Over

December 2012

December/JanuaryCity Council regular meetings: December 10, January 14 & 28 – 7 p.m.

City Council work sessions: December 17, January 22 – Council meal at 6, meeting at 6:30 p.m.

City Council 2013 Budget Hearing: December 3, 7 p.m.

Citizen Advisory Commission meetings: December 11, January 8 – 7 p.m.

Human Rights Commission meetings: December 3, January 7 – 7 p.m.

Planning Commission meetings: no December meeting, January 7 – 7 p.m.

City Offi ces Closed: Christmas observance - December 24 & 25, New Year’s Day - January 1, Martin Luther King Jr. Day - January 21

All activities are at City Hall, 4401 Xylon Ave. N. unless otherwise indicated. Agendas and minutes for council and commission meetings are available on the city’s website.

Schedule is subject to change. Call 763-531-5100 for more information.

Lace up your skates and get out and enjoy some clear, crisp winter weather on an outdoor ice rink at one of four New Hope parks this winter.

Parks maintenance staff will fl ood rinksin Liberty Park at 60th and Gettysburgavenues, Civic Center Park at 44th and Xylon avenues, Lions Park at 38th and Oregon avenues, and Hidden Valley Park at 32nd and Boone avenues.

Th e rinks are scheduled to open on December 15, weather permitting. Each park will have a rink for leisure skating and a separate rink, surrounded by boards, for hockey. For safety reasons,hockey sticks and pucks are not per-mitted in the general skating area. Each park will also have a warming house.

Warming house hours are 5 to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. on Saturdays, and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sundays.

Expanded warming house hours are scheduled on school vacation days – from 1 to 5 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. And, hours are reduced around the holidays – from 1 to 3 p.m. on December 24

New Hope will have outdoor rinks at four parksand 31 and closed on Christmas and New Year’s days.

Programmed activities, such as broom-ball, sometimes preempt regularly scheduled open skating hours. Check with the warming house attendant for details. New Hope’s rinks and warming houses are scheduled to remain open until February 10, if weather permits.

DWI patrols are coming to townDecember is a festive time with lots of holiday parties. Th e New Hope Police Department encourages everyone to make safe driving decisions this holiday season. Please don’t drink and drive. Make arrangements for a designated driver, take a cab, or call a friend or family member for a safe drive home. And, don’t let a friend drive drunk.

To deal with motorists who drive impaired, the New Hope Police De-partment will once again join about 400 law enforcement agencies in a statewide Safe and Sober DWI en-forcement crackdown throughout the month of December.

In 2011, 29,257 motorists in Minnesota were arrested for DWI. Regrettably, one in seven current Minnesota drivers has a DWI on record. Th e consequences of a DWI include loss of a drivers license for up to a year, up to $20,000 in legal costs and heightened insurance rates, and possible jail time. Th e human toll is also high. Last year there were 3,571 alcohol-related crashes in Minnesota resulting in 136 deaths and 2,375 injuries, and an estimated economic impact of more than $262 million.

If you choose to drink, drink responsi-bly. Don’t make the selfi sh and danger-ous decision to drive impaired.

New Hope is sponsoring holiday food and toy drives through December 18.

Unopened, nonperishable food items or checks will be accepted for the food drive, sponsored by city employees. Food drop-off sites are located in the upper level of New Hope City Hall, 4401 Xylon Avenue North, and the New Hope Public Works maintenance facility, 5500 International Parkway. Drop-off site hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Donated food will be delivered to NEAR (North Suburban Emergency Response) for distribution to local families in need before the holidays.

New, unwrapped toys for children of all ages, as well as donations of cash or checks, will be accepted for the holiday toy drive sponsored by the New Hope Police Department. Items may be dropped off 24 hours a day in the lobby of the New Hope Police Department, 4401 Xylon Ave. N. (lower level).

Donated toys will be delivered to NEAR and Toys for Tots for distribu-tion in time for the holidays.

City food and toy drives

Sidewalk plowing❄ Property owners are responsible for removing snow and ice from side-walks adjacent to their home or busi-ness in a timely manner.

❄ Although New Hope does remove snow from city sidewalks when time and resources permit, maintenance workers’ fi rst priority is to clear city streets. New Hope does not budget overtime for sidewalk plowing.

