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<br />Councilmember Dehen stated he is not sure he is in favor of a sidewalk or not but one of <br />the stated policies of the City Council was to recognize walk-ability of our <br />neighborhoods. It is better to put sidewalks in before a neighborhood is developed. He <br />felt there is some merit to doing sidewalks. He stated that an important question was <br />raised - is this the best way to put our sidewalks in on limited funds. Maybe sidewalks <br />should be constructed where traffic is a little higher. There are a number of cul-de-sacs <br />off Alpine - what is the best policy when these cul-de-sacs have to be reconstructed. He <br />wondered if the people off Andrie were going to be charged the same - $1,700 for curb <br />and asphalt reconstruction. The amount could be higher because they will not have help <br />from MSA funds. They would probably come in and express concern about their cost. <br />We need to think about how it will impact neighbors on the cul-de-sacs. He inquired <br />what the assessment policy is for cul-de-sacs. <br /> <br />Mr. Olson stated that is a good question. 1) The construction of a sidewalk is more cost- <br />effective today. We will be responsible for repair of damages to front yards and <br />sprinklers. 2) There is a cost savings relative to driveways only being disturbed once. 3) <br />With regard to Alpine Drive and putting the money there - he stated he wished there was <br />enough funding to put trails where we need them be we do the best we can with our <br />resources. With regard to Sommerset Meadows, we will receive a large amount of fees <br />in to constructing trails as they move forward. He talked about justifying maintaining <br />goals and objectives from our comp plan. Mr. Olson reported there have been complaints <br />of speed and volumes of traffic and the safety of children. Sidewalks and/or trails <br />provide an opportunity to get people off the road. He noted a comment from a resident <br />about not wanting to maintain the sidewalks; however, the City takes care of all of that. <br />Regarding cul-de-sacs - one reason why Andrie and 164th has degraded to this extent is <br />the amount of traffic and the age of the road. Some property owners signed the petition <br />for the roadway to be improved without curb and gutter. With regard to assessments if <br />we do complete reconstruction - we do not have a policy on that. It will be a difficult <br />decision for the City and property owners. It will be a future work session topic of <br />assessment of residential roadways that do not have curb and gutter and no MSA funding <br />available. <br /> <br />Councilmember Wise stated that Mr. Ashley was not able to attend and that he will <br />preseQ.t his concerns. Mr. 'Ashley is concerned about snow removal and also the high iron <br />content in Ramsey's water, which would discolor the sidewalks, and mentioned the <br />buried utilities the sidewalks would be covering. He mentioned. the alternative of <br />widening the road and using the trail that runs concurrent with the roadway. <br />Councilmember Wise stated you would give up some safety features but you would save <br />a "boatload" of money and save on maintenance. <br /> <br />City Engineer Olson referred to pages 131 and 132 of the agenda, the letter from Gary <br />Ashley, the last paragraph refers to inst~ad of having it a parking lane having it the same <br />width as originally proposed but to stripe a walking lane on the street. <br /> <br />Councilmember.Wise wondered if there is a necessity for on-street parking in Northfork. <br /> <br />City Council/January 13,2009 <br />Page 70f31 <br />