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Regular City Council Meeting Monday, August 17, 2009 Page 13 The speaker expressed concern with existing underground sprinkler systems and mature trees, and his desire that neither be damaged or removed. Mayor Klausing noted the speaker's concerns, advising that these issues would be part of staff's initial feasibility study, and would include input from the neighbor- hood, and a determination of which side on which to locate the pathway or side- walk. John Rutford, 2750 N Dale Mr. Rutford, a resident and member of the Board of Directors for Westwood Vil- lage II properties, sought information on whether the entire property was as- sessed. Mayor Klausing reiterated that sidewalk installation would be done as part of the entire road project, and as per current assessment policy, would not be assessable, only a portion of the road construction. Steve GjerdingenPWET Commissioner Mr. Gjerdingen spoke in support of the sidewalk; noting that the neighborhood was fortunate that the road needed reconstruction and would facilitate sidewalk installation sooner. Mr. Gjerdingen noted similar areas in the community where residents were seek- ing safer pedestrian amenities; and opined that the City needed to provide a dedi- cated budget, beyond waiting for road construction. Councilmember Pust opined that this provided another reason for the City to reas- sess their current assessment policy for neighborhoods that come together and are willing to pay for such amenities. Mr. Gjerdingen reiterated that this is a city-wide issue, and that acity-wide path- way budget would make sense. Further discussion among Councilmembers and Mr. Schwartz included current roadway construction assessments for a seven ton design calculated at 25% as- sessment for construction of the roadway to benefitting property owners; MSA funding; and some communities having higher assessment rates. City Manager Malinen concurred with Councilmember Pust's observations that this is a prudent time for further analysis of the City's current Assessment Policy based on the recently-updated ten-year CIP for all infrastructure systems (i.e., stormwater, streets, sewer, water, pathways), to determine how to better fund and address limitations of current policies.