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JOINT COUNCIL MEETING <br />JULY Z9, 1998 <br />Ms. Ford supported developing a light rail transit system to take traffic off of the roads. <br />She suggested getting together with industrial employers and developing some sort of a <br />"mini mouse" transit system because not all employees live in the twin cities. If <br />employers can reduce cars in their parking lots, this means less traffic on our roads. <br />Mr. Sand said he actually sees more reverse commuters. Ms. Ford felt it was important to <br />get together and work on trail corridors to maximize state grants. She was referring to the <br />"greenway" proposal. <br />Mr. Willenbring said extending the "greenway" corridor south into Ramsey County <br />would be an important portion of that system. He felt the communities should do a good <br />job following up with requests for legislative funding. Ms. Ford suggested getting the <br />Parks and Recreation Departments of each city into the process. She noted that' it is hard <br />for a single city to get any funding. Mr. Willenbring expressed the need to do this as a <br />cooperative effort. He stressed keeping everyone including the counties and Rice Creek <br />Watershed District involved, <br />Mr. Goeffon said that Hugo has to keep working on getting the people out of the <br />industrial park area. <br />Ms. Barnes noted that Hugo has been meeting with Lino Lakes for at least five (5) years <br />and stressed the need to continue these meetings. She noted that the east/west route in <br />Hugo is extremely important to Hugo and felt that the Rice Creek Watershed District <br />should also be involved in this matter. Ms. Barnes said it is important to continue this <br />focus because then they can see what impact Hugo's development has on neighboring <br />communities. She felt that it was important for Hugo to "go back to the drawing board" <br />and see what can be done. <br />Mr. Arcand said the County Road J interchange is important and should be stressed. <br />Mr. LeRoux thanked White Bear Township for coming and participating. He stated the <br />Township is mostly a spectator in this discussion, however, their experience and expertise <br />is needed. Mr. LeRoux said that unfortunately, often times, what communities are <br />considering is retro -fit. The planning process was not in place and we did not have a <br />crystal ball to know that this is where we would be. He felt that the cities need to consider <br />the inplace residential development when planning transportation routes. Unfortunately <br />there has been a hodge-podge of residential development and sometimes the <br />provincialism that exists between communities is an inhibitor to getting anything <br />accomplished. The Hugo Council is very interested in the neighboring communities. Mr. <br />LeRoux felt that the continuity of city councils is nebulous at times in some of our <br />communities so that creating these relationships between the city councils and getting <br />things accomplished is difficult. As far as plan A and plan B are concerned, they have <br />been discussed substantially in Hugo but maybe there is an alternative to each because <br />each brings some tangible negatives to rectify. Maybe the need for this route has not <br />PAGE 13 <br />