Rosemount City News: Summer 2023

Life Time Rosemount

Life Time and the City of Rosemount recently broke ground on the future location of Life Time Rosemount. Life Time executives and Rosemount city and community leaders were on hand for the occasion, almost 31 years to the day when Life Time opened its first club.

The new, 92-000-square-foot athletic club and adjacent 60,000-square-foot outdoor aquatics area and pickleball court development is a public/private venture between Life Time and Rosemount. Construction is now underway on the 12-acre site, located at the southeast corner of Akron Avenue and Connemara Trail. Life Time is planning for an early 2025 opening.

“We’ve been purposeful in looking for the right kind of growth in Rosemount to set us apart, and this innovative public/ private partnership with Life Time hits the mark on so many levels,” said Rosemount Mayor Jeff Weisensel. “Our community places a high value on wellness, athletics, and parks and recreation, and bringing the country’s premier athletic club to Rosemount is a

perfect complement to round out what we have to offer residents and visitors.”

Once open, the new Life Time will offer programming and amenities including six dedicated studios for barre, cycle, group fitness, Pilates and yoga; an expansive fitness floor for cardio, resistance and free weight training and specially designed small group training spaces; pickleball and basketball courts; leisure pool and whirlpools; plus, steam and sauna spaces. The club will also have Life Time’s full-service LifeCafe and LifeSpa, an outdoor beach club with lap and leisure pools, waterslides and an outdoor bistro. Additionally, there will be four outdoor pickleball courts. Life Time’s Kids Academy will provide studios and spaces for kids 3 months to 11 years old.

An online waitlist is available for those interested in becoming a Founding Member of the club; visit lifetime.life and search Rosemount, Minnesota. For more information on the City’s role in this project, visit rosemountmn.gov/ lifetime.

Rosemount City Council, local officials, and city staff gather with Life Time representatives for the groundbreaking.

CONNECT WITH US

Police & Public Works Dual Campus

City staff, City Council, and construction partners officially broke ground on a new 160,000 square foot facility that will house the City’s Police and Public Works departments. The building will be centrally located at 14041 Biscayne Avenue in Rosemount.

The dual campus, expected to cost $58M, offers several key improvements to address current and future needs – focusing on operational efficiency and space requirements, as well as staff wellbeing. A land donation from Flint Hills and a land swap with the National Guard saved the city $2M in land acquisition costs and secured a centralized location relative to the city’s population density. The move will offer relief and consolidate current facilities which have been modified and pieced together over the past 20 years to accommodate the fast-growing community. Key features of the building include:

• Room for Police and Public Works staff and equipment growth expected over the next 25 years

• Improved access and mobility in relation to railroad crossings

• New Emergency Operations Center

• Focus on total wellness for all staff – with special focus on Police Officer wellness

• Onsite training opportunities including gun range and 100-person training room

• Innovative system using stormwater run-off for vehicle washing

“I’m a firm believer in taking care of the people who take care of the people,” stated Police Chief Mikael Dahlstrom. “That is what we have here - Police and Public

Works staff have a lot thrown at them, so we are creating a space with wellness in mind. In addition, we work with a variety of advocates and the ability to have them onsite is critical to our staff and to our residents who are in need of support.”

“This move will be a huge relief for our Public Works Department, who currently work out of a half-dozen different locations around the city,” said Public Works Director Nick Egger. “The opportunity for improved synergy, collaboration, communication, and efficiencies will be a great benefit to our department and the community.”

Construction on the facility is expected to take approximately 18 months, with staff expected to move in late in 2024. For updates on the project, follow rosemountmn.gov/PDPW

“I’m a firm believer in taking care of the people who take care of the people. We work with a variety of advocates and the ability to have them onsite is critical to our staff and to our residents who are in need of support.”

– police chief mikael dahlstrom

City Council and members of the Facilities Task Force

The City, State, and Flint Hills Resources worked in partnership to get the City the land for the facility. County Commissioner Bill Droste, Jake Reint of Flint Hills Resources, State Representative John Huot

City of Excellence Award

The City of Rosemount received the League of Minnesota Cities 2023 City of Excellence Award for the “Comprehensive Officer Wellness Program.”

In response to the significant stressors police officers face and the implications the profession can have on officers’ health, job satisfaction, and longevity, Rosemount Police Department developed the Comprehensive Officer Wellness Program, which focuses on officers’ mental and physical health, and the resiliency of their family support network. Through the program, officers are provided up to six confidential therapy sessions with the department’s professional mental health consultant per year, critical incident follow-up, and other onsite services. Additionally, the department offers a peer support counseling program, which allows selected and specially trained

officers to confidentially help and support their peers when personal or professional matters may impact their work performance, families, or self. The department also developed a Family Academy, which allows family members of new officers to learn about the profession, signs and issues to watch for, and how to get help when needed.

