2017-03 Experience EaganExperience Eagan • March/April 2017 • 1
March/April 2017
Experience Eagan
“A beautiful blend of community, art, and
nature...”
“A well-diversified city in terms of business and
residential...”
“Safe place to live and raise a family. Big city
conveniences with small town feel...”
These are a smattering of the comments shared by
your neighbors in the latest resident survey. The
analysis of the survey data demonstrates that—
overwhelmingly—the people of Eagan like living
here.
95% of Eagan residents surveyed last fall rate the
quality of life in Eagan as “excellent” or “good”
according to results presented by independent
research firm National Research Center (NRC) in
January 2017.
Eagan scores very well not just here at home, but
also in comparison to national benchmarks. An
astounding 98% of residents polled rate Eagan
“excellent” or “good” as a place to live. This num-
ber is between 10-19 points higher than NRC’s com-
parison set of more than 350 cities.
“When compared to national benchmarks, Eagan
residents rated their community and its gover-
nance significantly higher on more than two-thirds
of the survey items—in fact Eagan was among the
top 10 communities on 19 characteristics,” said
NRC Vice President Michelle Koybayashi. “These
results are especially impressive given that most of
the jurisdictions included in the national database
are high performing ones.”
City services were also highly rated by residents,
with Eagan’s police, fire, sewer services and parks
receiving an “excellent” or “good” rating by nine
in ten residents. In fact, the majority of city ser-
vices received approval ratings in the 80th or 90th
percentiles, and even traffic flow on major streets
received approval from 78% of residents, which
ranks Eagan ninth among the comparative cities
around the country.
“We will continue to focus on delivering high qual-
ity services at an affordable price,” said Eagan City
Administrator Dave Osberg. “These results help
staff and the City Council zero in on where we
can still improve and what’s important to our resi-
dents.”
New Website Friendlier
and Focused on You
After several months of monitoring how people use
our City Website, examining what you were trying
to accomplish and how you were getting to the
information you wanted most, we started building a
new cityofeagan.com. Work got more urgent as our
previous site began to deteriorate. On February 10,
the site went live—sort of. We’ll admit that the first
days were a bit bumpy, but things have smoothed
out, and work continues. We hope you like the
direction we’re headed.
The new site takes a “task-oriented” focus, to help
you more easily do what you came to the site for.
We grouped similar information together. For
example, when you need a dog license from the
Police Department, you’ll also find information
about the dog park from Parks & Recreation and the
City Code regarding how many pets you can have at
home. Speaking of “At Home” there is a whole sec-
tion of the resources you need inside your home, in
your yard and in your neighborhood – since these
are the places we all want to spend most of our
time.
We tried to make the site friendlier. Our staff is
friendly and helpful, so why shouldn’t our website
be? We worked to eliminate “government speak.”
We give you information in the way we would talk
to you at our front counter, on the phone or in your
yard. We really hope you’ll get to know the people
and the services we provide for you. By the way, our
new “Contact Us” section lets you search for any
staff member, facility or department.
The site is also built for mobility first. Since 57% of
visitors to our site come from a phone or tablet, we
worked to give you a better experience on the go.
We’ll continue to add new functions and tools.
We’ve added more maps, including some that con-
tain narrative and videos on specific topics like our
trail plowing. We have more calendars that help
you find all fitness classes, puppet shows or City
meetings. You can also easily subscribe to get email
updates on news, road construction and more.
More color, design and additional functions and
images will be added as well.
So let us know how we did. If you love the site,
we’d love to hear it. If you hate the site, or miss
something we dumped, we want to hear that too.
Send a message to Joanna at jfoote@cityofeagan.
com. Or talk to any of our staff the next time we’re
on the phone, at a City building or talking over the
back fence.
Survey Highlights
w Nearly all residents gave positive rat-
ings to the overall quality of life and
Eagan as a place to live.
w Resident loyalty is high, with 9 in 10
residents saying they plan to remain
in Eagan for the next five years.
w Safety ratings were strong with
almost all residents giving high
marks to the overall feeling of safety
and their feelings of safety in their
neighborhoods and in Eagan’s com-
mercial areas.
w 9 in 10 residents rated the overall
economic health as excellent or
good.
w The overall quality of City services
was rated as excellent or good by 9
in 10 respondents.
w More residents in Eagan than else-
where rated the value of services for
taxes paid, the overall direction of
the City, and their confidence in City
government favorably.
