Laserfiche WebLink
Page 4 <br />Appearing first to speak on the subject was Minneapolis Alderman Sam <br />Sivanich who prefaced his remarks with an expression of gratitude from <br />the City of Minneapolis to the City of St. Anthony for the assistance <br />which the City had given Minneapolis during that city's water crisis. <br />He said a resolution to this effect had been recently adopted by the <br />Minneapolis City Council. <br />He then proceeded to enumerate the reasons he felt the self service <br />pumps should not be combined with the grocery business since, in his <br />opinion, such methods of dispensing gas might prove injurious to the <br />property values of the neighborhood and the community at large especially <br />if such an operation should prove an economic failure and the gas pumps <br />should be abandoned. He said the fire code had been made very restrictive <br />as it applied to self service stations becuase it was believed they <br />might be hazardous to their clients. He said the operation would probably <br />increase the vehicular traffic in the area and thereby result in more <br />noise, pollution and danger to the residents. He felt the proliferation <br />of gas pumps at that particular corner would harm the aesthetics of <br />the neighborhood and reminded those present that a self service gas <br />dispensing operation demands the exclusive attention of one clerk. <br />Alderman Sivanich then told the Council that the Minneapolis City Council <br />had just the previous Friday adopted an ordinance regulating such <br />combination operations. He told of the litigation between the city <br />and 7-11 stores which had resulted from self service gas tanks being <br />installed without a permit at the 7-11 store on the corner of Broadway <br />and Adams St. N.E. because such an operation had not been included in <br />the Urban Development Plan for St. Anthony East. <br />When questioned by the Mayor about the two operations on the Minneapolis <br />side of Stinson just across the street from the site in question which <br />constituted, in the Mayor's opinion, a blight of that intersection, the <br />alderman said the transmission company had been threatened with revocation <br />of its license if they did not come up with suitable proposal for up- <br />grading their operation and there had been a constant problem with the <br />Little Europe repair station. He also answered the Manager's queries <br />by reporting that the diseased elm trees in the same area had been <br />tagged for removal. <br />Roger Sax, attorney for the Schroeder Milk Company, questioned the <br />validity of the petition against the gas dispensing operation saying <br />his contacts with some of those who had signed indicated that many <br />people did not know what they were against. He also mentioned the <br />inconsistency of those who objected to the aesthetics of the new <br />market but ignored the unsightly appearance of the Sroga Standard <br />Station just a short distance away whose owner was one of the most <br />vociferous opponents of the proposal. Mr. Sroga denied he was a leader <br />of the opposition and said his business, though it might be unsightly, <br />provided a necessary service for the neighborhood. <br />Jim Glockzin who will operate the combination business said he felt <br />the disadvantages of the gas pumps had been exaggerated and felt the <br />positioning of the new market to the rear of the property would give <br />the motorists a better view of the intersection and therefore would <br />be a safety factor. He said the gas operation was the only enterprise <br />which could be economically combined with the selling of groceries <br />to increase his business. <br />