Agenda - Council - 08/24/1993 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Notes to file from Ryan Schroeder regarding Bison Street N.W. (between 169th Avenue and 173rd Avenue) neighborhood meeting of August 18, 1993. City Engineer Jankowski called the meeting to order at approximately 7:05 p.m. He opened by introducing the purpose of the meeting, which is to receive the position of the neighborhood as to how to get the roadway paved. A resident of Dellwood Estates handed a position paper to Staff expressing a concern that the Dellwood Estates cul-de-sac residents had been led to believe that Bison Street N.W. would be paved as early as 1990. Other comments from the audience included discussions that project costs, while they have been escalating each year the project is delayed, have always been at prohibitive levels. Also, that if the project costs were comparable to past City paving projects, it would be more acceptable. Staff mentioned a proposal to provide for feasibility studies on all din streets by the end of the year. Various residents discussed the lack of Class V base, lack of current maintenance and requested that maintenance and Class V be increased as well as a position that in a road paving project, they should not be assessed for the Class V base and that the base should already be there. It was also mentioned that the street is lower than it should be because of years of grading and the street should be brought up to a more acceptable level regardless of paving or grading. It was expressed that the residents of Dellwood Estates really don't have an opinion as to whether Bison Street N.W. should be terminated in a cul-de-sac or whether it should be a through street. The residents of the south side of Bison Street N.W. expressed a desire that they want to maintain the cul-de-sac regardless of whether they are paying a full assessment or if the City subsidizes the assessed cost. There was significant discussion about traffic. It was felt that currently Bison Street N.W. does not receive or cause much traffic, therefore, why does the City want a through street for an area that has very few homes thus vehicles on it. It was also expressed by a representative of Golden Eagle Estates that currently 171st Avenue gets all of the traffic and that in the future, the situation will only worsen, although that position was disputed by persons on both Bison Street N.W. and in Dellwood Estates subdivision, The representative from Golden Eagle Estates also asserted that at some point, the area south of Dellwood Hills and west of Bison Street N.W. will be developed, creating significant traffic pressures. It was suggested by Staff that under current ordinance and Metropolitan Council policy that area apparently would be llrn]ted to eight households and it was not expected that either the ordinance or the policy would be amended in the near future. It was discussed that in the development of Dellwood Hills, those two parcels abutting onto Bison Street N.W. have already paid a $4,500 per lot assessment for construction of the street that the Dellwood I-Iills Development Agreement asserts that there be no further assessment upon any of the lots on the street. Finally, that the realignment of Bison Street N.W., while not caused by the City of Ramsey, should not be a cost encumbered by the Bison Street N.W. residents. In summary, it was suggested by Staff that it is not the Staff position that there ought to be any alteration in 17tst Avenue regardless of a paving project, but that Staff would study the current situation relative to traffic on 171st Avenue and also the situation that exists after the paving of Bison Street N.W. to gauge whether there is any impact upon 171st Avenue. Further, that if there is found to be a negative impact on 17Ist Avenue by the Bison Street N.W. paving project, that Staff will explore a means to mitigate that impact. Second, that the seven property owners on Bison Street N.W. who are in agreement that Bison Street N.W. should be paved, but that they did not feel the costs explored in past feasibility studies were appropriate costs to be experienced by the properties in question and that they would be accepting of a paving project and an assessment more in line with the average costs experienced by properties of other paving projects. Finally, that regardless of the paving project, lack thereof or who pays, that the residents of Bison Street N.W. wanted to maintain the cut-de-sac and did not see that traffic from Bison Street N.W. or Dellwood I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I ! I !