06-14-2007 Charter Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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they've had to choose from are the same old ones that they have been presented for 20 years. There wasn't any citizen input on how the project was going to be done in the failed referendum attempts. Smith and Reinart are in agreement on that point. How do we get this thing done right? If we pull in both sides together we can get this done. John Sever John is also a resident of West Shadow Lake Drive. Most of the people won't vote as they don't have an issue in their community. Until over 1/2 of the roads are in need of reconstruction they won't get the attention of the voters to get the referendums passed. Chris Bretoi Chris is another resident of West Shadow Lake drive. He pointed out that the issue on this road is nothing new. When he bought in 1986 and built several years later it was an issue. He feels responsible stewardship of roads is the issue. All the issues tie together. In 2005 there was the ballot issue. He was asked to sign petition in 2005 to look at the road condition and this took on a life of its own. A feasibility report took off with full water, sewer, etc. This surprised the residents. There was just one recommendation and alternative. There was no input from the residents. It pitted east side and west side against each other. It was used as evidence that residents supported the study. This wasn't true. This effort has left him a skeptic that the process will work. Hopefully we have learned from how the referendum was attempted in 2005 so it doesn't happen again. Mike Trehns Mike also lives on West Shadow Lake drive. He pointed out that if we pull out the charter commission members, the experts and the task force, etc. there is no one else here at this session. He feels there is fear mongering here. It is obvious the council doesn't like the charter. He does not feel that road maintenance is addressed by the charter. When you look at the road cost presentations the only increase in the cost is regular inflationary rates. If it doesn't get fixed this year it will cost more due to inflation. Also, the faster you reconstruct the street the sooner it will need the next reconstruction. He lives on the street and really doesn't think the street is that bad. He has seen state highways in worse shape with much higher speed limits. It is not great but it is not horrible. He doesn't feel the charter pits neighbors against each other but the city does pit them against each other. The city should be sitting down with the neighborhoods and coming up with a plan that the residents want and the city will support. The city is not trying hard to come up with a solution. Their plan would have destroyed the character of the neighborhood. The charter is all we have to fall back on to prevent projects from happening that the citizens don't want. In the failed attempts, he said the city didn't observe the 60 day period in the referendum. It was clear that in the second attempt that only some of the residents supported the plan. In his opinion, if they get a process together so they are organized and supported, projects will get through. Robert Bening Robert has been a resident since Jan of 1974. He is a charter commission member but is speaking on his own behalf. He lives on the other Shadow Lake Drive that got the referendum passed. He has seen many changes since the charter was originated. He felt the city didn't do enough to support the change in the charter. He voted for the referendum on his street and this proves it works. The next referendum -11-