02-26-2018 CC - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mounds View City Council February 26, 2018 Regular Meeting Page 4 Molly Overkamp, 1671 Fernwood Street, explained she was a student leader at Irondale High School. She stated in the wake of a recent school shooting in Parkland, Florida, many of her classmates are worried this could occur in their own community. She reported Irondale received a threat this week via social media and she watched as her classmates made a choice between education and safety. She indicated this was a choice no child should have to make. She stated she has attended Irondale for four years and her feeling of safety was violated this week. She encouraged the Council to not allow a gun range to be placed less than a mile from Irondale High School. She reported this would not invoke feelings of safety for the students. She encouraged the City Council to not support the gun shop/gun range. Joan Dauphinee, 7801 Gloria Circle, stated for the past 41 years she has been a high school teacher at Spring Lake Park High School. She thanked the Council for hearing the opinions of the public. She discussed how teens and teachers were mobilizing across the country given the recent events that occurred in Florida in order to bring about stricter weapons control. She stated history was being made, a movement was happening and things were changing. She encouraged the Council to land on the right side of this issue and not on the side of further promotion and sales of guns. She recommended the Council stop pursuing this development and suggested Ordinance 939 be denied. She indicated Mounds View was a safe community and she would like this to remain the case. She anticipated that just because the developer was not requesting TIF did not mean this was a good development for the City. She commented on some research she had conducted on Heartland Gun Club and questioned why they were pursuing a location in Mounds View when they were from Florida. She stated this was a red flag for her. She feared the developer’s needs were coming first and not the needs of the City. She suggested the sale of weapons not be conducted next to a school for behaviorally challenged kids. She encouraged the Council to protect these students and the adjacent senior citizens. Larry Tell, 2840 Woodcrest Drive, stated 25 years ago his wife and daughter were shot at on the freeway in St. Paul. He explained both survived and escaped the event uninjured, noting his car had several bullet holes. He indicated he tried to work with the City of St. Paul on this issue and received no response. He believed the government had to have a different response to gun control. He encouraged the Council to resist the gun culture and recommended denial of Ordinance 939. He explained he would not vote for the Council or Mayor again if they supported this issue. Kenneth Glidden, 5240 Edgewood Drive, stated he lived approximately six houses down from where the proposed gun club and gun range would be. He believed this was the worst decision the Council could make and discussed how this would decrease the safety of his neighborhood. He did not support the City having a gun range in the middle of the community and encouraged the Council to deny the proposed Ordinance. Sue Rademacher, 7421 Parkview Drive, stated she has lived in Mounds View for 34 years with her husband. She explained she valued the safety and neighborliness in the community, along with the schools. She expressed concern with how a gun club would change this and questioned if guns could be rented at the proposed gun range.