04/22/1996 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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• COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22, 1996 Mr. Weigold noted other issues addressed by Mr. McClellan at that time. They are the entrances to and exits from the middle school were as outlined in Option 3 which many people have not seen. This entrance was north of the entrance outlined in Options B and E. Mr. McClellan drew in the driveway and said that this entrance was almost quarantined in stone. Mr. Weigold said that this is the type of misinformation that Mr. McClellan has been putting out. He said that Mr. McClellan and the school board requested the postponement of the two (2) previously called public hearings before the City Council where the residents could express their concerns and bring up other issues. He felt that this action took away the chance for the residents to give their input. Mr. Weigold said that Mr. McClellan and the school Board told Mr. Ahrens that these hearings were postponed so that the School District could re-evaluate the assessments. However, what has been happening is that Mr. McClellan has been politicking for the last month and a half and that is why the City Council is getting all of the petitions tonight. The petitions indicate the exact same thing the Wenzel Farms residents have been saying, the traffic light should come first. Mr. Weigold asked that if the traffic light cannot be approved by MnDOT, what else is there to look at? Option F has got some merit however, Wenzel Farms is concerned about the children who will be crossing Elm Street. He noted that this Option would send traffic north past the middle school. No one is talking about how safe that proposal is. Mr. Weigold said from the beginning, he has "barked" about the traffic that is going to be sent on two (2) sides of the middle school. All the traffic including emergency vehicles and the additional traffic from the senior housing development will all be going past the middle school. Mayor Landers asked Mr. Weigold to shorten his presentation because other people would like to give their presentations. Mr. Weigold said he appreciated the fact that other people have additional input, however, he said that if anyone is owed some extra time it is him. He said he and his wife have been involved from the very beginning of this process because they wanted to know if they are "out in left field" on this matter. Mr. Weigold said that because of the misinformation and "flip-flop" positions given by OSM, the misinformation and politicking by the Superintendent, we were close to what is going on. He said he and his wife knocked on every door in Wenzel Farms, every door that had a driveway onto Elm Street all the way to Second Avenue and every door on Second Avenue that has a driveway to Second Avenue. They presented to each homeowner the final four (4) options and asked them which option they preferred. Mr. Weigold said "then, at the eleventh" hour, OSM presented another option. He presented a survey from these homeowners. Mr. Weigold said that his suspicions have come true. The Superintendent has divided the City and OSM has added to the division. Now Wenzel Farm residents have become enemies to residents on Second Avenue. That has been rectified by the Wenzel Farm residents getting out and talking to the residents on Second Avenue. The School District has refused to talk about any other options the neighborhood has presented. Mr. Weigold said that these options are valid. He said that there was another Option F that gives the same probability of warranting a stop light but the School District turned it down. He said the reason that the School District turned it down was because they would not get PAGE 29