2017-07 Experience EaganExperience Eagan • July/August 2017 • 1
July/August 2017
Administrator Recognized as Best in the Business
Eagan’s City Administrator, Dave Osberg, is the best in the state. He was
awarded the Dr. Robert A. Barrett Award for Management Excellence by
the Minnesota City/County Management Association (MCMA). The award
is for the city manager of the year and upon receiving it, Osberg was also
credited with building strong ties with people and his passion for the pro-
fession.
Osberg has served as a city administrator for 36 years in four differ-
ent Minnesota cities including Waterville and St. James, before
a 24-year stint in Hastings as city manager. He came to
Eagan in 2013 to succeed Eagan’s long time Administrator
Tom Hedges, who retired that year.
“I am floored and deeply humbled to receive this
honor from my colleagues,” said Osberg. He also
noted that he was deeply moved by the fact that his
family, the City Council and a number of City staff all
travelled some distance to attend the award presenta-
tion in Nisswa, MN.
“When looking at Dave’s entire body of work, it
became obvious that he embodies the purpose of the
award by being a great role model, leader and supporter
for the profession of local government management,” says Oakdale City Administrator Bart Fischer, who
led the award selection committee.
The Barrett Award recognizes respected leaders with a track-record of supporting those entering the local
government profession. In addition, the award goes to those individuals who exhibit effective and ethical
administration.
Among numerous supportive comments submitted by Eagan employees, many indicated that Dave is
as comfortable talking to a maintenance tech as a city council member. One commented, he “facilitates
a group discussion without dominating it.” Building on that, the Executive Director of the League of
Minnesota Cites, Dave Unmacht, remarked that Osberg is “respectful to everyone” and “has the unique
ability to relate to every generation.”
“Each school day we were expected to hang our
coats and hats on hooks on both sides of the hall-
way,” recalls Dick Reid, a life-long Eagan resident
who attended District 12 school, beginning in 1947.
“There were eight grades. In the front of the room
was a stove which heated the building very well.
The teacher sat at a table a few feet in front of the
stove where she would call up the students of each
class to sit.”
The Eagan Historical Society is seeking your memo-
ries of school days in Eagan’s school districts 11, 12,
13, 14, 104 and 106. If you have recollections, images
or other items you’re willing to share contact
historicalsociety@cityofeagan.com or (651) 675-
5038. Those interested in Eagan history are wel-
come to join the group at its meetings at 3:30 p.m.
the first Tuesday of each month. Attend a 1914 Town
Hall Open House, dates are listed on the web at
www.cityofeagan.com/history.
Recycling Makes a Splash
by Erin Bucki, Student, School of Environmental Studies
Cascade Bay
Waterpark is a
popular sum-
mer destination,
and now there’s
one more thing
to get excited
about—recy-
cling! This year,
Cascade Bay is
introducing all-
in-one trash and
recycling containers to make it easy for visitors to
discard items properly.
The waterpark also offers delicious snacks and cool
drinks, many of which are served in recyclable mate-
rials. With the new recycling containers, everything
goes into one, single recycling stream. This means
plastic, aluminum, paper and cardboard can all be
reused. To make it even easier, the containers have
labels with pictures to indicate which types of mate-
rials are accepted. By paying attention to the signs
on the containers, guests can relax on the lazy river
knowing they are doing their part to keep the Earth
and all of its water clean and healthy.
Plaza Honors Administrator Past
In December, a quiet ceremony months in the making took place
at the 1914 Town Hall. A small group gathered to accept a $100,000
donation from John Nasseff, philanthropist and a chief executive
of West Publishing and his wife, Helene Houle. The donation was
made to build a plaza honoring retired Eagan City Administrator, Tom
Hedges.
The “Tom Hedges Plaza at Old Town Hall” was constructed and dedi-
cated earlier this year. It honors a friendship and mentorship forged
over decades between Hedges and Nasseff.
