Minutes - Council - 05/24/1988 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

far better ithan voters who elect them. I do not think that we as voters can afford to strip them of their decision-making powers or to continually second-guess their decisions. The result of this second-guessing is that councilmembers will call fa lections on any matter of consequence thereby delegating their voter-given responsibilities for the welfare of the city to whc~ever will vote on a particular day. An example of voter apathy is the latest school board election. Two hundred 'yes' votes could have gooten anyone elected to the school board. I don't think we can afford that. Historinans tell us that prior to our country becoming a nation, only 1/3 of the people felt strongly enough about the colonial status to actively support independence. The other 2/3 were either opposed or not sufficiently motivated to take sides. Consider, if you will, what our country would be without the leadership of Washington, Jefferson or Lincoln. You can be sure that the community we design and build today will be the community our sons and daughters will be living in 30 and 50 years from now. 2) The airport safety zoning issues has been the source of consider-able emotionalism and misinformtaion. The education of Ramsey citizens on the issue has taken a back seat to volumes of horror stories and intentional misiunformation. I recall at a recent meeting a lawyer from another community, representing an absentee-landowner used the absurd analogy of comparing a future Gateway North Airport to the Los Angeles International Airport with all it's traffic congestion and smog. Either such an individual takes us as collective fools or he is contributing to emotional impulses. I don't believe such a lawyer would have the best interests of Ramsey in mind. If you will look closely at the reasons behind the absentee landlords who are against the airport zoning you will probably find their interests to be self-serving as they do not reflect long term benefits to Ramsey. They are not out to protect our physical environment. They frequently represent waste management processors, asbestos plants, etc. Often these companies alter the environment so that ti is not only incompatible with clean air, clean water, etc., but it is incompatible with airports and the needs to have clear visibility. We have local citizens that are both for and against airport safety for purely self- serving purposes. I would prefer that those individuals bless some other community with their presence. Can you imagine the corruptness that would infect our community if your elected officials would make decisions based on self-serving reasoning? Let's not expect less from ourselves than we do from those we elect. For those citizens of Ramsey who are interested in sound, documented, economic reasons for supporting a basic utility airport, that information is readily available from several studies that have been made. A recent comment by Mr. Rueben Kravik, Chairman of the Anoka County Economic Development Partnership stated 'there is overwhelming evidence that communities flourish and growth is notable around airports'. Airports are a vital part of our transportation resources. Consider the fact that roads can be built or rerouted, railroads can be built or torn up and rivers can be diverted, but airports are not reconstructed once the land is taken for other purposes. If we as a community fail to see the long term benefits of the airport, it will be lost, never to reappear. It's an ace in Ramsey's deck of cards that few communities can match. It's a business attraction that we must not throw away. To those that will question the economic benefits to the community of a basic utility airport, to those that make decisions based on the thickness of their wallet, I would suggest that they reflect for a moment on a recent increase in the mill rate to City Council/May 24, 1988 Page 15 of 18