Document - Historical information/data - Memo to City Celebration committee members - 1/30/1985
city of ccigan
3830 PILOT KNOB ROAD, P.O. BOX 21199 BEA BLOMQUIST
EAGAN, MINNESOTA 55121 Mayor
PHONE: (612) 454-8100 THOMAS EGAN
JAMES A. SMITH
JERRY THOMAS
THEODORE WACHTER
Council Members
THOMAS HEDGES
City Administrator
January 30, 1985 EUGENECVACl rk ERBEKE
Dear City Celebration Committee Member:
As you are aware, the first meeting of the Eagan City Celebration Committee
was held Monday, January 21, 1985 at the Eagan Municipal Center. Enclosed
please find minutes from that meeting and an agenda for the next meeting
which is scheduled for Monday, February 4, 1985.
As you will note, assignments to specific subcommittees will be made at that
meeting. If you are unable to attend, would you please notify me before
the meeting and indicate the subcommittee on which you would prefer to
serve.
Sincerely,
Holly N. Duffy
Administrative Assistant
Attachments
cc: Honorable Mayor Bea Blomquist
Members of the City Council
Tom Hedges, City Administrator
THE LONE OAK TREE THE SYMBOL OF STRENGTH AND GROWTH IN OUR COMMUNITY
AGENDA
CITY CELEBRATION COMMITTEE
FEBRUARY 4, 1985
4:30 P.M.
EAGAN MUNICIPAL CENTER
1. Roll Call
2. Approval of Minutes
3. Organization
a. Discussion - General
b. Establishment of Subcommittee Memberships
4. Subcommittee Organizational Meetings
a. Establish Dates for Meetings
b. Assignments
5. Adjournment
CITY OF EAGAN
MINUTES OF THE
CITY CELEBRATION COMMITTEE
January 21, 1985
The first meeting of the City of the Eagan Celebration Committee was held
on Monday, January 21, 1985, at 4:30 p.m. at the Eagan Municipal Center.
Present were resident members Carol Bergh, Sandra Masin, John McElligott and
Mary Voracek; Bob Treichel representing the Volunteer Fire Department; Larry
Wenzel representing the Eagan Chamber of Commerce; Don Klober representing the
4th of July Association and Brad Benzick representing the Optimists. Also
present were City Councilmember Ted Wachter, City Administrator Tom Hedges,
Historian Consultant Lisa Fleming and Administrative Assistant Holly Duffy.
Absent were Ken Ketcham representing the Eagan Lions Club, Bruce Harries
representing the Eagan Jaycees, Reverend Loren Nelson representing the
Ministerial Association and Richard Bertz representing the Minnesota Valley
Exchange Club.
Introductions & Background Information
City Administrator Hedges welcomed members of the committee to the first
meeting of the group. He introduced himself, City Councilmember Wachter, Lisa
Fleming and Administrative Assistant Duffy. Members of the committee then
introduced themselves and their representative groups. Hedges, Wachter and
Duffy then presented background information on the establishment and
objectives of the City Celebration Committee. Basically, the City Council
wanted to recognize the 125th birthday of the City with some sort of
celebration. It was determined by the Council that resident imput regarding
the type and organization of the celebration would be an important factor.
Therefore, a City Celebration Committee was established and members were
recruited to represent the community as a whole and also to represent various
service and community organizations in Eagan. In this fashion, the
representation would not only be broad but would also establish liasions with
the various organizations from which assistance and/or activities could be
coordinated.
It was suggested by the Council that not only the celebration itself be
the concern of the committee. The original Lone Oak Tree, symbol of the City
of Eagan, had had to be cut down during 1984 and a new tree had been planted.
The City had saved the wood from the original tree and it was thought that
this symbolic wood could be used in connection with the celebration. Two
suggestions that had already been put forth were to make some sort of
sculpture from the main trunk section and to sell "souvenir" pieces of the
tree. Many requests for sections of the tree have been received from various
individuals and organization. Wachter showed the committee a branding iron
which had been prepared in order to mark the sections of the tree. The iron
identified both the City and the tree. Also, a history book of the City of
Eagan has been under development for the past seven years. The final draft is
now almost complete and ready for publication. Fleming gave a brief
presentation of the "history" of the history book and also showed an example
of a book published by another City. It was suggested that the publication
and marketing of the book could be coordinated with the celebration.
It was suggested that three or four subcommittees be established within
the committee. Each subcommittee could then examine one subject in detail and
bring suggestions back to the main committee for evaulation. The
subcommittees would be (1) Celebration, (2) Lone Oak Tree, (3) Eagan History
Book, and possibly (4) Promotion. Duffy suggested that a separate
subcommittee handle promotion in order to avoid duplication of efforts and to
provide better coordination of the promotion activities.
Discussion
Committee members then discussed the various objectives of the committee.
Dicussion centered on the celebration itself and whether or not the
celebration should be held in conjunction with the Fourth of July festivities
or as a separate occasion. Opinions were expressed that a separate
celebration could add an additional event for the City. Members questioned
whether many residents left town during the long Fourth weekend. However,
attendance figures for the Fourth of July events, especially during the
fireworks, were large. It was pointed out that the Fourth falls on a Thursday
this year. Therefore, the parade and the fireworks will be held on that day.
However, the carnival and other events will probably continue at least through
Saturday. It was suggested that that Saturday would be a favorable day for
the celebration activities and that a second fireworks display could be
possible with financing partially provided by the carnival. The 125th
Birthday of Eagan could be used as a theme which would carry through the
entire Fourth of July festivities. No final decision was reached. Some
suggestions for activities to be included with the celebration included a city
wide barbeque and a softball tournament.
Meeting Date
A regular meeting day and time for the committee were discussed. It was
the consensus of the members that a Monday at 4:30 p.m. was most convenient.
The next meeting was then scheduled for Monday, February 4. At that meeting,
subcommittees would be established and would begin their own planning.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at approximately 5:50 p.m.
Dated: January 21, 1985 HND