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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Last week for election letters PAGE 5A
Street improvement projects planned BY NOELLE OLSON STAFF WRITER
PAUL DOLS | PRESS PUBLICATIONS
Late season ladybug sighting Tom Melhorn gives his daughter Blakelee, 2, a ride on his shoulders along a torch lined route down Lake Avenue during the recent Scare in White Bear event. Find a comprehensive list of upcoming Halloween events on page 3A.
‘From lives of hopelessness to hope’ BY DEBRA NEUTKENS STAFF WRITER
A Birchwood missionary couple with a special connection to Kenya is raising money for the faith-based Brydges Centre, a children’s home outside Nairobi that provides love, care and education for street children who otherwise face bleak and frightening futures. The center, named after Bob and Nancy Brydges, runs primarily on donations from individual and organizational contributors. Both are retired from careers: Nancy as a substitute teacher in the White Bear school district and Bob as an IT executive for Burlington Northern Railway. They keep
busy fundraising and volunteering in several ministries. Bob also served as executive pastor at Rockpoint Church in Lake Elmo. After taking a hiatus due to the pandemic, the husband-andwife team plan a fall FunDrive at Top Golf in Brooklyn Center Nov. 6. You don’t have to be a golfer to enjoy the festivities. “The goal is to raise $40,000,” Nancy said. “This will help the Centre finish 2022 and be in a good position to start 2023. Prices have skyrocketed in Kenya for basic needs of the children. We are in dire need of funds to pay school fees.” Their mission is to help children become productive Kenyan citizens with a strong, Christian faith to guide them
through life. The home is purposefully not called an orphanage because children are members of a family. When they walk through the center’s gate, children find a family within, ready to provide the love, care, nourishment, educa-
tion and encouragement they need to thrive. “If these children hadn’t walked through our door, they would probably be dead,” noted Nancy. “We refer to it as moving them from hopelessness to hope at the Brydges Centre,” Bob added. Some are preteen girls rescued from arranged marriages; some came to the center as babies abandoned SEE BRYDGES CENTRE, PAGE 9A
Some residents and property owners will be receiving a letter from the city to let them know of upcoming street improvement projects in 2023. According to City Engineer and Public Works Director Jesse Farrell, during the upcoming months the city needs to prepare the necessary feasibility studies and hold public open houses and hearings so that residents and property owners can financially plan for assessments and provide input on any project. Also, the city will set up an informal field neighborhood meeting. The city has reviewed various streets within the city in consideration of improvements for 2023. Various criteria were used to consider streets, including field conditions, pavement condition rating, utility issues, years of service for existing city streets since their last improvement, type of work needed, traffic volumes and potential projects or development in the area. Potential streets considered for improvements in 2023: • Elmwood Street - Stockdale Road to Clover Avenue. • Alpine Avenue - County Road F to south limits. • Horizon Street - Alpine Avenue to Centerville Road. Additionally, pavement replacement is being proposed for: • Lily Pond Trail: County Road F – Lily Pond Park. • Fire station parking lots: One lot north of the fire station, and two lots south of the fire station. “Both of those are kind of budget dependent as long as we get good bids back, so those are on the block until we see what numbers we get back (for the cost),” City Administrator Kevin Watson said at the Oct.18 City Council meeting. According to Farrell, the conceptual project cost estimate is $1.6 million and will need further refinement following preliminary design efforts. Financing for this project would be a combination of city funds and assessments to benefiting property owners. The 2023 proposed CIP budget has the following funds allocated toward this project: • $200,000 – Street department parking lots and trails fund. • $600,000 – Franchise fees. • $250,000 – Special assessments. • $100,000 – Water utility fund. • $100,000 – Storm sewer utility fund. • $100,000 – Sewer utility fund. The City Council voted unanimously (Council Members Erik Goebel and Patricia Youker were absent) to order a feasibility study for the 2023 Street Improvements Project. Also, the council accepted the proposal from Short Elliott Hendrickson, Inc.on an hourly cost, not to exceed $81,900, to complete the feasibility study. “We did have a lengthy workshop discussing not just this project, which there seemed to be a consensus, but also looking into the future on what the plan will be moving forward with trails, parking lots, as well as future street projects.” Mayor Heidi Gunderson said.
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