01.07.20 Regular Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

City Council Meeting Minutes January 7, 2020 removal has been done so why spend thousands more of taxpayer dollars. The dam is not in the interest of the river. The San Marcos River Foundation stated reminding people saving the dam is not the same as saving the river. It would be expensive to repair and harmful to river, the dam diverts one-third of the river. And water in the Mill Race seeps under Thompson's Island compromising its integrity over time and during flood events. Choose science and the environment. Do the right thing. Set it free. John David Carson, stated since the last council meeting 250 people were injured in accidents, 30 new injures, 3 people lost their lives on our streets, the final count for 2019 is 4,222 in traffic accidents, 721 injuries and 11 deaths. The City has excellent staff but have limited time, if council gives direction to staff to work on a mobility policy it should be on a vision zero policy that is called for by transportation plan. There are local and regional groups that will work with the City if staff is given direction as a high priority. The City of Oslo, with a population of 700,000 in 2019 there was one road way death and zero pedestrian deaths, Oslo made public goals in a vision zero policy and transitioned their infrastructure investments that fundamentally change their streets to support safe and sustainable forms of transportation. Council has the power to design the streets and support developments that will enable sustainable transportation. Don't ban other viable forms of sustainable methods of transportation. In support of adopting a policy that regulates scooters, suggestions to the ordinance is to allow people to operate their own private scooters or e -wheels and other forms of sustainable transportation. Prohibit dockless rental companies to operate without a license agreement, implement violations for obstructing clear pathways to pedestrians on a parked scooter and disallow any riding on the sidewalks when a bike lane is present. Regulation mentioned can be effective and address the concerns without telling that San Marcos is not viable of sustainable transportation. Let's work on getting the vision zero policy. Dianne Wassenich, represents the River Foundation, and said thank you for working to get more answers before making a very important decision on the Cape's Dam issue and to have a clear vision on what you want to happen before any interlocal agreements with the County. She is grateful that the City is not giving away or selling the river side property that City owns. Good timing to start archaeology work that is needed for permitting because this can take a long time, could take up to a year and could be expensive. No matter what you plan to do with the park the archaeology still needs to be done to know what is in what area and needs before applying for permits. US Fish and Wildlife Service permit process does not let local political issues affect permits. City of San Marcos Page 2