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-7- <br /> which had sought an indication of residents' interest in having the first few feet <br /> of their driveways opened up behind the City plows, either on a cost basis or by <br /> • promotion of existing programs where students shovel for the residents, with special <br /> -subsidies for low income seniors. The Manager said the direction in the approxi- <br /> mately 200 surveys which had been returned had been varied with a good number of <br /> residents indicating they would be interested in the sdrvice as long as it didn't <br /> cost them more than a couple of dollars, but perceiving $10 or $15 would be too <br /> high. Councilmember Marks told Larry Jones he perceived his Bulletin article on <br /> the issue had certainly been responsible for a good number of those returns because <br /> some of the residents he had talked to had overlooked the survey they had been <br /> sent but had read his article in the Bulletin. <br /> Mr. Childs indicated that the Public Works Director had advised him that his crews <br /> had been forced to remove from many driveways the huge chunks of ice which the plows <br /> deposit there when they widen the streets in anticipation of another heavy snowfall <br /> and. Mr. Hamer was concerned that the residents would think the City intended to <br /> clean out all the driveways as they had done years ago and wondered if he should <br /> just go ahead and clean out all the driveways after the plows. The Manager said <br /> he told the Public Works Director Council direction would be needed before reviving <br /> a practice which generated so many complaints about damaged lawns and curbs in <br /> the past, especially right in the middle of the survey process. <br /> Councilmember Ranallo said what the crews are doing now is completely different <br /> than what they do after a normal snowfall and has nothing to do with what the City <br /> is surveying the residents on now. Mr. Childs and Councilmember Marks indicated <br /> they were concerned that the residents would have difficulty making that distinction. <br /> • Councilmember Enrooth said he perceived the crews would have to widen one of the <br /> main City streets, 33rd Avenue N.E. , soon because 10 .feet of street has already been <br /> lost and with the constant thaws and freezes the snow in the street would keep <br /> solidifying if action is not taken immediately. Mayor Sundland said he certainly <br /> recognized the need to get this done and indicated he saw why the crews should <br /> remove the ice chunks they deposit in people's driveway in the process because <br /> he had broken the blade on his snowplow trying to remove one of those chunks from <br /> his own driveway. However, he saw the need for making the public understand that <br /> what the crews do when they widen the street is not the same as what the survey <br /> is asking residents should be done after the ten or fifteen snowfalls the City <br /> gets each winter. The Manager said at least the crews would be able to make some <br /> kind of an estimate of what it would cost to clear a driveway during the street <br /> widening process. He said he would return with those figures and the final results <br /> of the survey as soon as they are all returned. <br /> As suggested by Mr. Childs, a Council work session was scheduled for 6:30 P.M. , <br /> February 4th to give staff further direction regarding the preliminary engineering <br /> report on the reconstruction of St. Anthony Boulevard from Stinson Boulevard to <br /> Silver Lake Road and the report on alternatives for the City liquor operation. <br /> Mr. Childs reported he and the Mayor had been invited to a meeting with the Super- <br /> intendent of Schools and School Board Chairman of District #282 the next day where <br /> school officials had asked for their input on how to respond to citizen concerns <br /> about the raise in the school 's portion of their tax bills. Councilmember Ranallo <br /> said the calls he had received about the tax statements had convinced him that <br /> residents were finally making the distinction of which government bodies are <br /> • responsible for the different portions of their taxes. <br />