10-24-2012 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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Way of i&'h ?anaa6 MAYOR Bill nlescncr COUNCIL Rick Montour John Keis Michael McGraw Shelly Boss 515 Little Canada Road, Little Canada, MN 55117 -1600 ADMINISTRATOR (651) 766 -4029 / FAX: (651) 766 -4048 Joel R. Hanson www. ci.little- Canada. mn. us MEMORANDUM TO: Mayor Blesener and Members of the City Council FROM: Joel Hanson, City Administrator DATE: October 19, 2012 RE: Call for MnPass Municipal Consent Hearing The Minnesota Department of Transportation will be proceeding with the MnPASS project from Little Canada Road to Maryland Avenue. Work is planned to begin next year and will continue through the 2015 construction season. While Little Canada is not projected to have any direct cash outlays associated with this project, our permission is needed for the project to proceed. Our permission could take the form of approval of the plans as presented, conditional approval, or inaction on our part that will lead to approval. If we grant conditional approval, MnDot would have to decide if they agree with our conditions or if we need to proceed to an appeal process. (See MnDot Letter from Jennifer Read dated 10/5/12 attached for more specific information.) In meeting with Ms. Read yesterday, she informed me that sound barriers would be added on both sides of the freeway from Little Canada Road to the existing walls. The wall on the west side of I -35E will also be extended along Viking Drive. No extension is proposed to occur on the laminated wall on the east side of the freeway because the minimum decibel reduction (5db) to be considered cost effective could not be achieved. The Council should be aware that the extension of the wall by Viking Drive might not be desired by some of the residents in the townhomes along adjacent to Nature's Way. A survey of those residents is underway and the result should be available around November 10t11. It also sounds like County Drive will need to be excavated to repair a storm sewer pipe. This will result in a road closure of around two weeks due to the depth of the pipe (33 feet). Finally, staff asked MnDot to clean up the landscaping along Country Drive to remove volunteer trees from the new fencing the more established evergreens. An open house for this project will be held at Little Canada City Hall on Tuesday, October 23, 2012 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. It may be a good idea to stop by to gain some familiarity with the proposed project. Staff is recommending we call for the hearing on this project for November 28th at 7:30 p.m. If you would like more details on this project before that date, staff would recommend we call for a workshop with MnDot Staff prior to the 28i11. 1