Great River Greening is an environmental non-profit organization, based in Saint Paul, who inspires and leads local communities throughout Minnesota in restoring the land and water that enrich our lives. We have work alongside with nearly 40,000 volunteers in removing invasive species and plant native trees, flowers, and grasses for over 20 years.

They are looking forward to the restoration event at Allemansrätt Wilderness Park in Lindström next Saturday, September 30 (National Public Lands Day) from 9:00 am – 1:00 pm! This is less than 30 minutes away. We will have some NJROTC Cadets and Sargent Edington from North Branch High School participate the event.  

There is an open invitation for all  city staff, friends, and family to participate in the event! Click on the event brochure Event Brochure

Please register at the following link:

https://www.greatrivergreening.org/locations/allemansratt-wilderness-park/   

The event is open to all ages. Children must be supervised. Light snacks and FREE lunch will be provided.

For more information please contact:

May Yang
Community Outreach Coordinator :: Great River Greening
p. 651-272-3993 | myang@greatrivergreening.org | www.greatrivergreening.org
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The City of North Branch has 105 miles of local streets and road infrastructure to maintain. This consists of 70 miles of asphalt pavement, and 35 miles of gravel. Of the 70 miles that are currently paved, 17.1 are state aid and 52.9 are non-state aid.  Prior to 2009, the City had approximately $350,000.00 in our annual street budget for asphalt overlays, milling, full depth reconstruction and sealcoating to maintain our “non-state aid streets”.  In 2009, this amount was cut from the budget and never replaced. The net effect of this funding loss is that City’s roads have continued to deteriorate over the past 8-9 years and the City has fallen further behind in preserving this expensive asset. 

Funding local street rehabilitation is not a one-time need. It’s a permanent need that must be addressed in order to preserve this huge asset. Assuming streets are overlaid once every 20 years, the City of North Branch should be overlaying 2.65 miles per year so all 52.9 miles of the currently paved non-state aid street system is overlaid once every 20 years. This equates to a cost of approximately $1,250,000 per year. As more streets are constructed, the number of paved streets increases adding to the total of streets that should overlaid on a regular schedule.  There are currently 17.9 miles of paved local streets that are over 20 years old, and have never been overlaid.   As the years pass, more streets will reach that 20 year mark thereby adding to the total that should be overlaid.

Franchise fees have steadily become very popular for partially funding pavement management plans.  A comprehensive pavement plan requires several funding sources, including state aid, levy dollars, and franchise fees.  With regard to franchise fees, they spread costs out to everyone over a longer period of time and provide a dedicated fee to ensure local control of the pavement revenue, and that repairs stay on schedule with the City’s plan for managing the condition of its roads.

The City is encouraging residents and property owners to attend one of the upcoming citywide community meetings.  The information meetings will feature a presentation about the use of franchise fees as a way to fund road improvements.  They will also provide time for questions from participants.  The first opportunity to learn more about this topic will be held on Wednesday, October 18, 2017, at North Branch City Hall.  The meeting will begin at 3:00 pm and it is expected to last two hours.  The second opportunity will be held on Thursday, October 26, 2017 at North Branch City Hall.  This meeting will begin at 6:30 pm and it is also expected to last two hours. 

The City Council will hold its formal public hearing on Tuesday, November 14, 2017, with their decision expected to be made at its regular meeting on Tuesday, November 28, 2017.

Contact:

The North Branch Police Department is currently accepting applications for volunteer Police Reserve Officers. Police Reserve Officers are non-licensed and non-paid volunteers who are willing to provide volunteer hours at the North Branch Police Department on a regular basis. To learn more about this program and how to apply, please visit: