Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/22/1996 Council MinutesCOUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22, 1996 DATE TIME STARTED TIME ENDED MEMBERS PRESENT MEMBERS ABSENT CITY OF LINO LAKES COUNCIL MINUTES : April 22, 1996 . 6:35 P.M. : 11:07 P.M. : Bergeson, Kuether, Lyden, Neal, Landers : None Staff members present: City Attorney, Bill Hawkins; City Engineer, David Ahrens; Consulting Engineer, David Mitchell, OSM; Planning Coordinator, Mary Kay Wyland; Parks and Recreation Director, Marty Asleson; Community Development Director, Brian Wessel; Economic Development Assistant, Mary LaForest; CSO, Jeanie Kenow; Police Office Manager, Renee Kaulfuss; Police Officer Steve Mortenson; City Administrator, Randy Schumacher and Clerk -Treasurer Marilyn Anderson. SETTING THE AGENDA Mr. Schumacher asked that Item No. 3 be removed from the agenda and rescheduled on the next Council agenda. Mayor Landers asked that agenda Item No. 8 be moved to agenda Item No. 3. Council Member Lyden asked that an item titled "Team Building Retreat Executive Summary" and an item titled "Consideration of a Hearing Officer" be added to new business. CONSENT AGENDA Council Member Neal moved to approve the consent agenda as presented. Council Member Lyden seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. Consideration of Minutes: Special Council Meeting, March 25, 1996 Approved Regular Council Meeting, March 25, 1996 Approved Consideration of Disbursements: April 22, 1996 Check Nos. 44230 through 44333 for a Total of $466,055.68 Approved PAGE 1 COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22, 1996 Centennial Fire District, April 4, 1996 Centennial Fire District, April 17, 1996 OPEN MIKE Approved Approved Ellen Gatchell, 952 Main Street - Ms. Gatchell referred to Section 12.03, Code of Conduct, in the City Charter. She said that assuming such a code has been established and compliance with the City Charter based on the concepts of professionalism, ethics and will of the people, she asked each Council Member why they choose to blur these concepts during the selection of applicants to the Planning and Zoning Board (P & Z). Ms. Gatchell said, "Mayor Landers your City waits your response now". Mayor Landers said he is not aware that he has done anything wrong and gave points to who he felt were the best candidates. Ms. Gatchell asked Mayor Landers if that was his final answer. Mayor Landers said "yes". Ms. Gatchell asked Council Member Kuether the same question. Council Member Kuether asked how does this provision of the City Charter apply to what the City Council did when selecting board members. Ms. Gatchell said she was at the Council work session when the City Council determined who would be serving on these boards and she did not consider the process of selecting board candidates professional, ethical or the will of the people. Council Member Neal said that the Council work session was one of the worst meetings he had ever attended. He asked Mr. Schumacher to explain the process used by the City Council to select board members. Mr. Schumacher explained that staff was excused from the meeting therefore he did not have first hand information on the matter. Ms. Gatchell asked Council Member Kuether if she was an ethical person and if she felt her conduct was correct. Council Member Kuether said she felt she was correct. Ms. Gatchell asked Council Member Lyden if he enjoyed Council Member Kuether asking him if he found any answers in the men's room? She asked do you consider that ethical? Council Member Lyden said he was not going to answer this question. He said that he understands that the citizens expect the Council Members "to walk a higher ground". He said he understood Ms. Gatchell's frustration and anger however, he did not write editorials. Council Member Lyden said that there are two things that are important as Council Members. First there needs to be integrity of the body. He used the analogy of a marriage said that a person should never say or do things in front of the spouse that would undermined their relationship. Council Member Lyden said that he wanted the City Council to be highly respected. He said that the word "respect" is thrown out a lot but he feels that this means each and every Council Member has an opinion and that opinion should be respected. This does not give a person the right to say that their opinion is wrong or that it right. It is respectful to recognize their thoughts, feelings and opinions. In turn, Council Member Lyden said that he expects his opinions to be respected and that he is not told that he is right or wrong or that he has found answers "wherever". PAGE 2 COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22, 1996 Ms. Gatchell said that Council Member Lyden came up a the "kiss" theory, keep it simple stupid. She asked him who he was calling stupid when he said "keep it simple stupid"? Council Member Lyden said that was a mistake. He explained that in graduate school it was impressed on the students that if there was a way to do anything simply and effectively, do not open a "can of worms" as he felt the City Council did when using the particular process that was used in the past few years to select board members. Ms. Gatchell said that she did not appreciate Council Member Kuether laughing at her constituents (Council Member Neal) when they made comments or suggestions. She did not think that was professional and ethical. Ms. Gatchell was referring to Council Member Neal's request to hold a circus in Lino Lakes. She said that Council Member Kuether laughed at the request and also laughed when members of the audience walked out of the meeting. Ms. Gatchell asked why does the City Council have to alienate the citizens of this community? The community expects this Council to work as a team. This community is not getting much for their money. Ms. Gatchell addressed Mayor Landers and said he is stifling public comments so that he could get through the agenda. She said that the citizens are paying for this time. The citizens do not want quantity, they want quality. Judi Brauns, 6625 Sherman Lake Road - Ms. Brauns read a statement addressed to the City Council and Mr. Mike Trehus. She said that she would like to share her observations regarding the appointment process to City boards and commissions and felt it was better to speak to the City Council than to write a letter to the editor. Ms. Brauns explained that she moved to Lino Lakes in July, 1995. A few months later she saw a request in the local newspaper for applicants to the Planning and Zoning Board. She explained that with many years of civic involvement as both a member and chairperson of city commissions involving planning and development, she applied immediately, not expecting to be appointed, but to offer her experience and help and to learn more about the board appointment process in Lino Lakes. Ms. Brauns said she probably learned more than what she wanted to know. Ms. Brauns said that late last month she received a telephone call from Dan Tesch at City Hall to say that she had been appointed to one of the three vacancies on the Planning and Zoning Board. However, there had been a mathematical error and that she was actually in fourth place not third. Ms. Brauns said that as a teacher, she had a real hard time with the math error business. She said that her goal was and still is to help her new home town, and offered to withdraw her name but was asked not to do so. The next week Ms. Brauns read in the local newspaper that because she was appointed to fill a Planning and Zoning Board vacancy, she was accused of cronyism. The letter to the editor stated that must be the reason for her appointment. Ms. Braun said that not only did she not work on the Landers/Lyden campaign, she had never met any member of the City Council prior to the interview for the Planning and Zoning Board position. Ms. Brauns said that those initial charges were annoying however, the following weeks paper contained a letter to the editor questioning why a new resident from out of state would ever be appointed. Did the concept of qualification and experience not occur to this writer? Ms. Brauns said that this letter to the editor went on to say, why were her references not checked. She said that her concern is how is it PAGE 3 COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22,1996 that this is all public information? Why were interview score sheets available to anyone other than on the need to know basis? She said that City business on any level, but especially involving personnel, whether it is paid or volunteer should be conducted via letters to the local paper. Ms. Brauns said that she was before the City Council to voice her personal observations, not to request action. It appears that members of this community, including herself, volunteer to work to make Lino Lakes a better place and this public fray has denigrated this spirit into a less than a professional public service environment. Mike Trehus, 675 Shadow Court - Mr. Trehus said that no one accused Ms. Brauns of cronyism and did not know where she got this idea. He said that the accusations were pointed this way (Mr. Trehus pointed toward the City Council). Mr. Trehus asked how the City Council knows that the last vote taken at the April 17, 1996 work session was yet another tally error? He said he was asking this because there is apparently another discrepancy. Mr. Trehus said that to keep this information hidden is a mistake and most likely illegal. He asked why were the individual score sheets shredded? Council Member Kuether said that nobody on the City Council questioned the results. Council Member Neal explained that this was a "white ballot" vote and not a score sheet. Mr. Schumacher explained that the purpose of a "white ballot" is for confidentiality. Nobody was to sign their ballot. Mr. Schumacher said that although he was not present at the time, a piece of white paper was used and each Council Members placed three names on their ballot and after the ballots were counted, the ballots were destroyed. Mayor Landers explained that the same list of names were placed on a white sheet of paper and each Council Member placed an "X" or check mark along side the three candidates that they wanted appointed to the Planning and Zoning Board. Council Member Neal asked how the City Council arrived at that method of selecting Planning and Zoning Board members. Council Member Kuether said that this method was the only method that the entire City Council could agree with. Council Member Neal said that he thought that he and Council Member Lyden wanted to vote some other way. Council Member Lyden said that initially he and Council Member Neal were not in favor of "opening up a can of worms" but only correct the first error. He said that since that method did not gain majority support, he agreed to use the "white paper ballot" method. Mr. Trehus asked if anyone on the City Council could verify that indeed Council Member Neal voted X, Y and Z and Council Member Kuether voted X, Y and Z etc. Mr. Trehus said that there is only one person who saw all five ballots. With all due respect, the chance for error is there especially since there was an error previously. Mr. Trehus said this is a vote which is the same as voting on a plat, ordinance or anything else. He said that this needs to be a matter of public record. He asked if there was any one on the City Council who wanted to keep their vote a secret? Is there anybody with anything to hide? Mr. Trehus asked each individual Council Member and all said that they were not opposed except that Council Member Bergeson noted that this portion of the agenda is PAGE 4 COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22, 1996 open mike and it is the publics time to speak and not the time for the City Council to speak. He explained that the City Council will have time to comment when it comes up on tonight's agenda. Mayor Landers said that he had no problem in telling the world how he voted. However, he felt that nobody would believe him because there is no proof of the vote. The ballots were not signed and were similar to voting in an election, it is nobody's business how anyone voted. Mr. Trehus said that it is everybody's business. There are ramifications. The public should be aware of this information. Mr. Trehus requested that the City Council declare how each member voted. If the City Council wants to keep it under wraps, at least put each Council Member's name on the ballot with the three candidates for the Planning and Zoning Board. Mr. Trehus explained that there is no controversy on the other boards. He felt that this has been controversial since day one. He emphasized that the City Council make sure that the votes do add up before anyone is appointed to the Planning and Zoning. Mr. Trehus said that after the voting is completed, the matter should be made part of the public record. Caroline Dahl, 1101 Holly Court - Ms. Dahl said that she is confused and needs clarification on the results of the Planning and Zoning Board appointments. She said that she has spoken with three members of the City Council today about who they voted for. Ms. Dahl said that she is aware, per former Council Member Elliott's letter to the editor in the Quad paper today, that these results are public information. However, the tally from the meeting (April 17, 1996 Council work session) and the comments today do not add up. The ballots were destroyed, but the tally still does not add up. Ms. Dahl said that she needed a response. She said, "in all due respect" to Mrs. Anderson, City Clerk, that Mrs. Anderson did speak to her by telephone on Friday and said that some of them were signed. Several Council Members explained that they did not sign their ballots. Ms. Dahl said again that Mrs. Anderson told her that several ballots were signed but did not tell her who signed their ballot. Mrs. Anderson explained that there were some signatures on ballots the first time the City Council voted in March. Ballots were not signed this last time (April 17, 1996). Ms. Dahl said that maybe Mrs. Anderson meant the first ballots but it was not stated that way. Ms. Dahl said she does need a response. Mrs. Anderson said that none of the ballots were signed on Wednesday, July 17, 1996. She explained that some of the ballots were signed the first time the Council voted in March 25, 1996. Ms. Dahl said she is still confused because three Council Members told her how they voted and it does not add up to the vote that was reported by Mrs. Anderson. She said that she was not questioning Mrs. Anderson's response, however she still needed clarification on the results of the Planning and Zoning Board appointments. Council Member Lyden asked what Ms. Dahl meant by "votes did not add up". She explained that she called three members of the City Council today and asked them who they voted for. She said she gave them the option that they did not have to answer her if they did not want to. All three said that they did not have a problem with this. What she was told and what was reported did not add up except for herself. Ms. Dahl said she was asking why it did not add up. She said she was not pointing a finger or accusing anyone, PAGE 5 COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22, 1996 she was just asking why it does not add up. Mayor Landers said that this matter needs further discussion and will be considered when appointments comes up on the agenda later this evening. Ms. Dahl said that Ms. Brauns said something that confused her. Ms. Brauns said that she was called by Dan Tesch and was told that she had won a Planning and Zoning Board appointment but there was an addition error. Ms. Dahl said that she was appointed at the same time as Ms. Braun and was not called by Dan Tesch. She had to find out from people who were at the meeting. Later she was told that the vote had been rescinded. Ms. Dahl said that if Dan Tesch called Ms. Brauns then all persons who were appointed at that time should have been called. She said that she thinks someone from a professional standpoint should be telling her that she was appointed. Ms. Dahl said that the only reason she was aware that she was appointed the last time is because she attended the meeting. She said that this should not be happening. Ms. Dahl said that Planning and Zoning Board appointments should not be a popularity contest or a game. She said that she will accept the appointment with a lot of pride. It took her a long time to come to the decision of applying for the position. Ms. Dahl said that she studied the matter long and hard because it is a long commitment and the appointment should not be taken lightly. She said that whenever she does anything she does it with pride. Ms. Dahl said she will do her best, however, because of everything that has happened, the Council vote should be made public. She noted that there will be more evaluation on this matter and asked what does it mean to take more evaluation? Mayor Landers said that the City Council did originally vote on the appointments using the method that had been used over the past few years. There was an error and the City Council rescinded the appointments. At the last work session, the Council agreed to use the "white ballot" method to appoint board members and a vote was taken using this method. Mayor Landers said it was his opinion that the City Council should appoint the persons who received the most votes. He explained that if the appointments are made tonight, the appointees will be sworn in on April 29, 1996 at a special Council meeting. Ms. Dahl asked if the City Council will appoint the persons who appear on the tally sheet at this time? Mayor Landers referred to the "white ballot" vote taken at the last Council work session and said yes, that is the method that was approved and used at the work session. Mike Trehus - Mr. Trehus said, "lets just cut to the chase" and asked Council Member Neal if he would mind stating how he voted on the white paper ballot. Council Member Bergeson said that this question should be postponed until the matter comes up on the regular agenda. He said that open mike is not the time for debate only a time for public input. Mayor Landers said that he agreed with Council Member Bergeson and this question should be asked at the time the Council gets to the matter on the agenda. Mr. Trehus asked if his question will be answered at that time. Mayor Landers said that he had no problem in answering Mr. Trehus's questions at that time, however, he said he could not speak for the entire City Council. Mr. Trehus asked if he would get the opportunity to ask these questions at that time. Council Member Kuether said that he would. PAGE 6 COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22, 1996 CONSIDERATION OF A PROPOSAL FROM THE LINO LAKES LIONS CLUB TO HOLD A CIRCUS IN THE CITY OF LINO LAKES, COUNCIL MEMBER NEAL Council Member Neal asked to hold a circus at Sunrise Park on Thursday, July 28, 1996. There probably will be two performances, the first in the afternoon and the second in the evening. This would be a fund raiser for the Lino Lakes Lions Club. Council Member Neal noted that all proceeds would be spent in Lino Lakes. Lions member Ray Johnson is looking at another site to hold the circus, however at this time Sunrise Park is the only place large enough with a good water supply. Council Member Neal said that he would not vote on this matter although he is in favor of it because he is a member of the Lino Lakes Lions Club. Council Member Kuether said her only concern is that the City be protected from any litigation that may arise if there is an injury or property loss. Council Member Neal said that the only thing he wants to know from the City is what is needed beside an approval of the park use. Mr. Asleson said that Mr. Johnson has contacted him about the use of Sunrise Park. Mr. Johnson was referred to the staff to determine if anything is scheduled for that day at Sunrise Park. Council Member Neal said a circus will bring a lot of people into the area. Mr. Hawkins said that he did not see a problem with the proposal as long as staff makes sure that the activities will not be harmful to the park and that the City has the necessary insurance and a security deposit to make sure that the area is cleaned and restored to current standards. He noted that the use of the parks are at the City Councils discretion. Council Member Bergeson asked Mr. Schumacher to review this request with the City's insurance agency to make sure that they are satisfied with the insurance protection provided by the Lions Club. Council Member Kuether moved to use Sunrise Park for a circus on Thursday, July 28, 1996 and to refer the insurance concerns to the present insurance carrier to be sure that the insurance coverage is adequate. Council Member Lyden seconded the motion. Motion carried with Council Member Neal abstaining. Council Member Neal will keep the City Council updated on this matter. CONTINUATION OF PUBLIC HEARING, IMPROVEMENT OF 12TH AVENUE/HOLLY DRIVE, DAVID AHRENS Mr. Ahrens explained that the public hearing for the proposed improvements to 12th Avenue/Holly Drive was continued from March 25, 1996. Staff and the developer and the developer's attorney met last Friday, April 12, 1996, to discuss the improvements. A tentative agreement was reached at that meeting. However, the City should have a written commitment from the developer prior to discussing this matter any further. Since this has not been done, Mr. Ahrens recommended that the public hearing be continued to May 13, 1996. The proposed improvement can be discussed in detail at that time. PAGE 7 COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22, 1996 Council Member Kuether asked Mr. Ahrens to place in the Council packets for the May 13, 1996 Council meeting, a small map of the area showing what portion of the road that the developer will be contributing to. Mr. Ahrens said that he does have the map prepared. Council Member Neal asked if the fence concerns have been addressed. Mr. Ahrens explained that he has reviewed the Trapper's Crossing, Second Addition plat to determine exactly what fence issues remain. This area is south of 12th Avenue and east of Holly Drive. The developer has proposed a four foot segment of chain-link fence on the east side and a portion of the south side as well as some landscaping in the very southwest corner. There are wetlands in these areas and Mr. Ahrens is reviewing this matter and will have a recommendation for fencing at the public hearing. Ms. Wyland said that staff has received landscape and fencing plans for both the north side and the south side of Trapper's Crossing. The plans have been reviewed by the City Forester and a permit has been issued for the fence on the north side of the first phase. Council Member Lyden asked if fence could be put through wetlands. Mr. Ahrens explained that although you can put fencing anywhere, however he would not recommend putting it through wetlands because is becomes a real maintenance problem. The fences generally tip over because the soils are not very supportive. They would become an eye -sore and a maintenance concern. Council Member Lyden explained the purpose for the fencing was to provide privacy and keep trespassers off of private property. He said that in Minnesota during the winter months, there will be nothing to stop snow mobilers and skiers from trespassing. Mr. Ahrens said that he understood this concern. Council Member Kuether moved to continue the public hearing to May 13, 1996. Council Member Bergeson seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. CONTINUATION OF PUBLIC HEARING, CENTENNIAL MIDDLE SCHOOL STREET AND UTILITY IMPROVEMENT, DAVID AHRENS Mr. Ahrens described the purpose of the public hearing. This is only a public hearing to take input from the citizens regarding the proposed middle school. No action will be taken by the City Council this evening. Mr. Ahrens explained that the City Charter prohibits the City Council from taking action on the matter for 60 days. However, in this case, the property owner (Centennial School District No. 12) has waived 50 of the 60 days waiting period. Therefore, technically the City Council could take action on the matter 10 days following the closing of the public hearing. Mr. Ahrens explained that a school bond to build a middle school was approved by the voters of Centennial School District 12 last November. Following the election the School District petitioned the City to install public improvements including, street, watermain, storm sewer, and sanitary sewer to service the middle school. The City consulted with PAGE 8 COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22, 1996 OSM, Inc. to prepare a feasibility study investigating the street and utility services. Staff, residents and the consultants have met a number of times to discuss the project. Mr. Ahrens said hopefully the improvement can be ordered in the next meeting or so. Mr. Ahrens introduced Bruce Houle, project engineer for OSM, and asked him to discuss the utility improvements. The proposed improvement consists of a number of items. The utility improvements are a major issue although the road issue, which Dave Mitchell of OSM will outline, is the primary concern. Mr. Mitchell will also talk about pedestrian issues. At the conclusion Mr. Ahrens will discuss the project assessments and the project schedule. Mr. Houle used the overhead project and explained that he will discuss the utilities that will be needed to service the area. The area consists of the school site, the areas north of Elm Street and north of the Shores of Marshan Lake. He said the only feasible way to tie this area into the trunk sanitary sewer line, which is off of Apollo Drive north of I35W, is to jack the line from Apollo Drive south under I35W and then extend a gravity line south along the Fourth Avenue right-of-way. The gravity line will service the school area as well as all of the parcels west of Lake Drive (TH 49) and east of Fourth Avenue. A stub will also be provided to serve the areas south of I35W for any development that would occur to the east of Lake Drive. This plan will enable the existing force near the Shores of Marshan subdivision and the new condominium development to be rerouted into the gravity line. The existing line will not have compacity when this area is fully developed. Mr. Houle noted that there is an existing 12 inch trunk water main along Elm Street which services the Shores of Marshan Lake subdivision at this time. There is also an existing 16 inch water main line along Apollo Drive. To serve the school site and other areas just outlined, the water main along Apollo Drive will be extended and jacked south under I35W with a 12 inch water line and then it would be looped to the existing water main with an eight inch water line. This system will provide adequate fire protection for the proposed school as well as all the areas east of Fourth Avenue and south of I35W. Mr. Houle used the street configuration noted as Option F to show the proposed drainage. The drainage along the roadway (new Elm Street to Lake Drive) would be drained north to a proposed pond. This pond would receive drainage from about two- thirds of the school site. The pond would be about four acres in size and would handle all flood storage. This is a Rice Creek Watershed District (RCWD) requirement. Mr. Houle outlined the cost for construction of the required utility systems. The cost does not include the cost of easement or right-of-way acquisition. The cost to construct utilities which would be installed, if Option F were approved for the street alignment, would be about $800,000.00. This cost to provide utility services to the area, if Elm Street Option F is approved, is less costly that if Option B was selected. He explained the reasons for the difference in costs. PAGE 9 COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22, 1996 Mr. Mitchell, consulting engineer with OSM, said that the street issue is the "hottest issue" of this project. He noted some of the priorities that were outlined by City staff, the School District and OSM. The highest priority was safety for both the school bus traffic and pedestrian traffic. Other priorities were the cost of the project, neighborhood impact, maintenance of a State Aid designation on Elm Street on which the City receives State Aid funds from MnDOT each year, and on-site traffic flow for the school site itself. Using the overhead projector, Mr. Mitchell explained several options for street access to the middle school as follows: Option A This option calls for a new signalized intersection north of the Wyatt Excavating building on sake Drive. From the intersection of Lake Drive/Elm Street the new street would continue west to Fourth Avenue and then south to the present Elm Street near Cinnamon Teal Court. There would be three accesses to the middle school off of the re -aligned Elm Street. The accesses would all be stopped before entering Elm Street and Elm Street would be a through traffic street. The estimated cost of this option is $200,000.00. Option B Option B is identical to Option A except that a one-way lane would be added for east bound Elm Street to go to south bound Lake Drive/Highway 49. The entrances to the school would be similar to Option A. The estimated cost of this option is $200,000.00. Option C Option C is the same as Option B except that Elm Street would be left open to Lake Drive. There would still be the connection to the new street from Elm Street that would provide for a new intersection next to the Wyatt Excavating building. Option C is at this time considered a non-viable option because it does not include a signal light and is the most expensive option that has been considered. The estimated cost of this option is $775,000.00. Option D Option D is similar to Option C in that it provides for two intersections with Lake Drive. The difference is that the new road would end in a cul-de-sac at the south end of the school property. All school traffic would use the new road and existing Elm Street would be left as it is presently. No signal would be warranted under this option and would provide undesirable traffic flow from the neighborhood to the middle school. Option E Option E is probably the least expensive option. This option would call for a signal at the Elm Street/Lake Drive intersection. There are concerns with this option including the PAGE 10 • COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22, 1996 creation a cumbersome intersection at Grey Heron Drive and Elm Street and the on-site traffic flow at the middle school would not work as well as the other options. Option E is now being considered a nonviable option due to the traffic concerns. Option F Option F calls for a slight realignment of Elm Street which would be approximately 300 feet of the existing Elm Street. The car traffic would use this intersection. The cars would come east on Elm Street and drop their children off and then exit the same way. Bus traffic would be kept totally separate and would come from Lake Drive and go to the entrance of the school site opposite of Grey Heron Drive. The buses would turn around and then exit across from Grey Heron Drive and then go east to the signalized intersection at Lake Drive. The estimated cost for this option is estimated to be $500,000.00. Staff has reviewed the lot created by extending Elm Street north approximately 300 feet. The lot is currently zoned Neighborhood Business. An access to this lot opposite the middle schools access would provide adequate access to this area. Pedestrian Issues Mr. Mitchell presented a drawing that showed existing trails outlined in red. The trails colored green are future trails that already are a part of the City's planned trail system and the trails colored blue would be trails that would be installed as part of the middle school project. The school district would participate in the cost of constructing these trails. The numbers shown in squares on the drawing are numbers prepared by the school district. These numbers show the potential number of school age children accessing the middle school. A trail will be constructed on the north side of Elm Street that is being installed as part of the senior housing project. Due to the number of children walking to school from the neighborhood south of Elm Street, a trail will be located on the south side of Elm Street extending all the way to the Fourth Avenue right-of-way area. There will be a painted cross -walk at this intersection and it will be signed appropriately. Grey Heron Drive will also be another point for pedestrian traffic crossing Elm Street. This intersection will also be a school crossing area and will be provided proper school crossing painting and signage. The cross -walk will be on the west side of the intersection thereby eliminating the conflict with buses accessing the school. The third intersection will be at Lake Drive. A cross -walk will be painted on the north side of the intersection. This intersection will provide access to a park on the east side of Lake Drive. It will also would provide access to the school site for approximately 40 students living on the east side of Lake Drive. The school district has indicated that they will bus these students, however, it is likely that there will be some "walkers" coming from this area. PAGE 11 COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22, 1996 Mr. Mitchell explained that a school speed zone was one of the requests from the citizens. He explained that the City has the authority to provide reduced speed zones for the area of Elm Street that is adjacent to the school property. Therefore the City could designate a portion of Elm Street as a school speed zone. MnDOT recommends that the roadway be designed for the current speed limit and that a school zone speed limit be imposed. They do not recommend that the roadway be designed for a 20 mph speed zone. Mr. Mitchell explained that he and MnDOT both recommend that there be no parking in the area of the middle school. Proposed Assessments Mr. Ahrens used an area map which contained parcel identification letters. Parcel D is the school site, Parcels M, N and 0 are the Neighborhood Business area and Parcel E is a large undeveloped parcel of land owned by another party. Mr. Ahrens explained that Options A, B and C are very similar in cost with Option C being slightly higher. The total school district assessment is approximately $1,400,000.00. This does not include easement and right-of-way acquisition which would cost approximately $250,000.00. The estimated assessment for Parcel E is $241,000.00. This would be for sanitary sewer, water main, storm sewer, and street improvements. Assessments for Parcel N would be approximately $194,000.00. Assessments for Option D for the School District are approximately $1,300,000.00 without the right-of-way and easement costs. Parcel E would be approximately $600,000.00 and Parcel N would be approximately $200,000.00. Assessments for Option F for the School District are approximately $2,000.000.00 without right-of-way and easement costs. The assessment costs to Parcel E would be considerably smaller because the parcel would not have direct access. Assessment costs for Parcel N is approximately $100,000.00. Project Schedule Mr. Ahrens explained that if the project were to be ordered by the City Council at the next regular Council meeting, May 13, 1996, plans and specification would be prepared and presented to the City Council on July 8, 1996 for approval. Bid opening would be held on August 1, 1996 and contract would be awarded on August 12, 1996. The work would begin in the late part of August or early September and a majority of the site work would be completed this fall. A final completion date for the entire project is expected to be July 1, 1997. Mr. Ahrens explained that the School District wants to have the school open and functional in late August, 1997. He said that although the City is not "under the gun" to get approvals finalized, if approvals are delayed substantially, it could impact the ability to service the middle school by the proposed road and utilities. PAGE 12 • • COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22, 1996 Mayor Landers welcomed the citizens who are in the audience to participate in the public hearing for the Centennial School District proposed middle school. He explained the purpose of the public hearing is to take citizen input as it relates to street and utility improvements serving the Centennial middle school and adjacent properties. No action will be taken by the City Council this evening per the City Charter. The Centennial middle school is a welcome addition to our community. The passage of the Centennial District referendum last year demonstrates that the citizens think so too. The project of this size does mean that issues of safety, financing and neighborhood impact are important. Mayor Landers said that the City Council shares the citizens concerns and that is the reason that the public hearing is being held this evening. He asked that due to the number of people who do want to speak on this issue, comments should be limited to three to four minutes. Everyone will have the opportunity to speak. After everyone has spoken, persons who spoke earlier and have additional comments will be able to speak. Mayor Landers asked all speakers to give their names and addresses prior to making their comments. Mayor Landers opened the public hearing at 7:45 P.M. Charles Cheesebrough, 6498 Hokah Drive - Mr. Cheesebrough explained that he is a resident of Lino Lakes and the Chairman of the Centennial School District Board. This evening he is representing this organization. Mr. Cheesebrough explained that the School Board reviewed all of the street options at two formal School Board meetings. Also the School Board was updated on every change outlined by Mr. Mitchell. Mr. Cheesebrough said that he appreciated the work the City Council has done. The School Board held a public information meeting several weeks ago. Mr. Cheesebrough noted that the School Board identified three criteria that the School Board wanted the road to meet. They are safety, satisfying the warrants for a stop light and qualification for state aid. Mr. Cheesebrough attended a parent meeting with Mayor Landers at the Rice Lake Elementary School. The road options were reviewed for the parents in the school district at that time. The School Board has recommended that Option F be selected as the preferred option. Options A and B would also work for the School District. They would meet the criteria outlined. Option F does satisfy the traffic needs better than all other options. Mr. Cheesebrough explained that the School Board held a special meeting this morning and reaffirmed this decision. He thanked the City Council for their consideration of the special school need and he also thanked the engineers at OSM for their help. Mr. Cheesebrough introduced Mr. Mike Hughes, the transportation and safety director for the Centennial School system. Mike Hughes, Transportation and Safety Director for the Centennial School District - Mr. Hughes explained that he has been involved in the new middle school process for some time and has reviewed each of the street options as they were developed. In each PAGE 13 COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22, 1996 case the obvious priority has been to have the availability of a street light at Lake Drive to provide left turn safety for approximately 30 buses which will be transporting 1700 students each day in and out of the middle school site. Mr. Hughes said that the stop light was of critical importance. In each case, if a stop light was not warranted, it was not seriously considered by the School District. He stated that he personally prefers Option F for a number of reasons. It is more accessible for pedestrians who will be walking to the middle school from the east side of Lake Drive. He also said that he felt this option impacted the nearby residents to a lesser degree since the entrance to Lake Drive from Elm Street would be moved only slightly north. Mr. Hughes said he felt that the bus traffic on the school sight will be very smooth. There will be very little conflict with cars bringing students to the school. The bus and car traffic on the school site will not be in competition. They will be totally separated. This is a very good point about Option F. Mr. Hughes said that he recommends selection of Option F. It will provide the best possibilities for the safety of the children coming in and going off the school site each day. John Sullivan, 7132 Whippoorwill Lane - Mr. Sullivan explained that he has been to most of the meetings regarding the middle school and is concerned that a new option, Option F, has been brought in which has not been discussed as the other options were. He would like this option presented to the Planning and Zoning Board since they have not seen it either. Mr. Sullivan noted that on several of the options, signal light has been written on the diagram. When the various options were first presented to the public, staff was asked why the signal light was not included. Staff explained that a signal light would not be approved by MnDOT because it did not meet "warrants". Has something changed, do we know that we are getting the signal light? Mr. Sullivan said that to his knowledge, there is no guarantee that the signal light will be installed. He noted the situation with Chippewa School on Highway 49 in Shoreview. They cannot get a signal light. Mr. Sullivan said that the neighborhood would like the signal light too. Mr. Sullivan said that the City was given sort of a "rats nest" last fall when Anoka County turned Elm Street over to the City. Lake Drive is a state highway. Some people do not understand why the City cannot just say that there will be a stop light at the Lake Drive/Elm Street intersection. The City of Lino Lakes does not have jurisdiction over county or state highways. Mr. Ahrens explained that the entrance to the Chippewa middle school is on a driveway which ends at a state highway. This situation does not meet most of the warrants required by the MnDOT. Mr. Ahrens said that with the intersection of Elm Street and Lake Drive, most of the warrants can be met based on OSM's projections and analysis. The reason Chippewa middle school does not have a light is that their situation does not met the warrants. In addition, the school is on a curve in the road. This situation makes it even more difficult to install lights in that a lot more geometric improvements along the state highway would be needed. MnDOT is very strict about meeting the warrants. PAGE 14 • COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22, 1996 Mr. Mitchell explained that there are 13 ways to warrant a signal light. Unfortunately, one of them is not because the City Council wants the light. The easiest way in this case, to get a signal light is to compare traffic on Trunk Highway 49 (Lake Drive) with the traffic that would be coming off of the side street (Elm Street) that would access Highway 49. Any of the options that propose two intersections, one on Elm Street and the second on a new intersection, splits the traffic on the site so that the City would be adding marginal traffic counts. These options would almost certainly never warrant a signal light. In addition, the state will not entertain any request for a light until the proceedings have begun on the design and they may not even entertain the request until the school is opened. Mr. Mitchell said that "we hope to navigate around the state" however this is the process that has to be followed. Also, Lake Drive (Highway 49) will become an Anoka County roadway about November, 1996. The City will have to follow Anoka County's guidelines after that date and right now most counties follow the recommendations of MnDOT when it comes to signal lights. Council Member Lyden asked Mr. Mitchell, if the City Council selects Option F, how strong of a case does the City have or how many warrants does the City have? What chance is there of getting the signal light? Mr. Mitchell said that once the middle school is opened, he was 99% sure that there would be a signal. He said he was confident that the light would be there immediately but for sure by the year 2000. Steven Wurscher, 7132 Gray Heron Drive - Mr. Wurscher said he is concerned about Option F and understands the situation about the signal light. He felt that Option F incorporates the worst of everything and throws it onto the neighborhood in Wenzel Farms. Option A and Option B also qualify for signal lights and gets the mess on the corner of Lake Drive and Elm Street. It spreads the traffic further north and although there is a concern with the pedestrian crosswalk, it can be worked out with crosswalks or flashing lights. Mr. Wurscher said that Option F puts 80 children next to the buses every morning and every afternoon as they cross Elm Street in a crosswalk. He said that he did not understand why that is safer. The neighborhood is in favor of a signal light and completely in favor of safety for the children. However, he lives in a neighborhood where most of the children will be walking and the neighborhood wants these children to be safe. Putting the children next to buses every morning and every afternoon is not safe. Mr. Wurscher explained that he has seen the figures for traffic projections in the next few years. He said Elm Street will not handle the increase in traffic and the City will have to find a million dollars to upgrade the street. Mr. Wurscher said he was sorry if the School Board did not ask for enough funds from the bond issue. They should have asked for a couple million dollars more to cover the things that are not covered. Money is a problem and the City of Lino Lakes is not rich. The City will not be able to come up with a couple more million dollars for upgrading Elm Street this year, next year or the year after. He asked the City Council to consider the local residents. He said he thinks Option F would be the worst and it would impact the most. Mr. Wurscher said at the first neighborhood meeting elimination of the southern access to the middle school was discussed and now the southern access to the middle school is back on Elm Street. Mr. Wurscher said he did not agree with this decision. PAGE 15 COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22, 1996 Kim Sullivan, 7132 Whippoorwill Lane - Ms. Sullivan said that she also lives in Wenzel Farms and in her opinion the School District is having problems hearing what the citizens are saying about the school project. She thanked Mr. Ahrens for stating that he was speaking to the citizens, not only to the City Council and the school staff. However, when he talked about the priorities of the school plan, he talked about the priorities of the staff, the consultants and the school district and the fact that those priorities for these three groups of people were safety, cost, neighborhood impact, state aid and on-site traffic flow. Ms. Sullivan said, "let there be no mistake, there is no citizen that has a different opinion or concern or priority for that school". When the school district representatives came and spoke tonight, they indicated that they have three concerns safety, state aid support and a signal light. That differs somewhat from what the engineers and the City staff have concerns about. Ms. Sullivan said that she would like to make this point because she wanted the school district to know that the citizens of Wenzel Farms are not trying to stop the signal light or trying to fight the safety issues. They are trying to keep their neighborhood safe in the broader overall plan of a school district and a city. Ms. Sullivan said that there is a broader planning issue here than just the school. There will be an impact on all of the neighboring areas, including the new condominiums, the townhomes, the Shores of Marshan Lake homes and everything that runs up and down Lake drive. The traffic will impact these areas. This project cannot be made a micro -community of the school district and what the school district wants and gets. There is too much of an impact on much more of the City that needs to be considered. Ms. Sullivan said that she agreed with Mr. Wurscher when he said that it appears everybody seems favoring Option F. She said that the school board is an important part of this City, but so are the citizens. The school district may favor Option F, but you will find through research conducted by one of the citizens of the City, that it is not favored by the citizens. Ms. Sullivan said that this citizen will address this concern. Ms. Sullivan pointed out that Option F closes neighborhood easy access and all neighborhood traffic will be thrown in the school traffic during the time it is very busy for the school. There will be a 120 homes from the Wenzel Farms area that will be trying to get through the school streets with 37 school buses every morning and every afternoon. Option F will provide individual accesses for the commercial and industrial properties up and down Lake Drive from Elm Street. Ms. Sullivan said that she did not think that was appropriate especially that since citizens have indicated that they do no want access lost to their homes. Ms. Sullivan said that the map shows 80 students from the Wenzel Farms subdivision that will be impacted in crossing Elm Street. She said, do not kid yourselves, there are homes west of Wenzel Farms where there are children who will be attending this school. In addition there is the Sunnygate development west of the Rice Lake Lane area where many children will be walking. Ms. Sullivan said that Wenzel Farms is not the only neighborhood who will be impacted. She said that the number 80 is not indicative of the actual number of students that will be walking. PAGE 16 COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22, 1996 Ms. Sullivan said that the citizens specifically asked that no buses be routed onto Elm Street. Option F very obviously routes every single bus onto Elm Street. The citizens do not want North Road to be duplicated on Elm Street. The citizens do not want the buses in the neighborhoods and do not feel it is safe to bring them in the neighborhood and put a cross walk right next to the bus turn. She said that a child can quickly forget to pay attention and walk right in front of a bus. You hear about it, you see it on television, it happens. Option F is not a safe option. Ms. Sullivan said that another concern is property values. If the access to Wenzel Farms is lost, Wenzel Farms will lose property values. The citizens knew that a school was planned for this area, but not one of the citizens were ever told that Elm Street would be closed so that Wenzel Farms should plan on losing property values. Ms. Sullivan compared the North Road area to the Wenzel Farms area and said that North Road has property values of $50,000.00 to $60,000.00. She said that area has the lowest cost housing in the area. That should not happen to Wenzel Farms. Ms. Sullivan said that she would like to address Option F. She said that the requirement for a signal light is to meet one out of 13 warrants. You cannot combine warrants or use part of one or another. One of 13 the options must be met. Option F, Option A and Option B all meet one of the 13 criteria to 19.9% once the school is open. She pointed out that the only plan that has included any pedestrian crossing information is Option F. If there is truly concern that the appropriate choice be made, every single option should be give the pedestrian access. Ms. Sullivan said that there is no doubt in her mind that Options A and B, if they are the only two options, also have appropriate pedestrian access. Ms. Sullivan said cheapest is not always best. She said that she did care if the cost of Option F is $500,000.00 and Options A and B are over $700,000.00. Ms. Sullivan said it is about time we put our money where our mouth is. If we want quality, we have to pay for it. Ms. Sullivan agreed with Mr. Wurscher that Elm Street cannot support the traffic volume. She said that there will be additional costs involved with Option F that may not be addressed at this point. If A, B and F are the only truly viable options, the only one that the City Council is going to find support for from the neighborhood is Option B. She asked that when making a decision on this matter, the Council consider every comment that is made this evening with equal weight. Ms. Sullivan said we are all partners in this community. The School District may have more money than any individual citizen, however, the citizens have spoken loud and clear and have been very involved in the process to let the City Council know what their concerns are. The citizens are leaving it to the City Council to make sure that the citizens are represented in the decision that is made on May 13, 1996. • Anita Fenno, 7172 Rice Lake Drive - Ms. Fenno explained that she has lived at the corner of Elm Street and Rice Lake Drive for 11 years. The site of the proposed middle PAGE 17 COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22, 1996 school has always been zoned for a school. She explained that she has a 75 foot easement in her yard and knew that Elm Street would eventually be widened and there would be a new school. Ms. Fenno said she did not care what option is finally selected, however, the option selected should be an option that would warrant the signal light and keep the children safe. She noted that her son is 11 and will attend the new middle school for only one year. She has friends that have little children and she wanted them to be safe. Ms. Fenno said that the people who are complaining about the neighborhood impact should have been aware that the sign has been there for 11 years. She presented a petition to the City Council signed by residents who want it to be understood that they want their children to be safe. Ms. Fenno said that she does feel bad for the people that purchased their property and are disappointed, but the sign was there. Doug Swalboski, 6587 Pheasant Run South - Mr. Swalboski said he was here because he is the president of the PTO of Rice Lake Elementary School and in support of the School Board and the City Council. These persons attended the parents meeting last week and the parents were given four criteria as being safety, signal light, cost and pedestrian access and neighborhood impact. Mr. Swalboski presented a petition to the City Council and asked them to please consider every one of the options. Everything should be covered and everyone should be happy. Mr. Swalboski said that as a resident of Lino Lakes, he is unsure of how someone could say that their property values will be decreased by the construction of a 36 million dollar asset. He said that Rice Lake Elementary school beautifies Birch Street. The residents on the south side of the City are upset because there are rumors that the City Council is leaning toward voting for Option D which does not meet any of the safety issues at all. Mr. Swalboski thanked the City Council for allowing him the opportunity to speak on this issue. Dwight Benoy, 66 West Golden Lake Road, Circle Pines - Mr. Benoy said he comes here this evening to represent the parents and citizens from the Golden Lake area. He presented a petition to the City Council containing over 100 signatures. The petition states that the citizens of this area believe that the access to the new middle school must provide for a signal light so that buses can safely enter and