“Eagan is what it is today, in large part, because of Tom Hedges,”
said Nasseff. “Tom’s leadership, work ethic and can-do approach is why West Publishing came here, and it’s
why Helene and I wanted to honor Tom with a plaza in his name, while at the same time helping Town Hall
continue to recover from the fire with new displays.”
In late 1970s Eagan, Hedges, the relatively new Eagan City Administrator, got a call about a publishing firm
interested in relocating to his town. A series of somewhat covert follow-up meetings occurred, one was
with John Nasseff.
That meeting became a turning point in the development of Eagan, eventually bringing nearly 7,000 people
each day to work at West Publishing (now part of Thomson Reuters).
The Eagan City Council formally received the donation in December, and both Mayor Mike Maguire and
Hedges were greatly appreciative.
“I am extremely humbled and we are honored as a family to accept this recognition. I didn’t expect this,”
Hedges said. “I am excited about the history and how this benefits telling Eagan’s story inside Town Hall.”
The plaza contains a marker dedicated to Hedges’ accomplishments as well as the history of the 1914 Town
Hall. The Eagan Historical Society chair Mary Ellen Voracek is pleased that the plaza location honors Tom
Hedges and also creates a “wonderful outdoor place to hold events and to simply sit and reflect on Eagan’s
former Administrator and the City’s storied past.”
In Search of Early Eagan
School Days Memories
Photo by Al Kiecker
District 11 Schoolhouse (Old Blackdog School)
Dave Osberg
Debbie Hedges, John Nasseff, Tom Hedges, Helene Houle
Experience Eagan • July/August 2017 • 2
Build Community in Your Neighborhood
Helping you understand how the City uses your
taxes to provide services is a goal we’re committed
to. We’ve conducted budget open houses, hosted
cable TV forums and held online chats to help give
insight to our City process.
For this newsletter, we spoke with the City’s
Finance Director, Tom Pepper, and asked about
changes that are underway this year as we tran-
sition to a two-year budget cycle for 2018-2019.
Here’s what he had to say:
We think creating two-year budgets will result in (a)
time savings for departmental staff preparing bud-
gets and (b) a more thorough review of the capital
projects and equipment segments of the budget.
With respect to time savings, it’s clear the staff
time required to prepare two years’ worth of bud-
gets at once is less than the time required to go
through the entire budget process each year. An
obvious potential drawback of multi-year budget-
ing is the uncertainty of future years’ revenue and
expenses. But, in City government, most of our ser-
City Moves to Two-Year Budget
Include E-TV
in your Summer Plans
vices and related costs are relatively static from year
to year, and the primary revenue source—property
tax—is stable and predictable, unlike income tax
and sales tax that other governmental units rely on,
as they tend to swing with the economy. In the end,
we don’t think the time savings in the off-years will
compromise the integrity of future years’ budget
estimates.
In the off-years for operating budgets, the focus
will be on two years’ worth of vehicles, equipment,
infrastructure and other capital needs. Historically,
the time pressures of operating budget adjustments
leading up to final approval in December have put a
squeeze on the budget team’s capacity to thorough-
ly review and analyze capital requests. We hope a
stronger focus on capital projects in the off-years
will result in even better management of City assets.
More budget information will be provided
throughout the year on social media, the web-
site and in future newsletters. Questions? Use
the form at www.cityofeagan.com/budget.
Bored with the summer TV lineup?
Tune into Eagan-TV for programs
that are close to home. Watch
Eagan’s July 4th Funfest Parade and
Ambassador Coronation. Each week we
present music from Market Fest. All are on
the community channel, found on Comcast 20 and
CenturyLink channels 8838/8338.
Eagan-TV’s public access channels – Comcast 15 and
CenturyLink channels 8834/8334 are where you’ll
find new topic blocks like:
◗ Minnesota music - Minnesingers, Songcasters and
Baby Blue Arts
◗ Movie review shows - Cinemaniacs, Reel Reviews,
Cinema Judge and Reeling: The Movie Review Show
◗ Home improvement - The Wood Whisperer and
The Garage with Steve Butler.
