Robbinsdale Mayor’s Minutes: Energy Conservation and Hubbard Ave. Construction
Robbinsdale Mayor Bill Blonigan sat down with Dave Kiser to discuss a new energy conservation initiative in the city and the ongoing Hubbard Ave. street construction project. Blonigan also promoted two upcoming events in Robbinsdale.
Partners in Energy
According to Blonigan, the city of Robbinsdale has recently begun working with Xcel through the program Partners in Energy (PIE). PIE is a cooperative effort where Xcel meets with a city to develop an action plan to meet their energy goals.
Blonigan said several community members and staff members have been involved in these meetings, including Council Member Mia Parisian.
“We developed an action plan that will be in writing in a beautiful booklet. It’ll have benchmarks,” said Blonigan. “It will enable us to help citizens and businesses and community members reduce their carbon footprint.”
Read more about PIE on Xcel’s website.
Hubbard Ave. Construction
Hubbard Ave. and some surrounding streets, including 36th Ave., Grimes Ave., and France Ave. have been undergoing extensive reconstruction. The $5 million project will address aging infrastructure, some of which is underground.
“We will dig up some things that are 100 years old underneath,” Blonigan said.
Consequently, residents can expect new water mains, new sanitary sewers, and new story sewers. Blonigan also mentioned some of the more visible improvements that residents will notice, including the new “roadways, curb and gutter, sidewalks, a bike path, and a meandering road to help safety on Hubbard Avenue and this is going to slow down traffic.”
Blonigan indicated there will be a portion of 36th Ave. between France and June Aves. that will be completely shut down for a couple of months.
Additionally, the project is taking protection of the city’s water into account during the construction.
“There will be redundancies built into the water system and to lessen flooding and to lessen water outages,” explained Blonigan.
Maps of the Hubbard Ave. construction area can be found on Robbinsdale’s website.
National Night Out
This year, National Night Out is on Tuesday, August 1. Blonigan recommended getting together with your neighbors to celebrate the annual community-building event.
“It promotes harmony in your neighborhood, promotes public safety,” said Blonigan.
Public Safety Open House
Lastly, the Public Safety Open House is on Saturday, August 12. The family-friendly event provides a close-up look at fire and police vehicles and demonstrations.
“It’s a great time, and it’s something that everybody likes: free swag, free treats. The kids love it,” Blonigan said.
