Laserfiche WebLink
<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL - APRIL 30, 2001 <br /> <br />9 <br /> <br />Mayor Probst stated that to his knowledge the city has never had buoys on the lake even though <br />the ordinance requires them. He noted he is not interested in doing this. He added he thinks the <br />aesthetic of the lake is improved, but safety is not enhanced. He stated he does not want the city <br />to deal with this and is not in favor of going down this path. <br /> <br />Mr. Lynch stated the Ramsey County Water Patrol has enforcement responsibility and it is not <br />clear they have a responsibility for buoy placement. He noted the city would have to pay fee to <br />put them in and pull them out. <br /> <br />Mayor Probst stated that part of this ordinance sets the area for no wake zone, yet there are <br />occasions when people get closer than 250 feet. <br /> <br />Mr. Lynch states it is the same as enforcement anywhere in state, the act is already done and the <br />police are trying to make a determination that a violation has occurred. <br /> <br />Mr. Filla stated they have had three violations because it is so difficult to enforce. He noted it <br />would be hard to determine the location of the buoy and the speed of the watercraft. <br /> <br />Councilmember Rem stated it seems to make sense to do it since they do not stop striping lanes <br />because of the difficulty in enforcement. She noted if people want to ignore them, at least they <br />should establish where they are. She added they are also talking about this without talking about <br />the costs. <br /> <br />Councilmember Aplikowski stated the cost does not matter. She noted it is an ordinance and <br />they either enforce it or take it off the books. <br /> <br />Mayor Probst stated Lake Johanna has an unusual speed policy. He noted the moment they open <br />any part of the ordinance they would lose all of it. He added that therefore the desire has been to <br />leave the ordinance alone. <br /> <br />Councilmember Larson stated that on one hand he could see it happen. He noted people are <br />driving close to shore and eroding it. Yet, he added the difficulty is the uneven shoreline so it is <br />hard to demarcate the 250 line. He stated the buoys just do not seem a very satisfactory way to <br />do it. He noted he would like to see improvement of the signs. <br /> <br />Councilmember Larson stated it does not say who is responsible. He stated the Lakeshore <br />Association could also be responsible. He noted he does not know how other people on lake feel <br />about it. He added there might be something the Lakeshore Association wants to do. He stated <br />it could be left to individual property owners. He stated people are using swimming rafts to keep <br />people from coming too close. <br /> <br />Councilmember Rem asked about potential liability from a city ordinance they are not enforcing. <br />Mr. Filla responded it is not a good idea to have a regulation that regulates speed and not enforce <br />it. He stated the regulation sounds like it was adopted because of safety concerns. He noted a <br />city council adopted this. He added he agrees with Councilmember Aplikowski in that if they do <br />not want to enforce it they should get rid of it. He stated it might be more complicated than that. <br />