◗ Cooking shows - Midwest Grilling and Eat Well,
Eat Happy.
E-TV Studio Supervisor Jeff Ongstad says, “There’s
something for everyone on our channels – if not,
we’ll teach you how to make your own program.”
Classes are offered in videography, editing, and stu-
dio production.
Volunteer. We’re always looking for crewmembers
for sports, studio productions and concerts. Sign up
at www.eagan-tv.com/volunteer.
Summer video camps are offered for kids ages 10-14.
Some spaces remain in July and August.
For more information, check out our website at
www.eagan-tv.com or call (651) 848-4696.
Neighborhoods that are well informed and
engaged are stronger and safer and make better
places to live, work and play. That’s why we’re
always looking for the best ways to get informa-
tion out to you, our residents. One of the newest
tools is through Nextdoor, the free private social
network designed to bring together neighbors and
communities.
When the City of Eagan joined the conversation
on Nextdoor last fall, there were 5,200 residents
signed up. Today, that number has grown to more
than 9,200 residents.
Nextdoor has become a valuable tool to build a
more connected community. You may have seen
the news story in April that highlighted how the
Eagan Police successfully found a missing woman
and also solved a vandalism case thanks to resi-
dent tips that came in after an officer posted on
Nextdoor. We’ve also been able to share informa-
tion of particular interest to Eagan residents, like:
◗ Specifics about construction projects or road
closures with the impacted neighborhoods
◗ Timely crime prevention alerts to specific
areas
◗ Opportunities for engagement, like applying
to serve on a council advisory commission,
park project open houses and community
events
◗ Details on water quality with residents in the
neighborhoods around Thomas Lake
The success of Nextdoor is dependent on residents
signing-up to be part of the online network—the
more people who participate, the stronger the
resource. Everyone benefits from stronger, safer
neighborhoods where people look out for one
another. Not to mention, Nextdoor is a great place
to post about everything from your upcoming
garage sale or recommendations for a plumber to
safety tips or organizing a block party.
To set-up your free account, go to www.nextdoor.
com. During the registration process, you’ll be asked
to verify your address in one of several ways so you
can be assigned to your neighborhood group. Then
begin connecting with your neighbors and Eagan
staff on Nextdoor!
Lead – Is it a Drinking
Water Issue in Eagan?
For more than a year, citizens of Flint, MI have
struggled to get clean, safe water to drink. The City
switched its water source from the Detroit water
supply to the Flint River, causing a number of health
issues. Most notably was a high concentration of
lead that leached from Flint’s old water service lines
into the drinking water and into citizens’ homes.
Could this be an issue here? It is highly unlikely. Lead
is NOT an issue in Eagan for the following reasons:
◗ Eagan is relatively new, as are its pipes
◗ NO lead service lines are known in the City
◗ The City has a corrosion control program
(which helps minimize any leaching)
◗ The City has and continues to monitor for lead
and many other substances
If you want to learn more about lead in drinking
water visit www.awwa.org/resources-tools/water-
knowledge/lead.aspx.
View Eagan’s full water quality report at www.
cityofeagan.com/DrinkingWater. Other questions?
Contact Jon Eaton at (651) 675-5200.
Learning is always more fun when the lessons are
interactive and delivered by puppets. Join Eagan’s
Puppet Wagon in a park near you this summer.
Preschoolers (and older kids too!) and their parents
will enjoy fun lessons and crafts—each week will
feature a new theme, puppet mail, dancing and
more at one of Eagan’s many parks.
See full schedule at www.cityofeagan.com/puppets.
Laugh, Learn, Play with Eagan Puppet Wagon
Photo by Mick Richards
Experience Eagan • July/August 2017 • 3
Seasoned Squad Tackles Record Construction Year
Prime Address for Prime Therapeutics
Prime Therapeutics, a Twin Cities pharmacy benefit
company broke ground on its new facility in north-
east Eagan in mid-June. The site will consolidate
many of their current operations into 40,000 square
feet on roughly 40 acres south of Interstate 494,
east of Dodd Road – adjacent to the new Minnesota
Vikings development that is currently underway.
