2019.10.16 Parks Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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From: Nicholas Baumann To: Tom Weidt; Chuck Haas; Shayla Denaway Cc: AA Kate Subject: Proposed Park on Sunset Lake Date: Thursday, October 3, 2019 11:18:45 AM Caution: This email originated outside our organization; please use caution. Honorable Mayor Tom Weidt Chuck Haas, Council Member Ward 3 cc. Shayla Denaway, Parks Planner Dear Honorable Mayor Weidt and Council Member Haas: A neighborhood meeting was held on Wednesday, September 18, 2019 at the Hugo City Hall to discuss the Park Commission plan to add a park to Sunset Lake. 38 people from the Sunset Lake neighborhood attended the meeting, and not one person from the neighborhood was in favor of the park proposed for the south shore of Sunset Lake. I believe one person from the Hilo neighborhood attended, but did not speak. Near the end of the meeting a summary was provided indicating that the Parks Commission is hearing the residents asking for the plan of the proposed park to be "toned down." It was stated during the meeting more than once that the Parks Commission has repeatedly heard from citizens of Hugo that the citizens would like more access to lakes for swimming and fishing. During the meeting of September 18, multiple neighborhood attendees spoke and the primary concern for the proposed plan was safety along both Homestead Drive and 125th Street. More than one lifelong resident of the neighborhood stated that an exit from the proposed park to Homestead Drive would be an accident waiting to happen AND that an exit from the proposed park to 125th Street would also be an accident waiting to happen. One resident stated his opinion that the plan appeared to have been drafted by people with no familiarity of the traffic pattern on Homestead Drive and no appreciation for the speed of traffic on 125th Street. Since there are no sidewalks in the neighborhood, the safety issue is not so much a fender -bender concern, but a concern of a pedestrian being struck by a high-speed automobile. We all know that the sightlines along 125th are limited by rolling hills, and traffic speeds exceed 60 mph daily on 125th. If the proposed park moves forward with parking spaces and an entrance/exit on either Homestead Drive of 125th Street, it is reasonable to expect a pedestrian will be struck by a vehicle, and the result could be fatal. The neighborhood attendees of the September 18 meeting were not asking for the proposed park plan to be toned down. The neighborhood attendees of the September 18 meeting were speaking up to warn the Parks Commission that the proposed plan is unsafe. Second, in a letter mailed to residents on August 28, 2019 Ms. Denaway stated, quoting: "One of the things that the Parks Commission heard from residents when the Parks, Trails, and Open Space Plan was being updated was that they were interested in better access to Hugo's