05-27-1997 Council Minutes Neighborhood Meeting Highway 12

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MINUTES OF THE Is WEST NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING CONCERNING THE HIGHWAY 12 DESIGN MAY 27,1997 The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. by Mayor Jabbour. Jabbour indicated the location of the corridor for an upgrade of Highway 12 has now been selected. The next step is to develop a preliminary design for the roadway within the selected corridor. This is being done with input from representatives of the cities and other governmental agencies affected by the project. These representatives are serving on a Preliminary Design Committee. The role of the committee is not to change the corridor but rather to minimize the impacts of the roadway on affected property owners. Jabbour indicated the Preliminary Design Committee and the City Council need the input of the property owners along the corridor to ensure the design process addresses the concerns of the affected property owners. Jabbour indicated the city has divided the corridor area into two neighborhood areas. The west neighborhood area includes all properties west of Willow Drive. The east neighborhood area includes all properties east of Willow Drive. The city would like to form a neighborhood committee from each of the two neighborhood areas to provide input to the Council and to the city's representatives on the Preliminary Design Committee regarding the design of the roadway. There will be approximately 5 representatives on each of the neighborhood committees. The purpose of the neighborhood is to serve as a communication channel between the city and the neighborhood to keep the neighborhood up -to -date on the progress of the Preliminary Design Committee, and to obtain input from the neighborhood regarding the preliminary design. Allen Engleman asked why the corridor could not be moved to the north versus to the south since there are no houses to the north side of the corridor. Jabbour indicated the corridor has to stay south of the St. George cemetery. Because the rail road can only have minimum curves, it requires a long distance to move the corridor farther to the north on the west side of the cemetery. Chuck Guerin, of Flamingo Wire, asked for clarification of where the corridor is located. Jabbour indicated the corridor is located along the current Burlington Northern Rail Road corridor. He explained the current east/west road system including new Highway 12. He indicated the new Highway 12 will be a two lane freeway which will be the most effective traffic mover in the State. Mr. Guerin asked what the time table for the Highway 12 project is. Goetten indicated the Preliminary Design Committee is working with Mn/DOT to complete the preliminary layout of the roadway by the 1997 but that the committee is scheduled to continue to meet for approximately 3 to 4 years as the details of the design are finalized. Jabbour indicated that Mn/DOT is in the process of completing an environmental assessment on the project which is to be completed in early 1998. The EA process is to determine whether an environmental impact study is needed. Roberta Morrison asked how far south the new right -of -way will be from the current right -of -way. . Moorse indicated that west of Willow the new right -of -way will generally be approximately 35 feet south of the current right -of -way. Morrison then asked when the new road will be built. Jabbour