

On another note:

If some of you still have your boat lift with canopy in the water and the seagulls are loving it, you might want to consider getting the Gull Buster.  It is a small local company.  The seagulls were loving my canopy several years ago and made an absolute mess of it.  I've had the Gull Buster for two years now and the canopy is as clean as can be.  It has four extendable diagonal posts and you run fishing line around the 4 posts and diagonal across the posts.  I can still take the canopy off without removing it.

Photo (click on image to enlarge):

This was taken in my front yard on Sept 15th.

 

A fall photo from the bluffs near Lake Pepin, taken last weekend (not anywhere near peak colors):

 

Regards,

Jim