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Chief Way stated we have come up with an alternative plan in working with the snowmobile <br /> club. They have secured a permit to make changes and will make some changes on 167 That <br /> will make the north side better. He noted a couple members of the snowmobile club were <br /> present at this meeting. <br /> Mayor Ramsey stated he talked with a gentleman (also present at this meeting) who lives near <br /> the trail. Mayor Ramsey stated he would be in favor of allowing people to go to and from the <br /> trails — from their house. He talked about that there could be some type of permitting system and <br /> noted that St. Francis does that. He added he is in favor of opening this up so people can go out <br /> from where they like. <br /> Councilmember McGlone asked Chief Way about the system in St. Francis. <br /> Chief Way stated that it is a permitting system — color- coded. The permit color matches the <br /> color on a map and it tells where you can ride. There are four colors and one area where no one <br /> can ride. St. Francis has issued very few tickets. He felt that this type of system is an <br /> enforcement nightmare. <br /> Mayor Ramsey reiterated he would be in favor of just allowing people to ride from their house to <br /> a trail. <br /> Chief Way stated at one point, snowmobiling was allowed all over the City of Ramsey; then it <br /> was banned in the area of the MUSA. He talked about not being able to ride on a County Road <br /> as per state statute. <br /> Councilmember Tossey expressed agreement with Mayor Ramsey - if we just allow folks <br /> without permits to go to the nearest trail that would be fine. He stated he is concerned about <br /> inconsistencies in writing tickets though so if you have to get a permit — it makes for less chance <br /> for those inconsistencies — there are no questions. He expressed concern as well about <br /> enforcement issues. <br /> Mayor Ramsey suggested it could be written in such a way that they have to go directly to the <br /> nearest trail so if they are outside of that parameter — they get a ticket. <br /> Chief Way reported that we see very few violations. <br /> Councilmember Backous inquired if Chief Way knows why the complaints went down so <br /> dramatically and asked if we changed something. <br /> Chief Way replied that we changed the area for riding but not just in the last year. We have had <br /> it the same for a number of years so people know where they can and cannot ride. We added <br /> Armstrong and Variolite last year but the other changes were made back in 2005. <br /> Councilmember Elvig felt it was because people are getting more educated. What he likes about <br /> permitting is the amount of education it brings. How well it would actually work — he wasn't <br /> City Council Work Session / November 1, 2011 <br /> Page 2 of 10 <br />