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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2015 VOL. 120 NO. 03 www.presspubs.com $1.00
NEIGHBORHOOD ON ALERT: Level 3 sex offender plans move to Birchwood PAGE 3A
City sees park and ride in easement's future BY DEBRA NEUTKENS REGIONAL EDITOR
PAUL DOLS | PRESS PUBLICATONS
Scaling the walls of the castle Royal princesses in training, from left, Brianna Hilton, Aoife Hiniker and Audrey Hiniker take advantage of the sunshine and warm weather on Sunday, Nov. 15 as they scramble along a wall constructed outside Mahtomedi High School to honor Zephyr Legacy Fund donors. The girls attended a tea party with cast members prior to a performance of “Once Upon a Mattress” at the Chautauqua Fine Arts Center.
WHITE BEAR LAKE — As talk of mass transit through the Highway 61 corridor gathers steam, the city is thinking a park and ride lot might be a good thing. And it has just the place: a wedge-shaped easement in the back parking lot of the White Bear Shopping Center. The state gifted the surplus right of way to the city years ago after it was determined the easement wasn't needed for the new Highway 61. But there was one condition, according to City Manager Mark Sather: it must be used for roadway or transportation purposes. In a "primer on White Bear Lake issues," Sather schooled the City Council Nov. 10 on the history behind certain easements and ordinances. He felt the council needed the background for future decision-making before he retires next month. On Sather's list of need-to-know issues was the easement behind the White Bear Shopping Center. Around the time the city acquired the parcel, the owner of the strip mall entered an agreement with the Metropolitan Transit Commission for a park and ride, Sather said. That plan was shelved when bus service changed, something the city called a "disappointment." "As we look at alternative transportation, car pooling makes sense," Sather told the council. "And it made sense for the shopping center. There's a good chance people who park their cars there would shop there. We've tried to keep that option open in our planning." The shopping center owner, Ron Trach, doesn't agree SEE EASEMENT, PAGE 9A
Not his first rodeo: Snowplow driver proves to be a real pro BY DEBRA NEUTKENS REGIONAL EDITOR
One of the best snowplow drivers in Minnesota happens to plow White Bear Lake streets. Mark Meyer is an 11-year public works employee who missed taking first place in a state snowplow rodeo last month by mere seconds. Being a top driver in one of the coldest, snowiest states in the country speaks well to Meyer's well-honed skill set. The city's street supervisor competed against 100 drivers who were required to maneuver through an obstacle course, back up in tight quarters and
traverse a cul-de-sac lined with mailboxes. When scores were tallied, Meyer was tied for first with an Anoka County employee. To break the tie, their times were considered and since Meyer was a tad slower, he took second. In his seven years of competition, Meyer placed once before in 2009 when he came in third. This is the first time he moves on to regionals — held next September in Green Bay's Lambeau Field. Meyer's boss, Public Works Superintendent Dan Pawlenty, called the plow driver the city's "snow and ice control guru."
DEBRA NEUTKENS | PRESS PUBLICATIONS
City employee Mark Meyer displays his second-place plaque and the black jacket he won at the state snowplow rodeo last month in St. Cloud.
SEE SNOWPLOW, PAGE 9A
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