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• MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF APPEALS MEETING <br />HELD JUNE 25,1997 <br />Schneider asked what would satisfy the Board. Kohnen responded that was not the charge of the <br />Board. <br />Bellows confirmed there were no certificate of occupancies on file. <br />Kohnen felt the closest thing to a certificate of occupancy was Al Olson's determination of F -2 <br />classification and the intent to issue a certificate of occupancy. He added that the lives of children <br />is a very important issue. <br />Erickson commented that the children in the Lake Minnetonka Environmental School have a choice <br />of whether to be there or not. All the parents have been through the building and none have <br />mentioned any fire hazards or the building being unsafe. There are five exits for two floors. Each <br />classroom has a direct exit to the outside. There will only be 7 -8 children in the Art Studio at one <br />time and the parents make the choice to have them attend class. <br />Bellows asked how many students were in the Environmental School. Erickson responded there <br />were 13 currently, with projections of 20. <br />• Sherokee Ilse, parent and founder of the Environmental School, stated that parents have commented <br />that they feel safer with a child in the Hill School than the Orono Middle School or High School <br />because of the long corridors and masses of people. She added the Sojourn program in Spring Park <br />uses an early detection fire system which met the code of the State Fire Marshall and City and did <br />not need a sprinkler system. <br />Bellows was unsure how the Environmental School got to the point it has. She had talked with Ilse <br />and suggested the Environmental School hire someone to do a code search on the building. City <br />Planner Liz Van Zomeren concurred. <br />Erickson responded that the Environmental School would be leasing the building from Schneider. <br />Many architects have looked at the building. Yoos indicated she had met all the requirements Oman <br />had asked for, which included attaching the fire escape in the back. <br />Bellows felt if a code review had been done, she would look more favorably on the situation. The <br />whole purpose of having occupancy regulations is for life safety. <br />Grace stated before he could do a code review he would have to know what the occupancy is of the <br />building. To him, the records show the building is an E occupancy, and technically Schneider <br />doesn't have to do anything. The Fire Marshall is the one who determines if there is a threat to life <br />safety, not the building official. <br />• <br />