Agenda Packets - 2003/11/10 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mounds View City Council October 27, 2003 Regular Meeting Page 12 Mr. Blanski indicated that he did not say who paid for the sidewalk and only used words used by 1 Council. 2 3 Richard Sonterre of 5060 Red Oak Drive said that he takes offense to the accusations that 4 residents were lied to by the former mayor. He then said that anyone can check with 5 Commissioner Bennett’s Office who had conferred with Dan Solar for the information that he 6 presented back at the August meeting. He offered further clarification by indicating he had said 7 that there were no plans for work for six or seven years but if the County did put in a sidewalk 8 residents would be assessed. He further commented that he did not make comments that 9 guaranteed any timeframe or that a pathway would be included. 10 11 Mr. Sonterre said he thinks it is important to look at whom the pathway would benefit and it 12 would be a regional benefit to all residents not just the residents that live along County Road H. 13 It would connect to the Ramsey County TCAAP project to the east and the Fridley, Rice Creek 14 pathway to the west. He then said that those that take the MTC bus walk in the traffic lane and 15 wait along side the road and they would benefit greatly from a sidewalk as there are 8 MTC bus 16 stops along that stretch. 17 18 Mr. Sonterre indicated that this sidewalk would be a benefit to the taxpayers as the funding 19 sources do not increase residential taxes. He then said that as he stated earlier, if the County puts 20 in a path at a future date it would come at a cost to the taxpayers. The funds to be used now are 21 TIF funds and this is exactly the type of project those funds are designated for so he does not 22 understand the angst over the expenditure. 23 24 Mr. Sonterre indicated that Council Member Marty had recommended researching alternative 25 funding sources such as grants and he agrees with that but there are two requirements to 26 receiving grants. The first is that there is an approved project and the second is that there are 27 matching funds. 28 29 Mr. Sonterre indicated that approval of the project would put Staff into a position to apply for 30 grants. He then said he would like to see consideration to help the residents along County Road 31 H such as the distance that the path is placed away from the road. He then said that there has 32 been talk that there is some flexibility with the location and there are property owners that would 33 benefit from having the path as close to the roadway as is possible. 34 35 Mr. Sonterre asked Council to take a look at who supports and who opposes the sidewalk. He 36 then said that there has been only one individual that has nothing to gain or lose from the 37 sidewalk that has voiced an opinion against the sidewalk. The rest have come from those that 38 have a direct impact to their property. 39 40 Mr. Sonterre indicated that he is presently the legislative issues chair and Sunnyside PTA has 41 given him the approval to speak on their behalf and issue the opinion that they are in support of 42 this project and to remind you that the majority of students at Sunnyside reside in Mounds View 43 as do the majority of PTA members. 44 45