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BlaineMN.gov - CityConnect
Council Moves to In-Person Optional Meetings Blaine Development Continues During a pandemic, it would be easy to assume that development activity grinds to an abrupt halt. While overall development activity may be down from last year’s pace, the May and June planning commission agendas included commercial and residential projects that will help keep the development economy going in the right direction. New Commercial Projects: • • • •
Kwik Trip (Lexington Meadows at 109th Avenue/Austin Street) McHale Veterinary Clinic (12535 Ulysses Street NE) Pet Suites (9983 Ulysses Street NE) Lexington Market Retail Shops/ Starbucks (Lexington Meadows at 108th Avenue/Lexington Avenue)
New Residential Projects: •
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North Meadows (259 total lots with a mix of villas, twin homes and townhomes, Austin Street NE and 109th Avenue NE) Alexander Woods (45 villa lots and 39 single family lots, 113th Avenue and Polk Street NE) Boulder Estates 2nd Addition (9 single family lots, 9850 Hamline Avenue) Harpers Haven (14 single family lots, 12750 Harpers Street NE)
Recent permits issues for projects: • • • • •
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Midwest Diesel (industrial, 3051 82nd Lane NE) Kingdom Baking (commercial bakery, 10130 Sunset Avenue NE) Nafta Solutions, Inc. (industrial, 10122 Naples Street NE) Murphy Bros. (industrial, 1613 93rd Lane NE) Renovation Church (church, commercial, 12390 Fraizer Street NE) Spire Credit Union (commercial, 10 Northtown Drive NE) National Sports Center—dome project (1700 105th Avenue NE) Domino’s Pizza (10495 University Avenue NE) More Information about current developments is available at, BlaineMN.gov/ DevelopmentActivity.
Starting in July, the city council, planning commission, natural resource conservation board, traffic commission, and park board meetings will again be held at in the city council chambers at Blaine City Hall. These meetings will be a hybrid of Zoom meetings and live in-person meetings. Members of the council, boards, commissions, staff, and the public who wish to attend remotely can still join the meetings via Zoom as has been done for the past few months. The council chambers will have limited seating, with chairs being set up at least six feet apart. There will be an overflow area where the meeting can be watched in the Cloverleaf Farms Room, also with chairs set up at least six feet apart. Please note that all visitors to city hall are required to where a facemask at all times in all public areas of the building. Public Comment Before a Meeting If you will not be attending the meeting in-person, city staff has developed a public comment process for virtual meetings. A public comment email address, PublicComment@BlaineMN.gov, and phone number, 763-7172782, allow individuals to submit comments prior to a meeting. Those comment boxes are available until noon on the day of the meeting. The comments will be compiled and delivered to the Blaine City Council or the appropriate commission or advisory board. Public Comment During a Meeting Members of the public who will not be attending the meeting and who wish to comment during public comment periods will be asked to join the meeting on the Zoom webinar platform. Meeting attendees will be able to click the raise hand button, this will alert city staff that an individual wishes to comment. When it is time for comments, individuals will be recognized and their microphones will be enabled allowing them to comment. Zoom meeting information can be found in the calendar notification and on the agenda for each meeting. For more information and to view the meeting calendar, visit BlaineMN.gov/Calendar. Ways to Watch a Meeting If you do not wish to comment on an item but still want to watch the meeting you are asked to watch through all the normal methods the city provides. You can watch on North Metro TV which is available on Comcast (channel 799 and 16) or through a free app on Apple TV or Roku. You can also watch a live stream at BlaineMN.gov/Video. Any questions regarding Blaine City Council meetings, please contact City Clerk Cathy Sorensen at 763-785-6124 or CSorensen@BlaineMN.gov.
2020 Brings Big Changes to Summer in Blaine The City of Blaine is home to many large events each summer. These events bring in millions of dollars of economic impact to the Blaine economy. Due to COVID-19 many large events are being canceled and the impact will be felt far beyond the field, course, or stage. In June, Blaine would usually be home to the two-day Joyful Noise concert festival. This event brings in over 10,000 people per day to the National Sports Center. Also in June the Blaine Festival brings thousands of people to Aquatore Park over a long weekend and the Patriot Ride brings more than 12,000 motorcyclists to the Blaine Airport. In July sporting events take over Blaine. First up is Target USA Cup, which has been canceled for the first time in its 35-year history. The tournament brings 25,000 people per day to Blaine for 10 straight days each July. The 3M Open is also held each year in July, the tournament will take place as scheduled but without spectators. The 3M Open will be limited to about 1,200 people on site each day, which will include staff, volunteers, media, and players. Target USA Cup and the 3M Open have a combined economic impact of $85 million per year. With the cancellation or reduced capacity of these large events, it is more important than ever to support local businesses that will be missing large revenue streams this summer. For more information on city events or program status, visit BlaineMN.gov/ParkRecStatus
