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City Council Minutes Page 10 September 2,2014 ----------------------------- September 15, 2014, agenda. Council adjourned at 8:28 p.m. in order to go into worksession. Council reconvened at 8:33 P.M. 10.1 Enforcement Update for Nacement of Signs Chief Cunningham presented the staff report. Ms.Allard and Mr. Hetrick were also present to provide input to the sign enforcement communication process. Mr. Hetrick outlined the summer sign enforcement process,noting he took a different approach in addressing improperly placed signs. He felt this approach was overwhelmingly positive as he saw a decrease in the number of signs improperly placed. He stated only on a few occasions were people upset for having to move their signs, and appreciated being informed rather than having their signs removed. He felt it was a better use of staff time to approach and educate residents about sign placement instead of pulling improperly placed signs without explaining why. Mr. Hetrick stated he enforces city and some county roads, noting Highways 10 and 169 were MnDOT's territory. Mr. Hetrick stated he found businesses and real estate signs were also placed improperly and all signs encountered were enforced equally; however,he found it sometimes difficult to find ownership of the signs as sometimes the business advertised was not located in Elk River. Chief Cunningham remarked that not all signs that are pulled are done so by city staff; he stated MnDOT crews also pull signs improperly placed in the highway right of way. He stated signs that are pulled by city staff are brought to the maintenance facility for residents to retrieve during business hours, but no log is kept of where the signs were found and to whom they belong. He agreed that a uniformed officer educating the public on proper sign placement is a far more effective way to enforce the sign ordinance. Mayor Dietz stated he had concerns that citizens are feeling angst in not receiving their signs back and wondered what our process was and what other cities did. Ms. Allard stated the campaign for sign enforcement supported the use of signage and educated citizens regarding the proper placement of signs in the city. She stated staff focused on education of a right of way by using graphics in literature. She further noted that the best campaign utilized was having Mr. Hetrick personally connect with community members who were in violation of the ordinance. She stated staff took an additional step to help garage sale people by handing out additional resources to promote their sales such as using specialty apps and websites geared toward garage sales. Mayor Dietz asked for comments from several residents in attendance at the meeting. P U 1 E a E 0 6 1 rvATUREI