Minutes - Council Work Session - 01/29/2019 - Special

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Councilmember Riley agreed that he also prefers option seven but could be interested in options five or six as well. He agreed there could be continuity in building the same type of intersection at Sunfish that is being built at Thurston. Councilmember Shryock stated that her only concern with the roundabout would be pedestrian traffic. She stated that some concepts show the frontage road running through the middle of Plants and Things, while option seven pushes that frontage road towards the railroad to preserve the largest amount of space for that business. Community Development Director Gladhill noted that in conversations with the property owner, they are not interested in partial acquisition and would only agree to full acquisition, therefore whatever land is preserved would be for redevelopment purposes. Economic Development Manager Sullivan stated that the difference between the Sunfish Lake intersection and Ramsey Boulevard intersection is that the businesses off Sunfish Lake are destination businesses, while the businesses at Ramsey Boulevard are convenience based. Ms. Bersaw stated that her preference would be to keep some of the lost cost options included in the process to consider the reality of funding. Community Development Director Gladhill stated that missing from this discussion is the McKinley Street connection. He noted that there is a small gap missing that could connect the two industrial parks. Economic Development Manager Sullivan stated that there are business owners that have businesses in both locations and would like to move products between the locations with more ease. He stated that during construction time in Anoka, there would be significant advantage to those Anoka businesses to allow the McKinley Street connection. Councilmember Kuzma stated that in terms of medical safety the ability to go over the railroad crossings is important to get emergency vehicles from one side of the community to the other. He believed that option seven would allow for a better flow of traffic volume, not only today but in the future. City Administrator Ulrich stated that in terms of the State list that was developed, Sunfish Lake Boulevard was listed as a higher priority for an above grade crossing over Ramsey Boulevard. Community Development Director Gladhill confirmed the consensus of the Council to support option seven A as the first choice thus far with direction to rule out options three, four, and the high T. Ms. Bersaw confirmed the consensus of the Council agreeing with the recommendations of the technical committee with the additional of an option 7A. City Council Work Session/January 29,2019 Page 6 of 9