Special Offer for VG Residents - HealthSource of Hugo - Local Business Profile

Dr. Erik Carlson of Health Source introduced his chiropractic and rehab company along with Ryan Manning of Anytime Fitness.  Both of these companies complement each other and provide valuable services close to home.  For Victor Gardens residents, Dr. Carlson is offering following special offer: 

"Free consultation, examination, X-rays (if necessary) and discussion of your treatment plan ($180 value).  Also, for patients that decide to sign up for care, there are two more options.  Patients that choose a corrective care plan will receive 5 free 1/2 hour massages ($200 value) and patients that choose pain relief will receive 2 free 1/2 hour massages ($80 value).  This totals to a value of up to $380 in savings.  Please bring your ID to verify your address."

HealthSource

14643 Mercantile Drive

Hugo, MN, 55038

651-528-8254

www.healthsourceofhugo.com

hshugo@healthsourcechiro.com

Disclosure

Anytime Fitness to Open in Old Sertino's Location

After a few weeks of demolition inside the old Sertino's Cafe, signs have appeared announcing a new Anytime Fitness center within that location.  More info is sure to follow.

*Note: Someone correctly pointed out that I listed the wrong business name for the new fitness center.  I've since corrected it.

Lawn Care - Irrigation Start-Up $60 - Local Business Profile

Shawn Herman from Classic Lawnscape is offering residents group rates for irrigation start-up services this spring.  

For $60 per yard, Shawn will:

• Check your irrigation controller
• Check all sprinkler zones
• Adjust sprinklker heads as necessary
• arrange for access to your irrigation controller to start-up the system.
  

If he finds any problems requiring repairs, Shawn will inform you.  He charges $65/hr for repair work plus the cost of materials.  Of course, he'll OK all potential fixes with you first. 

Shawn is well known in the neighborhood for the quality work he does blowing-out and winterizing many of our sprinkler systems.  It's not unusual for Sahwn to do this service for more than 30 of our neighbors.  He's top notch.  I've even called him in the dead of winter for advice- after a friend's sprinkler system filled with water and froze up.

Contact Shawn at (612) 366-6088 for details and scheduling.


Disclosure Statement

Lawn Care - De-Thatching/Raking Service $40-$50 - Local Business Profile

Bud Schneider is offering discounted machine de-thatching/raking services again this spring.  Tony Schwab has negotiated group rate pricing with Bud.  The cost is the same this year as in previous years: $40-$50 depending on the size, but no more than $50. 

Many residents have been hiring Bud Schneider for a the last few years and he's done a great job.  Sure beats raking by hand!
 
Please contact Bud Schneider at (651) 429-6896.

Disclosure Statement

Discount Window Cleaning - $175 per SFV home / $100 per condo/townhome - Local Business Profile

Quality Window Cleaning - Grant Dahl

Tony Schwab has once again arranged discounted window washing this year for VG residents. Grant Dahl of Quality Window Cleaning is offering a few special flat-rates for Victor Gardens residents. The pricing includes cleaning all windows and doors inside and outside.

• $175 - Single Family Village homes. 
• $100 - Town home & condo homes. (Villas, Gables, North & South Village, etc... )

This is the same company Tony recommended over the last few years. Reports and comments about Grant's work were very positive. 

Please contact Grant Dahl at (763) 656-8519.

Disclosure Statement

Sertino's Cafe May Close

According to Hugo's newspaper, The Citizen, Sertino's Café may close soon.  Read more about it here.  Throwing the business a lifeline, the City of Hugo recently approved a large orange highway sign to attract customers to the business.  As of a few days ago, the sign had been removed.

Hopefully Sertino's will be able to continue in its Victor Gardens location.  It's a great place for a morning cup of coffee or an afternoon ice cream cone. 

Local Businesses & Resources Guide

Updated March 2012
This blog entry has been changed into a comprehensive guide found on this page: 

http://blog.victorgardensnews.org/p/local-business-resources.html

Wagner's Full Moon Festival Saturday, Sept. 25

Paint a pie pumpkin and take it home. Pony Rides 11am-2pm. Refreshments will be served.

Wagner's Greenhouse

4860 Frenchman Rd North (across from Lake Area Bank)

651-653-8863

http://wagners.biz/

Local Business Profile: All City Insurance Agency

Victor Gardens Community Association President, LaVonne Fitzgerald, suggested we publish a profile of another Hugo-based small business: All City Insurance Agency. Here's a message from owner, Kevin Buechler:

My name is Kevin Buechler and I am one of the owners of All City Insurance Agency. We are a independent agency, simply put we can write business thru many companies. Currently we have 9 agents employed at my agency (with over 100 years of insurance experience )and we offer Auto, Home, Business, Life & Health Insurance. My agency specializes in finding the right insurance products for our customers and we do this by having access to over 60 different insurance companies. The benefit to our clients is that no one insurance company can meet the changing needs of people while continuing to have the most competitive rates in the insurance industry.

