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Interesting timing, Dennis really wanted this one…

Today, the Olmsted County District Court issued a decision upholding the City Council’s decision to allow the Buffalo Wild Wings South development to proceed. The Court found that Crossroads Shopping Center did not have standing to challenge the City decision and that, even if the Shopping Center did have standing, the City’s decision was reasonable and supported by law.

Sometime I will share some stories, but for now I am just missing a friend.  Dennis was very good behind the scenes.  Here we are in Phoenix at the National League of Cities discussing things unrelated to the city.

This looks like fun:

SHAKESPEARE AT THE PLUMMER HOUSE OF THE ARTS

On Wednesday evening, July 18, 2012, the Friends of Mayowood Residence & Historic Sites will
host a festive evening of great theater with actors and staff from the Great River Shakespeare Festival
of Winona. The event will feature a live performance excerpted from the Great River Shakespeare
Festival’s ninth season.

Guests will enjoy a buffet dinner and cash bar by the Canadian Honker, as well as the opportunity
to mingle with Festival actors and staff. The historic and beautiful Plummer House, and its grounds,
will be open for all to explore. Guests also will be among the first to view the Friends of Mayowood
Residence & Historic Sites’ second purchase of original Plummer family furnishings, given to the
City of Rochester for display at the Plummer House a few weeks ago.

Tickets are $45 in advance, and additional donations are welcome. All proceeds from this event will
support the purchase and conservation of original furnishings for the Plummer House.

Tickets for this event are limited, and advance reservations are required. Please call Goldie
Michael at (507) 289-1955.

To celebrate the summer season and a recent acquisition of Plummer family furnishings with a performance by the Great River
Purpose:

Program:

Live performance of a twenty-minute excerpt from the Great River Shakespeare
Festival’s ninth season. Self-guided tours of the historic Plummer home and
recent acquisitions of family furnishings, as well as information on the Great
River Shakespeare Festival and plans for additional purchases of family artifacts
and restoration projects at the Plummer House. Buffet dinner and cash bar by the
Canadian Honker.

Cost:

$45 in advance. Proceeds benefit acquisition and restoration of original Plummer
House furnishings from the Gertrude Plummer Kelley estate.

Reservations and information: Goldie Michael (507) 289-1955

Background

The Friends of Mayowood Residence & Historic Sites is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation
dedicated to supporting the preservation and enjoyment of Mayowood and other historic sites.
Founded in 1981, this organization has funded the re-acquisition of family artifacts to furnish
Mayowood and the Plummer House. As well, the organization has played a role in restoring
Mayowood’s grounds, and continues to support ongoing maintenance and restoration projects at
Mayowood, the Plummer House and other historic sites. It offers periodic community programs and
events to promote awareness of local history and to support historic preservation. Membership is
open to the public, with payment of annual dues beginning at $25.

The Great River Shakespeare Festival is a non-profit, professional Equity theatre company in
Winona, Minnesota, dedicated to dynamic productions of Shakespeare’s plays, extensive education
and community outreach programs, and comprehensive theatre training. The Festival employs about
100 theater professionals, provides training opportunities for interns and apprentices, and draws more
than 10,000 attendees to Winona each summer. In addition to its theatrical productions, it offers
education workshops, concerts, conversations and special events. Founded in 2004, the Great River
Shakespeare Festival is now in its ninth season.

The Plummer House of the Arts is a 49-room Medieval Revival home constructed for Dr. Henry S.
Plummer and Daisy Berkman Plummer between 1917 and 1924. As a founding partner of the Mayo
Clinic and developer of many of the Clinic’s early innovations, Henry Plummer was closely tied to
the development of the Mayo Clinic during his thirty-five year career there. Daisy, a niece of Dr. Will
and Charlie Mayo, was the Clinic’s first laboratory technician. After marriage, she devoted herself to
her home and children, Gertrude and Robert, and worked tirelessly to support local charities, cultural
institutions, and the appreciation of music. For almost fifty years, the house was home to Plummer
children and grandchildren, as well as a focal point of Rochester’s cultural and intellectual life. Daisy
Plummer bequeathed her residence to the Rochester community for the public’s continued enjoyment
and enrichment – creating a unique, and popular, event venue and tourist attraction maintained by the
Rochester Park and Recreation Department since 1976.

Dennis Hanson Visitation and Funeral Details:

Visitation
Date: Friday June 29, 2012
Time: 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Location: River Park Chapel at Macken Funeral Home

Funeral Service
Date: Saturday June 30, 2012
Time: 11:00 am
Location: Christ United Methodist Church

To summarize:

• Judge Chase has rejected all of RCL’s arguments that the competitive bidding process was flawed.
• Judge Chase has rejected all of RCL’s arguments the City was prejudiced and bias in an attempt to put RCL out of business.
• Judge Chase has rejected all of RCL’s argument that the Huston/Ritchie matter constituted a conflict of interest.
• Judge Chase ruled that RCL can continue to operate its current routes and schedules on and after July 1^st
• Judge Chase ruled that RCL can continue to use its route numbers.

RCL is going to run all the routes we approved and I expect massive congestion downtown.  We have not received any request to modify RCL’s approved routes so we expect 2 buses on every route at all times on Monday.

First Transit will begin operations of the publicly funded city bus service in Rochester on Monday, July 2, 2012. With this Change comes 2; new brand: Rochester Public Transit (RPT).

