03-25-1991 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION SPECIAL PUBLIC INFORMATION MEETING REGARDING HIGHWAY 12 CORRIDOR SELECTION HELD FEBRUARY 20, 1991 ROLL CALL: The Orono Planning Commission met on the above bate with the following members present: Planning Commission Chair Charlie Kelley and Planning Commission Members Jeffrey Johnson, Maureen Bellows, Ed Cohen, Jim Hanson, Candace Rowlette and Sara Moos. The following represented the City Staff: Building and Zoning Administrator Mabusth, Assistant Planning and Zoning Administrator Gaffron, and City Recorder Scheffler. Councilmembers Goetten and Jabbour were also present. Chairman Kelley opene>^ the meeting at 7:00 p.m. and welcomed those in attendance. He informed tne punlic that another meeting on this issue is scheduled for Feoruacy 27, 1991 at 5:30 p.m. He said, "The meeting will oe mainly a work session. The Planning Commission will use all of the information presented this evening and try to form a recommendation to forward to the City Council. In ray opinion, that recommendation should include a location and a statement regarding the degree of upgrade that should occur.” Kelley briefly reviewed the procedure for adaressing the Planning Commission and began taking public comments. Hartmut Ginnow, 1840 Lakeview Terrace, asked whether light rail transit is a possibility. Cohen replied, "The cost of the light rail system is cost prohibitive. If such a system is implemented, it would be from the Burnsville area to 35W. I also believe that because of the enormous cost to construct 394 , the State will not consider spending additional monies in this area for light rail transit." Hanson added, "I read an article stating that the cost cf light rail is not economically feasible because of the relatively low population density in this area.' Ginnow asked if consideration had been given to elevating or tunneling portions of Highway 12 as a method of relieving traffic congestion. Kelley stated that the issue of design has not yet been discussed. John Merideth, 3685 Watertown Road, stated that he sees two problems that MNDOT is trying to address with this project and that there are two possible solutions. He said, "MNDOT believes there is a need for a major east/west highway to extend all the way to South Dakota. There are plans to improve Highway 12 all the way to South Dakota. From the Communities standpoint, I believe it would be best if such a highway did not go through - 1 -