05/24/2010 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION May 3, 2010 DRAFT 46 require the city to be notified before the group home went in. Those presenting at the 47 meeting suggested that Lino Lakes' residents don't have anything to worry about. It was 48 clear to him that if there is any concern among citizens, it is about safety issues. He feels 49 there are still some unanswered questions such as what could this facility evolve into. 50 Mayor Reinert indicated that he intends to submit any and all questions and get answers. 51 It may be appropriate for the council to memorialize the information the city receives now 52 into a resolution or the like for the record and future reference. The council requested 53 that the city attorney and police chief comment on the legal and public safety aspects 54 (respectively) of the situation. 55 56 City Attorney Langel reported that the group home facility current located in Lino Lakes 57 is properly licensed and that limits the type of people it can serve (limited to 58 developmentally disabled persons). The specific records for the persons in the home are 59 private and thus are protected under law. He noted that this type of home is quite 60 common, with 114 of them located within Anoka County alone. As was indicated by the 61 county at the meeting, dealing with sex offenders is not allowed under the license for this 62 facility. 63 64 A member of the council discussed the possibility of a sex offender ending up at the 65 facility because of a low IQ or a disability. The council heard from the city attorney how 66 the term "sex offender" is defined by state statute. The council discussed the level of 67 supervision planned for the group home residents; it was reported at the meeting that 68 there will be 24 -hour "awake" supervision as well as a guarantee that residents are not 69 allowed to go anywhere outside the facility without supervision. 70 71 The council will submit their questions to be submitted to Anoka County for response. 72 Staff should bring responses to a future council work session. The city attorney informed 73 the council of the legal limitations of keeping out facilities. When asked about the 74 criteria for openings at the facility, the attorney remarked that he would assume the 75 criteria would be the same as for current residents. 76 77 3. Signal Justification Report update (Birch/Ware and Lake/Main intersections) - 78 City Engineer Studenski explained that upon the direction of the council, the process of 79 developing a signal justification study for each of the two intersections is underway. The 80 purpose of each study is to determine if signals are warranted using established criteria 81 such as traffic counts. The next step in the process would be a feasibility study for each 82 project. Mr. Studenski then indicated that, based on the traffic count data already in, the 83 Main St/Lake Dr intersection meets the justification criteria but the Ware Rd/Birch St 84 does not. Without meeting the standard criteria, he explained, Anoka County would not 85 be participating in the project, at least up front. 86 87 The council concurred that staff should continue to work with the county on both 88 intersections. It is a council priority to get a question on the ballot this fall; it may be 89 appropriate to discuss the matter with the charter commission also to keep them 90 informed.