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City Council Minutes Page 2 <br />May 8, 2023 <br />----------------------------- <br />Downtown Vision Discussion <br /> Mississippi Connection <br /> <br />Mr. Carlton showed maps of downtown area plans and asked the Council what they wanted downtown to <br />look like so that the city can begin creating phases for development and find funding. <br /> <br /> Downtown Streets/Traffic/Parking <br /> <br />Mr. Femrite discussed replacement of sidewalk pavers, sewer network, parking lots maintenance, and <br />increasing parking spaces in the downtown area. <br /> <br />Mr. Femrite stated that the current downtown sidewalk pavers are difficult to maintain in the winter and do <br />not hold up well to chemicals, freezing, and thawing. <br /> <br />Mayor Dietz asked about one-way streets downtown. Mr. Femrite stated his preference would be to see <br />traffic going in both directions. Traffic patterns should change once Highway 169 is completed. <br /> <br />Councilmember Wagner stated there was an opportunity to tie Main Street from Gates Avenue to Highway <br />169 to the downtown area with unifying streetlights, hanging baskets, and décor. <br /> <br /> Main Street Vision <br /> <br />Mr. O’Neil stated the former Elk River Meats site will have grass and picnic tables added as well as a pet <br />refuse stand. He showed some options for using the area as a parking lot, a plaza, restroom area, or stores. <br /> <br />Mayor Dietz was against reducing parking in the downtown area. Mayor Dietz felt it was a good time to <br />redo the entire parking lot and try to add more spaces. He recommended approaching the First Bank Elk <br />River about purchasing their parking spots and securing the deed from other entities so that the city owned <br />the entire lot. <br /> <br />Councilmember Wagner asked if there could be an arrangement to use the Bank of Elk River parking lot <br />during evenings and weekends. <br /> <br />The Council discussed building a standalone restroom vs adding a restroom to an existing building such as <br />the Cinema building or Avalon Salon. Mr. O’Neil stated there are different options for who will pay for <br />public restrooms. <br /> <br />The Council discussed the location of the trash enclosure and space for delivery vehicles. <br /> <br />Mr. Femrite updated the council on improvements to the restrooms at Lion John Weicht Park. The <br />discussion of who would share in the cost will come to a future work session. <br /> <br />Mr. Femrite discussed parking options for the “upper lot” including making it a one way and designating <br />areas for delivery vehicles. <br /> <br />The Council asked if Placer.ai could be used to determine what direction most people travel through the <br />downtown area. <br /> <br />