04-13-2016 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES CITY COUNCIL APRIL 13, 2016 PRESENTATION- Chief Don Smiley and Assistant Chief Tim Boss stated that the fire LITTLE CANADA department operates charitable gambling sites in the City which has FIRE DEPT. allowed them to donate over $1 million for various fire related equipment CHARITABLE and training. Chief Smiley noted that they have also paid over $100,000 GAMBLING to the City for their 10 percent gambling fee. He stated that they are DONATION TO presenting a check for $58,000 to the City from their charitable gambling THE CITY proceeds for the fire truck and equipment fund. PRESENTATION — Beth Engum, Engineer with Ramsey County Public Works, stated that she RICE STREET/694 was in attendance to review the proposed design for the Rice Street bridge INTERCHANGE over I-694. She stated that in 1999, MNDOT turned back Rice Street to IMPROVEMENTS Ramsey County, and in exchange, they committed to replacing bridge over I-694. She explained that the Unweave the Weave project pushed back the new Rice Street bridge project, but now with a third lane being added to I-694, the cities affected decided it is a good time to find funding to do the bridge. Ms. Engum stated that currently the County is in the process of asking for design and construction funding from the Legislature. Ms. Engum stated that the four intersections abutting the new Rice Street bridge are planned to be roundabouts. She explained that roundabouts greatly reduce fatalities and crashes in general. She noted this particular area is problematic because of the limited room for vehicle stacking between the intersections. She stated that there are currently no roundabouts on Ramsey County roads, but some will be constructed this year at I -35W and County Road H. Ms. Engum stated that the County will find out in late May about the funding request from the Legislature. She explained that if they are not successful with the State, they will try for federal funding, but that is for 2019 funds. A video on the misconceptions of roundabouts was played. Fischer stated that he was still concerned about the real flow of traffic during the heavy times with roundabouts. Ms. Engum stated that the roundabouts will be designed for peak traffic counts. She explained that the engineers are now looking at what the footprints of these new roundabouts will be, and moving or removing access points. She noted that some properties will likely be impacted with land taking, and they are planning to construct sidewalks and trails with this project. She stated that the County would like to try to improve the angle of the eastbound I-694 exit ramp to Rice Street. The City Administrator stated that this design, even though it is still somewhat conceptual, is the best design reviewed and is what is going to the Legislature. He noted that if the City Council has concerns, they need to be heard soon. Ms. Engum noted that the County will be talking to the impacted businesses soon. 2