Minutes - Council - 09/11/1996 - Neighborhood Mtg

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09/11/96 Informal Neighborhood Meeting To the City Council of Ramsey: Since 171st Avenue between Zeolite Avenue and Bison Street was closed off to car traffic a number of incidents and issues have surfaced. People have threatened me and my family. One time in a very threatening challenging way screaming "Fuck You Ass Hole" while my children were standing in the yard as I was talking to Harold Dowling from Delwood Hills. The second time was at 10:45 PM on August 24, 1996 a Saturday night as my wife and me were watching TV with the curtains drawn. The adults called us a Fucker twice while ' screaming the question "do you hear us ?" One extremely challenging frame of voice stated "he paid for and owned the road". In both incidences we completely ignored the confrontation, which was hard to do but the only thing to do. A car from Bison Street went around the street barricade revving the engine in front of our house and popping the clutch trying to get our attention. An adult female resident upon walking through on 171st gave my little girl the finger while she' looked up from reading a book on the front steps. The street barrier was purposefully placed on our front steps once and across our drive way once while we were away from the house overnight. The street barriers have. systematically been knocked down and vandalized almost every day. The plastic netting has been continually down since August 27, 1996. Some traffic still continues to use 171st. A car was driven around the barrier located at Bison Street with the driver honking his horn 5 long times as he passed three of my children along the road in the closed off section and after turning the corner to go north onto Zeolite. . . Some traffic originating from Bison Street uses Zeolite to 169th Ave to get to and from their residence- at a greater time delay than using the Hwy 63 to Variolite route. That traffic has been seen going extremely fast and also extremely slow at times. I have been accused by a resident who lives along Bison Street Of threatening and swearing at the children along Bison Street and driving recklessly. I emphatically denY it and can only ask those here today to look at the source of the allocatiOns made against me and weigh character accordingly. When my name is being slandered with false accusations and petitiOns being gathered under false pretenses I see a position with no foundation. · .· I strongly argue due to the points made earlier that a segment of the traffic coming off Bison Street, that demands to use our residential streets as a thoroughfare, do not think the issues of safety of our children or the quality of life in our neighborhood is relevant. This situation is about safety of our children and the residential qualitY of life in our neighborhood versus convenience of residents along Bison street to use our neighborhood as a thoroughfare. Page 1 of 2