The Comprehensive Officer Wellness Program supports officers’ physical health by offering heart analysis from Sigma Tactical Wellness to preempt any potential heart issues and by partnering with a local fitness facility to provide on-duty workout options.

The City of Excellence Awards are given each year by the League of Minnesota Cities in three

population categories and one topical category. The awards recognize cities for outstanding programs or projects. We are extremely proud of our Police Department for creating a program that will not only improve the lives of Police Officers in Rosemount, but also serve as model for other departments around the state.

Night to Unite

Tuesday, August 1

Are you and your neighbors planning a party? Public Safety officials will be collecting donations for the Rosemount Family Resource Center. If you plan to participate, here are the Top 10 most needed items: canned fish/meat, cooking/baking items, rice/pasta/cereal, canned fruits/veggies, soaps, diapers/baby wipes, toiletries, feminine hygiene products, cleaning supplies.

L to R: City Administrator Logan Martin, Mayor Jeff Weisensel, Deputy Chief Carson Thomas, Councilmember Heidi Freske

Rosemount city staff, elected officials, and Youth Commission members enjoy visiting neighborhood parties each year.

DID YOU KNOW?

Do Your Part. We’re in a Drought.

For the third consecutive year, much of Minnesota is facing drought conditions. Each summer, Rosemount pumps more than three times the amount of water each day than we do in the cooler months! The primary reason behind this increase is lawn and landscaping irrigation at homes and businesses. Providing more water takes a lot of additional infrastructure, energy, and system maintenance to keep up with the demand, draws down the levels of groundwater aquifers, and costs everyone more money. We can all pitch in to save our most precious resource – water. Here are three simple ways you can save water and maintain your lawn:

Police Chaplains

The Rosemount Police Department has an active group of volunteer Chaplains. Coming from different denominational backgrounds, our Chaplains are ready to assist the Department in any way they can. They are often called upon to be present at the scene of a death, where they can spend time with the survivors and help them through the first, very difficult moments of beginning to grieve. In addition to this, Chaplains offer words of encouragement and support to our Officers. You can learn about our team of Chaplains on our website by searching keyword chaplain.

Cut back on watering. Lawns only need 1 inch of water per week. Check your irrigation or sprinkler system for leaks. Just one leaking sprinkler can waste more than 1,000 gallons of water per hour.

Raise your mower height to three inches. This alone will help create a healthier, stronger, and more disease-free lawn.

Reminder: Watering restrictions in effect

Regardless of current drought conditions, Rosemount City Code states that from May 1 through August 31 each year, lawn and landscape watering is restricted to odd-even days (based on property address) before Noon and after 6 p.m. Watering is prohibited between Noon and 6 p.m. each day for all properties. Only those with new sod and landscaping can water outside the restricted times for the first 30 days after installation.

Visit the city website for additional tips and resources such as rebates on smart controllers, irrigation audits, and energy efficient products. rosemountmn.gov/rebates

Late Summer Pond Mowing

The City will be performing maintenance mowing around select city ponds and natural areas late summer through early fall. Mowing at this time of the year avoids interference with the nesting activity of birds and reduces nuisance-tree growth that can block access to critical infrastructure for inspections and emergency maintenance. Mowers are set to a height of 8 to 12 inches to reduce damage to native plants, prevent erosion, and to control noxious weeds. Contact Rosemount Public Works at 651-322-2022 or pwadmin@ rosemountmn.gov if you have questions.

Pete Burchard, a recent addition to our team of chaplains.

Driver Avenue Nears Completion

Over on the east side of Highway 52, construction of Driver Avenue, a new north-south road adjacent to the ongoing FedEx distribution center, is nearing completion. This road connects County Road 42 with 140th Street and will serve as the primary access for the new FedEx distribution center along with additional business park development that is expected to fill out the former Rich Valley Golf Course property. For more information regarding City construction projects, please visit: rosemountmn.gov/ construction

SAVE THE DATE

Fall Citywide Cleanup

PUBLIC WORKS

Residents are welcome to drop off items that are not normally collected by trash haulers, such as mattresses, appliances, and scrap metal. Free confidential shredding is also provided courtesy of Michelle Hoagland Group, Keller Williams Preferred Realty. Confidential shredding will take place in the lower City Hall parking lot during the same hours. For a list of accepted items and fees, please visit Rosemount’s Citywide Cleanup Events webpage. Please note that this event is for Rosemount residents only, and a driver’s license or other proof of residency will be required to participate.

WHEN: October 7, 2023

Want Neighborhood Ponds Clean? Keep Yard Waste in Yards!