exit the school site. Mr. Benoy said that in circulating the petition, not one person declined to sign it. He said this speaks volumes for the petition. Council Member Kuether asked what the petition was for. Mr. Benoy said the petition was a belief that the access to the new middle school must be for a signal light. Dave Radeck, 7184 Cinnamon Teal Court - Mr. Radeck said he did not like getting up to speak in the mike but he felt that he had to tonight. He said he feels that there is some "politicking" going on this evening with the group of people who are in the back of the room. Mr. Radeck said that he wants safety for his children too. He said he was not sure where this is coming from but felt he had a pretty good idea. The Superintendent wants a signal light. Mr. Radeck said that he and his neighbors want a signal light as well, PAGE 18 COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22, 1996 however, they do not want to suffer as a neighborhood in Wenzel Farms. He spoke to the people in the back of the room and said he didn't know what they were clapping about. If somebody brought a petition to my door which says that you think there should be some safety for out kids, I would say, "let me sign that thing". Mr. Radeck explained that he has two children at home and they will be affected by this project because they play on the street (Cinnamon Teal Court) and his neighbors kids also play on the street. Mr. Radeck said that he got up at another meeting and said the same thing. He said that his concern is for his kids. He said he did not want a freeway outside of his house. Mr. Radeck said he wanted safety and some aesthetic value. He did not want a freeway going through his front yard. He said he did not buy his property with that in mind. Mr. Radeck said that he wants to have a nice home "out in suburbia" where he can enjoy raising his family. Mr. Radeck said he did not know that he was going to have to fight the School District, OSM, P & Z or the City Council. He said he went out and visited with his neighbors in Wenzel Farm and they all liked Option D. He said keep the traffic off of Elm Street, all his neighborhood wants is to keep the traffic away from them. Bobby Killy, 271 Elm Street - Mr. Killy said that he moved into this area a month ago and just found out last night that the old beautiful trees behind his house are coming down in three weeks. He said he was a little upset about that. Mr. Killy said he used to live in Wisconsin and the street he lived on was heavily traveled by cars and big semi - trucks. He said he knows what it is like to live on a busy road. That was one issue he considered when he purchased his current home. Mr. Killy said that after he heard about the middle school he said he understood that there would be additional traffic because of the school. In fact the traffic would double from 600 to 700 vehicles per day to 1200 or 1400 vehicles per day. He said that no matter what option is selected, there is no way to avoid the additional traffic because all the parents of school children in Circle Pines, Lexington and Blaine will come up Second Avenue or Sunset Road to Elm Street and across to get to the school. This is a shorter route and there are less signal lights. Mr. Killy said that it does not make any difference which option is selected, the traffic will be there. However, Mr. Killy said that the City could control the traffic pattern by making it unappealing to go up Second Avenue and unappealing to take Elm Street. He said where he comes from, school zones are 25 mph. Since this is going to be a school zone and the City will soon have control over the street, the City can make it a 25 mph street. Mr. Killy said we all know that 25 mph means 30 mph and 35 mph mean 40 mph. If the City makes Elm Street a 25 mph zone, maybe the speed will be controlled somewhat so that you do not have to worry too much about your kids walking to school. Mr. Killy also suggested that the City consider installing a nuisance stop sign for awhile and maybe put it at Rice Lake Lane. This means the Elm Street traffic will have to stop half way to the school. All this does is deter people who are using this route to the school and they will find out that Lake Drive (Highway 49) is the better route to the school. Mr. Killy asked who will pay for the upkeep of Elm Street. He said he did not want an assessment and is scared because he just moved here and will get a huge assessment because the traffic will double going to the school. Mr. Killy also asked who is responsible for the upkeep of the bituminous walk path that will be constructed on the PAGE 19 COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22, 1996 south side of Elm Street. He also asked how far will it be from Elm Street. Mr. Killy noted that if the walkway is too close to Elm Street, the snow plows will cover it with snow every time the plow truck goes down the street. Mr. Killy noted that there will be sport facilities at the school site and asked if there will be parking on Elm Street as well as every side street such a Cinnamon Teal Court and Gray Heron Drive. His final concern was about the beautiful trees that will be destroyed on the school property so that he and his neighbors will all be looking at "the beautiful expressway". He asked what control is going to be put in for noise and sounds from the freeway and who is responsible for erecting the noise barriers. Mr. Ahrens explained that the walkways are generally located a foot off of the property line and as far away from the roadway as possible. Safety is the biggest concern and there is a.need to keep walkways away from the street so that they will not have to be relocated if :the street is upgraded. The walkway has not been designed. There are trees and utility poles in the area which need to be taken into consideration when the walkway is designed. Mr. Killy said that he understood that there is only a 66 foot right-of-way along Elm Street. There would not be enough room to place a walkway. Mr. Ahrens explained that there is additional right-of-way for most of Elm Street. Mr. Ahrens explained the need to keep Elm Street as a municipal state aid road. Since this is a County "turnback" road, the City will be able to get an additional 20% allotment in state aid funds each year. Although the current road in not a "bonus", the City will be able to get additional state aid funds. In addition, the City will receive yearly maintenance funds for that road. Mr. Ahrens agreed with Mr. Killy regarding the need for "No Parking" signs on the full length of Elm Street because there are no shoulders on the road. He said he would recommend that the entire length of Elm Street be posted with "No Parking" signs. Mr. Ahrens referred to the need for noise abatement since most of the trees on the middle school site are being removed. This was not addressed in the site plan. Mr. Killy said that it appeared to him that a lot of the middle school site was not totally thought out. He noted that one of the main concerns was the impact on the neighborhood. Mr. Killy said destroying all of the trees definitely has a major impact on the neighborhood. He noted that there were four (4) deer in his yard last evening. He asked where are they going to live? He felt that it will be ugly outside of his backdoor. Mr. Ahrens said he did not mean to give the impression that he was "brushing aside" Mr. Killy's concerns, however, are a site planning concerns and does not have anything to do with Elm Street. He said he was not sure what the Centennial School District has in mind for the area behind Mr. Killy's house. Mr. Ahrens referred to Mr. Killy's concern about speed control. He said unfortunately the City does not have any control over speed limits. Speed limits are controlled by the State Commissioner of Transportation. The minimum speed limit is 30 mph unless there is a special condition such as a speed zone for a school. The speed limit in that case PAGE 20 COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22, 1996 could be reduced to 25 mph across the front of the school. If the City wants to reduce the speed zone in front of the school, the City has to request a speed study by the MnDOT. They would monitor the traffic speed and take the 85 percentile and set that as the speed limit. Considering that the current speed limit is 30 mph, the speed limit on the street could be raised to 40 mph or even 45 mph. Mr. Killy asked about nuisance signs. Mr. Ahrens explained that installing "nuisance" stop signs can potentially cause problems. People drive up to the sign and see that nobody is coming and then "drift" through the stop sign without coming to a full stop. The problem created in this case is that someday somebody may be coming when the car is "drifting" through the sign resulting in an accident. Mr. Killy said that would be a good place for the Police Department to make some extra money. Mr. Ahrens said that staff and residents can look at the speed patterns on Elm Street and make a decision on what can be done to take care of speed problems. He felt that additional police patrol and ticketing would be the best speeding deterrent. Mr. Ahrens said that it is hard to include any design feature that adequately controls speed efficiently. Mr. Mitchell clarified traffic volumes after the middle school is opened. He explained that in 1997, Elm Street without the middle school will be handling about approximately 1200 vehicles per day. The traffic projection with the middle school occupied and regardless of what road option is selected, would be an additional 300 to 400 vehicles per day on Second Avenue and another 400 to 500 vehicles per day on Elm Street. Mr. Mitchell said that Option F does not realign Elm Street significantly so traffic projections would be about the same. Mr. Killy said that makes his point more significant. More speed control should be made on Second Avenue and Elm Street. Twice a day for 10 to 20 minutes morning and afternoon, there will be no getting out of his driveway onto Second Avenue. Mr. Killy said his last concern was the businesses that could be constructed near the Lake Drive/Elm Street intersection. He asked if it could it be possible to not allow any businesses a driveway onto Elm Street. Mr. Ahrens reminded the City Council that Mr. Mitchell had already addressed the parcels zoned for businesses. Anoka County or MnDOT will not allow a driveway access to Lake Drive. The driveways would access Elm Street. The County and MnDOT are concerned that their roadways have only a minimum number of driveways or intersections to allow traffic to flow freely and minimize traffic conflicts. Donna Kriegler, 6443 - 20th Avenue presented a petition signed by Lino Lakes citizens in support of a traffic light options A, B or F. She said she owns 10 acres on another County Road where the speed limit is posted 55 mph. Her children do not play in the street and are not allowed near the street. Ms. Kriegler said she came from another area of the City and did not want to leave the school district. She said that she would like to challenge the neighbors who are closely involved, without being disrespectful, to get over this, get past it. This is not a little micro city. There are many students and families involved. Everyone is here for the same reason. Ms. Kriegler said that you are making PAGE 21 COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22, 1996 this your little personal issue. She said that this issue involves everyone in the Centennial School District. Ms. Kriegler said she supported Ms. Fenno who has lived in her home for 11 years. She said she knew that there would be a new school there some day. Ms. Kriegler said, lets get on with the evening. Ms. Kriegler gave Mayor Landers a petition and said that she would like to get on with the evening. Linda Budnicki, 737 Country Lakes Drive - Ms. Budnicki said that she attended an information meeting held by the Centennial School Board and is aware of the middle school proposal. She explained that she has two (2) small children and the chances that her family would be living in this community when they reach the age to attend the new middle school was not very good. However, Ms. Budnicki said it did irritate her to no end to find that Option C and Option D was being considered. Neither of those options warrant a stop light. She said with 1800 children attending the middle school, safety has to be the number one issue. Although the City Council has to be concerned about the neighborhood, but the neighborhoods concerns cannot come above the children's safety. Ms. Budnicki presented a petition that says concerned parents want a traffic light on Lake Drive and Elm Street. She noted that the petition does contain the signatures of several Wenzel Farms neighborhood residents. Ms. Budnicki said that she did not feel that Mr. Killy should talk for the entire neighborhood when obviously Option D does not warrant a light. Ms. Budnicki said that all of the experts feel that Option F is the best and safest plan and did not see how anyone in good consciences could put in a road for a school and ignore what the experts are telling them. She asked the City Council to listen to the experts, this is there job. OSM does this every day. Ms. Budnicki said it would be beyond her to tell OSM that they are wrong and it would be beyond every City Council Member's ability to do that also. She said they are the experts and that is what they are being paid for. Ms. Budnicki explained that she used to be a Realtor and said that some of the houses on North Road are the oldest houses in the community. This is what makes some of them sell at the $50,000.00 and $60,000.00 level. She said that these houses cannot be compared to the houses in Wenzel Farms because they are a totally different type of housing. Ms. Budnicki said that this is a City concern, not just a neighborhood concern. She said she was sorry that the neighborhood does not like the rest of the City to get involved, but the rest of the City is involved and will not go away. Arnold Christenson, 281 Elm Street - Mr. Christenson said that he has just been listening about all types of concerns about safety on Elm Street. He said that he has lived on Elm Street for about 50 years. If they think there is a problem with traffic, think about him because he moved to Elm Street when there was only about a dozen cars using that street. Mr. Christenson said that this neighborhood cannot stop the wheels of progress. PAGE 22 COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22, 1996 He said that guns will kill people only if people pull the trigger. Cars will also kill people only if people neglect the safety of the cars. Mr. Christenson said lets use the street for what is was intended, the automobile. He said every morning he goes to Burger King. He is confronted with joggers and people with dogs half way out in the street. Mr. Christenson said that if he walks in the middle of the street, no matter what the speed limit is, he is going to get killed. He said use common sense and if you do not want to get killed on the street, don't walk in the middle of the road. Mr. Christenson said that he is 70 years old and has only a ninth grade education, however, common sense says if I do not want to get run over by a car, don't get in front of the cars. Gregg Jenks, 327 Elm Street - Mr. Jenks asked if he could discuss the buffer behind his house or is this hearing about Elm Street only. Mr. Ahrens said that he should be talking to the architects for the middle school. Mr. Jenks said that he will have a baby at his house in about two (2) months. He said he is concerned about his safety backing out of his driveway with the increased traffic. Mr. Jenks said that he will not "get over this" as the gal told his neighborhood to do. This affects him and his family and yes he wants the school children to be safe but he wants to be safe too. That is the issue and Mr. Jenks said that he wanted a final decision that everyone could agree on. He said that there are some big issues to deal with. Mr. Jenks said that as soon as there is a solution that works for the neighborhood and everybody else, the neighborhood will be glad to back it up. He said that he does not feel good about the added traffic by his house. He has to back out with a baby in the car. These problems will not go away until a solution is going to work for everybody. There is two sides to this issue and there has to be a compromise. Now it does not look good for the Elm Street neighborhood. He asked people to come and look at his situation and then maybe they will understand his concern. Mona Slaten, 6283 Red Maple Lane - Ms. Slaten said that she will have a student going to the middle school. She said she has looked at all of the plans and studied all of the options. She and her husband both like option F for all of the reasons that have been previously stated. Ms. Slaten said that she has a concern regarding meeting the timeline for completion of the building itself. She said that she works at the Rice Lake Elementary and understands that if the middle school does not meet the stated timeline, there will be a very deep trouble with the student population at the Rice Lake Elementary School as well as the other elementary schools within the district. She would like the City Council to keep in mind the timelines that have been established and do everything possible to keep the entire project on time. Bob Young, 7026 Second Avenue - Mr. Young said that if he could select an option it would be D. He said that some of the people in immediate area would prefer A and B. However, Mr. Young said that he would not prefer either of those options because it will be additional traffic down his street. Mr. Young said that he favors Option D followed by Option F. Everyone favors Option F except the residents of Wenzel Farms. He said that he is not "cold" enough to say to them "to bad, I don't care". Mr. Young said the nice PAGE 23 COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22, 1996 thing about Option D is that it takes traffic off of Elm Street. However, it does not help the people who want a traffic light. Mr. Young said he wanted the traffic light too because he is for safety. He said that maybe this audience is arguing with the wrong people. The people the community needs to talk to are at MnDOT. He said it makes sense to him to have a traffic light at Lake Drive and Elm Street. Mr. Young said that everyone got together and talked to MnDOT and let them know that there needs to be a traffic light