By Dawn Buck on Feb 9, 2020 | In Uncategorized | Comments Off on Skating tonight at Lafayette 430-830pm 2/19, Wednesday
2.19.2020
4:30pm to 8pm this evening!
Skate while you can! Warm temps are coming this weekend!
Thanks to Lafayette Rink Manager Mark Elden for facilitating this opportunity!
Reminder: Meeting, Tues. Feb 18, 630pm social, 7pm meeting
On the agenda:
- Second vote on annual tree purchase
- 2020 PP Summer Youth Program Budget approval
Important Dates:
- Rummage Sale dates are June 12 & 13 David Lavamaki has agreed to chair the event. Thank you, Dave!
- 50th Annual Park Point Art Fair, June 27 & 28
2.16.2020 Sunday
Thanks to Rink Manager Mark Elden for opening up Lafayette today from noon to about 8pm. Want to help out ? Call Mark at 218 340-6453
2.15.2020 Saturday
Thanks to Coral M. for opening lower Lafayette today for skating, noon to 8pm for warming room and loaner skate bin access.
Thank you Coral!
The Breeze of February 2020!
A huge thanks to Mark Elden and his family for hosting this magical day at Lafayette- the ice was superb! Thanks to Super One for their continued support of our community!
Special thanks also to City of Duluth Parks & Recreation, Bob Boynton, Rick Lyle, Coral McDonnell, Sally Buck, Gary Glass, Dave Poulin, Ted Buck, Jake and Will Kapsner
By Dawn Buck on Jan 26, 2020 | In Uncategorized | Comments Off on Skating today? Call Mark Elden if you are willing to host at Lafayette
Thank you to our neighbors who have made the skating possible this season. The City crews helped clear the snow for the initial flooding.
Mark E., Coral M., Dave P., Jake K., Will K., Rick L., Bob B., Sally B., Gary G.
Mark E.218-340-6453
Fun times on Park Point!
By Dawn Buck on Jan 25, 2020 | In Uncategorized | Comments Off on Skating at Lafayette Today, January 25, 2020
Volunteers will have skating and warming at Lafayette today as long as it’s not slushy.
Happy skating and enjoying the oldest park in Duluth!
Thanks to all volunteers who support the neighborhood rink!
By Dawn Buck on Jan 19, 2020 | In Uncategorized | Comments Off on Pizza, Presentation, Meeting on Tuesday at Lafayette, 1/21/2020
6:30pm Membership Drive and Pizza Party
7pm Guest speaker
“Starved, drowned, and battered: The uncertain fate of Park Point”
John B. Swenson, Associate Professor and Associate Chair
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
University of Minnesota Duluth
“Lake Superior is near historically high levels, allowing wave action to attack Park Point to devastating effect. But how does the current dilemma fit into a longer-time context? Was erosion unimportant eight years ago, when lake levels were near historic lows? I will attempt to summarize what we know about long-term erosion of Park Point and—using results of recent and ongoing research by myself and colleagues—discuss models for Park Point’s future. Some questions we will address include the following: How old is Park Point? (It likely is younger than you think.) What serves as the source of its sand? How have humans disrupted its sand budget and what are the implications? What can be done—realistically—to mitigate beach loss, particularly in areas adjacent to the Duluth and Superior entries? The goal of the talk is to provide basic insight into the natural and anthropogenic forces shaping Park Point on timescales somewhat beyond those of straightforward human observation. Such insight might be useful to stakeholders.”
Sewer lining project update from Tom P. at the City
Hello and Happy New Year!
As you may have observed, the contractor (Michels) in continuing to work on pipe cleaning and CCTV pipe inspection efforts.
Yesterday, we mailed out a letter with our new schedule for completion of this project as follows:
Cleaning and CCTV inspection of the remaining pipes January/February 2020
Install CIPP pipe liner and post lining activities March/April 2020
Contract complete May 22, 2020
Sincerely,
Tom
Tom Pfeffer
Senior Engineer
MN Licensed PE
City of Duluth – Public Works & Utilities
411 West First Street, Room 240
Duluth, MN 55802
www.duluthmn.gov
218-730-5104
TPfeffer@duluthmn.gov
Officials, citizens focus on Park Point erosion by John Ramos
Duluth Monitor
Park Point erosion – Duluth Monitor 1:19:2020 pdf
Save the Date for clean-up along Park Point on Thursday, May 14 (5-7pm)
Want to help with planning this event in which the PPCC is partnering with the City of Duluth Volunteer Corps.?
