Minutes - Council - 12/13/2005 - Laserfiche WebLink

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about $9,000 to $22,000 per acre. In this situation they would only need about 10,000 square feet of wetland, which is less than ½ acre. The cost to purchase wetland would be about $5,000 to $10,000 compared to a $100,000 cost for eminent domain. He cannot understand why the Council would even vote for eminent domain when looking at the costs. Councilmember Cook explained it is not the Council's choice whether the wetland mitigation is allowed. If the LRRWMO determines the City cannot mitigate the only thing they can do at that point is go around the wetland. Mr. Weichelt inquired about the extra roadway. Civil Engineer II Linton explained if the LRRWMO determines that the road cannot be moved over it will need to be maintained in the current location. The existing road is approximately 24 feet wide, which is about the same width as the road that will be built. Under the worst case scenario, if the LRRWMO does not allow mitigation, the City would draft an agreement with each of the owners that have property on the wetland to acquire 59 feet. Mayor Gamec stated the Council cannot get into negotiations on Mr. Weichelt's particular property for legal reasons. Mr. Weichelt stated his questions are valid, as he does not think some people have looked at this properly. Councilmember Cook called for the vote. Motion carried. Voting Yes: Mayor Gamec, Councilmembers Cook, Jeffrey, and Pearson. Voting No: Councilmembers Elvig and Strommen. Absent: Councilmember Olson. Further discussion: Councilmember Elvig stated he finds this very unfortunate. The folks he has been talking to have been very pleasant and have kept their cool. He believes the road north and south of the wetland is an acceptable area. He thinks people are binding together to try to get ratification of the wetland. The only portion of concern is where the road bubbles out around the wetland. He asked a homeowner if he could take a leap of faith and trust the City in trying to mitigate this wetland issue. The homeowner responded that due to the way the City has handled this situation this far, and the threat of eminent domain, they could not trust that. He hopes the City will work diligently to resolve this; the landowners were willing to give the land away at one point. Case #15: Consider Contribution to the City of Ramsey Foundation City Administrator Norman reviewed that over the past year, the City of Ramsey has been working towards establishing a sister city relationship with the community of Loudi, China. A small group of community leaders has been meeting on a regular basis to develop economic and educational connections with Loudi to assist in developing the relationship between the contributions from local businesses and community groups in support of their work. During the November 7, 2005 City Council meeting, a one-time contribution of $5,000 to The City of Ramsey Foundation was discussed, but the action was tabled until the foundation completes their start up budget and initial paper work. Included in the Council's packet is a letter from the City of Ramsey Foundation and their adopted start up budget. The $5,000 contribution would be to help the foundation pay for the initial start up fees. If Council should approve the contribution, staff would recommend the funding be taken from the 2005 budget for contracted services within the Community Services budget. City Council / December 13, 2005 Page 19 of 37