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Larkin Hoffman 12/16/2009 10;43 PAGE 004/008 Fax Server Mayor Bill Blesener Shelly Boss, Council Member john Keis, Council Member Michael McCrraw, Council Member Rick Montour, Council Member December 16, 2009 Page 3 the City that each wall must stand on its own merits, there was no pot of money for walls that would allow substitutions and that federal regulations would not allow this type ofhorse-trading, In short, MnDOT was informing the City Administrator that no legal or factual basis existed for his proposal. Moreover, MnDOT officials reconfirmed to the City at this workshop that the Country Drive noise walls met all federal criteria. A council member indicated his belief that Quebec Apartments' parcel was a "blighted property that is likely to be redeveloped" and suggested that the wall be eliminated. No legal or factual basis was offered by this council member for his assertion. Again, MnDOT officials responded by reconfirming that the noise wall for Quebec Apartments was "both cost-effective and acoustically effective," The final word by MnDOT on the subject at the workshop was that the City could request noise wall deletions, but that it may trigger an environmental justice issue. 2004 On January 26, 2004, the City held a required public hearing on the subject of whether it would give its consent to the Project and the conditions that the City would impose on its consent, On April 9, 2004, the City Administrator and the City Public Works Director reported to the Mayor and City Council members regarding their recommendations for the City's consent. 'These recommendations included a City request to MnDOT for deletion of two noise walls on Country Drive. With respect to the Quebec Apartments noise wall, City staff said that it would be "a uisual distraction and provide minimal benefit to the community." These assertions were unsupported by any evidence and contradicted the objective euidence gathered and presented by MnDOT in its EA. There also apparently was no attempt to address how the City or MnDOT could avoid the legal obligation to build the walls, given that the criteria established for the noise walls were shown to haue been met. On April 14, 2004, the City Council adopted a resolution giving its municipal consent to the Project and agreeing to participate in costs associated with the Project, subject to several expressly-stated conditions. One of the conditions was that MnDOT should delete the two noise walls on Country Drive. The resolution provided for an exception W the deletion of the Quebec Apartments noise wall "should there be an environmental justice requirement for that wall." Quebec Apartments received no notice of the City's decision to request deletion of the noise wall from the Project as part of the City's municipal consent. 2007-08 In December 2007, Theodore Zinner, one of Quebec's general partners, asked the City administrator when construction on the noise wall for Quebec Apartments would begin. In January 2008 the City Administrator disclosed to Quebec that MnDOT had deleted the wall from