TICK SEASON: Professor tests new surveillance system this summer

are most often found in forested areas. Deer ticks are spreading and becoming more common. They are now found in every forested county in the state. Even in prairie areas, deer carry deer ticks to patches of forested habitat, so people should be vigilant for ticks after visiting any forested area in Minnesota. Adult deer ticks are active in the spring (April through June) and the fall (September through November), when temperatures are above freezing and there is no snow. Immature nymphs are considered more of a disease risk because they are smaller and harder to notice, so they often remain attached and feed for longer. They are mostly active in May through July in Minnesota.

• Forest Lake Area Athletic Association (FLAAA) will conduct lawful gambling at Fiesta Mexican Grill & Bar, located at 7070 21st Ave. N.

• The city continues to hire parttime staff for the Rookery Activity Center. Most recently, the city hired two lifeguards, three child watch attendants, three guest services representatives and an aquatics lead.

• The city’s newest parks maintenance worker, Bryce Shanor, will start June 6. His hourly rate of pay will be $28.81.

• Bituminous Roadways Inc. will complete the 2023 trail maintenance project for $21,100. The project includes milling and repaving the trail segment between Langer Lane and Clearwater Creek Drive. City Engineer Diane Hankee explained that this segment will supplement the trail replacement being completed as part of the stormwater pond cleaning project. Funding for the project is from the general fund parks budget. The project is scheduled to be complete by Aug. 18.

• A vendor has been selected for the new playground at Watermark Park. The city will work with PlayPower LT Farmington Inc. The contract amount is $228,046. The project consists of design services, delivery and installation of the equipment, and approximately 835 square feet of rubberized surface.

• Watermark resident Matt Bechel said he would love to see even more rubberized surfaces included in the proposal. He also requested the playground be as accessible as possible for children of all abilities.

Public Service Director Rick DeGardner said the council has discussed the possibility of an inclusive playground somewhere in the city, but when it comes to neighborhood parks the city only has a limited budget to work with. He explained that Watermark Park will be ADA-accessible, but not necessarily all-inclusive.

Q: What can people do to avoid getting ticks on themselves and what should someone do if they find one?

A: Tick-borne diseases are more easily prevented than cured. Insect repellents that contain DEET or other EPA-approved repellent chemicals are also effective at repelling ticks. If you spend a lot of time in tick habitats, it may be worth treating a suit of clothes with permethrin, a repellent/insecticide that works on ticks. The bacteria that cause Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases usually take hours to enter your body after a tick attaches to feed. Daily tick checks will greatly reduce your chance of getting Lyme disease even if you are bitten.

There is a possibility the project may take place this fall; otherwise it will be installed spring 2024.

• The city plans to purchase property located at 6510 12th Avenue for a new water treatment plant. The property owners have agreed to a purchase price of $351,700 for the 6.28 acres.

Community Development Director Michael Grochala explained that the site is big enough to take care of the city’s needs through 2040, but that eventually the city may need to find an additional site for a second water treatment facility.

• The City Council will hold a second reading of an ordinance amending Chapter 405 related to bulk deicing material storage June 12. Section 18.6 of the city’s Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) general permit requires that the city adopt an ordinance that requires proper salt storage at commercial, institutional and non-National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitted industrial facilities.

The draft ordinance establishes minimum requirements for the safe storage of deicer materials. The requirements are applicable to all commercial, institutional and industrial properties in the city. Grochala explained that typically, these are users that have large parking areas and routinely use deicers as part of their snow removal

If you find a tick biting you: discovered relatively often in Minnesota’s deer ticks, and our lab is working to find out how and where new diseases arise.

1. Use tweezers to grab the tick by its mouthparts where they enter your skin.

2. Pull the tick straight off. Avoid crushing its body.

3. After a tick bite, be mindful of your body’s health. If you develop a rash or flu-like symptoms, visit your doctor about the tick bite.

Q: What are you doing to advance research on ticks?

Mdan

A: With the goal of enhancing human health and reducing human exposure to tick-borne diseases, my research focuses on the interactions of ticks and the bacteria they carry, as well as the distribution of ticks on the landscape of the Upper Midwest. New pathogens are procedures. The threshold of 5 tons equates to approximately one dump truck load of material.

• The city will make some changes to its designated Municipal State Aid Street system (MSAS). The MSAS system allows cities with a population over 5,000 to be eligible to receive funding for road improvements and maintenance from the State Highway Users Fund. Each year, the city receives an allocation based 50% upon its population and 50% upon the construction needs of its roadways. To receive funding, the city can designate up to 20% of its local streets to receive MSAS funding. The city has a total of 23.35 miles eligible to designate.

In an effort to maximize the construction needs of Lino Lakes’ MSAS system, Hankee explained that it is recommended the city amend its existing system designations. To do so in 2023, MnDOT requires that a council resolution be passed by June 1. The following roadways will be added to the system:

• MSAS 146: 21st Avenue – from 20th Avenue N. to Crane Drive (0.14 miles)

• MSAS 147: Crane Drive – from 21st Avenue N. to Watermark Way (0.34 miles)

• MSAS 148: Watermark Way –from 20th Avenue N. to Crane Drive (0.33 miles)

The next City Council work session will be at 6 p.m. Monday, June 5, in the Community Room. The next regular meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. Monday, June 12, in Council Chambers.

Shannon Granholm

One exciting new project we are working on aims to bring detection tools to the field for much more rapid identification and discovery of pathogens in ticks and rodents. Using an innovative mobile laboratory in the field, we can use these tools to detect pathogens within hours instead of days. We can also use the new tools to detect a full range of tick-borne pathogens at the same time, where previous tools could only detect one pathogen at a time. Testing this new surveillance system will be a major focus of our summer activities this year.