in that location, then everybody would be happy. Angela Weigold 7187 Cinnamon Teal Court - Ms. Weigold said that she wanted to congratulate Superintendent McClellan because he has successfully divided this community into three (3) parts. He has done a good job of politicking since the last meeting. Ms. Weigold said that her community has been going through this for the past three (3) months not just the short time that the Superintendent has done a good job of politicking. Ms. Weigold said that she wanted to address Option F. She said with Option F not only are the buses a concern, other traffic would impact the neighborhood as well. At an informational meeting held prior to this meeting, "over flow" traffic was mentioned. Ms. Weigold said that this appears to be "great amount" of traffic going to the baseball diamond on a Saturday afternoon and Little League is playing. She said this is going to be a community area. A community area is a great asset. Ms. Weigold said her question is when traffic goes out (leaves the site) it is going to go straight down in front of Gray Heron and empty onto Elm Street and then Second Avenue to avoid the traffic light because it is the quickest path. She said that the Superintendent told the group that a fence and gate would be installed at the driveway across from Gray Heron and it could be shut 24 hours a day, seven (7) days a week so that only the buses can use the driveway. Ms. Weigold said that if Option F is the only option that is going to be considered, "and it sounds that's what is going to be, we have already been screwed" she suggest that the traffic flow coming out in front of Gray Heron be addressed for all activities at the middle school not just bus traffic. Ms. Weigold said that this is going to be a huge athletic complex and this is great, but lets look at how this additional traffic is going to affect the neighborhood. If a gate is the answer, lets put in writing because three (3) months ago they said they were not going to remove the pine trees, now it appears that all of the pine trees are going to be wiped out. Ms. Weigold said that nothing is in writing and everything is changing from week to week so she asked that if a gate is going to be installed, put it in writing. She asked that the people not be "conned" when you say that you are putting in a gate when you really do not plan to. She said lets address the additional traffic flow coming from the school in front of Gray Heron Drive not only during school but for other events. She asked if a gate was an option, will you put it in writing, will you put your pen where your mouth is? Ms. Weigold was asked to whom is she directing her questions. She said to anyone who has the power to put a gate at that exit. Mr. Ahrens said he would talk to the school district and get an understanding of the gate issue. He said this issue could be made a condition of the approval of the road plan. Ms. Weigold asked will this be a condition of PAGE 24 • COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22, 1996 the approval? Mr. Ahrens said it would providing that the school district is comfortable with the gate. If for some reason, the gate plan is not acceptable, then he would talk to the City Council about this concern and discuss the issues. However, this is more of the school site plan concern rather than a roadway concern. Council Member Neal asked if when the school district makes these promises, are they put in writing? Mr. Ahrens said that he is making notes on all the issues raised this evening. These issues will be discussed and then a recommendation will be given to the City Council on May 13th. Ms. Weigold asked if the number of vehicles that will be leaving the school site after a Little League game or whatever happens on weekends have been quantified. Has the impact on the neighborhood from this additional traffic been discussed. She asked if the pine tree agreement had been put in writing. Ms. Weigold noted that Option F destroys about 95% of the trees. She said this was not put in writing although they did say that they would protect them. She said that Mr. Ahrens said he was sorry that the Superintendent told you that they would be protected because that is really false. She asked what is with the trees, how many will be left? Even if Option F works, eliminate the parking area that will exit in front of Gray Heron. If this parking area is termed "overflow" parking, eliminate it and do not spend any money on it. She said then you can save more trees in the front of the site. She suggested that if the road has to follow the baseball diamond, then eliminate the overflow parking and move the ball diamond back further to save more trees. Ms. Weigold asked what is with the trees? Mr. Ahrens said that with Option F and its relationship to the tress, he does not have a detailed plan showing what trees may be removed. He deferred this question to Mr. Mitchell. He said that generally he would try to design around the trees so that as many as practical could be saved. The road can be shifted slightly to the south to save as many trees as possible. Ms. Weigold asked if the number of trees could be established now. Mr. Mitchell said that no detailed survey has been done in this area. Ms. Weigold said, "you are designing roads and have not seen the trees?" Mr. Mitchell said that at this point he is only designing concepts not roads. When it comes to designing a road, a detailed survey will be completed and quantify those numbers at that point. At this point, the City Council has not ordered any detailed plans of any of the options. Ms. Weigold asked if any of the options have detailed road plans? She said that it looks pretty detailed to her. She was told that the option are concepts. Ms. Weigold said that although they have promised things, they do not really know what they have promised since it is not a real road but a concept and a figment of her imagination. She said that she could understand this. Don Dunn, 6885 Black Duck Drive - Mr. Dunn said he is not a resident of that area and will not be affected by traffic. He said he might be affected by safety. He said that he has attended many of the meetings on this project and always heard one thing "leap out" at us and that is safety. Mr. Dunn said that his concern is that this has been approached basically from a safety viewpoint as far as the engineering is concerned. Cost was the PAGE 25 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 COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22, 1996 school bus driver and having directed traffic for the City of Rochester, he had a lot of concerns about what can happen without a stop light. He said it would be a serious mistake not to have a traffic light. Mr. Rorem said he wished that MnDOT could be persuaded to change their criteria, but from a practical standpoint that is not likely to happen in the near future. He said that he has dealt with State bureaucracy on a number of different levels, and he did not see that MnDOT would be changing soon. The second issue with Option D is the access. There is only one way in and out of the school site. He understood that both the Fire Department and the Police Department have some concerns with this option including what if something happened to the only road in and out of the site. For this reason and others, Mr. Rorem urged the City Council to consider options other than Option D because of safety issues. He said he could live with Options A, B or F. The school district has indicated the same and if the people of the area could live with Option B, that would be a reasonable choice. It would provide a number of safety concerns for the neighborhood, it would meet a lot of the issues his neighborhood is concerned about and it would be a safe way of approaching the problem because it would have a signal light. The cost would be greater, however, cost should be secondary to the safety of the neighborhood and the children attending that school. Dawn Kenny, 6299 Red Maple Lane - Ms. Kenny said that when she heard postpone this for a year, she thought that this cannot happen. She explained that Rice Lake Elementary School is the third largest school in the State. It has 1,000 children now and is busting at the seams. Ms. Kenny said the middle school cannot wait another year. If the middle school is not done on time, where are all these new kids going to go? She said that we are here to educate these kids. Ms. Kenney said that she supports Option F because if warrants the traffic light. She said that she is sorry for all the traffic on Second Avenue however, it is a wide street. Ms. Kenney said that if she was considering moving onto a wide street like Second Avenue, she would have researched and determined exactly what kind of traffic was originally planned for the street. She used Ware Road as an example of a road that is used by joggers, bikers and runners and explained that the street cannot accommodate this type of traffic. She said she would take Second Avenue anytime. Ms. Kenny asked the City Council to please not wait a year for the school. Troy Weigold, 7187 Cinnamon Teal Court - Mr. Weigold said that his neighborhood has been fed misinformation and he is concerned about the ethics involved in the project since its beginning. Mr. Weigold said that he is one of the Wenzel Farms residents that other Lino Lakes residents are feeling some animosity towards. He said he has been involved in the discussion regarding the new middle school from the beginning. He said that other Lino Lakes residents have not been involved until recently and those residents have missed a lot of meetings and have not had the opportunity to review the many options submitted by the neighborhood. Mr. Weigold said that other residents have not heard from OSM or the Centennial School District Superintendent John McClellan. He said that he gives Mr. McClellan a lot of credit because for the last month and a half he has been politicking a great deal. All your petitions are affirming that your number one concern and priority is safety and these concerns warrant a signal light. Mr. Weigold said that from day one, the Wenzel Farms residents have talked about having a light and it is PAGE 27 COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22, 1996 their number one priority. He said that other misinformation is from the experts at OSM. The Wenzel Farms residents have argued about the merits to warrant a signal light. Because of the misinformation that was given to the residents and because the OSM officials have flip flopped back and forth, a resident of the neighborhood went with the OSM and City official to MnDOT to listen to MnDOT because they control all matters regarding signal lights. Mr. Weigold said that the City, OSM and residents have no say as to whether or not there will be a signal light. MnDOT has said that if all the traffic from Elm Street is direct it to the school, this increases traffic which helps warrant the signal light. The best MnDOT has said is "maybe". The misinformation from OSM has been maybe, high probability, 99%, a guarantee, then back to a high probability and then to guarantee. That is part of the reason that the neighborhood wanted a resident at that meeting. MnDOT's "maybe" still stands today. If all the traffic is sent north past the middle school for the best chance to warrant a signal light, MnDOT has said "maybe". Mr. Weigold said that the Wenzel Farms neighborhood does want a signal light. However, if MnDOT says no, what is the next best option. There are other alternatives. He said this road is scheduled to be turned over to the County in the fall. At a previous meeting, which most of the citizens here tonight did not attend, it was said that this would give the City and the City Council that much more weight to exert on the County to install a signal light. Even the County has to meet the same warrants, this would give the City more pressure to place on MnDOT. Mr. Weigold said that the City has the State's "fancy" jail in Lino Lakes and the City just conceded to doing something special for that. The idea is that because the City conceded to something for the prison, the State will do something for Lino Lakes. Mr. Weigold said that this is supposed to all take place before the middle school is constructed. He said give the Superintendent credit, he's got this entire thing whipped up in a frenzy, making statements about postponing the school year as well as other statements about Wenzel Farms being against the light. Mr. Weigold said this is a "crock". He said he and his wife went to the very last public meeting about the impending bond issue last fall. He had heard about the bond issue in District No. 11 (Anoka/Hennepin) and that although the bond issue passed for the construction of a school, there was no money included in the bond issue for staffing the school. Mr. Weigold reminded the Superintendent about this matter and he asked him what happens to Elm Street. The Superintendent said nothing. He told Mr. Weigold that there is an advisory group that has worked for more than a year to make the new middle school possible. They have put all the specs and numbers together and have looked at all the pros and cons. Mr. Weigold said that Mr. McClellan took his notebook, drew a picture of where the middle school was to be located on the site, where the road changes will be and said that this is all done and is almost engraved in stone. Mr. McClellan said that the land has been purchased and the money has been accounted down to the last penny. He said that the School District will not be coming back and asking for money from the City even for the road construction. According to the Quad Press, the City will be putting in the road and it will not be funded by the School District. Mr. McClellan told Mr. Weigold that the pine trees, the natural buffer zone along Elm Street will not be lost. If the City decides to choose Option F, all but about 10 of the pine trees will be lost. PAGE 28 • 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 COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22, 1996 state aid. He asked what is more important to the School District and the Superintendent now. Because the stop light will go in on Lake Drive, MnDOT said that there will be no state aid. That is why they came up with the second Option F. Council Member Neal said that he and Mr. Weigold talked to over 109 people this weekend. Mr. Weigold said that was great however, some of the phone calls were due to the politicking of the Superintendent. He said that no meeting has had this large of a crowd since the middle school question was first discussed. He also said that when the middle school proposal went before the Planning and Zoning Board, Option 4 was proposed. Mr. Weigold said that Option 4 is not under consideration any more. Mayor Landers asked Mr. Weigold asked to speed up his presentation. Mr. Weigold asked Mr. Mitchell how he knows that Option D is an undesirable traffic flow from the Elm Street neighborhood? He asked Mr. Mitchell how he came up with 25 kids for the future townhomes on the east side of Lake Drive? You did not show any numbers for the kids coming up Second Avenue to Elm Street. The business lot in the new comer created by shifting Elm Street north to Lake Drive shows a four (4) way stop sign. He asked how does creating this new four (4) way intersection make the area safer for the children? Mr. Weigold said that part of the misinformation is that estimates of cars on Elm Street has gone from 400 cars to 800 cars and to a road design that will increase traffic from 1200 to 2000 cars per day on Elm Street. Mr. Weigold asked Mr. Mitchell to explain how that is safer for all the kids in Wenzel Farms, on Second Avenue and all the kids over by Sunset Road that will be walking or riding their bikes to school? Mr. Weigold said that Mr. Ahrens had said, "we are no longer under the gun for the Elm Street improvement". He said that apparently because of the frenzy whipped up by the Superintendent, he has a lot of the citizens believing there will be schools shut down if this middle school is not completed as scheduled. Mr. Weigold said that he needs to explain some of his comments especially about the bond issue and his coming before the City Council to get additional money for road construction. He said the other issue is that Options 3 and 4 included more roadway, however, the Superintendent was not asking for money then. It looks that Option F is proposing only a third of the roadway proposed by Options 3 and 4 and according to the Quad Press there will be a request for additional money to complete that road. Mr. Weigold said that the Superintendent needs to explain this. Mr. Weigold asked Mr. McClellan if the Rehbein that sits on the school board is related to Glenn Rehbein who will profit from the assessment plan? He presented the survey that the City Council asked him to complete. This survey was requested because the City Council was looking for citizens input. Mr. Weigold said again that he felt that the City Council was expecting the Superintendent to go out and "whip up a frenzy" and having meetings where he was telling people that he would have to close a school or that they will be coming asking for money. He asked the City Council to take a look at the ethics behind the Superintendent. PAGE 30 COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22, 1996 Council Member Kuether asked Mr. Weigold what school was going to be closed. Mr. Weigold said that he was talking about delaying the opening of the middle school and not closing a school. Council Member Kuether said a school cannot be closed if it has never been opened. Mr. Weigold said that is where the 10 month plan comes in and the road being turned over to the County. Mayor Landers said that Mr. McClellan is present, however, he would not call him to the podium and "put him on the witness stand". He said if he feels comfortable coming to the podium, that would be another matter. Mr. Weigold said that the Superintendent is a key player in this matter and he should come and address some of the concerns that were presented. Council Member Kuether said that this was not a court of law. Mr. Weigold said it could get to that. Mr. Weigold said that because of all the things that have changed, what was Option 1 is Option D according to the new packet given to the City Council. Option 2 is B, 3 is A and 5 is C. He said that 77% of the residents prefer Option D. Council Member Kuether asked which residents he was talking about. Mr. Weigold