Minutes - Planning Commission - 02/24/2022

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with the impact to the wetland and watershed in that area. He again stated that he supports the school and the need for a school but believes this is the wrong location. Dean Thiele, 16611 Coquina Street, commented that he believes the City should purchase the property. Be noted that the Cite recently changed the name of the park from Central Park to Delaney Park, noting that the Delaney family donated the park land to the City and therefore believed the City should purchase the additional property. He stated that he notices a football field but asked where other sports would be played. He asked the City to consider purchasing the property to improve the park, noting that the original land was donated. He noted that expansion of the park would ensure adequate parking for the park use. r Mr. Fincher thanked all the residents that have provided input thus far. He commented that this is early in the process, noting that the purpose of tonight is to receive comments and feedback that could be incorporated should this move forward. He stated that there is a development team that would help to evolve the plans, should this move forward. He referenced the concern with traffic, noting that they would work with a traffic engineer and the previous reports to address that concern. He stated that they also have a civil engineer to address drainage and runoff to ensure those are met. He stated that the building footprint size, parking stalls, and needs for track and field, football and soccer were incorporated into this sketch plan. He noted that the water needs (;> would be reviewed by the watershed to gain proper permitting. He stated that the water from this site would be treated and maintained on the site and would not be allowed to pass onto neighboring properties. He stated that they would need to pay fees to connect to storm sewer and sanitary sewer,through both the City and Metropolitan Council. He stated that if this moves forward,they would conduct a photometric plan as required by the City to ensure the regulations within City Code are met for lighting. He stated that the concerns related to noise will need to be worked through and hoped that it could be a collaborative process with residents to ensure the least amount of disruption. Mr. Patrow (Jason) stated that there is already unsafe drinking water in Ramsey and asked where the water would come from to service the school as the City's water supply and quality is insufficient. Councilmember Woestehoff commented that the water issue is a priority for the City and a water treatment plant facility has been budgeted for and will break ground this year to address water quality and water pressure issues. He commented on the funding the City has already allocated : through water utility funds in order to address the issues. He recognized that Variolite was recently reconstructed and noted that improvement was completed in anticipation of the additional capacity it would serve. He stated that the narrowing was meant to address concerns with speeding. He clarified that the watershed organization is the Lower Rum River Water Management Organization (LRRWMO) and that review process will be extensive. He acknowledged that 161"is one of the worst roads in the community in terms of condition. He stated that the Central Park parking lot is scheduled to be repaired at the same time as the road, noting that $700,000 has been allocated for those projects within the CIP. He appreciated the comments related to stormwater, which is also a question he had. He stated that generically roads are reconstructed to the same state, meaning that is storm sewer is not in place, it is not added. He recognized that but for the school, there Planning Commission/February 24,2022 Page 11 of 26