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City Council Regular Meeting Minutes September 26, 2000 Page 2 1 covery, which is a towing service that is mainly located in St. Paul. There is a satellite operation 2 in Oakdale. Recently, she and her husband have purchased Sroga's Towing in St. Anthony. 3 She wanted to bring forth some of the complaints from neighbors that were received when 4 Sroga's Towing was in business. One improvement the Gartis's have made is an electric gate, 5 and an improvement to the fencing, so the contents of the impound lot are not visible from the 6 street. They have also removed some of the larger trucks, and changed the hours of operation. 7 Ms. Gartis reiterated the desire to work with the neighbors and the City to actively correct any 8 situations that arise. 9 Hodson inquired about the hours of operation, and Ms. Gartis said a dispatcher begins at 6:00 10 a.m. and continues until 2:00 p.m., and another dispatcher begins at 2:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. 11 Office hours are until 6:00 p.m. 12 Hodson mentioned that he had heard a prior complaint regarding Sroga's Towing in that the tow 13 truck drivers were using excessive speed throughout the neighborhoods and being loud at the 14 early hours of the morning. Ms. Gartis assured the Council that the type of driving behavior he 15 mentioned would not be tolerated, and hoped that if the drivers of their company are driving 5 poorly, that a ticket would be given. She plans on working closely,with the City, neighbors, and ,7 the employees to make for an amenable working relationship. 18 Cavanaugh stated he would like to see a letter of understanding between her company and the 19 City as to the specifics of issues that the City would normally do in a conditional use permit. He 20 would like to have an understanding with Ms. Gartis and her company because the problems as- . 21 sociated with Sroga's Towing have been a problem with the City for a long time. 22 Ms. Gartis stated that currently she and her husband are leasing the property and major improve- 23 ments would have to go through the Srogas. However, in response to Cavanaugh's mention of 24 auctions going on, she stated that her company does not have auctions. 25 Cavanaugh reiterated his hope for a letter of understanding, and inquired of City Manager 26 Michael Morrison if a 60-day temporary license would be a reasonable request. Morrison noted 27 that it would have to be a joint effort on the side of both parties. He felt that the key is that the 28 City needs to be consistent and uniformly apply those principals, and there is another towing 29 business within the City. 30 Ms. Gartis noted that she would be willing to work with the City and the neighbors, but major 31 conditions or renovations would have to, at this point, go through Mr. Sroga. With all due re- 32 spect, she stated, she was unsure how conditions could be placed on the business when the busi- •33 ness was willing to comply with all existing requirements as well as create an amenable relation- 4 ship.