said all the residents he mentioned earlier. Council Member Kuether asked if they contacted the people on Sunrise Avenue. Mr. Weigold said no and none have come forward to present their opinion. Mr. Ahrens said that there was a reference to the original Option F and this is more than F2. Originally Elm Street was "t-ing" in with an access road. This was discussed with the City Council a couple of meetings ago. This Option has to do with maintaining the priority that Elm Street maintain state aid designation. The Option F2 being proposed this evening maintains the state aid designation. Mr. Ahrens explained that the pedestrian numbers given this evening were prepared by Mike Hughes. He has a computer system that has all the student numbers that are used for their state aid needs, food services and where ever they get funding from the State. Mr. Hughes had on the computer system a one mile walking area and pulled in the number of students in that area who would be going to the middle school. Mr. Ahrens said that he felt the numbers were very accurate. Mr. Weigold said that here at the 11th hour, all of sudden there is not enough time to look over and submit new changes. How come OSM, "these great professionals" have finally come up with any type of numbers that anyone can look at. This all ties into the pedestrian study that was requested by the Chief who was chewed out by the City Administrator for requesting the study. Mr. Weigold asked why now in the 11th hour is this information so easily obtained from a computer and brought forward? Mr. Ahrens said that Mr. Mitchell will talk about the pedestrian study in reference to Options A, B and C and the cul-de-sac proposal. He said managing pedestrians crossing Lake Drive is very difficult with these options and it is his opinion that Option F meets PAGE 31 COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22, 1996 the pedestrian traffic concerns the best because it is centrally located within the group of people needing to access the school site. Mr. Mitchell said that the 80 pedestrian count was generated by the school and was generated from a one mile radius of the middle school. It does take Second Avenue pedestrian travel into account. He explained that Option D is undesirable because there are two (2) left turns that are not signalized. The Neighborhood Business zone shown on Option F, located between the existing Elm Street and the new Elm Street, will access the new Elm Street. It is very unlikely that MnDOT or Anoka County, which ever has jurisdiction, will allow a driveway accessing Lake Drive. The safest point to place that driveway on Elm Street is at a four (4) way stop sign rather to introduce a driveway somewhere else on Elm Street. With regard to vehicles per day, the 1200 vehicles per day is a projection of vehicles that will be on Elm Street if the middle school was not built. This traffic is going to be there even if the middle school is not built. Mr. Mitchell said that he is projecting an additional 400 to 500 vehicles on Elm Street west of Gray Heron Drive that would be associated with the middle school traffic. These vehicles are going to be primarily associated with the residential areas north of Lake Drive (Highway 49), east of Sunset Road and south of Elm Street. Mr. Weigold asked what happened to the 2000 vehicles per day that was mentioned. Mr. Mitchell said that there are 1500 to 2000 vehicles per day that are generated by the middle school. The majority of those vehicles will go east to Lake Drive. Mr. Weigold asked if the City will accept changes to the new Option F because this Option has been entered in the eleventh hour. He said there are some good merits to this Option that are better than any other option. Mayor Landers said that there will be no decision made on this matter tonight. The City Council is only taking public input this evening. A decision will be made on May 13, 1996. Mr. Weigold asked if the City Council will accept public input on this Option between now and May 13th. Mayor Landers said that if the City Council feels that there has been enough public input, the public hearing will be closed tonight. Mr. Weigold said that he asked the people about this Option F. They did say that there could be some merit to it but added that the Option F has Gray Heron lining up with the exit driveway for school buses on Elm Street. The residents say that this is the major "holdback" of this plan but there are other things that can be done on site to get the buses exiting east onto the new portion of Elm Street. Mr. Weigold said that this is the major issue that got the entire issued "fired up" back in early February. Council Member Kuether said that she would not vote for anything that has the buses coming onto Elm Street. Mayor Landers said that he could not answer Mr. Weigold's question because that may mean further neighborhood meetings. Mr. Ahrens said that he would have to talk to the School District officials because changing this driveway would have a major impact on their site. He said that this matter could be talked about when all options are considered and a staff recommendation is prepared. Mr. Ahrens said that if a neighborhood meeting is needed to talk about this portion of Option F, he could get one scheduled. Mr. Weigold said that if OSM, City Officials and the School District want Option F, then other options need not be discussed. If there is merit to this option for the PAGE 32 COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22, 1996 residents, why not address their concerns. If the School District or the City does not want to discuss or cooperative then the issue is stuck in the same position. Mayor Landers told Mr. Weigold that he wanted to give other speakers the chance to voice their concerns. Mr. Weigold said he did not want to take so much time, but he was told his questions were going to get answered. Mr. Ahrens said he would talk to the School District about Option F and then sit down with the residents and discuss the entrance in detail. Mr. Weigold asked if there would be another mailing because it looks like you will have to mail notices to the entire City. Council Member Lyden asked if Mr. Weigold has specific questions he wants answered, is it possible that he and Mr. Ahrens get together and discuss his concerns. Mr. Weigold said that this needs to be a meeting open to all the public with another mailing. Mr. Ahrens said that he does not want to go over any option in detail until he learns what option the City Council is leaning toward. They may think that Option D is the best and he does not want to talk about Option F if that is not what the City Council favors. Mr. Ahrens said that he will talk with the City Council and then will talk to Mr. Weigold giving details of the proposal. Mr. Weigold thanked the City Council for their time. He said that the City Council should look at the legality of the Superintendent and Rehbein sitting down and discussing assessments and how they dictate what the road will be and what it will not be. He said he is no legal expert, however from a legal standpoint, the City needs to look at this. If it was you or me looking at a road coming past our place, we would not have to much to say about what the assessment amount will be. Don Valenta, Council Member, City of Lexington - Mr. Valenta said since there are children from his area that will be attending the middle school, they looked at all the options that are before the City Council this evening. He said that his City Council voted unanimously to support any option that would involve a signal light. As for any other portion of the middle school proposal, only the local -residents input should be considered. Julie Kent, 141 Wild Flower Drive - Ms. Kent said that many proposals have been mentioned to the residents but only once was it mentioned by OSM, about how the children who are required to walk to the middle school up Second Avenue are going to arrive there safely. It was stated that this is where the sidewalk will be in the future. Ms. Kent asked what is the future? Is the future when some kid walking up Second Avenue gets killed because the traffic is now 35 mph but generally runs 40 to 45 mph? She said with the increased traffic flow and the changes that will be made because of the new middle school, the traffic is going to be heavier and going at a higher rate of miles per hour. She asked again, what is the future? There was no time frame given as to when the future sidewalk, walking trail would be installed for the children. Mr. Ahrens explained that the trail along Lake Drive and Second Avenue are indicated as future needs of the City because they are some of the major roadways through the City. He said Second Avenue is a collector street, however there are no time frames as to when the walking trails will be installed. Mr. Ahrens said that whenever the roadway is reconstructed, which is quite far in the future, walking trails could easily be made part of that PAGE 33 COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22, 1996 improvement. He said that it is always possible that the walking trail could be constructed outside of the roadway, however that would be costly and would have to go through the normal budgeting process. Ms. Kent said that the most important issue here is safety for the kids. How can they expect to walk on a road that has 40 to 45 mph traffic daily plus increase in volume with the new middle school. That is out of the question. Ms. Kent said that St. Joseph Church is sitting at one of the major intersections on Elm Street. They have a large congregation and it is growing as the City grows. That will cause major congestion. Mr. Ahrens said that he plans to work with the Public Works Superintendent to put stripes on Second Avenue. At this time, only the center line is marked. Lane markers will be striped so that cars will not drive in the area marked for walkers and bikers. Ms. Kent asked how the children would safely get across Elm Street if all the bus traffic is going onto Elm Street. Mr. Ahrens said that the crossing will be just west of the access road for the bus traffic. The majority of the bus traffic will be coming from Lake Drive and making a right turn into the middle school before the pedestrian crossing. This will be a start of the school speed zone. Mr. Houle explained that there are identified walk areas to all of the school building in the Centennial School District. These walk areas are not necessarily for one mile. There is a community of individuals who review all these areas for certain safety requirements. The safety criteria is a scoring system depending on the environment that is out there. Therefore it is not automatic that all those children on the south end of Second Avenue are going to be walkers because they fall within that one mile distance. Elements that are considered in the formula are how busy are the streets that cross, are sidewalks available, are the roads county roads, width of roads, are there curbs or bends in the roads and relative distance. He referred to Mr. Ahrens comments regarding the type of sidewalks and when will they be installed and said hopefully some of those things will be in place before the middle school is ready for occupancy. If they are not ready and the area does not meet the Centennial Schools requirements or criteria for a safe walk area, the children will be bused. Mr. Houle noted the other concern about how will the children be safe crossing Elm Street to the middle school. They would be crossing Elm Street west of the area where buses will be turning. He said the children will also have to cross a bus traffic lane on the middle school site. The School District is looking at placing a stop sign to stop the buses to make sure that the kids have a safe access to the middle school. Council Member Lyden asked if the City Council could explore the idea of putting a stop sign on Elm Street at Second Avenue and also extend a walking trail coming north on Second Avenue straight across Elm Street and access the middle school at this point getting the kids away from the traffic on Elm Street. Brian Goula, Whippoorwill - Mr. Goula said that he did not think that the citizens are aware that a park will be constructed on the middle school property. He said he thought that the City and the School District will build this park jointly. Mr. Goula said that there should be more discussion regarding this park. He said that Council Member Lyden had PAGE 34 • COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22, 1996 suggested that a trail be located on the middle school property. This would be a good idea since it could get the children to the park safely. Mr. Ahrens said that there will be ballfields on the site but he was not aware of any playground equipment. Mayor Landers said that a City park will be constructed on the east side of Lake Drive next to the Parks and Recreation building. Mr. Asleson explained where this park will be located and how the trail system will connect the future condominiums to the intersection where the signal light is proposed. Mr. Goula said that then the City is saying that there will not be a park on the middle school property. Mr. Asleson said that there will be athletic fields on that property. Mr. Patrick Sarver, Site Planner and Landscape Architects for the middle school, said that they have planned an on-site pathway that will wind in and around the western portions the ballfields and in and around the wetland areas. This pathway will connect to a pathway that eventually connects to the pathways around the entire site and back to the City pathway or trailway system. Mr. Sarver said that he worked with Mr. Asleson on the design, development and location of the pathways early in the site design stages. Mr. Goula asked if any money has been dedicated for the pathway. Mr. Sarver said that funding for the on-site pathways was included in the bond issue passed last November. Mr. Paul Snyder, the project architect for the middle school said that construction costs at this time are unknown. He said that he could not guarantee that the pathways would all be constructed when the middle school opens. Mr. Snyder said that the pathways are in the plan and the grading will be done. Mr. Ahrens explained that there may be some joint City and School District use and/or maintenance of the ballfields. However, they will not be City facilities. Mr. Asleson said that the City will cooperative as much as possible with the School District on these facilities. Mr. Goula said the plan is to put the pathways in but there is no money for there construction. Mr. Snyder said that if the bids for the overall project come in within the budget, then the pathway will be constructed. However, the project contains a number of alternates that can or cannot be completed depending on whether or not the money is needed to complete the middle school. The main focus is getting the middle school ready for occupancy. If bids for the middle school stay on budget or come in under budget, the paths will be constructed. The pathway is one of the alternates. Mr. Goula said that he would like the pathway as described by Council Member Lyden. This would get the kids walking to school off the street sooner. Kim Holmes, 7062 Second Avenue - Ms. Holmes noted that the School District has said that safety is their number one concern but yet you are making it the City's responsibility to put in a walking path for the children that we have been told are required to walk. She said that does not make any sense. Mr. Ahrens said that it is the School District's policy to participate in the funding of trails within a mile of the school. Trails along Second Avenue are not in the one mile range, so therefore, the City would be responsible for the entire cost. Ms. Holmes asked why have all the residents along Second Avenue been told PAGE 35 COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22, 1996 that their children will be walking to the middle school? She said that this is the first time that she has heard anything about them not having to walk. Mr. Ahrens said that the children along Second Avenue will be bused. Mr. Houle said that a portion of Second Avenue would fall within the one mile radius. However, the actual walking distance is difficult to calculate because the School District does not know what pathways will be available and what the road configuration will be. He said he cannot narrow it down to a specific part of Second Avenue. Mr. Houle noted that the actual walkway is measured from the front door of the school. Until the middle school is actually built and the pathways put in, there is no way to calculate the walk area. When the walk area is known, a committee will evaluate the area and a specific walk area will be defined. The School District will work with the City and share the costs of the pathways along Elm Street. Ms. Holmes said that the pathway where the children will be walking has to be made a priority. He said the pathway along Elm Street will be there when the middle school opens. Whether or not there is a pathway on Second Avenue is another issue. Ms. Holmes said that you are saying that the pathway along Second Avenue probably will not be there. Mr. Houle said that this will not be known until the School District has completed their evaluation. Ms. Holmes said that the School District has said that they are not sure that funds will be available for the on-site pathways, so how can you say that there will be funding for pathways along Second Avenue. Mr. Ahrens said that the pathways that might not happen are on the middle school site. The pathways along Elm Street will happen. Mayor Landers restated that there will be no pathways along Second Avenue until such time as Second Avenue has to be reconstructed. This could be some distant future date. Ms. Holmes asked how can we assure the safety of the children on Second Avenue? Will they be bused? Ms. Houle said that if there is no safe area the meets the School District criteria, yes they would be bused. He said he would be happy to review the School District's transportation policy with the residents. Ms. Holmes said that nobody can define a safe area and it has not been addressed. Lisa Crouse, Circle Pines - Ms. Crouse said that she has three (3) children who will attend the new middle school. She said that their safety is very important and wanted to stress that she is here this evening to let the City Council know that she is in favor of the traffic light. Ms. Crouse said that earlier this evening