2024.06.03 CC Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Council Meeting Minutes for June 3, 2024 Page 7 of 11 seeking approval of the CUP. She talked about the CUP criteria saying the use was compatible, they met the setbacks, and the materials and landscape plan met the standards. She said they had been working with Washington County, and Keller Avenue has adequate compacity to serve school. They had reduced the lighting. Weidt asked if there was right-of-way that needed to be purchased for the road improvements, and Kelly replied there was not. Mayor Weidt explained to the audience that the discussion to happen this evening was on the current application for expansion of the school, not their future plans. He opened the floor for comments. Cort Jerome, 12444 Keller Avenue North, said he attended Liberty’s meetings years ago, and they were held during times people work, so there were not many there. He talked about the petition that had over 400 signatures saying they were not against the school but against the campus and the anticipated phase two they see as apparent with the planned infrastructure. He commented that Keller Avenue was not equipped to handle the traffic. He asked for a little time to work with Liberty on the problem together and suggested forming a committee. He made comparisons to Wildwood School where the cars were not on the streets but on school property. Weidt asked him what issues he thought needed to be fixed. Cort replied there could be two entrances, and the septic and holding pond should be on Hugo property because they were setting up for phase two. Weidt explained that phase two was not automatic. Weidt said they needed to do this phase correctly first, and he wanted it to be clear that this approval would have nothing to do with phase two. Cort commented on the distance to emergency services by telling of when he heard the school alarm go off one summer, and it took 20 minutes for the firetrucks to show up. Bill Wright, 12388 Keller Avenue North, said he had no concerns with having the school there, but was not in favor about their anticipated plan of building a campus development staring with the installation of the septic system proposed for the property in May Township. He said the plan was designed by someone who does not live there. He requested there be stronger language on timers and dimmers of the outdoor lighting. He talked about the surrounding character and anticipated traffic congestion. He explained the character of the area was why he lived there instead of near the amenities of a larger city saying it was a tradeoff to give those up to live in a rural area away from the congestion. He talked about the access off 122nd Street not being vetted and how they needed to do their due diligence. Dave Dobrotka, 12515 Keller Avenue North, said he supported the school being there because he has two kids going through the program and wife teaches there. He said he was not excited about it at first, but he realized things change and the land could turn into a development. He stressed his support but was also concerned about lights and thought they should look at other options for access unless it was a hard “no” from Washington County. Chris O’Connell, 11115 122 Street North, May Township, shared concerns about Keller Avenue and he questioned whether there was a traffic study done and reports on the ability for the road to handle traffic. City Engineer Mark Erichson responded that there was a study done, and a copy was included in the Council packet that highlighted existing traffic volumes and projections. This was reviewed by the traffic engineer from Washington County. Chris expressed concerns for kids crossing the road to get into a car that may be parked on the street. He talked about options, one of them being to put a four-way stop at 122nd and Keystone, in front of the Zahler