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Chairperson Anderson replied that in the situation of the sidewalk/trail ordinance they would <br />need some direction from the Council. <br /> <br />Councilmember Connolly stated that it is unfair of the Council to keep requesting that the <br />Commissions work on an item if they are not presented with some type of goals or guidelines. <br /> <br />The Council discussed the difference between sidewalks and trails at length. <br /> <br />Councilmember Hendriksen inquired how many items have been sent back and forth between the <br />Council and Planning Commission. <br /> <br />Chair Anderson replied that he did not think there had been a lot of items sent back to the <br />Commission. <br /> <br />Mayor Gamee stated that when an issue is presented to the Council it should be 90 percent <br />complete and questioned if the City is not using the Commission to the full advantage or does the <br />Commission feel that the decisions they make don't mean anything to the Council. <br /> <br />Commissioner Jensen stated that the Commission had sent the sidewalk/trail ordinance back to <br />the Park Commission requesting that they do a survey of other cities and to provide a definition <br />between sidewalks and trails. The survey was completed, but they were never given a definition. <br /> <br />Councilmember Hendriksen inquired who is responsible for determining that answer. <br /> <br />Commissioner Jensen stated that she feels that there should be an outline submitted to the <br />Commission as to what the Commission should be considering when writing an ordinance. <br /> <br />Councilmember Hendriksen questioned where the direction would come from. <br /> <br />Mr. Hudson replied that on new issues nobody would know the clear direction. <br /> <br />Councilmember Hendriksen stated that if the Council always knew the criteria then the <br />Commissions would not be necessary. He feels that the Commissions should be the experts on <br />the issue. <br /> <br />Commissioner Jensen questioned if the Commission is expected to write the entire ordinance. <br /> <br />Mayor Gamec replied yes, that he would like items to come to the Council being 80 to 90 percent <br />complete. <br /> <br />Commissioner Jensen stated that receiving the agenda for the meeting Friday afternoon prior to <br />the meeting does not allow adequate time to research items. <br /> <br />Commissioner Dempsey stated that the largest problem seems to be communication. <br /> <br />City Council/March 20, 2000 <br /> Page 2 of 5 <br /> <br /> <br />