The Best of the Best
Residents weigh in on their hometown
Excellent
55%Good 40%
Fair 5%
Quality of Life
Quality of City Services
Excellent
36%
Good 58%
Fair 4%Poor 2%
Even with our strong approval results, there is still
opportunity for improvement. One of the interest-
ing findings of the 2016 study was that 68% of resi-
dents reported that they had not volunteered in
Eagan within the last year, meaning volunteerism
and community engagement may be an area ripe
for further study. Over the next few months, City
Council and staff will be digging deeper into the
data to build actionable goals based on the key
insights. We can then track the progress of these
goals when we do the next survey in 2018.
As Koybayashi noted “Even really good communi-
ties can get stronger.”
NRC sent written surveys last September to 1,500
randomly selected Eagan households. Nearly 500
residents responded, yielding a 95% confidence
level in the results with a margin of error of +/- 4%.
Full survey results are available at www/cityofea-
gan.com/survey.
Experience Eagan • March/April 2017 • 2
Our Utilities staff work hard to keep Eagan’s 302
miles of sewer pipe, 14 lift stations, and almost
20,000 service connections to the sanitary sewer in
good working order. However, disposable wipes are
causing problems for both the City and homeowners
when flushed down toilets. Wipes labeled as “flush-
able” or “septic safe” do not break down the same
way as toilet paper. They clog residential and munici-
pal sewer pipes, put stress on community wastewa-
ter collection and treatment systems, and cause pre-
mature equipment repair and replacement, which
indirectly drives up utility rates.
The “flushable” wipes snag on any imperfection in
the sewer pipes, catch passing debris, which create
a “dam” that will grow in size and plug the pipe.
The picture shows “flushable” wipes being cleaned
off a bar grate in one of Eagan’s lift stations by
Metropolitan Council utility workers—a task that is
done almost daily.
“Flushable wipes can cause problems not only for
the utility, with plugged pumps and pipes, but also
Wipes NOT Flushable!
to homeowners with sanitary sewer backups,”
says Jon Eaton, Superintendent of Utilities. “Our
goal is to maintain a highly functioning sewer sys-
tem at the lowest possible cost to the consumer.
Disposable wipes are creating an extra level of
maintenance that can be avoided.” Eaton adds
“please do your part and remember- don’t flush
wipes down the toilet!”
For more information, visit the Minnesota Pollution
Control Agency’s website at www.pca.state.mn.us/
wipes.
Beware: Tax Time Scam
Someone calls, claiming to be an IRS agent and
threatens to come arrest or deport you if you
don’t pay up immediately. This is just one of the
frightening techniques scammers are using to trick
people into giving them money, usually through a
prepaid debit card or wire transfer. They may leave
“urgent” requests by phone or email.
Scammers often alter caller ID numbers to make it
look like the IRS is calling. They use IRS titles and
fake badge numbers to appear legitimate.
Protect yourself by knowing the telltale signs.
The IRS will never:
w Call to demand immediate payment without a
first contact through the U.S. mail
w Send an email about taxes owed
Every winter, the City gets many inquiries about trail
and sidewalk plowing. Staff and the City Council
work hard to balance the needs and requests of the
community with the cost of additional plowing. The
first priority for our snow removal crews is to keep
the streets safe for the public. After roadway snow
removal operations are complete, crews turn their
attention to the trails and sidewalks. Currently, we
plow approximately 65% (or 80 miles) of the total
123 miles of boulevard trails and sidewalks.
To best align resources with community needs, resi-
dents can request new segments for the City’s plow
Too Many? Too Few? Just Right?
Council Considers Trail Plowing Routes Each Spring
route each spring. Here’s how:
w Download the petition and collect signatures
from at least 50 properties lying within 1/2 mile
of the segment
w Submit the written request and petition by
email (streets@cityofeagan.com) or mail (3501
Coachman Point, 55122) no later than April 1.
The City Council will discuss the petitions for the
next winter during a subsequent meeting. To
access the petition or get more information,
visit cityofeagan.com/trails.