As your agent, All City Insurance Agency shop’s the insurance market place and finds the best product that meets our customers’ needs. All City Agency specializes in helping people lower their insurance rates while often increasing coverage and closing gaps in the insured’s existing policies. Currently we write over 90 percent of the business we quote. I would like to believe it is because we continue to preach our motto “Friendly Valued Priced Insurance Products and Service”

We have grown tremendously over the last 5 years and that allows All City Agency to attract many of the Insurance industries best Independent Insurance Companies, with that we have Hugo’s largest variety of insurance carriers and products. This advantage makes All City Insurance Agency a one stop shop as we continue to provide our clients with the largest variety of companies, insurance packages and products at the lowest rates. I would be interested in meeting for lunch someday if you have time.

We are currently working on a new website that will be dynamic and very informative to customers. The website will be educational and a great learning resource for customers who understand the value of being properly insured, especially after residents of this community have seen firsthand why it is important to be properly insured.

All City Insurance Agency

14511 Forest Blvd N.

Hugo, MN. 55038

651-484-1213

fax 651-481-1407

allcityagency@hotmail.com

Local Business Profile - Quality Window Washing Discount for VG's Town Home Residents - $100

We've heard a number of good reports from neighbors about Quality Window Washing this spring and its owner Grant Dahl. He returned again this year and was asked by a resident to offer flat-rate discounts for single family homeowners. ($175) He's now is offering all town home & condo residents a similar special flat-rate. A $100+tax price includes cleaning all windows and doors inside and outside. This offer extends to the Villas, Gables, North & South Village, etc... Please contact Grant Dahl at (763) 656-8519 for more info.

Note: This post is a public service for Victor Gardens residents. No compensation or freebies were asked for or given for this post.

Discount Window Washing - $175 per SFV home - Local Business Profile

A message was sent to me by our neighbor Tony Schwab about discounted window washing again this year. Quality Window Cleaning is offering a special flat-rate for Victor Gardens Single Family Village residents. The $175.00 price includes cleaning all windows and doors inside and outside. This is the same company Tony recommended last year, and reports of their work were very positive. Please contact Grant Dahl at (763) 656-8519 or call Tony at (651) 429-2000.

Tony's also in the process of coordinating yard thatching and irrigation start-up discounts with other contractors. I'll post those when they are available.

Note: This post is a public service for Victor Gardens residents. No compensation was asked for or given for this post

UPDATE 5/6/10: Quality Window Washing is offering all town home & condo residents a similar special flat-rate for Victor Gardens residents. The $100.00 + tax price includes cleaning all windows and doors inside and outside. This offer extends to the Villas, Gables, North & South Village, etc... Please contact Grant Dahl at (763) 656-8519 for more info.

Local Business Profile - P.A.W.S. Pet Hospital

A new full service veterinary hospital in Hugo, MN has opened its doors at 4644 Victor Path. P.A.W.S.' recently completed building has been under construction for the past few months. Michelle Beck, D.V.M. and her staff are now welcoming new patients. For more information visit pawspethospital.com or call (651) 400-1180.

According to P.A.W.S. website,

"The mission of P.A.W.S. Pet Hospital is to help our clients enjoy the benefits of a long, healthy and active relationship with their pets. We are committed to strengthening the human/animal bond through client and community education on animal care and health. Our focus is on wellness as well as the art of healing. We will achieve this mission by:

• providing expert pet care and an exceptional customer experience from a highly trained team, leveraging the best diagnostic tools and procedures, and
• by
  customizing and supporting a wellness program for each individual pet and owner’s lifestyle.

We will have achieved our mission if you view us as “your family’s other doctor”."

Local Business Profile - Northeast Eye Care

Local Business Profile - 

Northeast Eye Care

14643 Mercantile Dr. (near Sertino's)

2nd Annual Trunk Show - 50% Off Sale (click here for details/coupon)

Monday, May 18.  12:00pm - 7:00PM

Northeast Eye Care is now open in Victor Gardens. Our expert eyecare team is trained in comprehensive routine and emergency eye services.

Northeast Eye Care is a patient oriented, locally owned practice committed to new innovations and technologies in the eyecare field. The Doctors ongoing participation in clinical research has allowed us to offer the latest in diagnostic and treatment options. The state-of-the-art clinic, optical and contact lens centers are electonically integrated to provide only the latest in eye care technologies. We look forward to providing highly personalized and quality care in a comfortable environment.

Northeast Eye Care of Hugo provides Twin Cities northern suburb residents the highest level of optometric care available.  Dr. Rafe Garofalo and Dr. Kristi Iverson have been treating and managing eye conditions and eye disease for a combined 22 years.   We are grateful for our patients' trust in us.

