"Where Olmsted County News Comes First"
Online Edition
Sunday, May 19th, 2013
Volume ∞ Issue ∞
- 5:36:49, May 15th 2013 - Frank Hawthorne - Though I hated to see you reference Glenn Beck by name [Three Times ... [Read More]
- 11:42:07, May 10th 2013 - yenken - I feel very sorry for those who have commented do far, as when you stand fa ... [Read More]
- 12:10:25, Apr 26th 2013 - Frank Hawthorne - Mr. "Cabtrom's" garbage-out[burst]--in response to Ms. Reisner's w ... [Read More]
- 9:51:50, Apr 24th 2013 - jeff pischke - To Jerry Grehl, the number to the fillmore county sheriffs office is 7 ... [Read More]
- 9:27:24, Apr 22nd 2013 - Cabtrom - Blah blah blah, garbage in garbage out! ... [Read More]
- 7:00:49, Apr 11th 2013 - Donald Pierce - Col. Stan Gudmundson hit most of the important nails squarly on the h ... [Read More]
- 12:44:54, Apr 4th 2013 - Frank Hawthorne - My compliments to Ms. Hammer for giving us well-crafted "Rachel Rea ... [Read More]
- 5:09:06, Apr 3rd 2013 - truthiness - I see this is dated April 1. That explains it! ... [Read More]
- 12:04:33, Apr 3rd 2013 - Frank W. Hawthorne - Say WHAT?!? Stan's American-Pie [In SKY] is Falling--Not Again? ... [Read More]
- 12:40:21, Mar 29th 2013 - Jacob - It's a shame that so few people care about making their voices heard. If we ... [Read More]
28
Should the Vikings be able to use the University of Minnesota’s TCF Bank Stadium?
Rochester City Council swaps billboard locations
Mon, Jan 28th, 2013
Posted in Rochester Government
Posted in Rochester Government
Comments
New billboard could soon be going up on West Circle Drive between Highway 14 and 41st Street NW, an area the Rochester city council previously felt was unfit for the advertisements.
Former council president, John Hunziker, returned to explain the council’s previous thinking in denying billboards in that location. In 1997, the council did not foresee the land becoming nearly entirely commercial as it is today.
“Times change,” Hunziker said, as city staff chuckled at his change of heart.
Still, council member Ed Hruska, having served the longest of current council members, remembers the discussion and opposed the expansion of billboard advertisements into the area.
“I hope that this isn’t the first of many things to come; it’s important to keep them as they are as much as possible,” he said casting the lone dissenting vote.
By a 5-1 vote, the council voted to allow the billboards after council member Michael Wojcik amended the language to ensure that the digital billboards will comply with dark sky standards, and that by approving these billboards, more square footage of the signs will be eliminated from the city in other locations throughout the city. The ratio of to be removed from other parts of the city, especially the downtown area, is 2.5 square feet of signage for every square foot put up on West Circle Drive.
“I think we’ve done everything we can do to get the public the benefit out of this,” Wojcik said.
Other council business
The council unanimously approved an amendment to the special district language to allow Mayowood Senior Housing, a proposed development on approximately six acres northeast of the intersection of 16th Street SW and Mayowood Road SW.
The senior housing project will include independent living, assisted living, and memory care units. There are 175 units planned in total, with 62 underground parking spaces and 83 parking spaces in the center of the buildings. Garden and outdoor recreation areas are planned, as well as a link to a city bicycle path that runs along Mayowood Road.
Improvements will need to be made to the intersection of 16th Street and Mayowood Road with the increased traffic due to recent commercial development as well as the prospect of Mayowood Senior Housing. The intersection may be set at a right angle, whereas now it is slanted, and either a stoplight or roundabout would be installed. Council member Ed Hruska and Mayor Ardell Brede favored a stoplight to cause a break in traffic so that drivers could make turns on other parts of 16th Street. Council member Michael Wojcik stated that he generally favors roundabouts, but would wait to see the engineer’s analysis.
Kim Bradley, general manager of Apache Mall, strongly advocated placing a stoplight at the intersection.
“It’s just too congested,” she said. “If it’s a roundabout instead of a stoplight, there could be major problems.”
Council member Ed Hruska praised the project and its use of natural wooded space along the perimeter with space already cleared where the buildings will be.
“The place is set up really nicely for this project. I think this is a nice fit for the area,” he said.
