City of Hopkins • Hopkins Highlights • February 2006

2006 Citizens Academy

Mixed Municipal Solid Waste
Deposit Disclosure

Hopkins Police To New Teen
Drivers: No Dialing And Driving

Home Remodeling Fair

The 14th annual Home Remodeling Fair will be held on Sunday, February 26, 2006 from 10:30 am to 3:30 pm at the Eisenhower Community Center at 1001 Highway 7. The Home Remodeling Fair is a free event sponsored by the Cities of Hopkins, Golden Valley, Minnetonka, and St. Louis Park, as well as Hopkins, Minnetonka, and St. Louis Park Community Education.

The goal of the Home Remodeling Fair is to provide residents with ideas, information, and resources to promote improvements to the housing stock in each community. The Home Remodeling Fair provides a wide variety of seminars, demonstrations, and exhibitors with products and services related to home remodeling. Exhibitors include remodeling contractors, architects, landscapers, financial lenders, as well as City inspectors and other City departments.

The Idea Center is packed full of a wide variety of ongoing "how to" demonstrations. At the "Ask a Pro" booth in the Idea Center, architects, landscape architects, and interior designers provide free, no-obligation advice, and people are encouraged to bring photos, sketches, and questions. Information will be provided about the many programs available to homeowners as well as evaluating finance options. Representatives from the Radon and Lead Awareness Project will be on hand in the cafeteria to answer questions about mitigating the effects of radon and lead.

Visitors can sign up for numerous door prizes and The Wetlands Café at Eisenhower will be open throughout the day for snacks, lunch, and beverages for purchase at the fair. For more information visit www.homeremodelingfair.com.

Sign up now for the 2006 Citizens Academy. Last year's program was very successful and enjoyed by all the participants: "I love this program", "All the presenters were excellent—and funny too", "I wish all residents could experience what we have in the Academy."

This five week program lets residents learn how their City works. Participants will get an opportunity to learn about the operations, facilities and services of the City. You will see a SWAT team make a dynamic entry to a building and learn how a police officer determines when to use force. Residents will have the opportunity to take the position of the firefighter on the engine and learn what a firefighter would be doing as they prepare to fight the fire. Find out how the City's budget is put together and where the money goes. Discover how economic development projects are put together. Participants will also have an opportunity to tour the City's new Fire and Police stations.

Registration for the academy will begin in January. Classes are scheduled to begin on Thursday, March 16. Classes will be held on Thursdays with a completion celebration scheduled for Tuesday, May 2. Each class will be held at a different location within the City. Each evening begins at 6:15 pm with a social gathering. After the social, each City department team will have the next 2½ hours to bring attendees behind the scenes and into the operations. The sessions are designed to be interactive as well as a fun and informative. This program is very popular. Classes are sure to fill quickly. If you are interested in the academy, contact Jim Genellie at 952-548-6303 or sign-up by sending an e-mail to .

Neal & Leandra

Saturday, February 18, 7:30 pm
This folk duo presents an evening of songs layered with the textures of everyday life and love.

Boys of the Lough

Saturday, March 4, 7:30 pm
One of the premiere Irish/Scottish bands touring today, the "Boys" will present traditional Celtic music.

To purchase tickets, call the box office at 952-979-1111 (Tuesday–Saturday, 12:00–6:00 pm) or visit www.hopkinsartscenter.com. Member, senior, student, and group discounts are available.

Pursuant to Minnesota Statue 115A.9302, which requires that a person who collects mixed municipal solid waste for transportation to a waste facility shall disclose to each waste generator from whom waste is collected the name, location, type of facility, and the number of the permit issued by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, or its counterpart in another state, for the processing or disposal facility or facilities at which the waste will be deposited. The City of Hopkins (hauler), hereby discloses that the mixed municipal solid waste collected from January 1–December 31, 2006 will be delivered to the following facilities during that time period. If an additional facility becomes either a primary facility or an alternative facility during this time period, the City of Hopkins will provide you with updated information within 30 days.

Primary Facility Name: Hennepin Energy Resource Company (HERC)
Location: 505 6th Ave N, Minneapolis, MN 55405
Type of Facility: Mass Burn Waste-to-Energy
MPCA Permit Number: SW-396

Primary Facility Name: NRG Elk River (NSP) Resource Recovery
Location: 10700 165th Ave NW, Elk River, MN 55330
Type of Facility: Refuse Derived Fuel Waste-to-Energy
MPCA Permit Number: SW-305

The following facility is used for disposal of construction and demolition material collected through our twice-yearly Bulk Item Drop-off and weekly Bulk Item Collection.

Alternative Facility Name: Dem Con Landfill, Inc.
Location: 331 Akers Lane, Jordan, MN 55352
Type of Facility: Construction Demolition Landfill
MPCA Permit Number: SW-290

You may be responsible for any liability that results from contamination at a facility where your waste has been deposited. Minnesota believes that its waste management system provides substantially more financial and environmental protection than depositing waste in landfills in other states. Managing your waste in Minnesota may minimize your potential liability.

The sounds of ring tones will be "answered" by the Hopkins Police Department if learning drivers are caught dialing and driving after January 1, 2006. Roughly 400,000 drivers with learning permits or provisional licenses—a majority of whom are teens—will face the new law passed by the Minnesota Legislature last July and its potential fine of up to $100 plus court costs this year. Cell phone use is one of the biggest distractions for motorists. In 2003, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration cited cell phone use as a factor in 2,600 traffic deaths. In Minnesota, it is conservatively estimated that at least 14,000 motorists are on the phone and behind the wheel at any given time. "Driving is a multi-tasking activity so all other distractions need to be limited," says Chief Craig Reid. "When you combine cell phone use and other distractions to driving, it's a recipe for a crash." Teens are disproportionately represented in traffic crashes and fatalities. From 2000 to 2004, 293 16- to 18-year-olds were killed on Minnesota roads.

Those in violation of the law—which is categorized as a moving violation—will face delays in obtaining a non-provisional license. In Minnesota, permit holders under age 18 must maintain a driving record free of any moving violation for six months to be eligible for provisional driving privileges. At age 18, drivers can secure their non-provisional license. Hopkins Police advise that although this law applies to mostly new teen drivers, all motorists should make efforts to curb cell phone use and other driving distractions. "You may be an experienced driver, but that doesn't make it safe to drive distracted," says Chief Reid. "Take your ears off the phone, put your hands on the wheel and your mind on the road. The majority of traffic complaints received by Hopkins Police deal with distracted drivers." Eleven states and the District of Columbia restrict cell phone use among novice drivers, and some states and municipalities ban hand-held cell phone use for all drivers.

Recycling collection is February 6–9 and 21–24 (due to Presidents Day).

Refuse collection is January 30–February 2, 6–9, 13–16, 21–24 (due to Presidents Day), and 27–March 2.