❄ Pedestrians should always use extra caution when walking on plowed sidewalks. City crews are frequently unable to clear sidewalks to bare pavement and, consequently, plowed sidewalks may have slippery spots.

No on-street parking after snowfall

With wintertime here, it’s important for residents to remember New Hope’s on-street parking restrictions:

❄ On-street parking is prohibited in New Hope as soon as 1½ inches of snow have fallen.

❄ Vehicles must remain off the street until the pavement has been plowed to full width. If possible, residents are encouraged to avoid parking on the street for 24 hours after a snowfall.

❄ Vehicles violating the city’s park-ing restrictions may be ticketed or towed.

Recreation Corner

Safety Tip of the Month

Tips for driving in the snowAAA provides these suggestions for driving in adverse winter weather:Accelerate and decelerate slowly.Applying the gas slowly to accelerate is the best method for regaining traction and avoiding skids. Don’t try to get moving in a hurry. And, once you’re moving, remember it takes longer to slow down, stop, or turn on icy roads.

Increase following distance. Th e normal dry pavement following dis-tance of three to four seconds should be increased to eight to 10 seconds. Th is increased margin of safety will provide the longer distance needed if you have to stop.

Know your brakes. Whether you have antilock brakes or not, the best way to stop is threshold braking. Keep the heel of your foot on the fl oor and use the ball of your foot to apply fi rm, steady pressure on the brake pedal.

No cruise control. Do not use cruise control when driving on any slippery surface (wet, ice, sand).

Don’t stop if you can avoid it. Th ere’s a big diff erence in the amout of inertia it takes to start moving from a full stop versus how much it takes to get moving while still rolling. If you can slow down enough to keep rolling until a traffi c light changes, do it.

Don’t power up hills. Applying extra gas on snow-covered roads just starts your wheels spinning. Try to get a little inertia going before you reach the hill and let that inertia carry you to the top. Don’t stop while going up a hill.

Make sure your vehicle is in peak operating condition. Check to ensure that your tires are properly in-fl ated, and keep your gas tank at least half full to avoid gas line freeze-up.

Stay home. If you really don’t have to go out when the roads are bad, don’t. Even if you can drive well in the snow, not everyone else can. Don’t tempt fate. If you don’t have some-where you have to be, watch the snow fall from inside.

Winter vacation sports campsBoys’ and girls’ basketball camps for youth in grades 4 to 8 and a girls’ volleyballcamp for girls in grades 6 to 8 are scheduled for January 2 and 3 at the New HopeCommunity Gyms. Th e camps are taught by coaches from Cooper High School.Th e fee for any of the three camps is $31 for residents of New Hope, Crystal, Robbinsdale and Golden Valley or $38 for nonresidents. Call for details.

Register your rink rat today for outdoor hockeyRink Rat Hockey is an instructional hockey program for boys and girls ages 5 to 12 that’s played outdoors. Games are played every Friday evening and Sunday afternoon from January 4 through February 13 at rinks in New Hope and six nearby communities. Participants must provide their own transpor-tation and equipment. Teams are formed in three age groups. Each player will receive a league jersey and participation award. Th e league fee is $42.

Kids will build battling robotsYouth in grades 2 to 6 will build simple motorized robots at Battling Robo Botz from 1 to 3 p.m. on Th ursday, January 3. Th e robots will battle over several rounds for the title of “Best Bot.” After each round, teams of par-ticipants will work together to reconfi gure their robot to make it bigger, better and stronger by using their newfound knowledge of mechanical movement. Th e program will be in the community room at the New Hope Ice Arena, 4949 Louisiana Ave. N. Th e fee is $17 for residents of New Hope, Crystal, and Robbinsdale or $24 for nonresidents.

Santa has a mailbox at City HallKids from New Hope can write a letter to Santa and drop it off at the Rec-reation offi ce at City Hall through December 10. Santa Claus requests that each letter include the full name and address of each child so he and his elves can answer each one.

Give the gift of recreationNew Hope recreation gift certifi cates are available in any dollar amount and can be redeemed for any recreation program. Golf gift certifi cates are good at the New Hope Village Golf Course. Certifi cates are available at the recre-ation offi ce in person or by phone with a major credit card.

For more information about these programs or to register, call the New Hope Parks and Recreation offi ce at 763-531-5151.