Minutes - Council Work Session - 10/11/2016

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Mayor Strommen stated that perhaps representatives from MnDOT and the County could be taken on a rush hour tour, noting that sometimes it appears that the people who design these roads do not drive them during rush hour. She stated that it seems that there is something that could be done and the fact that the City has been told that MnDOT would do nothing is unacceptable. She stated that Ramsey is challenged because you have to get across the river somehow. She agreed that the traffic has been worse the past week for some reason. City Administrator Ulrich stated that the Highway 10 efforts have been well documented. He stated that the City has been told that Highway 47 is a preservation corridor and MnDOT is not investing money. He stated that the City may have potential partners on the issue in neighboring communities and the County. He stated that one possible solution would be that Highway 10 could become a fully functioning freeway. Mayor Strommen stated that perhaps the thought should be on a large scale to determine the best routes for moving people in and out of the community rather than focusing corridor by corridor. She stated that development continues and more households continue to be built in the City but the traffic infrastructure does not support that. She stated that perhaps the discussion needs to occur with the City, MnDOT and the Metropolitan Council. Councilmember LeTourneau stated that now seems like the time to talk about the larger picture. Mayor Strommen stated that perhaps there could be a transportation community roundtable and noted that she would like representatives to experience the morning and evening rush hour traffic commutes to see that there are no ways around the backups. City Administrator Ulrich stated that staff could brainstorm as well, noting that part of this will tie into the transportation portion of the Comprehensive Plan update. Councilmember Kuzma stated that he is feeling positive about the bonding bill for Highway 10 next year. He asked if there was any feedback on the ability to borrow for the improvements. City Administrator Ulrich replied that MnDOT was not supportive of that as they felt that would open a can of worms with requests from other municipalities. Councilmember Kuzma asked for an update on McDonald's. Asst. City Administrator/Economic Development Manager Brama stated that staff reached out to McDonald's two months ago to touch base and advise them of the timeline. He noted that no progress has been made. City Administrator Ulrich provided a draft insert proposed for the newsletter that includes a summary of the results from the resident survey. He noted that this is a draft and the Council can provide feedback, as changes can still be made. City Council Work Session / October 11, 2016 Page 4 of 6