Minutes - Council - 01/13/2009 - Laserfiche WebLink

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#47, County Road #5, Dysprosium, and County Road #116. He stated there has been no conspiracy and no decisions made at meetings without anyone's knowledge. He stated that he, too is active in the community but he found out about the meetings. He pointed out that the City has a wonderful website and you can subscribe right on the site to have information sent to you. Mr. Backous stated that he, along with five or six neighbors approached the City about the cut-through traffic in their neighborhood. He added that this has nothing to do with kids playing in the streets. They approached the City and their Councilmember brought their concerns to City staff and the issue was placed on the agenda. We attended the meetings and staff was gracious enough to work with us. It was not the City's desire to close this road; they did traffic counts and listened to debates. He stated that he came to all the meetings and voiced his opinion. He stated that he would not go to people and hound them to attend meetings if they are not interested. He felt waiting until a process is complete is unconscionable and he could not believe this is turning into a contentious issue. Argon and 142nd receive 1,100 cars a day and that is ridiculous for a neighborhood. He expressed the hope that people are not getting a lot of misinformation. He noted that he lives on a dead-end street. Mr. Backous pointed out that they have done all this work and he does not want to let this die. He wants to keep this area safer and quieter. He suggested a barrier on the west side would not kill the businesses. They will have all the same accesses except for those cutting through our neighborhood to get there. The barricades are away from all the homes, etc. This solution is the best one. He extended a thank you to City staff and Councilmembers as they have taken so much time to get this taken care of. This is the process that was followed and coming in after the process is complete is wrong. He added though that if the majority of the people do not want it to go through, then he does not want it to go through either. With regard to the comment about bringing in a park - he stated he wished he had the power to just do that. He stated that he will bring a petition and an envelope, stamped and addressed to the City Administrator and everyone can write exactly what they want - put their opinions on paper and it will be written record of what they think. Motion by Mayor Ramsey, seconded by Councilmember Look to accept the petition and place the discussion back on the Public Works agenda. Further discussion: A resident inquired about the bus stops to which Mr. Olson replied the District had been contacted and was aware of the closure. He stated that last week the City closed the roadway but there were concerns about advance notice. He stated that he has also had contact with the ambulance service, the Fire and Police Departments and if it changes now, staff will be on the phone with everyone tomorrow giving them an update. Councilmember Jeffrey stated that he has had emails going back and forth regarding this issue. A number of years ago, Randy Backous brought this forward and Gary Greb has commented that since I knew Randy, this was slipped through; he stated he wanted to clear that up - that was not the case. He added that he is all about public safety and this is important because of the cut-through traffic - the traffic counts are high. He noted that it was a tough decision in December but he feels this is a safety issue - it has been a long process. Councilmember Dehen stated that he is weighing in in favor of public safety and did not think cut-through traffic is good. Council listened to the people at that time City Council/January 13,2009 Page 14 of31