At the groundbreaking, Gordy Stofer, vice presi-
dent of office development for United Properties
– the project’s real estate developer said, “We’re
extremely proud to be working with the Prime
Therapeutics team to help them bring their vision of
a more efficient and consolidated workplace to life.
[This] is one of the largest office projects currently
being built in the Twin Cities area.”
Jim DuCharme, Prime’s President and CEO com-
mented, “Today’s groundbreaking represents a
major milestone in Prime’s evolution as a com-
pany... we’re thrilled to be staying in Eagan, a city
that is home to so many of our Minnesota-based
employees, as it provides the skilled and vibrant
workforce our company needs to thrive.”
In his comments at the groundbreaking, Mayor
Maguire thanked Prime for choosing Eagan nearly
20 years ago and for continuing to choose Eagan.
He noted, “There is a lot to be proud of in Eagan
right now from growth in healthcare and technol-
ogy jobs, to new retail and entertainment. I know I
speak for the entire City Council when I say that we
have always envisioned major quality developments
in this sector, and you and United Properties are
making that happen.”
Eagan Leads the Pack for
Residential Construction in May
So says a May 30, Finance & Commerce article
headline. The article features Eagan heavily and we
couldn’t have said it better. Excerpts include:
Eagan accounted for roughly 45 percent of May’s
multifamily units. That includes the Affinity at Eagan
project, a 174-unit, four-story independent senior
living complex near a Red Line bus rapid transit stop
and the Twin Cities Premium Outlets mall.
Also reflected in the [Keystone] May report is
Headwaters Development’s 95-unit, 130,000-square-
foot Stonehaven of Eagan Senior Living project
(near the Fire Safety Center at Yankee Doodle Road
near Lexington Avenue). The project will include 80
independent- and assisted-living units, and 15 mem-
ory care apartments.
United Properties’ 24-acre “Quarry Road Mixed
Use” development at 1555 Yankee Doodle Road is in
the pipeline. The site is a third of a mile west of the
Central Park Commons mixed-use development.
The Quarry Road development includes United
Properties’ 96-unit Applewood Pointe senior hous-
ing cooperative on the northwest portion of the
site, and StuartCo’s 183-unit, four-story apartment
building on the northeast portion.
In addition, Nebraska-based Commercial Investment
Properties has a deal to buy a property within the
Cedar Grove Redevelopment Area from the City
for a four-story, 150-unit market-rate apartment
building and a 7,650-square-foot restaurant. The
purchase price is $1.725 million, according to City
What’s Developing? Eagan is Hot Property
documents. The project site is bordered by Eagan
Outlets Parkway, Rahn Road, Cedar Grove Parkway
and Fen Way.
Jill Hutmacher, Eagan’s community development
director, said the market is “responding favorably
to the development that has happened here,”
between the outlet mall and the bus rapid transit
station.
The Minnesota Vikings are building a new headquar-
ters facility at Dodd Road and Lone Oak Parkway.
The Vikings development is expected to eventually
include up to 1,000 housing units & other new uses
on the former Northwest Airlines headquarters
campus.
“There is a lot happening and investors want to go
where other investment is happening,” Hutmacher
said.
Eagan led the metro with 11 permits for 408 new
units. Other multifamily hotspots in May were
Lakeville (45 permits, 196 units), Shoreview (one
permit, 134 units), St. Louis Park (five permits, 115
units) and Minneapolis (15 permits for 61 units).
Current Development Map
Don’t forget you can stay top of all the latest
development projects in Eagan with the Current
Development Map on the City website at cityofea-
gan.com/development. The map provides the
basic facts on each project as well as links to more
detailed planning documents plus photos and ren-
derings of the final project.
