South metro briefs: Some voters will see new polling places

Some voters will see new polling placesA lot of voters will be changing polling places soon in Savage.

The City Council was expected this week to approve the following changes:

• Precinct 1: Formerly the Quentin Avenue Fire Station, switching to St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, 12508 Lynn Av.

• Precinct 2: Formerly Hidden Valley Elementary School, switching to Glendale United Methodist Church, 13550 Glendale Road.

• Precinct 5: Formerly the Public Works Garage, switching to the McColl Pond Environmental Learning Center, 13550 Dakota Av. S.

City administrator candidates down to 6Farmington has narrowed the field of city administrator applicants to six who will be interviewed Friday by the City Council at City Hall.

The interviews, starting at 10 a.m., are open to the public, as is a greet-and-meet session at City Hall from 4 to 6 p.m. Monday.

The candidates include former Farmington City Council member David McKnight, now administrator in Mendota Heights. Three other city administrators are in the running: Brian Anderson from Newport, Bruce Messelt from Lake Elmo and Samantha Orduno from Dayton.

The other two candidates are Bart Fischer, assistant Chaska administrator and economic development director, and Ron Moorse, Afton's government affairs consultant.

The council plans to select finalists June 29, and final interviews will be July 11.

Staff shakeup aimed at new prioritiesPrior Lake City Manager Frank Boyles is reorganizing his staff, in large part to do more with economic development and with water and other natural resources.

In what he wryly describes as his 13th staff restructuring since 1993, Boyles is reshuffling three departments to "add capacity and resources" to meet city priorities.

Among the changes being made:

• Jane Kansier, building and transportation services director, becomes a second assistant city manager.

• Parks Supervisor Al Friedges heads up facilities and natural resources.

• And the city will hire a new director of planning and economic development -- the latter of those a position that was dropped when the recession bit deeply into development activity.

The end result is no new costs but a structure that is "not typical of municipalities," Boyles has informed the City Council -- one which creates potential difficulties but which he hopes will succeed in addressing important problems.

Water quality rises as county-wide issueIn another sign that the once-obscure topic of water quality is ballooning in importance as an issue in Scott County, the county's civic leaders were treated this month to a lengthy primer on who controls what and what's being done.

"Without water quality," said Prior Lake City Manager Frank Boyles, known for his often pithy approach to things, "we die."

The county's natural resources manager, Paul Nelson, reminded county and city officials that "virtually every water body in Scott County is deemed impaired," according to an account of the meeting e-mailed to them later by county staff. Moreover, he said, "real progress on water quality requires people to change their behavior, which is quite difficult to do."

Conversely, he noted, the removal of the Credit River from the list of impaired waters was a notable and rare achievement.

The energy around the issue has been boosted by widely publicized problems with Prior Lake, the county's most important lake.

Cleanup might lead to affordable housingMetro Council staffers are recommending a $50,000 grant to investigate a contaminated site in Hastings that they say could be turned into affordable housing.

The four-acre Hudson Manufacturing site at 200 W. 2nd St -- home to a tank-making industry for nearly a century -- is thought to be polluted with several types of chemicals.

If the site can be cleaned up and re-used, council staff informed their board this week, "expected benefits include the [development of] 14,200 square feet of commercial space with enclosed parking and 45 ownership residential units, including 30 affordable units."

DAVID PETERSON and JIM ADAMS

Weigh in on skate park ideasBurnsville is giving you a chance next week to offer thoughts about proposed upgrades to its skate park.

During a one-hour session at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, the city will present plans and hear reactions. The site for the meeting is City Hall, 100 Civic Center Pkwy.

The hope is to "improve the park's look and feel, including upgrading the skating surface, landscape and adding additional skating apparatus," with construction to start this fall, the city said.

The park is located next to the ice center, at 251 Civic Center Pkwy. For more information, contact Dean Mulso at 952-895-4563.