Northeast Eye Care Website 

Proposed Xcel Power Line Route Through Victor Gardens

LaVonne Fitzgerald, Master Board Member from the Villas Association has been gathering information about the proposed power line and has met with City of Hugo staff about the topic.  They have shared a few renderings that show Xcel's proposed route through Hugo and Victor Gardens.  It is believed that the City Council will discuss this at their November 3 City Council Meeting.  Interested residents should call City Hall as that date approaches, to verify if they will be discussing this at the meeting.

 UPDATE 10/16:  The following info was published in the most recent edition of The Citizen:  "Directed staff to review options for the construction of a new feeder distribution power line extending southwest from the Waters Edge neighborhood through Victor Gardens into Anoka County. Xcel Energy requested approval to construct the line in its right-of-way. More discussion will take place at the Oct. 20 council meeting." -written by Aaron Rupar

Download more images/documents:

• Highlighted map showing proposed route through VG
• Original (unedited) color map showing route & easements
• Xcel - Hugo sketch #1
• Xcel - Hugo sketch #2
• Xcel - Hugo sketch #3 (shows VG)

Xcel Plans Another Elevated Electrical Line through Victor Gardens

At the last Hugo City Council Meeting (Oct. 6, 2008) Hugo city staff discussed with Hugo's City Council a new Xcel Energy plan to build an additional electrical feeder distribution line through parts of Hugo.  Xcel plans a (35,000 volt) line to run through parts of Victor Gardens' commercial and town homes areas on 45' tall poles along side the existing elevated power line.  Xcel's existing line can be seen near Kindergardens Day Care Center, Sertino's, Victor Square, our Neighborhood Activity Center, and portions of the Gables Association.

Xcel currently has a utility right-of-way easement along the existing line and wants to construct an additional above-ground electrical line that would run parallel to the existing line.  The City Council was informed by city staff of Xcel's desire to install an above-ground line rather than a more costly buried line.  

The Council discussed Xcel's plan, and voted to direct City staff to immediately begin working on alternative options, such as burying the cables, and other options. This discussion was part of the City Council's Oct. 6 Agenda (New Business Item J-3.  Minutes for the meeting have not been posted to Hugo's website yet, but the discussion is currently able to be viewed on cable subscribers channel 16 (Govt. TV).  

The issue is scheduled to be taken up again at the next City Council meeting.  

UPDATE 10/7/08: 

This afternoon I emailed our Hugo City Council Member, Becky Petryk; City Administrator, Mike Ericson; and Community Development Director , Bryan Bear.  I offered to publish and email any updates to Victor Gardens residents about information updates regarding the progress of this issue.

Council Member Petryk responded quickly to my email and wrote back in part, "This electric line is a very important issue and we will do our best to minimize the impact to our residents. Mike will keep me updated on any meetings and or progress in working out an acceptable solution."    I expect that we will find out more information within the next few days.

- Mark V

Construction of Clinic Building Expected to Resume

The nearly completed, vacant commercial building located on near Victor Gardens main entrance may soon resume construction.  A Pharmacy may eventually take up some of the retail space within the building.  The tall weeds were trimmed on the property this week as reports of an agreement between Fairview and Northern Lights Pediatric Clinic were published in Hugo's The Citizen newspaper.  Click here to read Deb Barnes story.

Board Meeting - a few other topics discussed

Considering the gravity of the Community Association’s financial situation, other New Business topics were briefly discussed:

1.New Retail Construction         - Positive homeowner reaction to new retail architecture         - Proposed new medical facility construction (South of Frenchman                  Rd. East of Victor Hugo Blvd.) may be held up by contract problems          with existing, competing businesses.  (This relates to a “compete          clause” involving medical businesses on that particular site.)

2.Appearance of unsold lots         - New City of Hugo ordinance permits weed/grass growth no longer                  than 10”         -  CPDC has been notified by the City that it needs to comply with          the new ordinance, and cut the growth on it’s unsold lots.     

3.Review of dog leash rules & pick-up policy         - City of Hugo to hold a public hearing on the issue          Monday, Sept. 17 @ 7pm at City Hall.         - Separately, VG homeowners requested clarification and         reinforcement of Association Rules.   Board decided to table the          discussion and wait for outcome of City of Hugo’s ordinance process.  

4.Holiday lighting & some future social events         - Board advocated neighborhood partnering with new businesses and          retail landlords for potential sponsorship of some “social events” and          holiday lighting.

5.Review snow removal contracts         -  Association should review contracts with cost savings in mind.  Past                      problems with were also discussed.  It is likely that the snow removal          amenity may be reduced or cut back this year due to budget          constraints.  More information will be announced when it becomes          available.

6.Tennis court maintenance         - CPDC is working with the City of Hugo to address damaged net         anchoring posts.

