Upcoming Events
Jul 09
Board of DirectorsJul 16
Environment CommitteeJul 20
KPAC (KidsPark Advisory Council)Jul 20
Beautification CommitteeJul 21
Community Outreach Committee2009 Alley Garden Awards
Submit your nominations! If you know of a hard-working gardener or have seen a beautiful alley garden, nominate them for an Alley Garden Award! Nominations can be submitted to Afton at afton@macgrove.org or 695-4000. There is no limit to number of nominations, but all nominations must be submitted by July 5th (so that the judges have them in time for judging)! Judges will be out judging between July 5 – 15th.
Click here to learn more about Alley Garden Awards and judging criteria.
Bike Facilities Proposal for Jefferson Avenue
A presentation of the Bike Facilities proposal ideas for Jefferson Avenue was held at the Macalseter-Groveland Community Council's Transporation Committee Meeting at 7pm on Monday, June 22nd at Edgcumbe Rec Center after the Macalester-Groveland Community Council passed the following resolution on February 18, 2009: The Macalester-Groveland Community Council supports the City of St. Paul's preliminary study for bike transit on Jefferson Avenue. David Kuebler from Public Works, Steve Clark from Transit for Livable Communities, Antonio Rosell from Community Design Group, and Don Muske, the Ward 3 Representative to the St. Paul Bicycle Advisory Board, were there to lay out the detailed proposal, answer questions and gather public comments. Close to 200 people showed up for the public meeting; all who wanted to voice their opinion about the project were able to do so. Folks who were not able to attend the meeting have a couple of options for next steps. 1) Attend the MGCC transportation committee meetings on the 4th Monday of every month at 7pm in the Edgcumbe Rec Center. All meetings of the Macalester-Groveland Community Council are open to the public; 2) Contact David Kuebler, Public Works Engineer or City Council Member Pat Harris (both of their contact information is listed below), or both.
To see the presentation, in power point form, that was given at the public meeting, log on to the following link :http://www.c-d-g.org/projects/TLC/JeffersonAvenue/CDG-Presentation-062209-final.pdf (this is a large file which takes a few minutes to upload).
Please see attachements below for more information.
David Kuebler is the engineer for the City who is the contact person for this project and he is taking all comments and specific questions regarding this proposal.Â
Saint Paul Regional Water Services Message to Mac-Groveland Neighborhood
Dear Customer,
Saint Paul Regional Water Services (SPRWS) will be cleaning and installing a cement motor lining in a water main that feeds teh Highland Reservoir at Snelling Avenue and Hillcrest Avenue. The project includes 4 miles of 36" and 30" water main between the Highland Reservoir and the intersection of Lexington Parkway and Front Avenue.
This project is divided into several sections. The Snelling/Randolph section will include work on Snelling Avenue from Highland Parkway to Randolph Avenue, on Randolph Avenue from Snelling Avenue to Brimhall Street and Brimhall Street from Randolph AVenue to Palace Avenue. Preliminary work of locating water valves and relocating water services for this project has begun. Construction to rehabilitate the water main is scheduled to begin June 22, 2009.
Construction will require access pits spaced approximately 600 feet apart. This will include 5 access pits on Snelling Avenue, 3 accesspits on Randolph Avenue and 1 access pit on Brimhall Street. SPRWS plans to being excavating these 12' by 10' pits on Monday, June 22, 2009. Traffic control patterns will be setup to maintain one lane of traffic in each direction for the duration of the project. Contractor J.Fletcher Creamer and Sons is scheduled to begin the cleaning and lining work on Monday, July 6, 2009. The contractor's work will take approximately 2-3 weeks to complete. SPRWS will then backfill the pits and restore the street. It is anticipated that all work on Snelling Avenue and Randolph Avenue will be completed by late July or early August.
Please excuse us for the inconvenience this work will cause you.
If you have questions regarding this project, please contact me at (651) 266-6267 or SPRWS Engineering Division at (651) 266-6270. After normal working hours information may be obtained by calling the 24-hour emergency dispatcher at (651) 266-6868.
Sincerely,
Issac Afwerke
Macalester-Groveland Crime Notification Updates
To access weekly crime reports, please visit the City of St. Paul website here. The Western District Police Department (located at 389 N. Hamline Avenue, across from Super Target) holds informative community meetings the third Tuesday of every month at 9:30am and 6:30pm.
National Night Out: Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Attention, Neighbor Reps!
Get ready for your National Night Out block party by visiting the City of St. Paul website for block party permits, tips, and other useful information. Please remember that all permits must be received by the City by July 27th!
