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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL - JULY 26, 1999 5 . Councilmember Malone stated that he found the west entrance monument and sign acceptable, however, he did have issues with the proposed east entrance gate. He stated that the proposed east entrance gate would be too close to Highway 51, He did not believe the City would want to allow a situation where gates are constructed right off the Highway, He did, however, understand the argument that the gate will only be closed from 11 :00 p.m. until 6:00 a,m. He asked if the gate would remain open during weekends and holidays, Mr, Brian Humphries, Bethel College representative, stated that the gate would be open on weekends with the same hours for evening closure, He noted that there might be times at night when the gate will be open for late events, Councilmember Malone confirmed that, without exception, the east entrance gate would always be open during the day, Mr. Humphries stated that this was correct. Councilmember Malone stated he was still concerned for the closeness of the gate to Highway 51. He suggested making the northern turn sharper which would allow the gate to be farther from the road, He asked if the proposed east entrance gate will be permanent or will it eventually be replaced by the original gate that was shown on the Master Plan. Mr. Humphries stated that the proposed east entrance gate would be permanent. He noted the original plan was to construct a monument gate, which is no longer the plan for the east entrance gate, Although he understands the argument that there is not a lot of traffic on this portion of Highway 51, Councilmember Malone stated that he leans towards staff s recommendation for the east entrance gate, . Mayor Probst concurred with Councilmember Malone, He was also concerned that, with the alignment as proposed, there would be a 70 foot gate with a curb cut of over 60 feet wide, He did not believe that the City should permit this, He felt that staff's proposed alignment cleans up the entrance area and will help the control traftic through the intersection, He asked the applicant if there was any objections to the proposed recommendation from staff, Mr. Marty Weber, Stanley Consultants, stated that the only problem with staffs alternative was that it would require an eight to 10 foot high retaining wall. This would increase the project budget from approximately $7,000 to approximately $70,000, He stated that Bethel College was attempting to solve this issue as simply as possible. He noted that the Minnesota Department of Transportation requires a 30 foot clear zone from the southbound lane of Highway 51 and the location of the proposed gate would satisfy this requirement. Mayor Probst confirmed that the gate would be located on Minnesota Department of Transportation property, Mr. Weber stated that, once this land is obtained from the State of Minnesota, the gate would be on Bethel College property. . Mr. Ringwald asked Councilmember Malone if he had been suggesting moving the road farther to the north, Councilmember Malone stated that he had suggested making the turn-off from Highway 51 sharper so the traffic must slow down more in the deceleration lane, With the current turn-off, traffic is capable of turning the comer at close to highway speed without really slowing down,