Minutes - Council - 11/27/2007 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Councilmember Dehen stated that the purpose of an EA W is to see if, in fact, these activities are affecting the surrounding environment. He stated that it is just one piece of the puzzle and he is unsure if the environmental portion will help the City Council make a decision. Councilmember Elvig stated that if it is determined that an EA W is reasonable to take on, he would like to know that before the City moves forward. He stated that this is a difficult issue and he would like to learn about the potential issues before a decision is made. He stated that he supports hiring a consultant to help the City made this determination. Mayor Gamec stated that he would give Gary Gruber from Diamonds Sports Bar and a spokesperson for the residents who signed the petition asking for an EA W, a chance to comment. Mr. Gruber stated that he wanted to read a brief statement. He stated that he had no idea that his plans for special events would become so controversial and noted that his goal is to create a place for people and families to enjoy themselves. He stated that he has always strived to be a good community member and has helped raise over $600,000 for people in need. He stated that his business has struggled over the last few years and he is looking for a way to improve his business with something that is family and community oriented. He stated that he never intended to upset people with his plans. He stated that over the past few days, he has worked to revise his plan in a way that he hopes will appease some of the neighbors that don't like his plan. He stated that he has revised the plans so that all the events would be held on the field furthest away from the neighbors and the two softball fields that are visible from Highway 10 will remain as they are. He stated that he is proposing to create a berm between field 1 and 2 and have a smaller grandstand area. He stated that this will keep everything behind the building and should contain the noise better. He stated that there will need to be something done to provide an emergency exit, but he feels this can be arranged. He stated that this new plan moves everything an additional 300 feet away from the residents and provides a double contained event area for noise and water run off. In reference to the petition, only 17 residents signed the petition and noted that he has received many e-mails from other area residents that support his plan. He noted that he had forwarded this information to City staff. He stated that he had noise study information and found that 20 motocross bikes at full blast shows very little difference in the existing Highway 10 noise. He stated that when he originally built his business there was a storm water run off study done by Clark Engineering that showed the run off was contained on the property, so he does not see this as a concern either. He stated that in reference to air quality concerns, he has researched information gathered by MnDOT and there are 50,000 cars per day that travel on Highway 10 and 36 trains a day. He stated that the possible pollution from 4 events per year will be nothing close to the current pollutant levels. Regarding dust and odor, his design plans include a water line next to the track so that the event coordinators have easy access to water to control dust. He served on the Anoka Park Board for 13 years and understands the concerns people have about the parkland located next to his business. He stated that he cares about the park and watches the deer in the park every morning. He stated that he has spoken with the DNR and noted that his property is 3 times the recommended distance from a nesting eagle. He noted that the wildlife in the park is living right next to one of the busiest highways in the area and it hasn't affected them. He stated that the County has plans to pave 3.5 miles of trails in the park in 2009 and he feels this will be a greater disruption than his events. He stated that based on his City Council / November 27, 2007 Page 8 of 18