04/22/1996 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22, 1996 second issue as well as some other lesser issues but the difference between concern No. 1 and No. 2 is so far down the line that only one issue and that is safety of the neighborhood and the children attending this school. Mr. Dunn said he was not sure from the presentations he has heard since the presentations have been somewhat unclear from the technical and professional viewpoint and he has not seen the facts because they have not been presented. He said he was not sure if the design of this project was to target cost or target the need for safety. He felt that there is a big difference on how you approach the design of a structure and the design of this challenge whether you are designing to keep the project within the budget or designing for a requirement such as safety. He felt that the City Council needs to hear that before they make an approval of the road option, whatever option it might be. Mr. Dunn said that his conscious would bother him if he did not ask the question, "have you turned every stone, have you turned every leaf, have you done everything you can, disregarding cost, which is way down on the priority list, before you make your approval?" Get a commitment firmly from the technical staff that has been selected and hired to do the job. Mr. Dunn said that this is of paramount importance. He said that he does not have any children who would be attending this school, however he did have grandchildren who may attend the middle school. He said he did not know if it would be the end of the world if this project were delayed a year while this problem was adequately addressed by doing a traffic study, the road improvement or whatever. Mr. Dunn said that if his grandchildren were killed because I did not do something that I should have done, he would not be able to sleep at night. He asked the City Council to make sure that this is not a design to target costs but a design to address safety. Jean Lanners, 7546 Patti Drive - Ms. Lanners said that she has respect for all the residents that live in the area that is affected by the middle school. However, she said safety for the children has to be the number one issue. She said that she cannot be with her children 24 hours a day so that the City Council must be trusted to make a right decision, to make the roads for the buses and the pedestrian paths safe for the children. Ms. Lanners said that she has been out in her neighborhood and discussed the issues with herneighbors and all agree that they cannot support an option that does not have a traffic light because in her opinion, that is the only way her children will be safe. Ms. Lanners presented a petition to the City Council supporting a traffic light. Bruce Rorem, 149 Egret Lane - Mr. Rorem circulated a petition in his neighborhood. He explained that the concerns of his neighborhood were as follows: 1) safety be examined; 2) the stop light be considered; 3) cost; 4) pedestrian access and 5) neighborhood impact. He presented the petition to the City Council and explained that his neighborhood felt the concerns of the Elm Street neighborhood are important. His neighborhood stressed that the City Council come up with solutions to all concerns that would make everyone satisfied knowing that a good decision was made. Mr. Rorem said he hated to see the division between the residents that were present this evening. He said he has two (2) concerns with Option D. This Option includes two (2) accesses to Lake Drive and therefore no stop light would be warranted. Mr. Rorem said that he has been a PAGE 26