On pace for a record breaking year, by project valu-
ation, Eagan already has $215 million in new con-
struction permits underway in 2017—and it’s only
mid-year. The previous annual high valuation mark
was in 2013 at $218 million. As Chief Building Official,
Dale Schoeppner says, “This is NOT a typical year.”
Talking with the City’s building inspectors, it is
quickly clear that all of this building and construc-
tion has had a major impact on their daily workloads
and no end is in sight. “I haven’t seen this level
of building activity before, and I’ve been here 28
years,” says Schoeppner, “but it’s exciting.”
Daily on-site visits, and often by more than one
inspector, are required at “the biggies” (Viking
Lakes, Prime Therapeutics, Central Park Commons,
Quarry Road addition, CityVue, etc.). Eagan’s team
of building inspectors also note there are still the
smaller and more routine projects that simply can’t
be overlooked. As noted, new residential construc-
tion, especially senior housing and apartments are
flourishing (see above development story).
It doesn’t stop there. “Remodeling permits are
booming too,” says residential inspector Terry
Zelenka. “Absolutely no one seems to be leaving
[their homes in] Eagan!” he laughs.
Fortunately, the City has a strong, stable and devot-
ed team of inspectors with years of field experi-
ence in the trades. Lead by Schoeppner, this squad
of seven has all been together at least 15-years.
New recruit Mike Grannes is the exception, joining
Eagan just a year ago as one-of-two Senior Building
Inspectors (Craig Novyczak is the other). “I came
from working at another City, in part, because
Eagan has such a great reputation in this industry.
I knew any group that’s been together this long
and are as good at their jobs as they are,” Grannes
continues, “is a team I wanted to join—it’s a great
bunch of guys and a solid team.”
Each inspector has a broad range of knowledge
with a specialized focus — Scott Peterson on
plumbing and mechanical, Tom Miklya, Jeff Wheeler
and Terry Zelenka on residential, and the two
Senior Inspectors specialize in commercial. All will
say they are a strong cross-functional team. They
provide back-up, cover double-bookings and vaca-
tions, and even help with the weekend projects at
each other’s homes. “I guess we don’t get enough
of each other during the week,” Novyczak quips.
Mike, Terry, Tom, Craig, Scott, Jeff and Dale
2040 Comprehensive
Guide Plan
We Need to Hear From You
The Comprehensive Plan is a document
that helps implement the long-range
vision of Eagan. It addresses land use,
housing, transportation, water resources,
parks and trails, resiliency, and economic
competitiveness.
We need your help in identifying what
areas in Eagan you think are already great
and what locations could be improved in
the future.
Like it!
Needs Work!
Access the interactive map at
www.cityofeagan.com/2040plan.
Groundbreaking at Prime Therapeutics
Moving earth at Quarry Road Addition
PRSRT STDU.S. POSTAGEPAIDTWIN CITIES MNPERMIT NO. 4902* * * * * ECRWSS * *Residential Postal Customer3830 Pilot Knob RoadEagan, Minnesota 55122Page 1
Administrator Recognized as Best in the Business
Plaza Honors Administrator Past
In Search of Early Eagan School Days Memories
Recycling Makes a Splash
Page 2
Include E-TV in your Summer Plans
Build Community in Your Neighborhood
Laugh, Learn, Play with Eagan Puppet Wagon
Lead – Is it a Drinking Water Issue in Eagan?
City Moves to Two-Year Budget
Page 3
What’s Developing? Eagan is Hot Property
Seasoned Squad Tackles Record Construction Year
2040 Comprehensive Guide Plan – We Need to Hear
From You
Page 4
Eagan Funfest Back with a Bang!
Show Up, Share Your Pics, National Night Out
Market Fest Theme Nights
Ready for Food Trucks?
New! Movie in the Park
Mayor
Mike Maguire
Councilmembers
Paul Bakken Cyndee Fields
Gary Hansen Meg Tilley
City Administrator Dave Osberg
(651) 675-5000 • (651) 454-8535 TTY
www.cityofeagan.com
facebook.com/CityofEagan
@CityofEagan
Eagan Funfest – Back with a Bang!
