11/05/2007 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION November 5, 2007 APPROVED 256 Rice Creek Watershed District Appointment — Administrator Heitke noted that this is 257 a reminder to the council that the city may chose to participate in this process. The 258 hydrological area that has an open position does contain a portion of Lino Lakes. 259 It may be good in the future to discuss with and submit a list in conjunction with other 260 cities in the district. 261 When a board representative who does live in Lino Lakes is considered for 262 reappointment, the council would like to hear from them. 263 West Oaks Sewer and Watermain Extension Petition - Engineer Studenski explained 264 that the city has received a petition from residents of the West Oaks Subdivision to 265 pursue the extension of sewer and water services. This is not an area scheduled for the 266 requested improvements or street reconstruction. Study of this request means that a 267 feasibility study would need to be prepared and since that involves a cost to the city, staff 268 requests council direction on how to proceed. 269 The council was concerned that these will be expensive improvements. Is there a way to 270 pass on the cost of the feasibility study? Also, the petition only requires fifty percent; 271 what do the rest of the residents think? 272 Getting feedback from all the residents could be an option. The engineer could send a 273 letter providing cost estimate information and other details and asking if residents would 274 be interested in paying for the feasibility study. 275 What does the submission of a petition require from the city? The city is only required 276 to accept the petition. 277 One council member suggested that there could be a meeting held at city hall providing 278 more details but the city engineer replied that there would no doubt be a low turn out so 279 that's not the best way to reach the most property owners. The suggestion was then to 280 offer the opportunity of a meeting in the previously mentioned letter. 281 The council will receive a draft letter at the December work session and can then await 282 feedback. The need for neighborhood meetings can be determined. 283 Communication Policy (Reinert, Bergeson agenda request) — The question relates to 284 establishing a policy regarding communication expectations. 285 Ideas for requests going in: shouldn't sit idle for many days (response within 24 hours 286 during the week - even a response about when a full response will be available); 287 courteous communication should be the key. 288 One suggestion is that a standardized form could be forwarded through the city clerk. 289 The city clerk could be responsible for forwarding the request to appropriate staff with an 290 estimate for response time. A copy to other council members should be a part of the 291 process. 292 One concern of the past has been excessive data requests that take huge amounts of time 293 and resources. All requests could be tracked and reported on a regular basis. 294 A council member commented that it would be a waste of time to track requests since . 295 provision of public data isn't a option but a legal responsibility.