Contact: Chery Skafte cskafte@duluthmn.gov
By Dawn Buck on Jan 10, 2020 | In Uncategorized | Comments Off on January 11th : Skating Tonight! 7pm to approx. 8:30pm
Are your skates handy? How about some Wolf moon skating? Will and Jake Kapsner are hosting tonight.
Rinkman Mark Elden and his team members have been working hard to prepare a nice rink at Lafayette. Thank you !!!!
The rink is open now for skating!7pm to about 8:30pm tonight; there are two bins of donated skates for your or your guests’ use.
Please call or txt Mark asap 218-340-6453 if you would be willing to open Lafayette this weekend or next, and visit with the skaters.
Thank you very much & happy weekend!
We are grateful for the rink at Lafayette!
By Dawn Buck on Jan 7, 2020 | In Uncategorized | Comments Off on January 21 Membership Meeting with 6:30 Pizza & 7pm Presentation by Dr. John Swenson
Breeze January 2020
Pizza and speaker Dr. John Swenson, on Erosion & High Water on Park Point, History and the Hydrology of what is happening.
Dr. Swenson is an associate professor at UMD:
“In the last few years, I have been working on developing models of coastal erosion on the north and south shores, with emphasis on Park Point. I would be very happy to meet with you and your group to share my ideas and insight.”
By Dawn Buck on Dec 18, 2019 | In Uncategorized | Comments Off on Lafayette Rink Update Saturday, January 4, 6-9pm or so, skating tonight, volunteers please call Mark Elden
Thank you to the City for the boost at Lafayette in snow management which will allow for rink flooding to begin.
Mark Elden and a small team have been working on a rink at Lafayette!
Contact Mark if you are willing to help with flooding, and hanging out at Lafayette in the warming area and keeping it open. 218-340-6453
December 2019 Breeze
Next PPCC meeting is the annual pizza party and membership drive on Tuesday, January 21 2020 6:30pm
Thanks to Dale Sellner for coordinating the snow removal for the fun to begin!
By Dawn Buck on Nov 18, 2019 | In Uncategorized | Comments Off on November Meeting and Breeze
On the agenda:
Spring is coming! Alayna with the City of Duluth will join us to start the brainstorming process for spring 2020 beach sweeping. She is seeking PPCC partnership in planning a major beach sweep event in the spring. The effort would involve 100 volunteers and sponsors that would provide food and drink for volunteers. This clean-up would be one of six to eight major clean-up events that would be promoted and launched in the spring.
Please come and hear how you might get involved. Can’t make the meeting and want to get involved? Contact:
Cheryl Skafte | Volunteer Coordinator | City of Duluth | 411 W. 1st Street, Duluth, MN 55802 | 218-730-4334 (office) | 218-341-8454 (cell) | cskafte@duluthmn.gov
The Breeze of November 2020
Also , Isaac Schultz, District Director for Congressman Pete Stauber, 8th Congressional District of Minnesota (O: 218-481-6397
C: 218-355-8834) will be stopping in “to engage the community and gather an understanding about where the local community would like to take this conversation” in regards to erosion and high water concerns as highlighted in this Star Tribune article from Nov. 16 2019:
Informational correspondence on the sewer lining project
11/2019 meeting at Lafayette from Tom Pfeffer at the City of Duluth
Hi Jim,
Apparently, out of ignorance, one of the TV news reporters suggested the pipe lining project would improve the standing water alone the curb lines…which is not the case. During my “unplanned” presentation, one of the questions that came out was “…will this [sewer lining project] get rid of the standing water…” and my answer was “no, this project will reduce the amount of sewage that needs to be conveyed to WLSSD”.
