Ramsey Resident - 1985 - January

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J Snowmobiles and Ramsey The snowmobile season is coming upon us. This is a fine time to let everybody know the basic rules for snowmobiles in Ramsey and, hopefully, everybody with a "sled" will. read this. As it stands now, Ramsey has no snowmobile ordinance and goes entirely by State 'statutes. However, within a couple of years we will have . our own ordinance, which will be quite restrictive. Why? It's really quite simple. It seems that there is that good old ,10% who feel that the only rights. which are valid, per- sonal or public, are theirs. Parents who wouldn't ever consider letting their children have the family car, give a ten, eleven or twelve year old 440 cubic centimeters of power and let them go where they please. Of course, Junior will driye slowly and 'stay in the proper areas and off yards! Who could doubt that? And it is reall.y not the kids fault in that we, as parents, sometimes have to say, "No", for their own good. And we also have the case of the booze befuddled brain which tells the temple in which it is housed that it is 'capable of superhuman feats with the machine, when in -----.-- reality, it's nerve impulses are about 50 yards behind the first obstruction which looms up and...crash! Will we have a restrictive or- dinance? Yes...if there isn't a real effort made by affi- cianados of snowmobiling to / curb the abuses of others and cooperate. Narci ng, squeal- ing, ratting, we don't care . what you want to call it, it can also be responsibility towards your community and your own pursuit of pleasure. As it stands now, what foll.ows is basically what we go by under the laws of the State of Minnesota. By the way, you can pick up a copy of Snobmobile Safety Laws, Rules and Regulations at the Police Dept. at no charge. It is recommended reading, since we are only touching on the rules in this col.umn. SOME LAWS, RULES AND REGULATIONS 1. No snowmobile can be operated or transported unless it is registered in the State. 2. The registration number must be displayed in letters of at least 3" high and 3/8" stroke on the machine, clearly visible. . 3: Snowmobiles cannot be operated on the roadway, -.:: "';." ....;;:;.;"".,;;.-'..;,,;. .;.;..-0.-, 12. The owner of a snowmobile may be fined up to $300.00 if a snowmobile bearing his/her registration number is operated contrary to law. (In other words, if the person driving flees from a police officer or other person witnessing an offense, the owner can get burned!) 13. Person operating snowmobiles on private pro- perty, not their' own, must have written permission, on their persons, when op'erating snowmobiles on said private property. (This also includes 3-wheelers, A TV's, 4-wheel drive trucks/cars, etc.). 14. All snowmobile ac- cidents involving an injury re- quiring medical attention or hospitalization or death of any person or total damage of $100.00 or more must report the accident to the Depart- ment of Natural Resources, on the proper form, within 48 hours. We repeat, this list is by no means all-inclusive and the above rules are only paraphrased, so if you are stopped by the police, please don't say you felt you were ,o,.thin the law because what you did wasn't mentioned in this issue of the Ramsey Resi- dent. Pick up the little boo\.o'le; at our station and If you ha',e any questions about what you read, give us a call. If we can't answer it, we'll get you through to someone who can. Ramsey Resident, January 1985 - Page 7 !. \ I shoulder or inside bank or slope of. any trunk, county state aid or county highway. 4. You must have a headlamp, tail ,lamp, and 16 sq. inch minimum reflective material on each side of the machine forward of the han- dle bars and brakes. 5. .AII. provisions of chapter 169 (general traffic law's) app- ly t() snowmobiles except those which, by their nature, . have no application. 6. Any sled, trailer or other" device being towed must have reflective material on it. . 7. You cannot operate or drive a snowmobile on an air- port. 8. All snowmobiles must be equipped at all times with a' muffler in good working order. 9. No person under the age of 14 years may operate a snowmobile on any city street or highway-this includes the ditches, shoulders and boulevards. 10. No person 14 years of age through and including 17 years of age can make a direct crossing of a trunk, county state aid, or county highway unless he/she has in Im- mediate possession a valid snowmobile safety certificate issued by the Commissioner of Natural Resources. 11. It is unlawful for the owner to permit a person to operate his/her snowmobile contrary to law. v Rights of Way 1 · { I t , Again this winter, as in most, we will. experience the problem of our snow plows running into things in the Right of Way that don't belong there. These consist of fences, railroad ties, rocks and numerous other items many of you place on property that reall.y belongs to the public as a part of the street. For those of you who don't know, the 'public Right of Way does not stop at the edge of the roadway but is, in most in- stances, 33 feet from the center of the street. What this then means is that the first twenty (20) feet or so from the edge of the road does not in fact belong to the home owner even though it is yours to maintain. Further, the placement of any obstruc- tions in this area whether it be fences or whatever is not only in violation of City policy but could subject you as the home owner to a personal liability. In V e.', 0' a, .... s ,Le ,,0.. d as. '''a' ,o...'e"a" .~'""pac ng obs.....c. ...