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ON THE GREAT RIVER ROAD
Vol. 19 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2008 Newsletter of the City of Otsego
Jessica Stockamp
, ,..,_
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becomes Otsego's
_ _ third mayor
E Former Councilmember Jessica Stockamp
� a
. _ was sworn in as Mayor of Otsego, replacing
- . ,, ,,�„ �' "� "' t ,r '—ems°"" ► Larry Fournier on June 23, 2008.Fournier
°t" 't resigned because he was moving out of the
`` city. The City Council appointed Stockamp
1:0-.'32taciassic
g flailing Gereinony to serve the remaining six months as mayor.
Car Show She is the third person to serve as mayor
a 1
Anita lsner Bell Dance Troupe since Otsego became a city in 1990
StlitliiBelly following Norman F. Freske and Fournier.
11-4 Horse Drawn Wagon Rides The City Council also appointed Dan
11-4 A11ie's Robots Scharber to serve the remaining six months
` N. 11-3 Teensie the Clown of Stockamp's term on the Council.
, al
11-5 JG's Pon'Bides Mayor Stockamp has been involved in
community service since moving to Otsego
a` 12-1 Crunch(by Car Show) in 2001 with her husband and three children.
a ' -4'F!lingo AIlIiliary She has served on the Park and Recreation
12-4 Walton's Rollo Petting Zoo Commission, volunteered for city events and
et / has co-chaired the Otsego Elementary
, , 12:15-1:15 Smithson's Band—Blue Grass Band School Carnival for three years. She runs a
: 1-5 Michael the Clown day care business in her home and is
1:30-2:15 Otsego Royalty Coronation concerned about providing a safe
X110 Gal Show Trophy Presentation environment for children and all citizens.
"I'm looking forward to serving as Mayor.I
t
.11 r2 30 3:30 lr>nadllo lamp" B1Iles and want Otsego to continue to be a great place and
1 3:30.5 flize—flock Band C. a safe place to live because I want to raise my
Itit4,,, family here,"she stated.She wants everyone to
,; i " feel like they have a voice in the city.%........,
tl
LPra�rl�Park
,, Filing opens for city offices
• 8899 Nubia Ott o t` Otsego residents wishing to file an
' .� 4. :° - +H Affidavit of Candidacy for the positions of
mayor or city councilmember may do so
Plan to attend the Otsego Festival from 8 a.m.Tuesday, August 26, 2008 until
Food, displays, games, entertainment, activities and fun will fill the at 5 p.m. Tuesday, September 9, 2008 during
regular office hours at Otsego City Hall.
day at the Otsego Festival on Saturday, September 13thin Prairie Park.
Positions are open for one four-year mayor
It kicks off with the opening flag ceremony at 10 a.m. and continues term and two four-year city council terms.
until 5 p.m. There is no entry fee for the Festival and parking is free. Election will be November 4, 2008 in
It's a great day of family entertainment close to home.
Volunteers are needed to help with set up, clean up and all conjunction with the Minnesota the State
throughout the day. Contact Rose Cassady(763-441-8769 or email: General Election. There is a$2.00 filing fee.
rosday@msn.com)for information and to volunteer to help with the For more information please contact City
Clerk Judy Hudson at City Hall. .....rs
great Otsego get-together. w�
Greetings from the mayor ;
With this being my first article as the new Mayor of Otsego, I would like to
introduce myself to all of you. My name is Jessica Stockamp. I was elected to the NJ 0 ' 'E C
J
City Council in 2004 and am now only the third Mayor of Otsego. I was chosen by
the City Council in June to complete Mayor Larry Fournier's term, which will end from the
December 31, 2008. I feel it is a great privilege to represent the people on "The ,\ O R
Great River Road".
As summer is coming to an end, it brings many changes to the city of Otsego—one
of them being the end of construction to Trunk Highway 101. This improvement to
TH 101 through our city may have been more difficult for some than others, but in by Mayor Jessica Stocicamp
the end we have a much safer roadway and better access to our city. Another change
will be the grand opening of SuperTarget in October, which will be a great asset to — —
our community providing much needed local retail goods and services. Along with
SuperTarget, we also welcome TCF Bank, Klein Bank and Otsego Autocare, which will be located just south of
SuperTarget, off of Parrish Avenue(CSAH 42) and 87th Street. Thank you to all of these new businesses for making
Otsego your home.
