Minutes - Public Works Committee - 07/15/2008

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City Engineer Jankowski stated that he thought the offer was made at a Public Works Committee meeting and then affirmed at a Council meeting, but he would need to check back in the minutes to make sure. City Administrator Ulrich stated that the wording of the petition was that a condition of the project would be that the costs to residents would be the same as a residential street cost and, whether the Council made a formal offer or not, he thinks this is the understanding that the residents have. City Engineer Jankowski stated that staff needs direction on how the City will finance projects and who will pay for what items. He stated that he is afraid there will be bruised feelings if the City now says that the residents will be assessed 100% when they were led to believe that the City made the offer that their costs would be the same price as an overlay. Councilmember Look stated that he would like to proceed with caution and noted that if the City treats Northfork residents differently, it will set a precedent. He stated that someone else that lives on an MSA road can pull the minutes and say, "wait a minute, why did they get this deal and not me?" Councilmember Olson stated that she agrees that there will be a perception that Northfork got a better deal because they are Northfork. She stated that she feels the policy needs to apply to the Andrie Street project also. Vice-Chair Dehen stated that he feels this issue may be something that should have a full Council discussion and suggested that it be discussed at a Work Session. He stated that he would also like to check the minutes to see what, if any, offer was made to residents because no one seems to recall exactly what was said. City Administrator ,Ulrich stated that this is a good suggestion and probably does deserve full Council discussion because it involves millions of dollars. Councilmember Look stated that he believes sidewalks benefit the City, as a whole, and perhaps something similar to the storm water management program should be considered, with the whole City picking up the tab. Vice-Chair Dehen asked about the difference between a trail and a sidewalk. City Engineer Jankowski stated that a trail is made of bituminous material and is 10 feet wide, whereas, a sidewalk is concrete and only 5 feet wide. He stated that sidewalks are generally just for pedestrians and bicycles and tricycles ridden by small children. Vice-Chair Dehen stated that the houses in Northfork are so far apart and the residents felt very strongly about not having a trail. Councilmember Olson noted that there is already an extensive trail system through the back of N orthfork. Public Works Committee / July 15, 2008 Page 5 of 13