there was a comment made about children and the cross -walks. She lives three (3) blocks from the elementary school and her children have been safe. Ms. Crouse said that she did not think that the School District would put any child in an unsafe position. These children will be sixth through eighth graders. Now her children are 1st grade through sixth grade and walk to Golden Lake Elementary. She said that she felt that the City Council and the School District would do the right thing for all of the children and commended the City Council and the School District for their time and effort. John McClellan, 6387 Fawn Lane - Mr. McClellan, Superintendent of Centennial School District No. 12 said there are about six (6) questions that were asked and he would like to address them. He said that someone had said that the trees on Elm Street would be lost. he said that was news to him. He has not seen a plan and not talked to a City or PAGE 36 COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22, 1996 OSM official who have indicated nothing other than most of the line of pine trees be saved. Mr. McClellan said that if he is mistaken, he wanted to be corrected. Mr. McClellan said that someone talked about a state aid loss on the first Option F. He said he does not have a clue of what that means to the School District because there is nothing to do with state aid for schools tied to roads. However, the City does have a state aid concern with roads. Mr. McClellan said that one option that was reviewed did not qualify for state aid funding. The School Board is aware of this and is concerned because the School District does not think that would have been a good option for the City because not only would it means a loss of state aids for roads, Elm Street itself would not qualify for state aid anytime. He said that the School District could still support that option however, it would be a terrible decision for the City to make and loose the ability to even repair the street. The only connection with the loss of state aid means that it can only refer to the City's ability to put state aid money in roads and has nothing to do with the School District. Mr. McClellan said that there was a request to postpone the issue and ask the City to put more pressure on the School District. He said that this is the most ludicrous thing he has heard this evening. The School District asked the City for a postponement on the assessments because OSM and the City Engineer were not ready to talk about them and the School District still does not know what the assessments will be. Mr. Houle talked about them a little bit this evening, however, until the road is designed, there is no one in this room that can answer that question. Mr. McClellan said that once the road is designed, the School District is eager to get on with the discussion of the assessments. Mr. McClellan noted that a person asked this evening if he told the rest of the community that this issue was coming up at this time. He said he did and recalled earlier meetings with about 50 neighbors to broaden that issue across the community is responsible. He said that he supports Options A, B and F. He noted that Mr. Cheesebrough talked about Option F being the preferred option. Someone mentioned that the driveway near the overflow parking lot by the baseball field should be gated. He thought that was an excellent suggestion and will be looked at if Option F is selected. Someone asked if pathways/walkways will be in before the middle school is opened. Mr. McClellan said absolutely and he meant the pathways that give children safe passage to the middle school, not the pathways on site. If those pathways are not constructed, the School District will bus the children to the middle school. Mr. McClellan said that he could be quoted on this issue, he will put it in writing. The School District will not subject children to walking to the middle school if there are no safe pathways. Mr. McClellan said that he wanted to clarify the answer to the question of safe pathways along Second Avenue. He said there will be pathways along Elm Street at least to Second Avenue. If it is determined that is where the cut-off should be and it is not safe to walk on Second Avenue then those children will be bused. It does not matter that they live less than a mile from the middle school. If the pathway is not there, they will be bused. No child will walk on Elm Street if there is no pathway. To get safe passage to PAGE 37 COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22, 1996 the middle school, you will either live within that mile and use the pathway or you will be bused. If there is a safety issue within the one mile area, the children will be bused. Mr. McClellan explained that currently there are areas where children live within one mile of the school and are bused. Dave Radeck, 7184 Cinnamon Teal Court - Mr. Radeck said if we do not say something we all are going to have to live with what is decided on May 13th. He said a lot of the questions that were asked and a lot of things that were discussed tonight seem to indicate that there is a lot of animosity in this community right now. Mr. Radeck said maybe this item should be tabled and allow time to get some definite facts and figures and see we can get a signal light on the Lake Drive/Elm Street intersection. Mary Nissen, 6541 Hokah Drive - Ms. Nissen said she did not like seeing all of the disparity between everybody tonight. Her kids do walk to the Rice Lake Elementary School on a pathway. People were not real happy about this when it happened. But it happened even though some parents felt the pathway was to close to Birch Street. Ms. Nissen said that none of the community can afford to have this matter delayed unless you want to see your kids in classes of 30 to 40 kids. She said she did not like that idea. Ms. Nissen asked that staff repeat what MnDOT has said about the signal light at Lake Drive and Elm Street. She said it appeared that there is no promise of such a light. Mr. Ahrens said that he will ask Dave Mitchell to explain MnDOT's review process and what they will need. He said that it would be a poor decision for the City Council to table this matter and ask MnDOT for a decision. They will require a real detailed study and that will take at least a month. Mr. Mitchell said that OSM goes through a process of signal justification report. That has to include some of the detailed design aspects of the roadway. To table this, does not provide any additional guarantees that the City will get a signal light. The entire process must be completed by the schedule that is laid out by MnDOT. The process is to start developing detailed plans and submit a signal justification report. Ms. Nissen said that when Rice Elementary School opened, the kids who lived on the south side of Birch Street were expected to cross Birch Street in one given area where there was a cross -walk. It was decided that the crossing was not safe and an underpass was constructed. Ms. Nissen said that she was not suggesting that an underpass or overpass be constructed for the middle school. She said the residents here this evening can rest assured that the School District will do everything that they can to make sure it is safe for the kids to cross the street to the middle school whether it be Elm Street or Lake Drive (Highway 49). Ms. Nissen also said that kids who will be attending the middle school do not always take the bus. If they have another option such as walking, roller blading, or riding their bike they will not ride the bus. She said that if parents are not satisfied with the walking route, they drive their kids to school. Ms. Nissen said it is surprising how many parents are still driving their children to Rice Lake Elementary. PAGE 38 COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22, 1996 Ms. Nissen said another thing that has been discussed it that kids will walk to the middle school up Aqua Lane from West Shadow Lake Drive. If these kids stay after school for other activities, they will ride their bikes. She said she did not want these children crossing Lake Drive without a signal light. Linda Budnicki said that her daughter goes to Rice Lake Elementary. She lives within the six (6) block radius that normally kindergarten children would walk to the school However, she lives on the north side of Birch Street which does not have a walking path. Ms. Budnicki called Mr. Hughes and he said that these children will be bused. However, the City is considering constructing a walking trail that would extend west from her street through a very deserted area that is very close to a City park and the lake. She called Mike Hughes and expressed concern about small children using this path on their way to school. He assured Ms. Budnicki that her children would be bused. Ms. Budnicki said her point is that from her experience dealing with Mike Hughes, he is really concerned about the kids and their safety. She felt that he would not let the kids walk in an area that is not safe. Ms. Budnicki said that she is concerned for the safety of all the kids. She said that she was sorry that the community has come in at the 11th hour with their concerns. However, she said that she just starting the Quad Press a month ago. It is not an issue that she have heard of. It made her angry to think that there would not be a signal light on Lake Drive and Elm Street. Ms. Budnicki said that she was in the Moundsview School District and had nephews that went to Chippewa School and there were accidents there. She found that very scary. If one child is hurt, that is one child to many. Angela Weigold said that if half of the energy in this room could work together to make a solution work, we would have the world tackled. She said if Option F is selected and the only issue is the school buses driving on Elm Street in front of the children that have to cross Elm Street, can't we make it work. If that is the only issue on Option F, can't we make that work? Ms. Weigold said that if a half or even a fourth of the energy this is spent here tonight for three and one half hours, can't we make it work. She said that she thought that everyone in the room is on the team and a community and instead of "pitting" everyone against each other, lets work together and make Option F work if that is the option chosen. Mayor Landers said OSM has been asked about constructing an overpass or an underpass. A tunnel is impossible because of the topography. Mr. Mitchell explained that an overpass in this area costs about one half of a million dollars and it has been found that in this type of a situation, kids will not use the overpass. It is easier to dodge the cars than climb the steps. Council Member Neal moved to close the public hearing at 10:05 P.M. Council Member Bergeson seconded the motion. Motion carried with Council Members Kuether and Lyden voting no. Motion carried. PAGE 39 COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22, 1996 Mayor Landers told the audience that the City Council will take all comments into consideration and will make a final decision on this matter at the May 13, 1996 regular Council meeting. He asked Mr. Weigold to stay in touch with Mr. Ahrens. Mayor Landers said that he has received 101 telephone calls and two (2) letters supporting a signal light in one option or another. He thanked everybody for their input. The City Council took a break at 10:07. Mayor Landers called the City Council back into session at 10:18 P.M. CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION NO. 96 - 43 APPROVING THE FINAL PAYMENT OF CONTRACT FOR DEED FOR APOLLO BUSINESS PARK, BRIAN WESSEL Mr. Wessel explained that in 1992 the City made the decision to purchase 36 acres of property in the Lino Lakes Industrial Park on a contract for deed from James and Diane Schilling. The purpose of controlling the property was to bring improvements to the park and open the area for industrial development. Since that time, the City has sold 11.6 acres for five (5) projects in the park. This enables the City to pay off the contract for deed eight (8) months early, saving thousands of dollars in interest. The proceeds from the remaining nine (9) acres of buildable land will help to ensure the future strength of the City's economic development effort. Including the new development that will be under construction this spring, development in both the City -owned and privately owned portions of the park has increased annual tax revenue by approximately $250,000.00. Full buildout of both portions of the park could generate approximately 1.5 million dollars per year in property taxes. Resolution No. 96 - 43 approves the payment to the Schillings for the remaining principle on the contract for deed. Council Member Kuether asked where the money will come from to pay off the contract for deed. Mr. Wessel explained that it comes from the sale of the lots. Council Member Kuether moved to approve Resolution No. 96 - 43. Council Member Neal seconded the motion. Mr. Schumacher thanked Mr. Wessel for the work he has done in marketing the Apollo Business Park. When the City entered into the contract for deed five (5) years ago, it was hoped that the City would have most of the lots sold by the end of the contract. Sale of lots have realized enough cash so that the contract for deed can be paid before the end of the contract. Voting on the motion, motion carried unanimously. PAGE 40 COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22, 1996 Resolution No. 96 - 43 can be found at the end of these minutes. CONSIDERATION OF THREE (3) POLICE PERSONNEL Mr. Schumacher explained that the Police Department is proposing to hire three (3) individuals. The first position to be filled is a full-time Police Records Clerk. The Police Department went through the normal advertising procedures and received about 125 applications. The top 12 candidates were tested. Staff is recommending that the City Council hire Cynthia Koepp. She presently works for a law firm and has 15 years experience in an office setting. A background investigation revealed nothing that would disqualify Ms. Koepp for the position. Council Member Neal moved to hire Cynthia Koepp for the Police Records Clerk position. Council Member Kuether seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. Mr. Schumacher outlined a proposal to hire two (2) additional police officers effective May 1, 1996 and August 1, 1996. Recently, the Police Department hired an officer who did not make the probationary period. One of the Police Officer candidates would fill the vacant position. That position was funded in the 1996 budget. The second position would be financed through a contract with the Centennial School District. The contract is a one year contract which is renewable annually unless it is canceled by a 30 day notice by either party. Council Member Neal asked if there would be an officer placed in the new middle school. Mr. Schumacher explained that Chief Pecchia has had some preliminary conversations with the School District about this issue. However, at this time, only the one officer is being proposed to be funded by the School District. Mr. Schumacher said that the two (2) candidates being proposed for these two (2) positions are Melinda Brown and Matthew Vana. Council Member Kuether expressed concern regarding the 30 day notice clause in the contract. She said she would like more information from Superintendent McClellan. Mr. Schumacher talked to Chief Pecchia on this matter and he indicated that the School District is anticipating going to a three (3) year contract. Mr. Schumacher gave a brief background explanation on both Police Officer candidates. Council Member Bergeson noted that a former Police Officer is seeking re-employment through the union appeal process. He asked what happens if appeal is successful and we have another officer. Mr. Schumacher explained that at this time, staff is waiting for the appeal period to expire or a decision to be made. Once a decision is made or the appeal period expires, staff will bring a recommendation to the City Council. If the Police Officer's appeal is successful, there are still dollars in the budget to fund him. Council PAGE 41 COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22, 1996 Member Bergeson said that his concern was that it looked like the City was funding a part of a year and the following year would not have adequate funding to keep all of the officers employed. Mr. Schumacher explained that Chief Pecchia had talked about filling the two (2) positions that were left vacant plus adding two (2) more police officers. Although there is funding for a third officer, there is no funding for a fourth officer. There would be a significant impact on the budget. Council Member Kuether asked for a written signed contract with the Centennial School District. She said she would like to have it before the 1997 budget process begins. Mr. Schumacher said that this information would be helpful. Council Member Kuether wanted Chief Pecchia to know that if he will be requesting a third officer soon, a signed contract will be needed to be sure that the officer designated for that position has a position if the School District decides not to fund the position as outlined. Mayor Landers noted that he has heard that once the middle school is opened, the Lino Lakes Officer at the senior high school will be moved to the middle school and a Blaine police officer will be placed in the senior highschool. Council Member Lyden asked if funds from the School District are tied to any one applicant. Mr. Schumacher said no, although the recommendation for hiring is Melinda Brown would be hired first and Matthew Vana second. This would give Ms. Brown seniority if there is necessity for adjustments. Council Member Kuether moved to hire Melinda Brown. Council Member Neal seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. Council Member Kuether moved to hire Matthew Vana. Council Member Neal seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. PLANNING AND ZONING BOARD REPORT, MARY KAY WYLAND Consideration of SECOND READING, Ordinance No. 02 - 96, Rezone Lands Purchased by Centennial School District for Building a Middle School on Elm Street - Ms. Wyland explained Ordinance No. 02 - 96 received its first reading by the City Council on March 25, 1996. A second reading is required by our Zoning Ordinance. The ordinance will provide for the rezoning of the Centennial Middle School site from Light Industrial and Single Family Residential (R-1) to Public, Semi -Public (PSP). The