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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL - NOVEMBER 8, 1999 14 . from the standards without the City Council having agreed on the rationale behind the suggested street widths. He felt that this issue could be discussed at the public meeting, however, he would be hesitant to present an official document stating deviated standards. Mr. Post noted that the assessment policy required the City Council to adopt a benefit rate based upon a 32-foot residential street. Varying the street width could result in a variance of the benefit. Councilmember Malone stated that an assessment rate that would go up $10.00 per household was too high. He expressed concern for abandoning the portion of Hamline Avenue. Although the road was in bad shape, he did not believe that the residents would support this option. With regard to the proposed road widths, Councilmember Aplikowski noted that the City had previously constructed a 24-foot roadway and the City had felt that this had been a mistake. She did not feel that it would be acceptable to set a 24- foot short road standard and she was hesitant to put this suggestion on paper. She noted that some cities now consider a 28-foot width to be a standard roadway when the standard width had been 32 feet. She indicated that the road she works on had been changed from 32 feet to 28 feet and, although the road does function, she misses the extra four feet. She noted, however, that a new road width may be easier to accept if it were to bring the assessment total down. Councilmember Aplikowski expressed concern for the scope of the work. She agreed that it . would make sense to attempt the reconstruction of an entire neighborhood at one time. However, she was not sure the City could afford the entire project. Mayor Probst stated that he too was concerned for the scope of the project and felt that there would have to be some way to make the numbers work. He suggested that one option may be to cut the project in half over the next couple of years. The difficulty with the storm drainage was that the first half would be heavily front end loaded since the downstream portion must be built first. He was not sure there would be a logical way to split the project. Councilmember Malone suggested the possibility of performing the utility work one year and the road reconstruction the next. Mayor Probst asked what the City received annually from the State Aid fund. Mr. Brown stated that the City received $200,000 annually. Mayor Probst asked what other projects were coming up for the City. Mr. Post stated that the Round Lake Road, Phase II project was the next project. Mayor Probst asked how much State Aid the City would be eligible to borrow. Mr. Post stated that the maximum was $500,000. Mr. Brown noted that this would depend upon how much was available in the State Aid budget. With regard to the abandorunent of a portion of Hamline Avenue, Couneilmember Aplikowski agreed that the residents that currently utilize this section of roadway would not be pleased with this option. However, they would most likely get used to the new traffic pattern. She would be . in favor of the abandorunent if the cost benefit was greater than the convenience benefit.