Minutes - Council - 02/25/1997 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Conrad Barsness, 6020 - 159th Lane NW, Ramsey, asked about a water emergency. We have four wells but we do not have another tower. We are buying water from the City of Anoka - what if they cut Ramsey off?. He stated he would like to see more utilities before we get into more land development. We are hurting right now. He did not know of a City as big as Ramsey that does not have more towers and another tower will cost two to four million dollars. He agreed with the green space idea also. Mr. Peterson said $120,000 would be donated for green space or a park. Will that go in our addition? Mayor Gamec noted a major park proposed for the 160th area. The dollars for park development stay in that particular zone. Deb Landwehr, 5821 - 159th Lane NW, Ramsey, stated that when they built their house, they were charged $350 for a park fee and there is no park. Now more homes are coming in and there still is no park. She stated her children have to cross County Road #5 and she is concerned about traffic impacts. She added that she is more concerned about the effects of the population growth on the schools. We just passed a referendum which she campaigned for. She stated that she spent a lot of time volunteering for the school and the school does not look at this big development as a good thing. Schools are crowded. Some of the sixth graders have to go to school in the bank building in Anoka because there is no room. People will say no to another referendum for this school. The City seems to not be concerned about the education of our children. They have to look at that when they allow this kind of development in our community. There is no more room. Ms. Landwehr continued that growing up in Minneapolis and moving here, she thought this place was wonderful. There are things we can do at this stage of development. We need to focus on the quality of life. We need less kids in the classroom and less of a traffic impact. She added that she was also told that Mr. Peterson is a member of the School Board for District #11. Mr. Peterson stated he is indeed a member of the School Board and has been for about 10 years. He stated he does care about the children and added that he is in the business of building neighborhoods - places where families can grow up and send their children to school. A traditional rule - the way our government has been - is the City deals with how we use our land such as the MUSA, zoning, etc. The school's responsibility is to respond to decisions cities make. Schools have been asked to respond to the growth. District #11 is a growing district. One hundred forty homes will pay a substantial amount of taxes - much of which will go to the school district. Mayor Gamec asked if we stopped all the development in Ramsey - but there continues to be development in Coon Rapids, Andover and Anoka, will our taxes stay the same? Mr. Peterson replied no, you will continue to pay the increase because you are in the school district. Mayor Gamec stated that over the years, the City has done a good job of maintaining a tax level. Rick Hasbrook, 6040 Radium Ckcle NW, Ramsey, asked if an environmental impact worksheet has been done to which Mr. Peterson replied no, it was not necessary. Mr. Hasbrook then stated that he would be going around getting signatures so this would have to be done. He stated he has been going around to the residents and finding out what they want. They do not want to live in Brooklyn Park. The traffic is a big problem, schools are a big problem. He stated that he moved to Ramsey three years ago. He spent a lot of money on his first house because he planned to be here until he retired. He stated, with this development, the City is ruining his dream and he will not stay here. He felt that a lot of serious issues have to be changed. City Council/February 25, 1997 Page 19 of 28