7.Pool, irrigation and fountain winterizing         -  Pool is now closed         - Irrigation and fountain blow-out & winterizing will take place in         October.

8.Clarification of status of homeowner representatives.         -  The official status of neighborhood representatives, Charles Kirk (Townhomes) and Mark Vlker (Single Family Village) to the Board of Directors has been settled.  It was agreed by the Board’s Directors, Charles and Mark that the neighborhood representatives be considered as volunteers/informal Liaisons to the Board - not voting members of the Board. This clears up confusion that recently arose about the voting status of the neighborhood representatives.  All agreed with the resolution to this issue.

New Construction - Medical Facility

More information has emerged about the new construction projects near Victor Gardens’ main entrance.    The following is a Star-Tribune article from the Business Section dated August 13, 2007, written by Don Jacobsen:

Hot Property

VICTOR GARDENS MEDICAL OFFICE PROJECT

Southwest corner of County Road 8 and Victor Hugo Blvd., Hugo

Type: Medical

Area: 15,000 square feet

Developer: Mondo Management

Details: Commercial development in fast-growing Hugo is continuing apace this summer, as the housing slowdown that has affected many suburbs isn't hitting as hard in this northern Washington County town.

The intersection of Victor Hugo Boulevard and County Road 8 (also known as Frenchman Road) is only a few hundred yards east of an Interstate 35E exit. A county road construction project has also made it more accessible from Hwy. 61, just a half-mile farther east. This juxtaposition has proved beneficial for Victor Gardens, a master-planned residential community, which, according to its developers, is still seeing brisk home-buying activity for its planned 650 housing units.

And that, in turn, has meant sufficient demand for commercial buildings at the Victor Hugo and County Road 8 intersection to spur construction activity in three of its quadrants. The latest groundbreaking was held last month in the southeast quadrant for a 15,000-square-foot commercial building owned by Northern Lights Holdings LLC, an entity controlled by White Bear Lake-based Northern Lights Pediatrics, a health care firm that will be the new building's main occupant.

Additional tenants in the new building will probably include other types of health care providers, says Jeff Wallis, a principal with Mondo Management, the codeveloper and leasing agent for the building.

"We're looking at a December opening for this building, with tenants possibly moving in by January," he said, adding that a similarly sized retail building in the southwest quadrant, developed by St. Paul-based Positive Companies and anchored by a Northeast Eye Care clinic, is also under construction; it is set for an opening within 90 days.

"We're also managing that building, and it's 70 percent leased," Wallis said. "It will include a Fantastic Sam's, a Guys and Dolls salon and a USA Karate studio in addition to the eye clinic."

Last year, the intersection's northeast corner got a retail jump-start with a project spearheaded by United Properties called Victor Marketplace, including a Festival Foods store operated by Knowlan's Super Markets Inc. Also slated for the center was a 5,000-square-foot liquor store, operated by Knowlan's, called On the Rocks Wine and Spirits, and 15,000 square feet of additional retail.

Victor Gardens is being codeveloped by Contractors Property Developers Co. and Pratt Homes. Shelley Tompkins, a vice president and marketing director for Contractors, said that about two-thirds of the development's townhomes and about half of its single-family houses have been sold, and that the retail portion has been scrupulously designed to mesh with them.

"It's unlike many other suburban retail centers in that it's just as easy to walk to as drive to," she said. "It has French European design features and really fits in with the whole idea of making Frenchman Road the front door to Hugo."

DON JACOBSON

Reprinted from Star Tribune, August 13, 2007

New Retail Site Breaks Ground - Other Progresses

Shelly Tompkins, of CPDC has asked that I share some information about the new retail development in Victor Gardens.  Ground has broken on the Southwest corner of Victor Hugo Blvd. and Frenchman road .  Work continues on the Southeast corner’s retail expansion. 

USA Karate to Open in August

Thanks to Phil Stein for forwarding info about one of Victor Gardens future retail businesses:

“...We will be opening our Hugo location sometime in August 2007.  We offer a free 15 minute introductory class to all new students (by appointment only).  This introductory class allows you to try out some karate moves, see our school, and meet some of our instructors.  If you enjoy your free introductory class, we have another trial opportunity called our one month special.  The one month special is $29.95, includes a karate uniform, and allows you to attend class twice a week for four weeks.  If you would like us to contact you to schedule a free introductory class closer to opening, please contact us.  Also, if you would like more information please call us at (651) 998-0960. Thank You, Lisa Pruden Director of Operations USA Karate Office: (651) 998-0960 Cell:     (651) 248-1502 Fax;     (651) 998-0961 Email:  usakaratewoodbury@yahoo.com<mailto:usakaratewoodbury@yahoo.com> Website:  www.usa-karate.net <http://www.usa-karate.net>”