01-09-2013 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES CITY COUNCIL JANUARY 9, 2013 not be happy about this interpretation in light of the future improvement of highway 94. The Administrator suggested that in addition to seeking the Attorney General opinion, he would recommend a Legislative solution and reported that he has raised the issue with Senator Scalze as well as the League of MN Cities (LMC). He noted the letter the City has received from an LMC staff attorney. The Administrator also stated that the City Attorney can comment on any other options available to the City. The City Attorney again indicated that an Attorney General opinion should be the first step and that the City must exhaust its administrative options "first. In order to file for an injunction on the project, the City would have to show that there is an immediate danger in moving forward. Blesener suggested that the Council approve the City Attorney contacting the Attorney General for an interpretation of the Statute and the City Administrator working on a legislative solution with our Senator and Representative. Keis suggested that the City Attorney also look into additional options that may be available. Blesener agreed that the City Attorney should have the authority necessary to pursue options on the legal front and the City Administrator on the legislative front. Montour asked if other cities should be involved in requesting the Attorney General's opinion. The Administrator suggested that the coordination of that effort may take a little time. McGraw asked the about the process MN DOT utilized for MN Pass projects in the western suburbs. The City Administrator indicated that it appears existing shoulders and lanes were used for the western projects and there was no new lane construction. Therefore, municipal consent was likely not required. However, the project through Little Canada will involve the addition of new lanes. The Administrator noted that the MN DOT staff the City has been working with appeared surprised by the decision, and had been pursuing Municipal Consent all along. Keis introduced the following resolution and moved its adoption: RESOLUTION NO. 2013 -1 -10 — AUTHORIZING THE CITY ATTORNEY TO FILE A REQUEST WITH THE ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR AN OPINION ON THE ISSUE OF MUNICIPAL CONSENT ON THE MN PASS PROJECT AS WELL AS REVIEW POTENTIAL NEXT LEGAL STEPS AVAILABLE TO THE CITY ON THIS ISSUE, AND AUTHORIZING THE CITY ADMINISTRATOR TO SEEK A LEGISLATIVE SOLUTION ON THIS MATTER WITH THE CITY'S SENATOR AND REPRESENTATIVE AS WELL AS THE LEAGUE OF MN CITIES, AS WELL AS ATTEMPT TO 7