City Council Minutes 09-25-2000 InformationalMrnuTrS
. Nl1BLIC INF()RMATI()NAL MEE'Y'1NCT
CSAI-I 75 (FROM WASIIIN(.TON ST1tEE"l' -OTTER CRF,FK)
Monday, September 25, 20(10 - 5:30 p.m.
Members Present: Rogers Be1s~Ias, Roger Carlson, Clint I-ferbst, Brian Stun7pf a17d
Rrucc Thiclcn.
Mcnlbcrs Absent: None
Staff Present: h:conomic Development Director, Ollie Koropchak; Public Works Director
.lohn Sillu)la, ('ity Administrator, Rick Wolfsteller; Deputy City
Adnlinistratot•, .leff O'Neill, City F..ngineer, Bret Weiss and Becky
IJauxcllild.
John Simola, Public Works Director, began the infol•mational nlccting by briefly describing the scope of
the project and the roles of the City and the County in tllc design and construction of the work..
Virgil 1-Iawkil7s, Axxixtant Wright County I lighway Engineer, explained that the il7lprovement pro-jest
for C'SAH 77 was a major project ill the Cotu7ty's Five Year Plan. T17e project was originally planned
for consU'uctioll in the year 2002 but because of other projects being shi[ied around, the C"ounty is now
C011xICle1'lllg it I~)r construction in ?001. The proposed project is a rehabilitation ol`C'SAI-I 7~ from
. Was}lington Street to Utter Creek, The C'ounty's proposal 117CI(Idex I'e1170V1t1g the bltL11111no115 SLIl'f1ICe,
milling it out and replacing the blaclaop. The County is not proposing any widening- regrading or
change in design.
The County will desi;~n the roadway incorporating into the plans any utility work tl7e City feels needs to
be done at tlllx tulle. It IS pt'OpOSeCI to bld t}le p1'O)eL't 111 the xpl-lllg Wltll C017xtruCtloll to take place next
year. 7~hcrc nlay be a considerable amount ol` utility woI'k included itl this }?1-ojcct. Some of the sanitary
sewer lines in this area were installed in 1924 and the other utility lines were installedl in the 1940'x. The
City is cul-rerltl}~ i11 the process of inspecting the liner to detertlline whether the lines will be replaced..
.lOlln 51177o1a Indl('ateCl tllCCe 171ay also he some realignment of Utter C'reck Road where it comes on to
CSAH ~75 but that is the o171y street realignmel7t being proposed.
The parkway design that is being considered includex medianx and left turn lanes. II'the project ix
(:()I7xt1'(lCted ux1I1~T tlllx dex1~TI1 tlleI'e WOtlld be LOSS Of parking. IZeVlxlonx t0 the aCCexx t0 PInCWOOd
Elementary arc also being considered. Virgil Hawkinx talked abOllt hOW access onto the roadway
1t11paetx tl7e flow pf trattlC. A VICLCO oI1 aCClSS 171anagel77enl WaS xllOWll. I3y IlClllting the nun7bel' oI
accesses onto a roadway, you limit the number of conflict points and you 1•educe il7tcl-fcr(;nce with
through traffic. `fhe spacing of signalised inierxectiorls is also cruci~ll to tralTic ]low and xignali~cd
intersections should be placed at Icast 1/4 mile or ~~reater apart. Good access management in7proves
traffic flow a71d rccluces accidents.
.Ieff O"Neill provided background on how the paI'kway design was arrived at. n x(lrvey done in I9K$
I"cVCalecl That tl"afflC Wax IdC11tIfICCI ax the #1 concern. [n 1996 the Cif a-dated the (:()nl rehensive l~
y p p p '711
and attempted to adcirexx the ixsue of traffic o11 Broadway. The leelillg W't1S tl1at the trafllC shOUld Ilol
dictate ho~v land wax axed. The C.'Ity wanted to 1llallltaln the char~:lcter of this area as residential. `l~he
improvements that were done on CSA1-1 75 cart wcr~ done to improve tral`fic anti xafety ir1 the aria of the
school and the Ilospital.
