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Charter Commission <br />April 13, 2006 <br />Page 9 <br />DRAFT <br />354 <br />L., 355 Commissioner Dahl asked about option B, develop and require the use of standard petition form <br />356 to eliminate confusion. She explained that sometimes people will sign a petition for a feasibility <br />357 study but then, once more details are learned about the project and cost, signed another petition <br />358 to not have the referendum the ballot. <br />359 <br />360 Commissioner Zastrow stated this is a Council issue and should not be discussed by the Charter <br />361 Commission. <br />362 <br />363 Commissioner Storberg stated under the Charter only new development roads need to go to a <br />364 referendum and roads that need to be fixed and are supported would not have to go to the <br />365 referendum. Commissioner Montain stated that is not correct because new roads are paid by the <br />366 developer. <br />367 <br />368 Commissioner Richard Williams stated someone put a lot of work into this memorandum and he <br />369 thinks there are some good points. <br />370 <br />371 Chair Warren noted the City conducted a quality of life survey and three Commissioners attended <br />372 the presentation on Monday night. She referenced the details of the survey as shown on page 12 <br />373 from Decision Resources. It indicates that they randomly selected 400 citizens to survey. Chair <br />374 Warren asked that question to be included in the record: <br />375 <br />376 "The Lino Lakes City Charter limits the street reconstruction practices of the City. <br />377 Under the charter, the city may only use tax dollars for street reconstruction if one <br />378 of two conditions are met: first, a citizen petitions the City for a specific road <br />379 improvement AND a majority of the affected property owners support the petition <br />380 AND a referendum on the improvement is approved in a citywide election; or <br />381 second, the City Council initiates the project AND the project is approved by a <br />382 majority of the affected property owners AND a referendum is approved in a <br />383 citywide election. The City is, however, allowed to perform limited maintenance <br />384 of streets, such as filling pot holes and seal coating." <br />385 <br />386 Chair Warren noted that the respondents indicated 66% were aware, 34% was not aware, and 1% <br />387 did not know or refused to answer. The next question asked was: <br />388 <br />389 "The initial step in road construction is the development of a comprehensive plan <br />390 that would prioritize roads for improvement. In order to implement this plan, a <br />391 funding source would have to be established." <br />392 <br />393 Chair Warren noted the respondents indicated that the majority favored a Charter change to allow <br />394 the City to establish a fund. She stated the Council has already moved into the arena to establish <br />395 a fund and the majority of the citizens surveyed have indicated they support a change to the <br />396 Charter. Chair Warren stated it has been discussed that perhaps a change to the Charter would <br />397 aid road construction so projects can move forward. The Council has taken a step ahead of this <br />9 <br />-10- <br />