January/FebruaryCity Council regular meetings: January 9 and 23, February 13 and 27 – 7 p.m.

City Council work sessions: January 17, February 21 – Council meal at 6, meeting at 6:30 p.m.

Citizen Advisory Commission meetings: January 10, February 14 – 7 p.m.

Human Rights Commission meetings: January 16, February 16 – 7 p.m.

Planning Commission meetings: January 3, February 8, if needed – 7 p.m.

City Offi ces Closed: January 2 (New Year’s Day observance), January 16 (Martin Luther King Holiday), February 20 (President’s Day)

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.

January2012

Over

Water rates will increase in 2012

Outdoor ice rinksDue to unseasonably warm weather in December, New Hope’s outdoor ice rinks opened late this season. But, the city will have warming hours and both hockey and leisure skating rinks in four parks this winter: Liberty Park at 60th and Gettysburg avenues, Civic Center Park at 44th and Xylon av-enues, Lions Park at 38th and Oregon avenues, and Hidden Valley Park at 32nd and Boone avenues.

Warming house hours are 5 to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.and 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturdays, and1 to 5 p.m. on Sundays. Please note that the rinks are not plowed on weekends.

If the weather cooperates, the city plans to keep the rinks open until February 12.

New Hope requires pets to be licensed

All dogs, cats and ferrets must be licensed in the city of New Hope. Pet owners must provide a copy of an animal’s rabies vaccination certifi cate to receive a new license. An animal’s license runs concurrently with its rabies vaccination (up to three years). When a pet gets a rabies vaccination the pet’s owner will need to renew its animal license.

Th e fee for an animal license is $15 for a spayed or neutered pet or $30 for an unaltered animal. Animal licenses for indoor-only cats are free. If a cat without a license tag is found off its owner’s property, the owner will be required to pay the license fee.

Animal license applications are avail-able in the Police section of the Docu-ment Center on the city’s website, www.ci.new-hope.mn.us. Pet owners can complete the licensing process by mail or in person at the New Hope Police Department. Police offi ces are located at 4401 Xylon Avenue N., the police entrance faces Xylon. For more information, call 763-531-5170.

In December, the New Hope City Council set the rates New Hope util-ity customers will pay in 2012. Th e rates for sanitary sewage treatment, storm drainage, recycling and street lights will all remain the same in 2012 as they were in 2011. Water rates will increase 7 percent to resolve a defi cit in the utility fund and provide adequate funding for ongoing main-tenance and improvements to the city’s water system.

Th e total amount that New Hope utility customers pay for water each month includes a basic service fee and a volume fee based on the amount of water they use.

Th e basic water service fees for resi-dential customers will increase from $5.72 to $6.12 per month in 2012.

Th e rate customers pay per 1,000 gallons of water depends on the total quantity of water they use. Th e rate for residential customers who use less than 10,000 gallons in a month will increase from $4.21 to $4.50 per 1,000 gallons. Th e rate for those who use between 10,000 and 20,000 gal-lons a month will increase from $4.58 to $4.90 per 1,000 gallons.

And, the rate for those who use more than 20,000 gallons a month will increase from $5.15 to $5.51 per 1,000 gallons. Commercial water rates will also increase 7 percent in 2012.

Th e new rates will fi rst appear on the utility bill you receive in early February 2012 (for water used since January 1).

Can you dig it?Heavy snows can make fi re hydrants inaccessible in the wintertime. West Metro Fire Chief Scott Crandall en-courages residents to keep the hydrant in their neighborhood free of snow. A six-foot clear space around the circumference of a hydrant will help reduce the amount of time it takes fi refi ghters to hook up a hose if a fi re occurs in your neighborhood.

Safety Tip of the Month

Recreation CornerNew Hope gymnastics classes begin January 7New Hope’s gymnastics program has classes for beginners ages 4 to 5 through advanced gymnasts. Classes are on Tuesday, Wednesday and Th urs-day evenings and Saturday mornings and afternoons beginning January 7. Th e winter session will end the fi rst week of March. Fees per session range from $57 to $110 for New Hope residents. Nonresidents pay $7 more. Classes are held Gym A at the Sandburg Learning Center, 2400 Sandburg Lane in Golden Valley. For class details, call the New Hope Recreation offi ce.