As a state, Minnesota has placed an increased focus
on environmental sustainability. One technology of
focus is solar energy. To that end, the Eagan City
Council has decided to participate in a local solar
garden project.
A solar garden is an array of solar panels that
governments, businesses, and households can
subscribe to, rather than installing their own solar
panels. The power generated by the panels flows
to an electric utility – in this case, Xcel Energy. The
subscriber of the garden then receives a credit on
its electric bill based on their portion of energy gen-
erated.
Eagan will subscribe to “own” a 6.67% share in a
local garden for the next 25 years. The site, near
the Seneca wastewater treatment plant in Eagan, is
expected to produce enough energy to power 123
homes for a year. The annual rebates the City will
receive should begin at about $500 and increase to
more than $3,000 by 2042.
Last year, the Energy and Environment Advisory
Commission (EEAC) heard a proposal from the
City’s Public Works Director about an opportu-
nity to participate in a 750 kW community solar
garden being installed. The idea fit well with the
Commission’s focus of recommending local sustain-
ability and energy conservation strategies to the
City Council.
A private firm will build and own the community
solar garden as a third party, which means the City
of Eagan has no upfront or ongoing capital commit-
ment. Construction of the project will begin later
in 2017. In addition to the Seneca project, five solar
gardens adjacent to the Empire wastewater treat-
ment plant near Farmington will also be installed.
The two projects in Dakota County will include
23,365 total solar panels on about 30 acres and
should generate about 7.6MM kWh annually.
City Gets Solar
FAA Gets Green Light
to Adjust Procedures
The previous issue of Experience Eagan men-
tioned the increase in planes taking off over
Eagan this past year as a result of a new FAA
requirement to prevent airspace conflicts. We
are happy to report the FAA responded to
Eagan’s concerns and were successful over
the past several months in testing new proce-
dures to reduce the number of aircraft depart-
ing over us.
As a community next to an international air-
port, there will continue to be aircraft noise,
but the expectation is that these adjustments
will provide a positive change and get runway
usage back to levels we experienced in early
2015. For more detailed information about the
FAA’s new procedures, go to www.macnoise.
com and check out their Latest News section.
w Demand that you pay without giving you the
opportunity to question or appeal
w Require you to use a specific payment method
w Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the
phone or in an email
w Threaten to bring in local law enforcement to
have you arrested for not paying
If you are contacted by someone claiming to be
from the IRS asking for money:
w DO NOT give out any information by phone—
hang up immediately
w DO NOT click on any links, provide personal
information or respond to an email. The IRS
does not send emails
Call the IRS at 800-829-1040 if you believe you actu-
ally owe taxes. IRS workers can help you.
Plumbing Backflow Answers
Mailings suggesting residents need backflow prevention inspections annually, have caused many of you to
call with questions. The answer can be complicated. While it may be a good idea to get a device inspected—
if your device was installed before January 23, 2016, it is not a requirement. We’ve compiled more detailed
information on the City Website with requirements by device type at www.cityofeagan.com/backflow to help
you make a good decision. Questions? Please contact Utility division at (651) 675-5200.
Experience Eagan • March/April 2017 • 3
The Eagan Art House, the quaint 1950s rambler on
Lexington Avenue surrounded by Patrick Eagan
Park, has been an important part of the community
for the last twenty years. What started as a back-
yard conversation between friends grew into the
Arts & Humanities Council. The work of that group
and those who followed in its wake, has since grown
to serve over 5,000 people annually through classes,
special events, exhibits and outreach.
The Arts & Humanities Council first opened the door
to the Eagan Art House in 1997. This grassroots
organization was formed by 14 residents to meet
the need in the community for more art. The group
found a home at 3981 Lexington Avenue, thanks to
an agreement with the City. For $1 per year, the Arts
& Humanities Council was able to rent the space
(the former home of the McCarthy family) for art
classes and gatherings.
The art community in Eagan continued to grow, and
in 1999, the Arts and Humanities Council wanted to
deepen their program offerings at the Art House.
