11-10-1997 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE REGULAR ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON NOVEMBER 10, 1997 0 (Public Comments - Continued) Coward said he did attend those meetings. He said the road from Orono Orchard into Wayzata has become wider than he ever thought would happen. He informed the Council of the difficulty in getting onto the roadway when traffic is moving quickly. He suggested the road be made to move more slowly to allow access on the road from other roadways. Coward believes there is more than the one answer to correct the road problems. Jabbour informed Coward that the Council reviewed the matter extensively. The Council declined to upgrade the road to State standards and forfeited state funding. Jabbour said the road widening on County Road 15 is necessary to handle the number of cars traveling the road, which is higher in number than that on Highway 55. Jabbour said the traffic counts on the road through Long Lake are even greater. Jabbour said the Council is trying to seek other remedies through improvements made on Hwy 12 and CoRd 6 to allow other alternative routes for Orono residents to relieve traffic on CoRd 15. Goetten said she understands Coward's perception that the road will be widened on the north side. Goetten indicated she was not in favor of the road improvements and did not believe a center lane would result in the objective of improving safety. She believes cars will use it for passing other cars. Goetten said the majority of the Council, however, • voted in favor of the road improvement. Coward said the majority of the Council was wrong in approving the road improvements. He feels the road improvements will attract additional traffic. Goetten informed Coward that the decision to approve the road improvements has already been decided. Coward responded that the Council should consider the future vision that was thought through with several bridges in the area. Jabbour said he was on the Council at that time and the purpose was to slow traffic. Jabbour said there has been consequences to that action with fatal accidents. He indicated the Council needs to listen to recommendations made by the engineers. Coward responded that he is hearing the Council say that the County cannot be fought. He hoped the Council will be more suspicious of County suggestions in the future. Steve Filips, 2570 Thoroughbred Lane, referred to a letter from Gaffron regarding a fence violation. He asked Council if they would consider allowing a temporary variance for the fence. Filips said he understood the reasoning behind the ordinance to eliminate a tunnel effect through fencing. His fence is located about 30' from the property line and about 40' from the road. The reason for the fence is to block the headlights from vehicles on Truffala Trail from shining on the back of his home. Filips said he prefers vegetation but requires the temporary variance until the brush and trees grow to block the nuisance. 9