Thanks to a diehard group
of local volunteers and some
new, Eagan’s Funfest tradition carries on. Come
enjoy two days of festivities, including the parade,
live music, classic car show and fireworks, over July
3 and 4.
Monday, July 3
Funfest opens ............................................4:00 p.m.
Carnival ....................................4:00 p.m. - Midnight
Red Cross Bloodmobile ...........2:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Bike Parade ..............................5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Texas Hold’em .......................6:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Entertainment .........................6:00 p.m. - Midnight
Featuring “Prince” tribute band Chase and Ovation
Tuesday, July 4
Back with a Bang Parade .........................10:00 a.m.
Carnival ...........................................Noon - Midnight
Royal Brain Freeze .....................................1:00 p.m.
Army Reserve Band .................2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Yellow Ribbon Car Show .........1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Bingo ........................................1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Red Cross Bloodmobile ...........2:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Texas Hold’em .......................6:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Nightly Entertainment ............6:00 p.m. - Midnight
Featuring Trainwreck Trio
Fireworks ..................................................10:00 p.m.
Monday, July 10
Eagan Ambassador Coronation .................7:00 p.m.
Additional volunteers are still needed. Visit www.
eaganfunfest.org/volunteer and sign-up to help out
at the parade, the festival or the fireworks.
Ready for Food Trucks?
Are your taste buds revving up
for summer food truck fare? Put
them in high gear and head to
the Eagan Food Truck Festival on
Friday, August 18 from 4:00 to
8:30 p.m. at the Festival Grounds.
The event promises to be a flavor-filled Friday
evening with 20+ food trucks representing tastes
from across the globe. There will be music by Boogie
Wonderland and Omission Republic to make you move
and stay hungry for more. Beverages include beer
and wine options this year.
See details at www.cityofeagan.com/foodtruck.
Friday, August 18
4:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Festival Grounds at Eagan Central Park
1501 Central Parkway
Show Up, Share Your Pics, National Night Out
New! Movie in the Park
Sit under the stars while watching movie stars.
Eagan’s Movie in the Park will play the family
friendly movie “Trolls” and children can take part
in color-filled activities, befitting the troll theme.
Movie in the Park is a free event located at Trapp
Farm Park. The movie will start at dusk but feel free
to come at 7:00 p.m. to enjoy light refreshments
and games. Don’t forget to bring a blanket or lawn
chair to enjoy the show!
Saturday, August 26
7:00 p.m.
Trapp Farm Park - 841 Wilderness Run Road
Theme Nights
Is Market Fest on your calendar?
Every Wednesday from 4:00 p.m.
- 8:00 p.m. through August, stop
by Market Fest for fresh & local products, great
live music and fun community activities. A special
theme night is held every month.
On July 12, it’s Classic Car Show & Oldies Music
Night! Check out all the hot-rods to vote for your
favorite and enjoy music by The Elvis Experience and
The Rockin’ Hollywoods.
Health & Wellness Night is August 9. You can visit
with vendors, participate in the blood drive, enjoy
$1 sundaes and get a free health screening. Or
come inside the Community Center at 6 p.m. for a
special screening of the movie Just Eat It about the
issue of wasted food.
Find a complete list of dates, music and activities at
www.cityofeagan.com/marketfest.
Nearly 200 National Night Out parties are planned
in Eagan on Tuesday, August 1. Is there one in your
neighborhood?
Find out if your neighborhood is planning a get-
together at www.cityofeagan.com/NNO, we’ve
posted a map of registered parties.
Not seeing one near you? Create and register an
event and we’ll try to stop by. Police and Fire
Department personnel visit as many neighbor-
hoods as they can from 5:30-9:30 p.m. each year.
If you are posting photos on social media, share
them using #EaganNNO.
Photo by Mark Esslinger