We have multiple problems out there…1) the surface of the road is very flat and irregular which results in standing water (regardless of the source); 2) surrounded by lake superior, the high ground water surrounds and seeps into public sewers and private basements; 3) there is only one sanitary sewage pipe (currently on the lift bridge) that conveys sewage off the Point.
- Sanitary Sewer Flows are a composite of all that flows “down the drain”, plus ground water and rain water that seeps into pipes/manholes. Based on CCTV video inspections of the underground pipes, we know that some water seeps into the pipe. We know that when the lake level is higher and when it’s raining, we get more relatively clean water seeping into the sanitary sewer mixing with the sewage increasing the volume needed to be pumped to WLSSD. Occasionally, the combined volume is more than can be pumped off the point, and the sewage backs up in the pipes/manholes. It eventually backs up out of the lowest elevation manholes, which (for the sanitary sewer) happen to be located near 17th-19th Streets. The back-up of sewage comes out of the manhole and spreads out on the road and along the curb line or other low points.
- Surface/storm water flows to storm sewer catch basins and pipes which flow to the lake. The sources of surface water are rain, melting snow, and sump pump discharges. If the ground surface is flat and/or poorly graded, the surface water does not drain to the catch basins and thus does not go to storm sewer or the lake. If the storm sewer pipes are plugged with sand, debris, or standing water, they do not drain. In either case, the result is relatively clean water standing on roads and along gutter lines.
- Numerous homes have basements that are below ground water level. They utilize sump pumps to capture the relatively clean water before it gets into their basements. The water is pumped to discharge on the ground surface…thus, contributing to surface water flows.
This current project is phase 2 of the CIPP lining of the sewer main (public owned) pipes. Once these mains are lined and made water tight, the next phase [3] we will resume inspecting and requiring private service lines be lined or replaced to stop any ground water from getting into the sanitary sewer. THESE PROJECTS ARE REDUCING THE SANITARY SEWAGE FLOWS by reducing or eliminating ground water seeping into the system. We are confident this will help lower flows enough to allow the current pump/pipe system to convey sewage off the Point without backup. We are therefore reducing/eliminating the occasional ‘sewage backup’ on the road in the gutter.
This project does not fix ground surface drainage of yards and roadways. This project does not add new storm sewer drainage systems. This project does not eliminate or reduce surface water flows.
Back to your questions…”will this make any difference with all the standing water along the road” yes and no. YES, for that very small portion of standing water that is actually sewage that occasionally occurs due to sewage back up. NO, the majority of the standing water is surface water that can’t get to the lake.
Your theory is sound in that by not entering the sanitary sewer system that water would remain in the ground/lake. Again, in theory, perhaps you can say the lake level should rise after we effectively seal off the sanitary sewer and service pipes. BUT, will that rise in the lake level be perceivable or measureable, I would say not.
Our first priority is to get the sanitary sewage safely off the Point and eliminate sewage backups.
Hope this helps,
Tom
Tom Pfeffer | Senior Engineer | MN Licensed PE | City of Duluth | 411 West First Street, Duluth, MN 55802 | 218-730-5104 | tpfeffer@duluthmn.gov
By Dawn Buck on Oct 24, 2019 | In Uncategorized | Comments Off on Welcome New Neighbor !
HI, LeAne Rutherford created this letter for welcoming new neighbors to Park Point. Thank you, LeAne!
If you have new neighbors, maybe you might stop over and say hi, bring them the latest Breeze edition and see how they are doing in their new home?
Welcome Park Point Neighbor
Breeze October 2019
By Dawn Buck on Oct 13, 2019 | In Uncategorized | Comments Off on PPCC Meeting Tuesday, 10/15 at Lafayette, 630pm coffee & cookies, 7pm meeting
On the agenda:
Erosion & High Water Committee Presentation
Committee members:
Hamilton Smith, Gale Kerns, Gordon Kerns, Jan Karon, Gary Glass, Roger Reinert, Scott Wolff
Update on Sky Harbor Airport project
Benita L. Crow, PE (MN, WI),
Brandon Twedt, PE (MN)
Director of UAS Operations
Airport Planning and Design
SEH — Building a Better World for All of Us™
10.13.2019 Park Point