MightyStars Soccer from Revolutionary SportsMighty Stars Soccer introduces new soccer players ages 6 to 8 to the basic skills of dribbling, passing and shooting and helps existing players enhance their skills. Participants will also play fun, semi-competitive games. Th e program is scheduled on Tuesdays from 6:45 to 7:30 p.m., January 10 to Feb-ruary 21 (no class February 7), at New Hope Community Gyms, 8230 47th Avenue N. Th e fee is $45 for New Hope residents or $52 for nonresidents.

Winter White Out Dance is January 28Don’t get the winter blahs. Get up and dance! Youth in grades 5 to 7 are invited to the Winter White-Out Dance on Friday January 28. Everyone is encouraged to wear as much white as they can to create a cool atmosphere (and be entered into a raffl e for cool prizes). A DJ from Total Entertain-ment will keep things hoppin’! Snacks and beverages will be available for purchase. Th e dance is from 7 to 9:30 p.m. at Crystal Community Center, 4800 Douglas Drive. Register in advance for $5 or for $8 at the door.

Fun Trips for Adults with Community Tripsters Th e Community Tripsters is a program for adults from the northwest sub-urbs who enjoy taking day trips to explore and experience some of the fun activities and destinations in our area. To get on the mailing list to receive information for future trips, call 763-531-5151. Th e next trip is Destination Dublin on March 6, which will explore all things Irish at Keegan’s Irish Pub.

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

Beginning with this month’s utility bill, helpful information will be printed on the back of the bill. Th e information will include:

a direct payment authorization • form (for customers who would like to pay their bill automatically through their bank account)

bill payment options•

contact information•

explanation of the delinquent ac-• counts collection process

what to do if you sell your home • or a tenant changes

where to fi nd New Hope water • quality information

Information about your utility bill

Families take medications and vita-mins to feel well and to stay well. But did you know that more than 60,000 children end up in emergency rooms every year because they get into medi-cines when a caregiver isn’t looking?

Any kind of medicine – including non-prescription medicine and vita-mins – can cause harm if taken in the wrong way or by the wrong person. Protect your child. Here’s how:

Put medicines and vitamins up and away – out of reach and out of sight.

Children are curious and put all sorts of things in their mouths. Even if you turn your back for less than a minute, they can quickly get into things that could hurt them. Pick a storage place in your home that your child cannot reach or see.

Put medicines away every time.

Th is includes medicines and vitaminsyou use every day. Never leave them out on a kitchen counter or at a sick child’s bedside, even if you have to give the medicine again in a few hours.

Hear the click to make sure the safety cap is locked.

Always relock the cap on a medicine bottle. If the bottle has a locking cap that turns, twist it until you hear the click. Remember, even though many medicines have safety caps, children may be able to open them.

Teach children about medicine safety.

Teach your children what medicine is and why you must be the one to give it to them. Never tell children medicine is candy to get them to take it.

Tell your guests about medicine safety

Ask house guests and visitors to keep purses, bags, or coats that have medi-cine in them up and away and out of sight when they are in your home.

Be prepared in case of an emergency.

Call your poison control center at 800.222.1222 right away if you think your child might have gotten into a medicine or vitamin.

Adapted from information on the Cen-ter for Disease Control website, cdc.gov.

Th ere is also information for Snow-birds. Residents who are going to be out of town for an extended period are encouraged to call the utility bill-ing clerk. She will put a note on your account and can forward your bill to your temporary address, if you choose.

Th e owner of a property that will be left vacant for an extended period, in-cluding foreclosures, can request that the water be shut off at the curb for no charge. Th ere is a $45 fee to have the water turned back on.

If you have questions about your util-ity account, call utility billing at 763-592-6760, Monday through Friday, between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.