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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION – April 15, 2019 2 Commander Waldo replied that enforcing no parking and giving tickets is a challenge when there isn’t a clearly visible no parking sign. It has to be made especially clear because it is temporary no parking. Councilmember Holden asked about left turns to go north onto Lexington from the Red Fox Road or Dunlap, and if having another deputy would help. She felt they had no cooperation from the Sheriff’s department because they didn’t want to stop traffic on Lexington. Undersheriff Ramacher said by adding another traffic enforcement Deputy would be able to address complaints like that in a timelier manner. He noted that he had talked to MnDOT about the situation during times there was construction happening. Undersheriff Ramacher said the goal of traffic enforcement is to change behavior, not to give tickets. He felt adding another traffic deputy during peak times would help that goal. Mayor Grant mentioned distracted driving and the new law. Undersheriff Ramacher said that distracted driving has been a factor for many years and continues to get worse. The new law will help enforcement by giving latitude in writing citations, but the new law isn’t the reason why they would like to add another traffic officer during the summer. Commander Waldo added that traffic complaints in general increase in the summer. Councilmember McClung mentioned that the last couple of years there hasn’t been a problem with visibility in the City and he hopes they continue to stop to talk to residents in the neighborhoods. Mayor Grant noted that squad cars tend to take major roads but aren’t necessarily turning into individual neighborhoods. He said it’s been a long time since he’s seen a squad in his neighborhood. Commander Waldo said they can sit in a neighborhood for long periods of time and not see anyone speeding or other types of crime, so that’s why they may tend to patrol the larger roads. They will pass the request along at roll calls. Councilmember Holden stated they are having car break-ins again in the Venus/Crystal area. Councilmember McClung said there was a string of car break-ins last year but hasn’t heard anything so far this year. He asked if the Sheriff’s department would let the Council know if they notice trends. Councilmember Holden mentioned another issue is the Cummings Park Pavilion getting broken into and vandalized. Undersheriff Ramacher said they will come up with an action plan for the pavilion.