02-27-1989 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO COUNCIL MEETING OF FEBRUARY 27, 1989 is COUNTY ROAD 116 CONTINUED the fact that funding may be available for a road that is already slated for improvement. However, he would prefer to know the plans for County Road 116 before making any decisions. Mr. Gregory Coward, 1950 Heritage Drive, disagreed with Mayor Grabek's position regarding the use of County funding to upgrade Willow. It was his belief that if the City is opposed to County Road 116, that they should stand firm and not allow it at all. He also questioned why County Road 116, located so far out in the suburbs, managed to become a top priority over any other metropolitan county roads. Mayor Grabek surmised that the pressure for making County Road 116 a priority came from Medina. In response to using County funding, the Mayor agreed that such a stand would be inconsistent. However, it was a reality that Willow Road will be upgraded, with or without County funding. Mr. Coward believed that upgrading Willow Road would only encourage more traffic. He did not want to see the City turn this community over to the highway departments. Mayor Grabek said that Orono was not being handed over to the highway department. It was necessary to upgrade the roads within the City and to do so as feasibly as possible. He said that it was important to plan ahead and cited the fact that due to poor planning, Orono may be required to foot • the bill for a larger sewer system. He did not want to make that same financial mistake with Orono's roads. He clarified for Mr. Coward that he was indeed opposed to County Road 116. Mr. Coward reiterated his opinion that widening and upgrading Willow would increase traffic. Councilmember Goetten stated that it was not her intention to turn Orono into another Edina. However, there were some realistic concerns that needed to be addressed, such as safety. She said that Willow Road has always been designated as a minor collector, which means it will probably be used more, and would eventually be a north /south connecting road to Highway 12. She said that Orono had to face the fact that it is a growing community and the Council has to face the concerns that growth wi 11 bring. Mr. Coward stated that until a determination for the Highway 12 Corridor is made, Orono could not make an accurate decision of what it would want or need to do with Willow. Councilmember Goetten stated that she agreed wholeheartedly. She said that there was a Highway 12 Task Force that was looking at those very issues. She also suggested that Mr. Coward ask County Commissioner Jude for any information that he may have. County Commissioner Jude stated after receiving a letter • from the City expressing their opposition to County Road 116 he checked with the County Department of Public Works on the status of this project. He was told that County Road 116 would be built in 1990 and that it would not extend to County Road 15 because Orono was against that. The road will be constructed using both