-:. ... "'e ~ :;... of Way and lunher as" tnat those of you that have items in the Right of Way make it a point to have them removed. I I " I I I .. Cont. from page 6 the Commission were the recommended 5% increase to commercial property tax valuation, the affect of the Charter on bonding interest rates, the status of the Ramsey Economic DevelOp- ment Company and the avail- 'ability of HUD 312 Rehabilita- tion Funds. The Commission accepted the resignation of Mr. Jack Schneider and authorized City Staff to advertise to fi II the vacancy on the Commission. Chairman Greenberg, Com- missioners Vevea, Wagner and Fults were authorized to meet with the Anoka Economic Development Com- mission regarding traffic flow concerns. The Park and Recreation Commission met on Thurs. day, November 15, 1984 and discussed the 5 Year Capital Improvement Plan with re- spect to park development. The Commission' prioritized Ramsey's park needs for the next five years as follows: a) Bleachers for Central Park; b) Lighting at existing fields at Central Park; c) Tennis courts at Central and River's Bend Park; d) Creative play equip- ment at Central and River's Bend D- '., ~I ,Jark building at Central Park for concession sales, storage, rest rooms and canopy picnic area; f) Addi- tional equipment needed for maintenance of parks. . The Park Commission also recommended that Council appoint Ms. Marleen Looyen to the Commission t~ replace .. . I.'" - Terry McLean and reappoint .Mr. Rustad and Ms. Johnson for 3 year terms. The Charter Commission met on Thursday, November 8, 1984 and elected new of- ficers. Mr. Dick Sieber was elected Chairman, Ms. Brenda Bauerkemper was elected Vice Chairman and Mr. Stan Data was elected Secretary. The Commission discuss- ed the possibility of issuing a Charter Handbook to be used by the citizens as an aid in understanding and using the Charter. The Commission discuss- ed the fact that the City' has not replied to the Charter Commission's request for copies of all documentation supporting that the City is in compliance with the Charter. The Commission passed a motion requesting the City Administrator to provide all Commission .members with copies of all documentation supporting the ,City's compli- ance with the Charter by December 1, 1984. The Com- mission has also requested that all members be provided with copies of all Council meeting minutes: The Airport Commission met on' Tuesday, November 20, 1984 and passed a motion authorizing Chairman Ippel to arrange a tour of various air- port facilities on December 8, 1984 for the Commission and interested Council members. This tour of airport facilities will be in lieu of the regular Airport Commission Decem- ber meeting and the January meeting will be a public infor- mational meeting to bring the citizens up to date on the air- port issue. . The Airport Commission recommended that Council reappoint Mr. Don Greenberg to the Commission for another 3-year term. The Airport Commission re- quested that City Staff issue a letter to the following com- munities requesting them to summarize the impact of their airport facility on their com- munity and their estimated operating and maintenance costs: Cambridge, Litchfield, Mora, Lakeville, Princeton, Willmar and Owatonna. The Planning and Zoning Commission held a regular meeting on December 4,1984. During Cilizen Input, the Com- mission received a couple of comments requesting that the Commission urge City Council to conduct a public hearing regarding Waste Man- agement of Minnesota, Inc.'s request for a temporary condi- tional use permit for mining. Legally speaking, a request for a temporary conditional use permit does not have to appear before the Planning and Zoning Commission and is n'ot required to a public hearing. Council did request that Planning and Zoning review Waste Management's request. The Planning Com- mission recommended that if the Council approves the per- mit request that it be set up for a 5-year time frame, at which time it can be reviewed; that Waste Management com- ply with the Uniform Building Code Chapter 70; that public access to the mining area be . restricted; that the hours of mining activity be the same as' the hours of operation at the landfill; and that if the City gives approval to this amount of fill volume, it does not in- dicate that the City is allow- ing any expansion beyond the existing landfill. The Commis- sion was split as to whether or not it should be recom- mended that fill not be trans- ported over public thorough- fares. The Commission recom- mended that Council approve a sketch plan of a four acre parcel south of the proposed bridge right-of-way owned by River's Bend Properties; ap- prove a zoning change from U.B. (Urban Business) to U.M.B. (Urban Multiple Busi- ness); approve a temporary metes and bounds subdivi- sionfro.m that property; and that certificate of occupancy is contingent upon comple- tion of platting. The Commis- sion recommended that Council grant final develop- ment plan approval of Rum River Hills .housing and golf course project. The Com- mission also reviewed a sketch plan for Kovar's pro- posed plat along Hwy. 10. The Commission discussed ac- cesses to those parcels and the proposed service road to run parallel to the railroad tracks, for which easements -- - -- - - - - have been obtained. The Com- mission informed the developer of the Kovar Plat that he could get that service road under way by petitioning Council for the street im- provement. The Economic. Develop- ment Commission held a regular meeting on Wednes- day, December 12, 1984. The Commission discuss- ed the need for changes in Minnesota tax laws in order to stimulate economic growth, and authorized City Planner Anne Norris to request that Representative John Har- tinger and Senator Greg Dahl attend a meeting of the Ramsey Economic Commis- sion in order that these con- cerns can be addressed. Commissioner Arnie Cox commented that there are no City laws prohibiting a Coun- cilmember from serving on a Commission, but in order to avoid any conflict, he will be resigning from the Economic Commission. City Planner Anne Norris stated that in lieu of Ramsey's concern regarding traffic flow, she attended a meeting of the North Metro Task Force. This task force is studying traffic flow patterns in the northwest area and Ms. Norris volunteered to serve on the Technical Subcommittee' of that Task Force. . The Commission requested that Anne Norris obtain from the City Attorney an evalua- tion on how the Charter "af- fects development from a cost and time frame aspect. i 1 '