Pam Cam Abell tl'Olll the Desi X11 I~dVlsol" 1 eclIll Ielt tl7~lt the tralfle Otl F3roadwa deeded to he slowed.
1 €. Y Y
They felt the two lane design was acceptable Holing it was important to take care of pedestrian salety
atld sL1~T,~Testing that 1171pr()VelTlelltti he made to llle deslgIlated CI'OSSWalkS. 1 be ~()~ nl('Cha17 tl7al Was
proposed would provide an opportunity to hcautity the City. D~1T I`elt that if the llleclian was done it
ShOt1Id 111clUde all 11'rlgatlOll systeI71 SO that the plantings in the median could be maintained. I)A~I
endorsed the project. Pala CaIllphell also C0P11111C11tCd th~it tl1C parking in front of~the post office site
should he retained.
[fret Weiss and Becky Hauschild from WSI.3, Inc., the City's engineers provided inlormation on tr<lftic
voltlnlcs and accidents rates. The estimated cost of the project is $1,700,000 which Would he funded
through state aid Funds, assessments and utility reserve fullcls.
.IOh11 51111(~la notCCl that hccaLlSC of t11C age Of file uLllltles In 1111S aI'ea, individual services Inay need to he
replaced. 't'he property owner is responsible for the utility lines fi'o171 the house to the main. if residents
arc interested in dctcrrnining whether their service line needs to he replaced, t11L' Clty Call Wltll llle
egtllpIIlent they have inspect the service. It was noted that the cost of replacing service lines, gate
valves, hydrants etc. could he assessed. ('okra head lighting was installed in this area in the 1960's anti
it has deteriorated to the point where it should he replaced. In the downtown area where pal"I:inti would
still he allowed on Broadway, tl7c County would char~~e the cost of'ihe parking lane to the City and the
City itl turn could assess this cost hack to the property ownel"s.
The meeting was then opened to collllllents ti'onl the public.
13111 13cckcr, 618 East 13roadway 1-Ic stated that the lack of pal"king l~:lnes could pose a hazard for those
people who had to hack out of their driveways onto the street. I-le indicated that in the winter the
pal"king lane was also used for snow storage a17c1 asked how that would be handled if-there was no
pal"king lane. MI". Simola responded that the Street Department had similar concerns with the snow and
he would checl: with the County about rellloval.
Virgil (Bud) Kalpin, 336 Broadway Mr. Italpin questioned why the median was included alld
suggested that it be considered making Broadway none-~vay street. I Ic felt it was unlail" to eliminate the
parking on Broadway for the residential pl"operties. He stated that part of the value of~ his property was
that there was parking on the street and by t<lking away the parking some of-the value of~his property
was lost. I-Ie stated that all other residential property is allowed street p~.lrking. Mr. Weis responded that
the City has eliminated or discouraged parking on collector streets in the past, i.e. 7`~' Strcct and School
Boulevard.
Harold Pittman,_106 D~il~ton Street Mr. Pittman questioned why the City would consider trees and
other plantings in the mcclian area since the salt frolll the snow removal would kill thelll. He comlllented
that the City had some of the nicest streets before they put in the streetscapc. f Ic wasn't sul"e that the
City's attempt to beautify the streets actually did anything for the street. Mr. Simola resprnlded that
there are salt resistant species of frees and shrubs that the City would use but that this is a concern.
Jake Krob, 318 13roadwa.~ M1•. Kroh asked about the procedul'e used to Ilotify the pl"operty
owners of this meeting. He also asked if any tilrthcr improvements were going to he made to the "l'H 25
~.u7d CSnH 75 intersection. He felt the inlprovcnlcnts made at the intersection thus far were not working
C'SAI-i 7S Irlfornlational Meeting - 9/2S/00
• very well as there seemed to be a good amount of~ vehicle stacking and asked if the channclization
ploposed would help tllc l~l [ ?S/CIl 7S intcl-scction. i-Ie also expressed his concern about the speed of
traffic on the roadway and with the proposed improvement the closeness ol~ihe trai~tic to the honks.
