Minutes - 2001/02/26 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mounds View City Council February 26, 2001 Regular Meeting Page 3 Public Works Director Ulrich clarified that on weekends, due to the fact it is a lighter traffic time, the City attempts to minimize overtime and maximize productivity so the plow drivers start later in the day. They started at 6:00 a.m. on Saturday and 7:00 a.m. on Sunday. They also plowed during the night for a few hours to keep roads clear. Had the snow fallen on a weekday, the plows would have been out early in order to have the roads clear by the morning commute. Council Member Quick clarified the actions of the plow drivers were in accordance with City policy. Public Works Director Ulrich confirmed Council Member Quick's comments stating there is a bit of a judgment call involved but the policy was followed. Council Member Quick noted the City could do more but it would cost a lot more money and would result in increased taxes to residents. Council Member Quick also pointed out other suburbs in the area had streets that were in worse shape than Mounds View streets and complimented the plowing team on a job well done. Public Works Director Ulrich explained the City will continue to scrape streets to remove ice and deicer buildup in order to get water off the streets and into the catch basins to decrease the damage of the freeze/thaw cycle on the roadway. He noted this does fill up resident driveways but stated it was a necessary step. Mayor Sonterre reported he had attended the town meeting with Senator Chaudhary and Representative Evans, noting there were a lot of people there and good issues were raised. He noted he watched the Cable Committee meeting and welcomed back Barb Haake. He pointed out the Focus News is starting to print an up to date Mounds View cable schedule noting residents should check Channel 16 and the website for programming changes. Mayor Sonterre reported he attended a special meeting of the I35W Corridor Coalition with Mr. Ericson and Mr. Anderson where several issues specific to New Brighton were discussed but noted these issues may have an impact on Mounds View in the future. Mayor Sonterre reported he attended the North Metro Mayor's Association meeting where the governor's budget and the potential impact on cities was discussed. Council Member Marty noted it was brought up at the town hall meeting that a drop in sales tax to 6% would spread to services. That would mean property tax would go down but education is taken out of the figure which creates the possibility that school boards could come back and tax residents. This may mean total taxes could be pretty close to where they were before the proposed "tax cut". He noted this appears to be a numbers game that is not very favorable to the City. Mayor Sonterre noted there were 17 people who came to the town hall meeting and commented there was really no single issue that was personally driven and everyone seemed to be working on a different level with more of a big picture discussion.