When you ride RPT, here’s what you need to know:

• Through Saturday, June 30, you will continue to ride Rochester Public Transit buses operated by Rochester City Lines.
• Beginning July 2, your bus pass will be honored on Rochester Public Transit buses operated by First Transit

Key changes see as part of this transition include:

• New bus color scheme Look for new branding and striping on city buses beginning in late June. The buses will striped blue and green and display the RPT logo, the web address and new telephone number. Buses that have not been restriped by July 2 will display a dash and curbside poster with the RPT lego.
• New bus step signs – The bus Stops will remain in the same locations. All of the stops will eventually be resigned with el new sign displaying the RPT logo.
• New website and telephone number for the latest bus information The new telephone number, 507-328~RIDE (328-7433), will be operational beginning 2. The new Website, RPTRIDE.COM is currently linked to RochesterBus.c0m.
• RPTRIDE.COM will soon have its own new look and R0chesterBus.c0m will be discontinued.
• New passes – All bus passes will reflect the new Rochester Public Transit name as of July 2.
• Passes bought before July 2 will continue to be honored, including annual passes.
• New driver uniforms – The new uniforms will be similar to the current uniforms, but will feature the Rochester Public Transit logo.

What’s not changing:

• Routes Where the buses go today, they will go tomorrow at the same times.
• Bus Stops – The buses will stop at the same locations.
• Many of First Transit drivers will be former drivers familiar with the Rochester Public Transit route system.
• Commuter buses – These changes do not impact Commuter bus Service. The commuter buses serving outlying communities are operated by Rochester City Lines. Passengers from the commuter buses will be able to transfer to the RPT buses free of charge to continue on to their Íînal destination Within the City by showing their commuter pass. They can return to the downtown to board their commuter bus at no charge by again showing their commuter pass.

With summer in full force, our downtown is getting busy.  This is a great time of year to enjoy what the center of our city has to offer.  It does seem that some enjoy our downtown more than others.  The piles of vomit and obvious pools of urine along with litter associated with a night on the town are becoming all too common.  City Council has been eager to issue a number of licences to new bars in the downtown and by doing so, established a bar district.   As someone who works, shops and plays downtown, I have several concerns that you maybe able to help me understand:

After seeing fighting, public urination and extreme public drunkenness I am concerned that the police are not engaging the problem in a way that is most effective.  I have seen squad cars parked in front of Bilotti’s but the officers do not leave the vehicle.  In other cities with bar districts, it is not uncommon to see police on foot and/or bikes patrolling the sidewalks, parking areas and inside the establishments.  Not being intrusive or forceful, just there, face to face as a way of reminding folks that there are a few basic rules that should be followed.  Is there a plan for police presence to be increased in proportion to the amount of activity going on in the area, especially on weekend nights?

Thanks for the note and your support [NAME REMOVED].  The future of Rochester is downtown, so we need to do it right.  Please keep me informed on what you see.

Michael

Here is an image of our rain garden, if you would like to learn more, you can always contact me or stop by.  I have posted notices when the city has had grants to help build rain gardens.  Last year my wife applied and got one (FYI, everyone that turned in a completed grant ended up getting one that year so no favoritism or anything…)  Raingardens put water into the ground instead of into the storm sewer system.  Below are a couple of pictures of the raingarden after the big recent storm event where we got about 1.5″ of rain in a short period.  The rain garden was designed for about 1″ rain events so this was beyond the design.  It turned out that there was a little back up, but the water had drained after about 45 minutes.  This was also the first big rain event that did not start up my sump.

Here is a link to the city stormwater management page on the city website.  Each year grant applications are due by 5/1.  We don’t get alot of applications so your chance of landing one is pretty good.  The grants don’t come close to covering the cost, but it helps.  The grants are funded and overseen by the stormwater fund.  We are still learning about how these works.  2nd Street Phase 2 will have rain gardens built into the medians and boulevards.

Benefits I have seen:

• Sump pump runs less in heavy rain events.
• Addressed low spots in my back yard.
• Vegetation is already attracting bees and butterflies.
• Currently requires alot of maintenance, but will establish in a couple of years.
• Colorful and very attractive.  Eliminates about 40% of the stormwater runoff from my property.
• I used all native plants which will require little maintenance after establishing.
• I also get wild strawberries.

Why these are good for the city:

• Keeps water from running directly into rivers.
• Keeps stormwater from carrying pollutants into rivers.
• Reduces cost of large scale stormwater infrastructure.
• May reduce long term maintenance costs.

Here are some interesting facts about Rochester’s growth, diversity, and hidden poverty.  I am not sure who put this together, but based on the fact that a foot note is included, I will guess Phil Wheeler.

ROCHESTER FACTS 2012

1. The 2010 Census population for Rochester is 106,769. Rochester is the third largest and fastest growing city in Minnesota. Our population increased by 21,000 since 2000; our growth since 2000 is roughly equivalent to the total population of cities like Northfield, Albert Lea, or Golden Valley and a third larger than the total population of Red Wing.  Our estimate for 2012 population is 108,500. Read the rest of this entry »

The Country Club Manor Area (south of Highway 14, North of CR 34, West of West Circle Drive) has a population larger than all of Stewartville, but has an incredibly low crime rate.  I would like to keep it that way.  I was alerted to a situation in Judd Park which has moved me to act. Read the rest of this entry »