06-26-2000 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES FOR JUNE 26, 2000 • ( #2555 Hennepin County, Continued) Orono facility. Grube stated County Road 6 is serviced out of the Medina facility. Flint inquired whether the Medina facility could service the entire Orono area. Grube indicated the reason the City of Orono is not serviced entirely out of the Medina facility is due to the balancing of the snowplow driver's route, with the Orono facility being designed to accommodate six vehicles to service the area south of Highway 12 west of Wayzata. Grube stated Hennepin County would need to add two extra vehicles to the Orono facility if they wanted to include the area north of Highway 12, which is not possible due to a lack of available floor space at the Orono facility. Grube stated they need to store their equipment indoors because of the diesel engines to insure they will start in the wintertime. Mayor Jabbour inquired why Hennepin County does not eliminate the Orono facility and service the City of Orono out of the Medina facility. Grube stated they need to balance the driver's routes as well as a lack of available space at the Medina facility to accommodate the additional equipment needed to service Orono. Grube indicated they are unable to extend the driver's routes in the event a large snowfall occurs, which will lengthen that driver's route time. Mayor Jabbour commented if the Medina facility serviced Orono, it would add one -half hour to each • driver's time just to reach their assigned route. Kelley inquired whether it was possible to mix the sand and salt prior to it reaching the Orono facility. • Chock indicated the sand is delivered from one location, with the salt being delivered from another location, with the actual mixing occuring at the Orono facility. Grube commented Hennepin County also needs to apply different mixtures of sand /salt depending on the type of snowfall the area experiences. Kelley inquired whether there were underground fuel tanks located on this site. Grube stated they do have two underground fuel tanks which are electronically monitored. Kelley inquired whether Hennepin County has had their ground water tested recently, noting the City of Orono has experienced problems with underground fuel tanks leaking in the past even though they were being monitored. Grube stated they are in compliance with the PCA's regulations regarding underground fuel tanks, noting they have not had the underground water tested. Grube stated he is unsure when the tanks were originally installed. Kelley indicated another possible concern with this property is the possible abandonment of the railroad located at the rear of this property, which may be turned into a pedestrian trail, and increase the amount of exposure that this facility receives. Kelley suggested some additional landscaping be planted along the back fence to help screen the building if the trail goes through. Page 5