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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1978/11/09 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Regular MINUTES SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING ST . LOUIS PARK , MINN . November 9 , 1978 • I . Call to Order A special meeting of the City to order by Mayor SCouncil was called tern at 6 : 06 p . m . 2 . Roll Call The following Councilmen were present at roll call : Ronald Backes Martha Elstrom Jerrold Martin John Ralles Irving Stern Also present were the City Manager and Director of Public Works . 3 . Pedestrian Bridge ; Mayor Stern explained the meeting had been called West 26 Street / to hear concerns expressed at a residential Highway 100 meeting held November 8 , 1978 . 4 It was the opinion of Karl Helm , 2608 Toledo Avenue , that upon construction of the bridge , his privacy would be lost ; the road will be blocked ; he would probably lose a portion of his backyard ; there would be a problem with snow removal ; and t plaster will be cracked from pile driving . As an alternative , he suggested relocating the east end of the bridge . He also did not feel the neighbor- hood received proper notification . Mayor Stern explained that prior to 1972 , numerous communications were received from Beth El Synagogue , Lutheran Church of the Reformation , Benilde and area residents requesting construction of a pedestrian bridge across Highway 100 at West 26 Street . Questionnaires were sent to the neighborhood and 197 were returned ; 153 indicated they would use the bridge , 44 would not and 169 out of the 197 would support the development of a bridge . Heiaalso of referred to a petition signed by 533 persons requesting the the bridge . ose the bridge but opposed its C Jackie Wojak , 2607 Toledo Avenue , did not opP informed about the location . She did not feel the neighborhood sufficiently project . t Ward Councilman during deliberations Seymour Druskin , 4717 West 28 Street , the andproject , stated the Council ' s action in apptoZins . approval of the pr J i bridge recognized the problems of school children and - 445 - City Council minutes , November 9 , 1978 an additional value to the City is that and notedotheill Mr . Druskin said ro not be isolated . He retraced the history of the p development and concept were very time consuming . He added the City ' s t presented three alternative locations efromanwhich d ch tthe CCouncil madmade itsonsdecin decision with reasonableness and information enabling the residents to possible to resurrect the consultant its He said a review the material upon which the Council madsent to the affected published notices , letters and cardsion . were questionnaire , P eriod of time . property owners over a p A resident asked if the Council had plans to compensate residents for the devaluation of their property . Mr . Druskin asked why the gentleman assumed the property would be devalued . He noted at the present time , approximately 500 vehicles per day travel the service road adjacent to the garages on Toledo A `enue . He said upon tom- pletion of the project , one -half of these vehicles will l nowillonger utiliger ze this exit and will no longer travel West 26 Street , routes . He continued that Toledo , Salem and Raleigh Avenues will have very low traffic counts , based on professional design and study of traffic patterns , which will also provide additional privacy . Ed Golden , 2600 Toledo Avenue , said he presented a petition opposing the bridge location but did not receive notice of any meetings . Mayor Stern explained that City files contain records of notices mailed to Mr . Golden and also a letter dated February 14 , 1976 , to Mr . Golden fromthe former Director of Public Works . Ms . Wojak stated the neighborhood did not receive notices informing it of the City ' s plans . Mayor Stern explained that on January 5 , 1977 , letters were sent to all neighborhood residents explaining the purpose of the bridge , implications involved in its placement and impacts on neighborhood traffic patterns ; a sketch indicating its location was attached to each letter , and a neighbor - hood meeting was called for January 12 , 1977 , to discuss the project . He continued that of 120 notices mailed , 12 residents attended the meeting and agreed the bridge was needed . Ed Haynes , 2709 Toledo Avenue , did not believe past notices sent by the City were sufficient to arouse affected property owners so they would respond . He said people are lazy , and it is the responsibility of the authorities to make sure they attend meetings . He also felt compensation and relocation of houses should be considered . Bertha Smith said her property value has tripled in ten years of living in St . Louis Park . She felt the residents had sufficient opportunity to respond to the proposed bridge location prior to construction . In response to Al Krogh , 2600 Utica Avenue , the City Manager explained y notices of the meetings in December , 1976 , and January , 1977 , were not sent to residents living on the west side of Highway 100 in that the meetings concerned the location of the footings on the east side of High�' i 100 . 4 -446. City Council minutes , November 9 , 1978 Mayor Stern suggested the formation of a neighborhood eern and g rhoo in screening landscaping plans for the d committee to participate project . Edith Dosman did not feel the bridge would attract a constant strea people but would save many lives . m of In response to questions concerning the approximate two-year time period between approval and construction , the City Manager explained that for projects of this type it requires at least one year to complete final design plans and additional months if the design is changed during the process . He presented cost estimates if the City would discontinue the project ; if stopped at this time , the bridge must be redesigned and a new application submitted for funding competing with the entire metropolitan area . He did not feel a new application would be funded . He continued to relocate the bridge under the present contract is not possible . Many residents in attendance asked that the project be stopped . Mayor Stern asked if the neighborhood would be willing to assume the assessments for the cost of discontinuing the project , in that the entire City should not be responsible . He asked those residents present wishing to participate on a committee to review landscaping plans to indicate their interest to staff . Mr . Druskin suggested that those persons who feel the Council did not use the best judgment when approving the bridge should review all of the materials studied by the Council prior to its voting in favor of the project . 0 Mayor Stern requested City staff to make all files and data available to any person wishing to review them . 4 . Adjournment The listing et ing was adjourned at 7 : 05 p . m . Irvi g M . Tern Mayo Attst : • ' ' Jr, Beverly Fla . gan I Recording S - cretary - 447 -