balance of the industrial property purchased by the School District not incorporated into the school site will remain zoned for industrial use. Staff is recommending approval of the SECOND READING of Ordinance No. 02 - 96 rezoning Lot 1, Centennial Middle School to PSP. Council Bergeson said if the diagram becomes part of the minutes, it is important to put the Light Industrial label on the triangle. PAGE 42 COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22, 1996 Council Member Kuether moved to approve the SECOND READING of Ordinance No. 02 - 96 and dispense with the reading. Council Member Bergeson seconded the motion. Motion carried with Council Member Lyden voting no. Ordinance No. 02 - 96 can be found at the end of these minutes. CITY ENGINEER'S REPORT, DAVID AHRENS Consideration of Resolution No. 96 - 40, Approving Change Orders 1 and 2 and Approve Payment #5 in the Amount of $16,278.25 and Payment #6 in the Amount of $3,715.00 to E. H. Renner for Well No. 3 - Mr. Ahrens explained that the drilling of Well No. 3 is complete. The contractor, E. H. Renner & Sons, is requesting payment on pay requests Nos. 5 and 6 of the contract that also includes change orders 1 and 2. The final payment by the City will initiate the contractor's one-year warranty period. The final contract costs are summarized as follows: Original Contract Amount Adjustment in Unit Price Items Change Order No. 1 Change Order No. 2 $49,800.00 $ 2,217.50 $11,827.50 $ 9,030.00 TOTAL CONTRACT AMOUNT $72,875.00 The $2,217.50 adjustment to the unit price items reflects the actual quantities used to drill the well. Change Order No. 1 in the amount of $11,827.50 reflects the cost to add open hole drilling to the contract based on the actual geology encountered during the drilling process. Change Order No. 2 in the amount of $9,030.00 reflects the additional costs to develop the well from 600 gallons per minute to 2,000 gallons per minute. Staff is recommending that Resolution No. 96 - 40 be approved. Council Member Bergeson asked if another contractor is building the well house. Mr. Ahrens said that Sheehy Construction is building the well house. Council Member Bergeson moved to adopt Resolution No. 96 - 40. Council Member Lyden seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. Resolution No. 96 - 40 can be found at the end of these minutes. Consideration of Resolution No. 96 - 41, Approve Plans and Specifications and order Improvement and Advertisement for Bids, Birch Street Trunk Watermain - Mr. Ahrens explained that this project addresses the need for a trunk watermain extension to serve the businesses to be located in the Clearwater Creek Development Center near PAGE 43 COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22, 1996 the southeast quadrant of the I-35E/Main Street interchange. The watermain would be extended to this area from the existing trunk watermain on Birch Street near Sherman Lake Road. The plans for this project were ordered by the City Council February 12, 1996 and a draft set of plans have been submitted to the City staff for their review. Construction of these improvements is scheduled to begin near the end of May, 1996. The funding source for this project is the City's Area/Unit (Enterprise) Fund, no assessments are proposed as part of this project. A copy of the advertisement for bids has been forwarded to the legal newspapers contingent upon the City Council's approval of this resolution. Mr. Ahrens explained that since this project is a City initiated project, a 4/5ths majority vote is required. Mr. Wessel said that the City Council complimented him on the pace at which we were able to develop the Apollo Business Park. He accepted the compliment on behalf of the staff and consultants. However, the most important part of that team is the City Council and the support that you gave the whole effort for the Apollo Business Park. Mr. Wessel said that this is another key issues regarding the development of the Clearwater Creek Business Park. He said that he will be bringing before the City Council on Monday evening two (2) businesses for that park which will kick off that development. This watermain project is very much a part of the commitment that staff has made to those businesses. Mr. Wessel asked for City Council consideration on this project. Council Member Kuether moved to adopt Resolution No. 96 - 41. Council Member Neal seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. Resolution No. 96 - 41 can be found at the end of these minutes. CONSIDERATION OF ANNUAL APPOINTMENTS, RANDY SCHUMACHER Mr Schumacher explained that each year the City Council is required to made annual appointments to its advisory Boards. As in the past, the vacancies were advertised and applicants were interviewed. At the City Council work session on April 17th, the following consensus was arrived at regarding those vacancies: PLANNING AND ZONING BOARD Allan Robinson Caroline Dahl Donald Dunn CIRCLE PINES GAS UTILITY BOARD Vern Reinert PAGE 44 • COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22, 1996 PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD Paul Montain George Lindy Joe Schmidt Mr. Schumacher noted that formal action has to be taken by the City Council. Council Member Lyden said that some residents feel that there is a possibility of a second tabulation error. Council Member Neal said that before the meeting started this evening, someone threatened a Council Member. Therefore he said he would not reveal how he will vote on this matter. Council Member Lyden said that threats are inappropriate, however, it does not address the issue that was just mentioned. Mr. Trehus from the audience asked Council Member Neal if someone called a Council Member and directly threatened them about the Planning and Zoning Board appointments. Council Member Neal said yes and explained that he was really mad about this matter. Mr. Trehus asked Council Member Neal if somebody called him and threatened him about how he was going to vote on the Birch Street watermain project, does that mean that how you vote on that issue should be keep confidential as well. Council Member Neal said he did not know. Mr. Trehus asked Council Member Neal where do you draw the line? Council Member Neal said that the line is being drawn now, if he gets any more threatening telephone calls he will get the Police Department involved. Council Member Lyden said he agreed with Council Member Neal however, there is a cloud out there. This could be resolved in a matter of two (2) or three (3) minutes by simply writing down who we voted for and put it on the table for everyone to look and tabulate them and then everyone of the Council Members agree that is how they voted. Council Member Neal said that the City Council already did this. Council Member Kuether suggested that everyone write down their candidates and give the ballots to the City Attorney for him to tabulate. Mr. Trehus asked why the Council Members cannot show their votes to each other. Council Member Kuether said that she had no problem with that before. Mr. Trehus said that there is one person on the City Council that he trusts and as long as this person gets to see everybody's ballot he will be satisfied. Mr. Trehus said that there is a discrepancy. • Council Member Bergeson said that he felt comfortable voting over again but did not feel the ballots should be circulated among the Council Members. If the ballots are circulated PAGE 45 COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22,1996 among the City Council every Council Member will get calls from various people and pressured to disclose how each Member voted. Council Member Lyden said that everyone trusts Mr. Hawkins and asked if he needed a second person to tabulate the votes. Mayor Landers said that the City Council should trust Mr. Hawkins with the vote tabulation. Council Member Kuether said that this is getting ridiculous. All Council Members were asked to place the names of persons they voted for on the second ballot and give their ballots to Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Hawkins will tabulate the vote and announce the decision later in this meeting. OLD BUSINESS There was no old business. NEW BUSINESS Consideration of the Resignation of John Hanson, Public Works Department - Mr. Schumacher explained that Mr. Hanson has submitted a letter of resignation and the City Council needs to accept the letter of resignation. Staff will come back to the City Council at a later date and talk about the replacement of Mr. Hanson. Mr. Hanson will be working for the City of White Bear Lake. Mr. Ahrens said that he did talk to Mr. Hanson and the position at White Bear Lake is a step up for him and there is more opportunity for him with better pay. Mr. Ahrens will have a recommendation for this position and have a replacement by mid -summer. Council Member Kuether moved to accept Mr. Hanson's resignation and directed Mr. Ahrens to wish him well. Council Member Bergeson seconded the motion. Motion carried. Consideration of Minutes, April 8, 1996 - Council Member Neal moved to approve the minutes as presented. Council Member Lyden seconded the motion. Motion carried with Mayor Landers and Council Member Kuether abstaining. Consideration of Minutes, April 15, 1996 - Council Member Kuether moved to approve the minutes as presented. Council Member Bergeson seconded the motion. Motion carried with Council Member Lyden abstaining. REMINDER: Special Economic Development Authority Meeting, Monday, April 29, 1996, 5:00 P.M. to Consider a Development Agreement for Taymark and for Northern Wholesale. PAGE 46 COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 22, 1996 REMINDER: Special Council Meeting, April 29, 1996, 5;00 P.M. consider the following: 1. Consider an Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) for the Centennial Middle School 2. Site Plan Review for Taymark 3. Site Plan Review for Northern Wholesale 4. Site Plan Review, Emtech, Apollo Business Park Mr. Hawkins presented the results ofthe Council vote for Planning and Zoning Board members. The numbers were the same as listed on the "green sheet". The new Planning and Zoning Board members are: Allan Robinson, Caroline Dahl and Donald Dunn. The Circle Pines Gas Utility Commission member is Vern Reinert. The Park Board members are Paul Montain, George Lindy and Joe Schmidt. Council Member Kuether to approve the appointments as announced by Mr. Hawkins. Council Member Bergeson seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. Council Member Lyden said that he would discuss his agenda concerns at the next work session. Council Member Kuether moved to adjourn at 11:07 P.M. Council Member Lyden seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. These minutes were considered, corrected and approved at a regular Council meeting held on July 22, 1996. 4/1 Marilyn C Anderson, Jo . Landers, Clerk -Treasurer ayor PAGE 47 Council Member Kuether introduced the following ordinance and moved its adoption: CITY OF LINO LAKES COUNTY OF ANOKA ORDINANCE NO. 02-96 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. B1 OF THE CITY OF LINO LAKES BY REZONING CERTAIN REAL ESTATE FROM R-1 (SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL) AND LI (LIGHT INDUSTRIAL) TO PSP (PUBLIC, SEMI-PUBLIC) - CENTENNIAL MIDDLE SCHOOL The City Council of the City of Lino Lakes, Anoka County, Minnesota does ordain: I. Ordinance No. B1 of the City of Lino Lakes, Anoka County, Minnesota, passed by the City Council on July 13, 1992 is hereby amended by rezoning from R-1 (Single Family Residential) and LI (Light Industrial) to PSP (Public, Semi -Public) pursuant to the provisions of the Zoning Ordinance of the City of Lino Lakes, the following described real estate: Lot 1, Centennial Middle School Addition' II. Save as above amended, said Ordinance .No. Bi shall stand as initially passed and as previously amended. This ordinance shall be in force and effect from and after its passage and publication according to the Lino Lakes City Charter. Passed by the City Council of the City of Lino Lakes this 22nd day of April, 1996. Marilync yAnderson,CityClerk Jahn L. Landers, Mayor The motion for the adoption of the foregoing ordinance was duly seconded by Council Member Bergeson and upon vote being taken thereon, the following voted in favor: Bergeson, Kuether, Neal, Landers. The following voted against same: Lyden. Whereupon said ordinance was declared duly passed and adopted TO 595 98.$7 • ▪ H W .1qn prfrr..._ =.-- „:3 z�. MI iU Q I at 7--7,-...---__ illiAl ESA' ...•..._ cam: 9 ri.-- likitif 1111111 id III OM iii MUMa 11111 'k -4c.1 rarAll.lUl'utv CY, i', -t3 r MO nr..1. ii. Ea w mss. .-r a;G2 Iii MA et 1111ffill Mr �i L' M11.141e.t.a r ,Qfli itizial.1 r� I �t'�'S:~�,-•7 i r�.!rrl�JT��'4�wp7%tG�il:ki�s,ai�l/ f %' ce'"• E� •Z�:Sfd�I. ;• f v. . .p.t1CT. .:. gt[fl .. .� �- f••A, •1,.• �•.i�d.•.•. zr, ' ;� COSY . ?4,44•WCG'3aniLE ENInipmicht,v7,vz..,-1,-f-P•-r- ioniwceEWil EOM SICIE:{-1.,rr''•: t'i 'p • gr• .J...,iP.a/ �n�v+•• EXHIBIT Council Member Bergeson introduced the following resolution and moved its adoption: CITY OF LINO LAKES RESOLUTION NO. 96-40 RESOLUTION APPROVING CHANGE ORDERS 1 & 2 AND PAYMENTS 5 and 6 (final) FOR WELL NO. 3 WHEREAS, drilling of well no. 3 has been completed by E. H. Renner & Sons, and; WHEREAS, the one-year warranty period for this project will begin with the final payment. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LINO LAKES, MINNESOTA: 1. Change Order 1 in the amount of $11,827.50 is approved. 2. Change Order 2 in the amount of $9,030.00 is approved. 3. Payment numbers 5 and 6 (final) are approved for a total contract amount of $72,875.00. Adopted by the City Council this 22nd day of�• pril, 1996. hAdenV Marilyn . Anderson Clerk -Treasurer ohn L. Landers, Mayor The motion for adoption of the foregoing resolution was duly seconded by Council Member Lyden and upon vote being taken thereon, the following voted in favor thereof: Bergeson, Kuether, Lyden, Neal, Landers. The following voted against same: None. Whereupon said resolution was declared passed and adopted. Council Member introduced the following resolution and moved its adoption: CITY OF LINO LAKES RESOLUTION NO. 96-41 RESOLUTION ORDERING THE IMPROVEMENT, APPROVING THE PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS AND ORDERING ADVERTISEMENTS FOR BIDS FOR THE BIRCH STREET TRUNK WATERMAIN IMPROVEMENTS. WHEREAS, a resolution of the Lino Lakes City Council adopted the 12th day of February, 1996 fixed a date for a Council hearing on the proposed improvement and, WHEREAS, ten days' mailed notice and two weeks' published notice of the hearing was given, and the hearing was held thereon on the 25th day of March, 1996, at which all persons desiring to be heard were given an opportunity to be heard thereon, AND WHEREAS, pursuant to resolution passed by the City Council on the 12th day of February, 1996, TKDA has prepared plans and specifications for the improvement and has presented such plans and specifications to the City for approval, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LINO LAKES, MINNESOTA: 1. Such improvement is hereby ordered as proposed in the Council resolution adopted the 12th day of February, 1996. 2. Such plans and specifications are hereby approved. 3. The City Clerk shall prepare and cause to be inserted in the official paper and the Construction Bulletin an advertisement for the bids upon the making of such improvement under such approved plans and specifications. The advertisement shall be published for two days, shall specify the work to be done, shall state that bids will be opened and bids will be received by the City Clerk until 1:00 P.M. on Wednesday, May 8, 1996, at which time they will be publicly opened in the Council Chambers of the City Hall by the City Clerk and Engineer, will be tabulated and will be considered by the Council at 6:30 P.M. on Monday, May 13, 1996 in the Council Chambers. Any bidder whose responsibility is questioned during consideration of the bid will be given the opportunity to address the Council on the issue of responsibility. No bids will be considered unless sealed and filed with the Clerk and accompanied by a cash deposit, cashier's check, bid bond or certified check payable to the Clerk for five (5) percent of the amount of such bid Adopted by the City Council this 8th day of April, 1996.)-) n , J L. Landers, Mayor Marilrn G.Anderson, Clerk -Treasurer The motion for adoption of the foregoing resolution was duly seconded by Council Member _ and upon vote being taken thereon, the following voted in favor thereof: The following voted against same: Whereupon said resolution was declared passed and adopted. CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the above is a correct copy of a resolution duly passed, adopted and approved by the City Council on 1996. Marilyn erson Clerk -Treasurer Councilmember Kuether introduced the following resolution and moved its adoption: LINO LAKES CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION NO. 96-43 RESOLUTION APPROVING THE PAYOFF OF THE CONTRACT FOR DEED ON THE APOLLO BUSINESS PARK WHEREAS, The City Council of the City of Lino Lakes ("the City") purchased 36 acres in the Lino Lakes Industrial Park on January 9, 1992 from James R. and Diane T. Schilling on a Contract for Deed; WHEREAS, The City changed the name of the Lino Lakes Industrial Park to the Apollo Business Park and began marketing the properties to industrial users to further the City's plan for economic development; WHEREAS, the due date on the Contract for Deed is January 1, 1997; WHEREAS, The City has sold enough properties within the Apollo Business Park to pay off the remaining principle due on the Contract for Deed prior to that date; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City as follows: 1. The City's Finance Director is authorized and directed to issue a check for the remaining principle to James R. and Diane T. Schilling; 2. The City Attorney is authorized and directed to schedule a closing date with the Schillings and pay off the remaining principle on the Contract for Deed. Adopted by the Lino Lakes City Council this 22nd day of April, 1996. John L. Landers, Mayor ATTEST: Marilyn G.derson, Clerk/Treasurer The motion for the adoption of the foregoing resolution was duly seconded by Councilmember Neal and upon vote being taken thereon, the following voted in favor thereof. Bergeson, Kuether, Lyden, Neal, Landers. and the following voted against same: none. Whereupon said resolution was declared duly passed and adopted.