Minutes - Council - 07/09/2002 - Laserfiche WebLink

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driveways are lined with huge rocks that were not there earlier. He agreed there are a few knuckleheads out there but there is nothing you can do about them. He stated he is against the ordinance and supports having groomed trails since he does not like going through people's yards. Ron Larson, 6630 - 154th Lane NW, stated he is south of the line. He stated he attended a meeting last year with the police, Mr. Pearson, and others and the Police Chief said there was a point in the City where most of the complaints occurred. He stated he moved to Ramsey 15 years ago and enjoys Ramsey and being able to sled from his yard. Mr. Larson noted the police station is south of 159th Jeff Wise, 165th NW, stated he lives north of the park and thinks there should be some middle ground in having some restrictions in residential area. He suggested that setting a minimum snowfall would make more sense since it would avoid the damage being talked about. He stated he knows there are people who don't care about other's property whether they are on a snowmobile, ATV, or in a vehicle. He again suggested there should be some middle ground. He stated he moved to Ramsey and knows it is evolving but believes there should be some room for this. He stated that not all people support high-density projects and he believes there should be some corridors to Highway 10 so those dollars can stay in Ramsey. Mayor Gamec stated he snowmobiles in northern Minnesota and used to do it in Ramsey until two years ago. He stated he lives on 160th, is a member of a snowmobile club, and pays his dues as a nonresident to help with the trails and building them. He stated he is also a member of the Minnesota and United States snowmobile clubs and in Washington he had worked on more funding for tails in northern Minnesota. He has also worked on the Paul Bunyan Trail and the Sioux Line Trail. Mayor Gamec stated that some have abused the privilege of snowmobiling in Ramsey and caused damage to other's property. He reviewed that in the past they had put up flags to try and keep machines off of areas. And, when he was part owner of McDuffs they tried to put in a trail and marked the golf course so people could snowmobile down the Rum River and patronize their establishment. However, the damage to the golf course was huge. He stated the machines did not stay in the designated areas. He agreed that a minority may be doing the damage and in looking at this ordinance, he hated to see it but the City had tried to pinpoint the problem areas. He noted the comments were to shut the City offbecause machines will just keep going through the area. He stated he talked with snowmobilers in other areas like Zimmerman and they looked into getting a trail down to Highway 10; but, it has been a continuous problem. He stated that something had to be done to warn people about what is happening in the City and still not shut off the entire City. He stated he would not object to considering a trail but pointed out that snowmobilers were tearing up the area of Alpine Drive before it was done and it had to be reseeded. Also, Armstrong Boulevard is one of the areas of the largest number of complaints. Mayor Gamec stated that even with two inches of snow, snowmobilers gun their machines, which causes damage to people's property. He stated in his area, a snowmobile came up close to the house and damaged evergreens. He again stated that his whole family snowmobiles and he loves to snowmobile but the abuse has been unbelievable. He stated it is a shame all must suffer from the mistakes of some. Mayor Gamec displayed an article that was published in the Anoka Union and stated they also talked to the snowmobile club and those members have done things to get people out. He stated he supports the ordinance and thinks it's a shame the City has to do this due to the abuse done by others. He stated all need to remember to stay offprivate property City Council/July 9, 2002 Page 9 of 24