KidsPark Items Needed
KidsPark moved to its new location, Desnoyer Park, a few months ago and we are looking for a couple of things to suppliment what they've already got. Here is the wish list of things that are still needed:
- Two (2) covered trash containers (one for the infant room and one for the children's bathroom)
- Two (2) walkie-talkies
Spring into Composting!
Next Backyard Composting Workshop: NO WORKSHOPS SCHEDULED AT THIS TIME
Call Eureka at 651-222-7678 to register.
Spring is a great time to begin backyard composting!! Whether you've been thinking about it, or even if it has never crossed your mind, NOW IS THE TIME! Composting offers an environmentally superior alternative to putting organices in landfills or garbage disposals (or the Newport burner!). It eliminates methane production, provides a series of economic and environmental co-benefits, and has a substantial impact on greenhouse gas reduction. Backyard composting is done outside, and can be a pile of leaves in a corner of a yard or a system of two-to-three bins containing yard waste and food scraps at vairous stages in the composting process.Â
Backyard composting needs three basic things:
- Â organics (banana peels, apple cores, etc.)
- air
- water
It's almost that simple! For less than five minutes a day you can make your own compost--a nutrient rich soil enhancer coveted by gardeners!Â
The Macalester-Groveland Community Council is committed to building a community of backyard composters and we need to hear from you! Are you new to composting? We are offering workshops and mentoring for beginners, as well as opportunities to visit a neighbor's compost system and ask questions.
Are you experienced at composting? We are looking for workshop facilitators, mentors and neighbors willing to show off their compost systems and answer questions. Are you interested? Please contact Karmann at karmann@macgrove.org or call 651-695-4000.
MacGrove Moves is Back!
Thank You MacGrove Moves Volunteers!
Thank you to members of both the Macalester-Groveland Community Council's Environment Committee and Summit Hill Association's Environment Committee for volunteering in the chilly dampness at Grand Old Day! We'd also like to thank Nadja and Christopher from HOURCAR for their support as well. Our booth was buzzing for most of the day and we gave away hundreds of water bottles along with 10,000 mesh bags donated by 'Rethink Recycling' of Ramsey County. This was the first time MacGrove Moves was represented at Grand Old Day and it was a huge success! Thanks again!Join the Third Annual MacGrove Moves Golden Shoe Hunt!
Slip on your shoes. Dust off your bike. Join the Hunt. For the first three weekends in May, a golden shoe was hidden in an area where people walk, jog or bike in Macalester-Groveland, to promote walking and biking in the neighborhood.
THERE IS STILL ONE GOLDEN SHOE LEFT TO FIND!
The first golden shoe was found on Summit and Saratoga. A father called to claim his prize and said that his daughter was climbing the tree when the shoe was found in it! The second one was foundon River Road in Mac-Groveland. There is still one left to find--look for it in a place you can't get to in a car...If you find one of the golden shoes, bring it to the MGCC office at 320 S. Griggs, and win a pair of running/walking shoes generously donated by St. Paul's Fun N Run. For more information visit www.macgrove.org, or contact Karmann at karmann@macgrove.org or 651-695-4000.
St. Paul City Council and Mayor's Office Go Golden!
St. Paul City Council members and Mayor Chris Coleman donned golden shoes at their May 6th City Council meeting to kick off the 3rd annual Golden Shoe hunt.
Get Moving!
Are You Ready for Curbside Composting?
Things we are used to throwing in the trash now have the potential to now be carried away, avoiding the waste stream, because of a citywide curbside composting program. This would allow for items such as pizza boxes, Kleenex, papertowels, and the like, to be collected curbside for items such as pizza boxes, Kleenex, papertowels, and the like, to be collected curbside on a weekly basis--just as the curbside recycling program currently exists throughout the City of Saint Paul.
This opportunity is also important because most of the trash in the area gets taken to the Newport facility and burned, which is quite expensive and can often clog their system, making their process much less efficent.
Dear Saint Paul Resident,
If you feel passionate about curbside composting in Saint Paul, please take a minute to call or write your city councilperson (if you live in Mac-Groveland, your city councilperson is Pat Harris).
Did you know that...?
1) Curbside composting is already being done in cities like San Francisco, Minneapolis (Linden Hills), Boulder, Wayzata and Toronto?
2) Thirty percent (30%) of our waste is compostable?
3) Eureka Recycling is prepared to begin curbside composting with critter-proof containers in Mac-Groveland in June 2009 and citywide as soon as possible thereafter?
Examples (from the Wayzata curbside composting website)
The following items would be accepted for composting:
- All food scraps--including meat & bones
- Soiled & non-recyclable paper products
             Napkins, paper towels, tissues
       Paper plates, cups, food containers, pizza boxes
       Paper bags and waxed paper
       Waxed cardboard
       Coffee filters and tea bags
- Other compostable ItemsÂ
             Paper vacum bags