After discussion, the council approved up to $60,000 for lobbyist representation at the state legislature for the upcoming year.
Council member Ed Hruska expressed his concern with the expenditure in light of cost cutting that will be part of setting the budget in the next month.
Assistant City Administrator Gary Neumann reminded the council that Rochester has secured more than $16.5 million in state bonding in the last six years to go toward projects such as the Bioscience building, the National Volleyball Center, design for Mayo Civic Center expansion, and the northwest trail corridor.
“I do think we’ve been more successful than not,” Neumann said, noting that securing funding for the Mayo Civic Center expansion will again be the city’s priority during the upcoming session.
Council member Michael Wojcik expressed support for approval of the funding while echoing Hruska’s concerns about the process as a whole.
“None of us particularly like this kind of stuff,” he said. “At this time, I look at this as a necessary evil.”
Mayor Ardell Brede noted that while Rochester has sent many representatives to the legislature, “it’s not the same as having someone that’s literally across the street” to respond to legislation that would affect the city.
Former council president, John Hunziker, returned to explain the council’s previous thinking in denying billboards in that location. In 1997, the council did not foresee the land becoming nearly entirely commercial as it is today.
“Times change,” Hunziker said, as city staff chuckled at his change of heart.
Still, council member Ed Hruska, having served the longest of current council members, remembers the discussion and opposed the expansion of billboard advertisements into the area.
“I hope that this isn’t the first of many things to come; it’s important to keep them as they are as much as possible,” he said casting the lone dissenting vote.
By a 5-1 vote, the council voted to allow the billboards after council member Michael Wojcik amended the language to ensure that the digital billboards will comply with dark sky standards, and that by approving these billboards, more square footage of the signs will be eliminated from the city in other locations throughout the city. The ratio of to be removed from other parts of the city, especially the downtown area, is 2.5 square feet of signage for every square foot put up on West Circle Drive.
“I think we’ve done everything we can do to get the public the benefit out of this,” Wojcik said.
Other council business
The council unanimously approved an amendment to the special district language to allow Mayowood Senior Housing, a proposed development on approximately six acres northeast of the intersection of 16th Street SW and Mayowood Road SW.
The senior housing project will include independent living, assisted living, and memory care units. There are 175 units planned in total, with 62 underground parking spaces and 83 parking spaces in the center of the buildings. Garden and outdoor recreation areas are planned, as well as a link to a city bicycle path that runs along Mayowood Road.
Improvements will need to be made to the intersection of 16th Street and Mayowood Road with the increased traffic due to recent commercial development as well as the prospect of Mayowood Senior Housing. The intersection may be set at a right angle, whereas now it is slanted, and either a stoplight or roundabout would be installed. Council member Ed Hruska and Mayor Ardell Brede favored a stoplight to cause a break in traffic so that drivers could make turns on other parts of 16th Street. Council member Michael Wojcik stated that he generally favors roundabouts, but would wait to see the engineer’s analysis.
Kim Bradley, general manager of Apache Mall, strongly advocated placing a stoplight at the intersection.
“It’s just too congested,” she said. “If it’s a roundabout instead of a stoplight, there could be major problems.”
Council member Ed Hruska praised the project and its use of natural wooded space along the perimeter with space already cleared where the buildings will be.
“The place is set up really nicely for this project. I think this is a nice fit for the area,” he said.
After discussion, the council approved up to $60,000 for lobbyist representation at the state legislature for the upcoming year.
Council member Ed Hruska expressed his concern with the expenditure in light of cost cutting that will be part of setting the budget in the next month.
Assistant City Administrator Gary Neumann reminded the council that Rochester has secured more than $16.5 million in state bonding in the last six years to go toward projects such as the Bioscience building, the National Volleyball Center, design for Mayo Civic Center expansion, and the northwest trail corridor.
“I do think we’ve been more successful than not,” Neumann said, noting that securing funding for the Mayo Civic Center expansion will again be the city’s priority during the upcoming session.
Council member Michael Wojcik expressed support for approval of the funding while echoing Hruska’s concerns about the process as a whole.
“None of us particularly like this kind of stuff,” he said. “At this time, I look at this as a necessary evil.”
Mayor Ardell Brede noted that while Rochester has sent many representatives to the legislature, “it’s not the same as having someone that’s literally across the street” to respond to legislation that would affect the city.
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