EACH BUSHEL OF GRASS CLIPPINGS LEFT IN THE CURB

WHICH GETS WASHED INTO A STORM DRAIN

TIME: 8 a.m. – Noon

WHERE: Erickson Park

GROWS 30-50LBS OF ALGAE IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD POND!

Storm drains connect directly to your neighborhood pond, lake, or wetland. Wastes washed into storm drains go directly to local waterbodies without receiving treatment. Even seemingly harmless materials negatively affect the water quality in your pond.

Visit the Dakota County website and search keyword yard waste to learn how to safely dispose of yard wastes. Visit mn.adopt-a-drain.org to adopt your neighborhood storm drain.

Save money by saving the food

NO ONE WANTS to waste food. Yet 40 percent of all food goes uneaten each year in the United States – wasting the water, energy, labor and land used to grow it. That waste adds up at home, too. All the spoiled meat and limp lettuce costs the average family of four $1,500 a year.

40% of all food goes uneaten each year in the United States

From farm to fridge, more food is wasted in our homes than any other part of the supply chain. Luckily, that means we have the power to make a difference in our own kitchens. Join the Save the Food Challenge to learn how to make small shifts in how we shop, prepare and store food to help reduce wasted food and save money.

Get tools and join the challenge at dakotacounty.us, search save the food.

And for all the banana peels and chicken bones that we can’t eat, sign up for Dakota County’s free Organics Drop Off program to turn food waste into beneficial compost.

Partially funded by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and Dakota County.

ALL THE SPOILED MEAT AND LIMP LETTUCE COSTS THE AVERAGE

FAMILY OF FOUR $1,500 A YEAR

Why a City’s Credit Score Matters

Credit Scores, or Credit Ratings as we call them in city government, are designed to represent the amount of risk associated with a borrower. The better your score or rating, the more likely you will be able to borrow funds at a lower interest rate. Periodically, the City goes through a series of steps in order to receive a rating from Standard & Poors. S&P looks at multiple factors such as an organization’s institutional framework, management, financial measures, and amount of debt, in addition to the current economy. Based on their findings, S&P will issue a Credit Rating from AAA to D, with anything less than BB being considered “junk”.

Because we are starting two major projects, the City will need to borrow money, and our Credit Rating is a very important component in those plans. Recently, we were thrilled to learn that our previous score of AA+ was confirmed by S&P. AA+ is the second highest credit rating available to an organization. By retaining such a high Credit Rating, we were able to sell bonds with better than expected interest rates. This achievement allowed us to save multiple millions of dollars on both projects, saving taxpayer dollars in the process.

Got Questions? Lucky Has the Answers!

GOT A QUESTION FOR THE CITY? ASK LUCKY!

Lucky the Leprechaun can help you get the answers you need regardless of the time of day or the question. Whether it’s permits or potholes or parks activities you seek, our handy AI chatbot is available to help on our website or via text. Simply click on the icon in the corner of our website to start a chat OR text “Hello” to 866-283-7768. If Lucky can’t find the answer for you, they will help get you connected to a city staff member who can. This new technology helps us optimize our staff time and keep you informed around the clock!

Report a Concern

If you aren’t in the mood to chat with Lucky, we have another option for reporting issues. Located on our website homepage, you can click the Report Issues button and be brought to an interactive map. This option lets you pinpoint an issue on the map, input information to help us solve the problem, and even upload a photo. You can also go directly to rosemountmn.gov/report to get started. Please note, both tools are designed to be used for NON-emergency problems or requests for service. For all Police or Fire issues, emergency or non-emergency, please call 911.

City Hall

2875 - 145th Street West

Rosemount, MN 55068-4997

Phone: 651-423-4411 • TTY: 7-1-1 (Minnesota Relay)

Mayor: Jeff Weisensel

Council Members: Paul Essler, Heidi Freske, Tami Klimpel, Paul Theisen

City Administrator: Logan Martin

SAVE THE DATES!

ECRWSS

Postal Customer

Food Truck Fest

Saturday, September 16 4-9 p.m.

Central Park

This year will have many great NEW food trucks, domestic and craft beer, live music, and a family friendly venue!

Music line up: 4-5:30 p.m. 5 Minute Major 6-9 p.m. Good for Gary

Movie in the Park

Saturday, August 12

Starting at dusk Central Park

Bring your blankets and lawn chairs for a family movie night at Central Park!

Movie Showing: Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

BYOC Music Night

Saturday, August 19

7 p.m.

Central Park

Bring Your Own Coolers and lawn chairs and enjoy live music. A food truck will be onsite to complete the perfect evening out!

Music line up: 7-9 p.m. SkitzoFonik