This led to a merger with the Dakota Center for
the Arts, one of the oldest non-profits in the state
with robust visual arts classes and exhibits. The
new organization maintained the Dakota Center for
the Arts name and continued to program for visual
arts, small performing arts series and the Eagan Art
Festival. That same year, the garage of the former
McCarthy house was converted into a full pottery
studio with four pottery wheels and an electric kiln.
In January 2007, Eagan Art House operations were
turned over to the City’s Parks and Recreation
Department. The Dakota Center for the Arts became
a separate organization and continues to operate
the Eagan Art Festival, now in its 23rd year. The
front entrance of the Art House was remodeled to
provide better parking and a new accessible ramp.
Additional improvements came through the years
with an expansion in 2011 and a third kiln in 2014.
Today, the Eagan Art House reaches thousands of
people through visual art classes, special events,
art exhibitions, public art and outreach throughout
the community. The staff of 20 teaching artists pro-
Celebrating 20 Years of Art in Eagan
vides year-round instruction in pottery, watercolor,
acrylic/oil painting, drawing, fused glass, children’s
art instruction. Each summer over 400 youth expe-
rience art through camps and field trips, and some
young students, after having had a meaningful
art experience as a child, return to the Eagan Art
House as adults.
The Eagan Art House facilitates 12 visual art exhib-
its, featuring about 100 artists, each year through
partnerships the Wescott Library, Dunn Brothers
Coffee, Lunds & Byerly’s, Fairview Hospital and
the Eagan Community Center. They also sup-
port local working artists through the annual
Community Supported Art project, the Harvest of
Art Celebration and the Winter Art Sale.
“Help celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Eagan
Art House by becoming involved in art,” says Julie
Andersen, Recreation Supervisor for the Eagan
Art House. She suggests taking a class, viewing an
exhibit, or purchasing a piece of local art for your
home or office. “This year will be filled with lots of
special activities so everyone can experience art.”
Upcoming Events & Activities
w Welcome Home Art Doors, a collection of 10
artistic doors created by artists and the com-
munity to celebrate creativity, opportunity,
and community;
w The 2nd Annual Community Supported Art
Project, featuring 6 artists creating artwork
around the theme of “Welcome Home”;
w “Welcome Home” visual art exhibition on dis-
play throughout Eagan and featuring over 50
artists;
w The annual Harvest of Art Celebration at the
Art House on Sunday, September 10 featuring
an alumni gathering to welcome home past
Eagan Art House students, staff and board
members; and
w The reveal of a new Eagan Art House logo at
the Harvest of Art.
Visit www.eaganarthouse.com for the latest on Art
House classes, programs and events.
Be a Water Super Hero
Help protect our lakes from the pollution “bad-
guys” by becoming a Master Water Steward.
If it lands on city streets, stormwater can carry pet
waste, salt, litter, dirt, leaves and grass to our lakes
and ponds. This is a widespread challenge, so we
need a broad solution. That’s where the Master
Water Stewards programs comes to the rescue. You
can join the team now!
Our program trains, certifies, and supports resi-
dents to do an education and outreach campaign
and to install a project. The outreach campaigns
help the community learn how to reduce polluted
runoff. The projects show ways to redirect water
before it reaches the storm sewer where it can pol-
lute our lakes and ponds. Installation projects may
include such practices as raingardens, rain barrels,
or permeable pavement.
Master Water Stewards take part in a 50-hour pro-
gram of coursework and projects between October
and April. After certification, we expect Stewards to
meet annual volunteering requirements.
Eagan’s Master Water Stewards program is a
partnership between the City and The Freshwater
Society. For more information or to apply to the
2017-18 program, visit www.MasterWaterStewards.
org, or contact Deirdre at The Freshwater Society:
dcoleman@freshwater.org or (651) 313-5806.
Planning for 2040
A quality community like Eagan doesn’t happen
by accident. It takes a lot of planning and fore-
thought, much of which is contained in a City’s
Comprehensive Guide Plan.
Eagan Township developed its first plan of this type
in 1972. That plan, and those that followed, helped
guide Eagan through its development boom and
continues to serve as the community’s vision for
growth and development. The plan defines long-
term goals and policies on land use, housing, parks,
natural resources, transportation, infrastructure,
and economic development.
