1986-05-27 - Laserfiche WebLink

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I I I Council Meeting Minutes May 27, 1986 Council Business, continued Julia Lemm, 706 Second Avenue N.W., asked how people are going to get out of church if Third Avenue is closed; Benke stated the church is working on a reconfiguration of its parking lot to include a median to alleviate problems with using the parking lot as a short cut from Eighth to Ninth Street, and having traffic enter from either the north or south, and exiting in the same direction it had entered. Harold Bona, 669 Tenth Street N.W., wondered if council is think- ing of safety of everyone in the community; believes closing Third Avenue is a larger hazard than not wearing seat belts and thinks it is a shame to close it; Benke stated the Police Chief did not believe closing Third Avenue would be a particular hazard, and reviewed the Chief's information included in the staff report. Roger Dalzen, 687 Fourth Avenue N.W., stated he is not against change and is willing to go along with any change within reason; residents do not want Third Avenue closed for no specific reason; and if it takes politics to leave the street in, the residents will take steps to have a new council. Benke expressed a concern that most of the petition signers have not sat through the discussions over the last two council meet- ings and do not understand why the recommendation and decision was originally made to close that street. Motion by Brandt, seconded by Benke, to TO DELETE THE REMOVAL OF THIRD AVENUE, FROM EIGHTH STREET TO NINTH STREET, FROM THE DOWN- TOWN STREET IMPROVEMENT PROJECT. Schmidt stated counsel advises council to not make arbitrary decisions just because the councilmembers are elected to make the decisions in a responsible way; council uses professional staff to do studies and make recommendations; decisions are not made without the input of those in the neighborhood who will be impacted. Schmidt recalled times that improvements have met opposition, and reiterated that improvements are made to serve the whole city, not just the immediate neighborhood. Schmidt continued that providing the full benefit and making the maximum use of Veterans Park will be best served by ultimately having the street closed, and it should be deleted from the project at this point. Anderson stated the Park Board would like some kind of a trigger so they know when to start working on the park plan again; at what point will council be satisfied with the development in place to provide enough information to make a decision on the park plan. Page Eight