Please plan on joining us for the 7th annual Otsego Festival"The Great Otsego Get Together". This year the Festival
will be on Saturday, September 13, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The Otsego Festival keeps getting bigger and better with
each passing year and there is something for everyone and every family! I look forward to meeting you all at the
Festival.
A reminder: School is back in session starting September 2"d. We have many young children walking and taking the
bus each day. Drivers make sure you are obeying all traffic laws as the safety of our kids is our number one priority.
The City Council has begun working on the 2009 budget and we are working hard to keep the city portion of your taxes
low in comparison with surrounding communities while delivering efficient, quality services.. More information on the
tax levy will be printed in the next Otsego View.
Lets all do our part to continue to make Otsego a great place to live! �..�
City staff volunteers assist � Think before you flush
Hugo after tornadoHomeowners can minimize the risk of
After the city of Hugo suffered a devastating tornado sewer backups by keeping trash out of sewer
over Memorial Day weekend, a lot of volunteers pitched in �� and septic systems.
to help them recover. Among these volunteers were two Paper towels, sanitizing wipes, shop
employees of Otsego. City Administrator Mike Robertson towels, rags, diapers, feminine products
was there the Friday after the tornado. He assisted Hugo and other miscellaneous items need to be
City Administrator Mike Ericson by performing a lot of disposed of through routine garbage service.
routine administrative tasks that Ericson had not been able Grease should not be put down drains. It will solidify
to do while he was managing the response to the storm. further down the line causing clogs.
Robertson answered a backlog of email, mainly providing Flammable and hazardous material such as paint,
would be volunteers sites and times where they could go to thinners, oil and fuels must also be kept out of sewer lines.
help. He also answered media inquiries and prepared a few Use detergents that do not contain phosphorus. Removal
items for an upcoming Council meeting. Robertson said it of phosphorus adds to wastewater treatment expense and is
was a good learning experience but he hopes he never has required through municipal wastewater treatment facilities
to use what he learned in Otsego. to keep our state's water clean.
Once the cleanup of the damage was done, the Avoid planting trees near your yard shut off, your sewer
rebuilding began. That meant Hugo had to process a lot of service, and over or near septic systems. Root intrusion is a
building permits so they sent out a request for experienced recurring maintenance expense and a significant cause of
Permit Technicians. Otsego Permit Technician Barb sewer back ups.
Williams spent two days in Hugo helping out Hugo Permit It is prohibited by city ordinance to discharge sump
Technician Debi Close. Since Hugo uses the same permit pumps and surface run-off water into the city sanitary
processing software that Otsego does, Barb was able to sewer system.
issue building permits and enter them into the system
without much direction. She also answered phones and Primary Election
helped to schedule inspections. Many of the contractors
who work in Otsego also work in Hugo, so when they Tuesday, September 4, 2008
entered the Hugo City Hall and saw Barb, they wondered if 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
they'd gone to the wrong city. Otsego Public Works Building
devastating events like the Hugo tornado occur g
everyone wonders how they can help. Otsego was happy 13400-90th St.NE
to assist Hugo in whatever way it could. (North of City Hall in new building)
Otsego logo created istoricalBy Jacquie Rognii .
When Otsego became a city in 1990,the Otsego Vision ii
it
Committee held a contest to create a logo for the city. Otsego
i Vision volunteers organized to envision possibilities for the
city.The group found that Otsego suffered from a lack of
identity as perceived by others as well as its own residents. County Road 39 runs east/west CITY OF
Establishing a sense of identity was a priority of the group. across the city along the OTS EGO
Mississippi and is part of the
Contest entries were viewed and the winning entry, national Great River Road,a
submitted by Bruce and Wendy Danks,was chosen by the scenic route that follows the river
newly elected city councilmembers. along its entire course.
