01-23-07 Council Special Minutes

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MINUTTS CITY COUNCIL JANUARY 23, 2007 One property owner expressed concern that in rerouting Viking Drive to Minnesota Street it will be difficult to get onto Rice Street because of traffic congestion at the intersection. It was pointed out that the Rice Street/MinnesotaStceet intersection currently has a lot of traffic on it from Bally's and McDonald's. The property owner asked how traffic from Viking Drive would merge onto Minnesota Avenue. The City Engineer anticipated that traffic volumes on Viking Drive will increase once the road is rerouted to Minnesota Avenue. He indicated that a stop sign would be placed on Viking Drive at Minnesota Avenue. The Engineer was asked if the width of Minnesota Avenue would be increased. The Engineer felt that adjusting the traffic signal timing at Rice Sheet and Minnesota would help alleviate traffic congestion. A property owner indicated that the traff c signal favors Rice Street at this time, and that it is typically a long wait to exit Minmesota Avenue if there are even just a few cars stacked at the intersection. The Engineer indicated that he is in discussions with the County about changing the timing of the traffic signals. The current timing was put in place to help with additional traffic flows resulting from the Unweave the Weave project. The Engineer noted that the Viking Drive realignment will help control some of the traffic flow onto Rice Street. He also noted that when McDonald's is reconstructed, access in and out of the site will be via Viking Drive rather than McDonald's. Blesener noted that the Rice Street/Highway 36 area is a long range project, and also pointed out that the County is establishing a task force to look at Rice Street from Highway 36 to County Road J. The realignment of Viking Drive is just one component. Blesener acknowledged that there will be some problems as various components are put in place, but these problems will need to be worked through. The Engineer continued his report, reviewing the City's assessment policy in detail. He then reviewed the proposed project schedule as well as construction issues. The Engineer presented two versions of the preliminary assessment roll for the project. The first anticipated a cold in- placerecycle project for a portion of Viking Drive which resulted in a lower assessment estimate for St. Jude Medical and the Oakmont properties. The second version of the assessment roll anticipated full reconstruction for the road segment adjacent to St. Jude Medical and Oakmont, thus resulting in a higher estimated assessment. The Engineer reported that soil borings will be done in this area, and the extent of the project will depend on the results of those soil borings.