Minutes - Council - 09/08/2009 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Councilmember Dehen stated sidewalks are a City policy so anytime a new neighborhood was put in or new road constructed, sidewalks went in. Not doing this would be an exception to the rule because this was required and it was not debatable. He stated his concern about the priority of the money being spent. Councilmember Look stated the City had received grants from Blue Cross/Blue Shield for a walkable community and a lot of residents were in favor of a walkable community. He stated he had also received comments about why County Roads did not have sidewalks, but it was County policy to put in sidewalks when the roads were redone. Councilmember Elvig stated he had sat on the Public Works Committee for a number of years and many of the people who had sidewalks and trails put in their area years ago liked the sidewalks and trails. He stated the City had a policy to put in trails/sidewalks and Minnesota was ranked top ten in the world and number two in the country for biking and accessibility. It was the goal to make a more walkable community and to reduce traffic. Councilmember Wise stated every time they talked about the streets, they heard about safety and somebody getting hurt. He stated there were many studies showing that most of the speeders were the local residents. He believed sidewalks would be a nice amenity, but nobody liked change. He felt something needed to be done about the safety issue, but was not sure it was a sidewalk. Councilmember Dehen stated he was concerned about Northfork having an association, which required irrigation systems, and that the sidewalks would be stained. He noted if the sidewalk went in, the City would have to make sure the sidewalks were sealed. He asked what sealing would cost and how often sidewalks would have to be sealed. City Engineer Himmer responded he had contacted the concrete company, but had not yet heard back from them. He asked if they wanted to seal the curb/gutter as discoloration would occur there also. He stated they could also look at colored concrete. Mayor Ramsey invited the public to speak. Jocelyn Knoll, 16181 Andrie Street NW, stated it was clear this Council was going to approve the project and sidewalks. She stated there was no legal requirement in any MSA funded project that sidewalks be installed so that representation is false. She stated it had been reported that this was "free" MSA money but it was not free money; it was paid for by taxes. She noted Andover also had a policy, but their Council does not use MSA money to install sidewalks when there was no legitimate reason to do so. She stated children did not ride bikes or rollerblade on sidewalks and the only reason to use the sidewalks was to walk, which most children did not do. She stated there were 250 homes in Northfork, which was 500 votes, and they paid a lot of money in taxes. They maintained their own parks and she requested they vote "no" on the sidewalk. Jason Skyberg, 16450 Halas Circle NW, stated Ramsey wanted to be a connected community and utilize funds available from the State, but this project did not qualify. He noted they already had a trail around the lake and asked why they don't use the money for a parking .lot on Alpine City Council / September 8, 2009 Page 9 of 23