Otsego Planning Commissioner Pam Black,who was a The river road was the first county road in Wright County,
volunteer member of Otsego Vision recalls that"We were following an old winding Indian trail along the river.In 1855 the
trying to show our character,focusing on the two rivers, when Wright County Commission allowed bills totaling$126.52 for
we didn't really have much of a city then." planning and constructing the road that went from Monticello to
City of The chosen logo included Waterville at the mouth of the Crow River.In a simplified
OTSEGO an outline of the state of version of the city logo,the Great River Road is represented by a
Minnesota with the solid line under the river waves.
ON THE GREAT RIVER ROAD Mississippi River and a star
In 1990 Otsego Vision had the newly chosen logo printed on
locating Otsego.The river was also represented by five stylized
waves on top of the words"ON THE GREAT RIVER ROAD." T-shirts,cardigan sweatshirts,bumper stickers,sweat shirts and
hats to promote the newly organized city. ..,......d
Water Tower No. 3 completed
Otsego's third water tower located east of Highway 101 ,
holds 1 million gallons, the same as water tower No.2 on , -, ,,,,,‘
the west side of the city near Interstate 94.These two
towers are at the same elevation.
The low bid for water tower No. 3 was approx. $1.9
million. It should be ready for service some time in July.
', It is able to provide service for the east side of the city but ,
��.
�r
� some daythe west side and east waters stems will be
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�� '.,,�r connected.
.. . . Water Tower No. 3 is needed for additional storage
during long hot dry periods when watering of lawns
increases and demand increases. It is also needed for
additional fire protection.
It is expected the city will not need another water tower
for at least 10 years. .......d
Water Tower No.3 Water Tower No. 1
McGruff Houses Needed Otsego Lions serving at Festival
A McGruff House is a resource for children who find Check out what the Otsego /1ON�
themselves in emergency or Lions are up to at the Otsego ( S
frightening situations, such as being Festival, Saturday, September � .. .�
bullied, followed or hurt. The program u . 13. They will be there selling r `'\
relies on participants who display the S steak sandwiches and hotdogs. €, ,3.
McGruff House sign in their windows Stop by to eat, say hi and get -.I, •1,'
24 hours a day and are generally information about the Otsego 'it, o�,,:
NNAT�
available to children in the area. "`�, -._�� Lions. This community service � /
Anyone who is 18 year or older can organization is looking forward ®`
volunteer by completing, signing and BicGRUFF to another year of service to the Otsego area. For more
returning an application which information on Otsego Lions call Ed at 763-565-7987 or
includes permission for a criminal join them the third Tuesday of each month at Rockwoods
history background check. All applicants will be screened, at 7:00 pm...w
and those who do not pass the background check will not
be accepted into the program. For more information
contact Jane Theisen 763-441-7059../....1
1
Water lawns conservatively
There are water-saving techniques that gardeners can utilize and still maintain their turf grass. North- \\:4\\:\ ( ei
grasses only need one inch of water(including rainfall)every seven to 10 days to keep the lawn green
during the growing season. Sandy soils do not hold water well,so water applied beyond the needs of the ''%
grass and the moisture-holding capacity of the soil simply moves down beyond the root zone. Splitting
water applications into two or three 1/2-inch applications per week may be better suited to sandy soils. ain
Heavy clay soils can also benefit from this schedule because they can not absorb water fast enough,
causing surface run off. Use a rain gauge or container to measure how much water is being applied.
Timing of Water Applications
The most efficient time to water lawns is probably early in the morning hours from 4 to 8 a.m. Less water is lost to
evaporation due to lower temperatures and less sunlight. Also, wind velocities are usually lower than they will be later in
the day so distribution is improved. Water demand on municipal systems is usually less at that time as well. Midday
watering is not as efficient because some of the water evaporates before getting into the soil.
Watering in the evening should be avoided if possible. If grass plants go into the night time hours wet, they will remain
wet for extended periods of time. This may favor the growth and development of turfgrass diseases.
Practices to Increase Turfgrass Drought Tolerance
.4,t • Choose tolerant species
tow Input town Cam • Avoid excessive growth stimulation
1 • Raise mowing height
• Allow turf to harden off into drought conditions
';i l i • Limit traffic
For more information on low input lawn care(LILaC) visit the University of
row, Minnesota Extension Service website. http://www.extension.umn.edu
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