04-25-2011 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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• MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, April 25, 2011 7 :00 o'clock p.m. (4. THREE RIVERS PARKDISTRICT - DAKOTA RAIL TRAIL PARKING, Continued) Printup stated as it relates to this trail, he is in agreement with Council Member Rahn that parking near the commercial area would offer great opportunity for the Navarre business owners. Printup noted that the Hennepin County storage lot for their snow plows is seasonal and that may also be an option. Franchot commented the data that has been gathered and presented tonight is interesting and confirms that this trail gets a lot of use. Franchot stated he is saddened, however, that the conversation has not gone further to finding solutions. Franchot noted the Council had this "exact same description and the exact same set of problems presented to them approximately two years ago but just the numbers have been added. Franchot stated he would hope in the near future the City decides whether there actually is a problem and where it is and then start to move forward to solve the problem or admit that nothing can be changed from what currently exists. Franchot commented he is optimistic that there are solutions and that in his opinion Brown Road and North Shore Drive is a location that could continue to be discussed. He added that the Navarre area has been frustrating with equally positive and negative reasons for trail parking locations. Franchot recommended the City start nailing down what it can do and needs to do. McMillan commented it is good to have Three Rivers check in periodically with the City and to obtain the comments of the residents along the trail. • Franchot stated his point is that if there are problems out there, the City is not moving forward at a very rapid pace. . McMillan opened the meeting up for public comment at 7:52 p.m. Rick Meyers, 2195 Bayview Place, indicated the area he resides in has become an ad hoc parking area for the trail and that it is currently not being maintained by anybody. Meyers indicated he has filled a number of potholes personally and picked up garbage. Meyers indicated he did attempt to address some of these issues with the Railroad Authority and he was told to talk to Three Rivers, who then told him to talk to the Railroad Authority, who then told him to talk to the city. Meyers stated if Three Rivers is going to use that spot for parking, they need to do something to level the area out because there is currently a drainage ditch there. In addition, the kids go out onto County Road 19 to access the trail, which is a bad situation. There is also not enough room for vehicles to pull all the way in to park, which also causes problems. Meyers stated the other issue is the sidewalk down County Road 19, which is a good idea. Meyers noted the City did receive some funds to construct two blocks of the sidewalk down by the park but it was never finished. Meyers stated in his view the sidewalk could be finished even with the poor topography but that it would cost some money. The businesses in Navarre are generally against parking for the trail in the city -owned lot since it would take away from their customer parking. Meyers pointed out a section of land that the City could develop on the overhead display. The City would need to spend the money to fix the terrain and put in a level parking lot but that would provide parking for the trail, extra parking for an emergency or a big event, and possibly a landing for a helicopter. Meyers commented the problem with using the fire station parking lot is that there is a big fence and a hill that goes straight up. It currently is also being used for overflow boat trailer parking and it is crowded in the Page 5 of 25