1987-11-24 - Laserfiche WebLink

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I I I Council Meeting Minutes November 24, 1987 As there were no further questions or comments, Williams moved, seconded by Blomquist, to CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING. 5 Ayes - 0 Nayes, Motion Carried Benke indicated council has listened to everyone who has wanted to be heard and, because the council cannot agree with everyone, it must blend all of the concerns and make a decision. Benke stated there is a logical need for sidewalks and believes it makes sense to construct a sidewalk between 14th and 18th to join the two pieces; with regard to the width of the road, he indicated cost was not the only factor and, because an important point is that the projections relate to policies and standards, it seems prudent to allow the extra width for left turns; believes the bike path on the roadway, rather than detached, makes the most sense; and feels this would be the most appropriate time to do the under- grounding of utilities, but noted he would only support a fee only for this project. Blomquist agreed with most everything and noted the hardest part of his decision has been the width of the road south of 14th; believes there is a significant change in traffic volume south of 14th Street to justify the wider roadway, and wants to include a provision in the agreement that there would be input from the council and the residents regarding any restriping of that sec- tion. Williams also suggested it be absolutely mandatory that council have input on changing the striping on that section; impressed with Proper and Leonard being sensitive to the situations and en- couraged the County and the City to work closely with residents along Long Lake Road (with the cost and time limitations) to mini- mize any negative impact; and indicated a lot can be done to move and replace trees so people can be proud. Gunderman generally agreed with the discussion; regarding individ- ual differences, is concerned we have some form of communication and asked that some form of directive to staff that if they have an exception that we get it in writing; agrees with safety factor for any restriping changes; and, regarding city-wide franchise fee for undergrounding, stated a city-wide meeting/hearing should be scheduled. Benke agreed we need to make it be known that council is looking at the possibility of a franchise fee. Brandt stated we need the road as wide as we can afford, but the key for her is that when the county set their standards, they did it with regard to safety and would be very uncomfortable approving anything less than the minimum safe width; this is the fifth meet- ing on the project; residents have consistently added good sugges- tions which have resulted in a significantly better proposal than council looked at five meetings ago. Page 7