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City Council Regular Meeting Minutes August 11, 1998 Page 6 • 1 Cavanaugh clarified there is no plan for adoption at the meeting tomorrow but it may be the 2 beginning for discussions about the plan. He stated there has not been a lot of fact finding or 3 discussion held yet so he had the impression the.meeting would be followed by another meeting. 4 Mornson concurred it will be the_first meeting of a series of meetings. 5 Mayor Ranallo explained that members of the task force will be in attendance but it is not a 6 Council meeting. He stated the Council wants to first see what the task force has put together 7 and then the Council will review it. 8 Don Burr, 2417 30th Avenue NE, stated he has observed that as the City is constructing new 9 streets and tearing up old asphalt, for entire City blocks,no additional storm sewers are being put 10 in. He stated he understands they are downhill grade and the strategy is to allow water to drain 11 downgrade to the low point where there is a means for water to exit to the storm water system. 12 Mr. Burr stated that he has also observed that the City of Minneapolis, on virtually every city 13 block,has a means for water to enter into the storm water system. He suggested that allowing 14 water to travel for more than one block allows a larger accumulation of water than can be 15 accommodated by the grate going into the storm water system, especially if that grate is blocked 16 by leaves or twigs. He stated he is frustrated by the fact that the City is spending a lot of money 17 to upgrade the roads but not upgrading the storm sewer system,.especially since there are so • 18 many problems in the lower part of the City, 33rd Avenue and southward. Mr. Burr suggested 19 that during future planning of road upgrades, the City seriously consider the addition of storm 20 water systems, as is.being done by the City of Minneapolis. 21 Jim Kozarek, 4029 Shamrock Drive, spoke in favor of the efforts of the task force and City to -22 alleviate flooding. He advised that after the July storm,his house had 6.5 feet of water in the 23 finished basement,within 18 inches of reaching first floor. He stated that since then they have 24 spent thousands of dollars (no insurance coverage)to correct that damage. Mr. Kozarek stated he 25 is amazed that some think there is no flooding problem, and if it floods it is the resident's 26 problem and they should have known better. He maintained the City's storm water system is not 27 adequate but the City has taken a proactive stance to hire a consultant, obtain grant funds, and 28 study the issues. Mr. Kozarek stated St. Anthony Village is a mature community with little open 29 space and a correction may result in a sacrifice. He asked that 115 of the time spent fighting be 30 used,instead,to work with the City's engineering consultant,the task force, and the City to find 31 a solution to stem the problem. He stated the litigation is blocking attempts to solve the 32 problems, and these problems will not go away. 33 Jane Hintz, 3503 Maplewood Drive, stated she serves on the task force and just learned about the 34 petition which may stop all of the work they have been doing for the past year. She stated she 35 understands this concern but to halt the entire project because of one area bothers her 36 tremendously. Ms. Hintz stated that the activity of the task force has been well published. She • 37 stated her property was not damaged by flooding but she wanted to become involved. She stated 38 she supports hiring other engineers but not halting the project which should move forward.