Dawn Cirossingcr responded stating that notice was sent to the owner of record according to the tax
printout..
Ben Smith, 806 West River Street Mr. Smith expressed concel~ll about the traffic, particularly bus
traffic of the intersection of West Broadway and Elm Street. Mr. Simol~.l responded and stated that the
staff WoUICi Ci1SCL15S t111S ISSLIC Wltll MI-. ~1711t11 afteC the Illeetlllg. Mr. 51111o1a Met Wlth Bell Sllllth the
week o1 October ?"`' and his concerns were with the buses ma.killg left turns onto CSAI 17S from County
Road ;9. ~I"he county will be looking into this with the school district
Doug Schneider, 112 West Sroaclway Mr. Schneider questiotlccf the traffic volwllc and accident rate
iniorlnation that was presented. He was wondering if the accidents were primarily at the intersection of
'f 11 25/CIt 7S and ifthcy were on the cast or west side of the intersection. Becky Hauschild indicated
that the she didn't have that breakdown but she would get the information and forward it to him. I Ic
also stated that if the City removes the parking, then they should lower the taxes for the site because the
property loses value without the parking. .lohn Simola indicated that the parking in approximately a two
blocl: distance both east and west ol~the TH ?S/CR 7S intersection was proposed to remain.
Lawrence C'lauscn, 320 Broadway West Mr. C"lauscn questioned the portion of the downtown area
tl1at WOL11Cl l1ave pal'k1Ilg alOllg I3l'OadWay at1d Stated llc t00 felt that the pal'klllg sllollld I'elllaln 111 the al'ea
of the post office.
Dan Kraemer, G48 Broadwa.~ Mr. Kracnlcr questioned whether inst~.llling left turn lanes would
invite the traffic on Broadway to go even taster since the traffic wouldn~t have to slow down for vehicles
making left turns. I3ecky I-iauschild respondcd that the plantings in median have a visual effect Which
slows traffic dowry. "I'he question was also raised about the nl~lilboxes located on Broadway. Iohn
~Illlola II1ChCatcCi that If t11C pI-olect proceeded Wltll llle pal"kway deSlgll the I11aIlbOXCS WOllld be rclocatCCi
t0 SIdC Stl"CCtti.
Candy .lohnson, 1233 Sander She asked what was the designated speed that was looked for on
Broadway and asked what the plans we--c for Utter Creek Road. Virgil Hawkins respondcd that the
speed limit was >0 mpll to Utter C'rcck Road and theft It becatlle ~S Illpll. Mr. Hawk111S I-cpIILCI that tl)C
plans for Utter CI'eck Road arc to realign it to 90 degrees Isom CSAH 7.5.
Dave. Kranz, 743 13roadwa_y West Mr. Kranz had qucstiolls 1-egarding the sewer 1i11cs for his horns.
.Iohn Simola asked him to check with the Public Works llcpartmcnt.
Orval Stokes, 215 Locust Street She asked if the opportunity to have the sewer service line inspected
applied only to those properties abutting Broadway or il~it would also a})ply to those homes on the side
strccts..lohn Si-11o1a respondcd it would only be for those properties served by tllc sewer on Broadway
from Washington Street to Chestnut Street.
-,
.~
CSnH 7S Inl'ol~lllational Mcctin~ - 9/25/00
• Because oI~ the time, the informational nleetin~ closed ill thls pOlnt. T'~loSC 111 lttcndanCC WCI"c iiS~CCf t0
Co111~7~ete COmlllcllt CaCCIs ailC{ 5llhmlt thCnl to the L'lty.
Recording Secretary
4