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<br />Ms. Liebfried stated that since this is a County road, the County can process the request or the <br />City can process it on behalf of the County. <br /> <br />Mayor Gamec stated that he thought the City had already requested this, but suggested that staff <br />follow up on it. <br /> <br />Ms. Liebfried stated that, to her knowledge, they have not seen anything quiet zone related for <br />this intersection. She stated that the process for establishing a quiet zone is very complex. <br /> <br />Public Works Director Olson asked whether the crossing needed to be upgraded before the City <br />can apply for a quiet zone. <br /> <br />Ms. Liebfried stated that the City can file a notice of intent during the construction process for a <br />quiet zone. <br /> <br />Councilmember Dehen asked about the rationale surrounding when train horns are blown. He <br />stated that on highways, people need to rely on signalization, yet when the signals are out, people <br />are not required to blow their horn through the intersection, but the trains have to blow theirs. <br /> <br />Ms. Liebfried stated that the Federal Railroad Authority is the governing authority over this and <br />they require trains to blow their horns a certain distance away from intersections and to blow all <br />the way through the crossing. She stated that typically trains in this area are traveling pretty fast. <br />She stated that about 3 years ago they came out with the train horn rule and prior to that it was a <br />"recommendation" to blow the horn. She stated that they have received complaints over the last <br />few years that the trains seem to be blowing their horns more. She noted that the flip side of the <br />train horn rule is the quiet zone implementation. <br /> <br />Councilmember Look stated that when this was originally voted on by the Council it was not a 6- <br />week closure. He stated that he thinks this is subjecting our businesses to an awful lot and still <br />expect them to run their businesses. He stated that he does not find a 6-week closure acceptable. <br /> <br />Mr. Koblarsic stated that the original plan was for a 4-week closure which they tried to <br />accommodate but found it created an odd angle to cross the railroad tracks which wasn't safe. <br /> <br />Public Works Director Olson stated that it has always been the intent that the railroad crossing <br />would be closed for a minimum of 4 weeks. <br /> <br />Mayor Gamec stated that he is happy that the entrances to businesses will be open via Highway <br />10. <br /> <br />Councilmember Dehen stated that, for him, when he votes on something it is important to know <br />the worst case scenario. He stated that when he originally voted for a 4 week closure it was <br />difficult for him and to find out the County is now saying it will be 6 weeks, he feels like he has <br />been "backdoored". He stated that for future reference, it is better if this type of information is <br />brought in ahead of time rather than after the fact. <br /> <br />City Council / August 26, 2008 <br />Page 4 of 15 <br />