Minutes - Public Works Committee - 04/17/2001

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Councilmember Hendriksen stated that the City should keep in escrow the amount it would cost to have the silt fences removed. Consensus of the Committee was to forward the issues of trail maintenance and dog waste onto the Park Commission. Case/44: Relocating Mailboxes in Cul-De-Sacs Public Work Supervisor Riemer stated that one area of concern for snow removal and postal personnel is the placement of mailboxes in cul-de-sacs. This problem was magnified this year with the heavy snow totals the City received. With the mailboxes placed in the bulb of the cul- de-sac it limits the amount of space available for snow storage. The space that is available quickly piles up and starts to creep out into the paved area because the smaller trucks used in cul- de-sac plowing can no longer push the snow back onto the easement. When this begins to happen the mail carrier can no longer drive around the cul-de-sac easily to deliver the mail. At this point staff needs to push the banks back with larger equipment. This becomes time consuming and expensive. On a good day the loader can clear about 15 cul-de-sacs. Out of the City's 240 cul-de-sacs, about 20 percent have mailboxes placed in the bulb. The Public Works Department recommended the removal of mailboxes from inside cul-de-sacs and place them on the throat of the road. Staff proposed that they accomplish the task over a period of two years. Staff realizes that it will create an inconvenience for residents, but it also will have advantages. Mail delivery should no longer be interrupted because the mail carrier can not get close to the box and the amount of snow needed to be removed by the resident near the mailbox should also decrease. Councilmember Hendriksen suggested that once the policy is adopted there should be a set date that the mailboxes had to be relocated. Mayor Gamec replied that he would not have a problem with requiring the mailboxes be moved by October or November of this year. Director of Public Works Kapler stated that staff was going to propose that the Public Works staff move all of the mailboxes to make sure that all of the proper locates were done. Mayor Gamec suggested that staff work with the City Attorney on the proper wording for the policy and then begin notifying residents of the change in the Ramsey Resident. Councilmember Anderson inquired if staff is going to move the mailboxes would there be some standardization of the mailboxes. Director of Public Works Kapler replied that there are standard requirements for the installation of mailboxes, which would have to be met. Councilmember Hendriksen stated that he would not be in favor of Public Works staff taking on the task, because there is such a variety of mailboxes and he does not think that it is good use of Public Works Committee/April 17, 2001 Page 6 of 9