Minutes - Council - 03/08/2004 - Joint Meeting with City of Anoka

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The consensus of the Councils was to work together to accomplish needed regional road improvements. Anoka Councilmember Freeburg commented Ramsey is very likely to acquire a NorthStar station, and he is hopeful that Anoka will acquire one as well. He stressed the need for the cities to work together to make the access to the stations as easy as possible for the people that will be using it. Anoka Mayor Skogquist stated the cities of Ramsey and Anoka have done more than most cities in getting ready for a station. The City of Anoka will have an enormous amount of vacant land in the next few years, and Ramsey and Anoka have more in common than against each other. He suggested they look at how the cities can partner together to get things accomplished. Anoka Planning Director Braun indicated there is a Joint Powers Agreement with Anoka County, MnDOT, and the City of Anoka in place that sets forth promises that staff will dedicate time to work on Highway 10 to identify a strategic plan to move forward. In addition, there is an agreement in draft form with the City of Ramsey and the City of Anoka that staff will meet periodically and share information. Neither of these agreements require any funding, they keep everyone involved. She indicated Anoka is a Highway 10 bottleneck and there are many peoples' lives that will be dramatically affected to fix it, but it has to be done. The City of Anoka sees this as a regional issue and they need to start on this sooner, rather than later. Anoka Mayor Skogquist noted the cities have identified the same problems and that their may be some pre-existing conditions such as Schwartzman's or the fairgrounds. Joint support will be needed to fix these problems. He suggested the cities share information and resources, and when it is time, they put out funding based on a mutual agreement. Mayor Gamec indicated the City of Ramsey has already received federal grants for this area. Councilmember Cook commented one of the benefits of Ramsey receiving federal funds is that now the whole corridor is available for federal funding. There is also a better chance for Anoka to acquire federal funding to look at their intersections. Councihnember Elvig stated he would like to add a sense of urgency to the conversation. The City of Ramsey made a conscious decision not to accept being restricted on their growth, and it seems infrastructure does not come until there are bottlenecks. In addition, the City of Ramsey is in line for a rail station. Councihnember Strommen arrived at 7:16 p.m. Anoka Mayor Skogquist indicated the City of Anoka has completed studies concerning a rail station. They are a little behind Ramsey, but they are proceeding. City Council/March 8, 2004 Page 4 of 6