The Community Development team is now begin-
ning work on the 2040 Plan. State law requires an
update every 10 years. The last plan was approved
in 2010, and is available at www.cityofeagan.com/
comp-guide.
In-person and online opportunities will be available
for the public to share thoughts and ideas later this
spring. Watch for updates on the Website, social
media, and in future issues of Experience Eagan.Eagan Art House - 1997 Eagan Art House - 2017
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative
appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
Prsrt stdU.s. PostagePAIDtWIN CItIes MNPerMIt No. 4902* * * * * ECRWSS * *Residential Postal Customer3830 Pilot Knob RoadEagan, Minnesota 55122Page 1
New Website Friendlier and Focused on You
the Best of the Best
How Can You Connect?
Page 2
Faa gets green Light to adjust Procedures
Beware: tax time scam
Wipes Not Flushable!
too Many? too Few? Just right?
City gets solar
Page 3
Celebrating 20 Years of art in eagan
Be a Water super Hero
Planning for 2040
Plumbing Backflow answers
Page 4
It’s tree sale time
Cool summer Jobs
Cascade Bay special
March 26 Wedding expo
Paper shredding event
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
Experience Eagan
facebook.com/CityofEagan
@CityofEagan
It’s Tree Sale Time
Arbor Day is May 17 and you can join in on the cel-
ebration by planting your own tree. Our Forestry
department is again holding a public tree sale and
offering Eagan residents a chance to purchase a
variety of bare root trees for just $27.50/tree. Seven
varieties of trees are for sale this year:
w Elm – Accolade
w Maple - Red Sunset
w Birch – Whitespire
w Oak - Bi-color
w Apple - Honeycrisp
w Crabapple - Red Jewel
w Spruce - Black Hills
Residents can place their order for up to two trees
online or in person at City Hall beginning Monday,
March 27. For online orders, credit card payment is
due upon ordering. At City Hall, you can also pay by
cash or check. All orders must be placed by Friday,
April 21. Trees are available on a first-come-first-
serve basis—once a tree species sells out, it will no
longer be listed online. Please note that no extra
trees will be available for purchase on the day of
the sale.
Tree Ordering: March 27 - April 21
w Online: www.cityofeagan.com/treesale
w Parks & Rec Counter at City Hall (Monday -
Friday from 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.)
Tree Pick-Up: May 6 , 8:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
w Pick-Up Location: Eagan Maintenance Facility,
3501 Coachman Point Cascade Bay Special
Purchase your 2017 season pass before
March 31 and receive two free daily admis-
sions.*
This includes both Cascade Bay season pass-
es and Cardio Bay season passes. Passes are
available for purchase:
w Online at cityofeagan.com/register
w By calling (651) 675-5500
w In person at Eagan Parks & Recreation,
City Hall, 3830 Pilot Knob Road, 8:00
a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
*2 daily admissions per household. Offer ends 3/31/17.
March 26 Wedding Expo
Planning your wedding will be a breeze when
you attend the 2017 Wedding Expo at the Eagan
Community Center. New this year- purchase presale
tickets at ECC Guest Services counter.
• $5 Admission • Free parking
• Decorators • Florists
• DJs • Door prizes
• Photographers • Hair stylists
• Bakeries • Hors d’ouevre samples
Sunday, March 26
11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Eagan Community Center - 1501 Central Parkway
Paper Shredding Event
The City of Eagan and Dakota Valley Recycling will
be hosting a paper shredding event at the Eagan
Community Center on Saturday, April 29 from 8:00
a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Residents can bring tax files, con-
fidential documents or other papers they would
like destroyed for free. The shredding will be done
on-site by Randy’s Environmental Services.
For more information about this event, call Dakota
Valley Recycling at 952-895-4511 or visit www.
DakotaValleyRecycling.org.
Saturday, April 29
8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Eagan Community Center - 1501 Central Parkway
Cool Summer Jobs
Do you need a summer job? Work for
the City of Eagan! Mowing the grass,
striping ballfields, assisting with sum-
mer park programs, lifeguarding and
working concessions are just a few of
the job opportunities we hire for every
summer. Visit www.cityofeagan.com/
jobs for more information and to apply
online. We’ve already starting recruit-
ing for summer 2017 positions and all
jobs are open until filled.