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