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MINUTES OF THE ORONO COUNCIL MEETING OF JANUARY 23, 1989 <br />COUNTY ROAD 116 CONTINUED • <br />signatures obtained on the petition constituted a large <br />percentage of people. She believed that if the road went <br />through, Medina would benefit, but Orono would inherit traffic <br />problems at the corner of Willow and Highway 12. She did not <br />believe that the road could stop at County Road 6, it would <br />eventually have to come all the way to Highway 12. She said that <br />if Medina had that many people against this project, it would be <br />even less desirable and beneficial for Orono. <br />Acting Mayor Callahan reminded the public that the County <br />intended to extend County Road 116 to the Orono boundary. The <br />portion of Willow between Highway 12 and County Road 6, has <br />always been in Orono's plans to be a connecting road between <br />those areas. The question is what will Orono do about the <br />increased traffic that will result on Highway 12 and Willow. <br />Should Orono upgrade that portion of Willow to handle the <br />possible increase, or should they do nothing and hope that <br />traffic will disburse to other locations? If Orono objects to <br />the proposal now, but finds later that a wider road is needed <br />between County Road 6 and Highway 12, the citizens of Orono may <br />be asked to aid in financing the upgrade. If they were to <br />proceed at this time, .there is the possibility that the County <br />would help pay for the upgrade. Acting Mayor Callahan said that <br />he was not using that as an argument against the public's <br />concerns, he just wanted to clarify what the real problems for <br />Orono may be. <br />Ms. Karen Ziminski felt that the upgrade was unnecessary and <br />a waste of money. She also did not feel that there were any <br />ligitimate reasons expressed as to why the road must be done. It <br />was her opinion that the Hamel merchants were pushing for the <br />road to get people up in that area. <br />Mr. Tim Schoen asked the County about the traffic counts. <br />Mr. Murphy responded that in 1987 traffic on Willow drive, north <br />of Highway 12, traffic was approximately 1400 cars /day. North of <br />County Road 6, there were 1900 cars /day. If upgrade occurs, they <br />would expect to see between 2500 and 3000 cars /day. <br />Acting Mayor Callahan asked Mr. Murphy if he had any <br />information concerning a stoplight at Willow and Highway 12. Mr. <br />Murphy said that the increased traffic would make it more likely, <br />but he was not sure whether that alone would be enough. <br />Mr. Rob Merkow, asked the County what specific reasons they <br />had for putting in the road? He said that there are other <br />north /south roads that currently exist. Mr. Murphy said that the <br />first north /south route to the west would be County Road 19, and <br />to the east it would be Highway 101. He said it would make good <br />planning sense for suburban development to place a north /south • <br />route in the proposed location. <br />Mr. Gene Hite asked the County what this project would cost. <br />Mr. Murphy stated that it would cost an estimated $2.9 million, <br />4 <br />