Pat Tepoorten
Wyoming Area Reporter

The request for a conditional use permit from Lino Lakes State Bank, in order to occupy a space at East Viking Commons was once again taken up by the Wyoming City Council at its Tuesday, July 5 regular meeting.

The issue of the CUP, which had appeared to be on the brink of denial at the June 21 meeting, was ultimately tabled then on advice from City Attorney Tom Miller. Last Tuesday, the discussion started with the focus on possible traffic and parking concerns associated with the proposed use.

Mike Muske, representing EVC, opened the discussion by advising the council that there were many allowed uses for that space that would ultimately cause more traffic in the parking area of EVC and at the intersection of Faxton and CR-22. He noted that arguments against the CUP based on traffic concerns were ìarguments against renting the space at all.î

Muske concluded his opening statement by reminding council that the project, when approved in 2002, was approved for a bank and a drive-thru.

John Milbauer, owner/president of Lino Lakes State Bank, who apologized to council for being ìill-preparedî at the previous meeting, submitted alternative traffic flow plans in hopes of addressing concerns.

He showed how a drive-thru lane could be reduced in width to create more space for cars exiting EVC, and how eliminating the ìone-wayî aspect of the parking lot would create even more opportunities to exit the space and reduce traffic impact immediately surrounding the drive-thru lane.

Milbauer referred to the plan as an ìalternative,î to what the one-way traffic proposal that had been proposed.

Councilman Joe Zerwas responded to the plans by stating that he was much more concerned about patrons attempting left-hand turns onto CR-22 from Faxton.

ìThe project was not designed by us,î Muske said. ìIt was designed by the city of Wyoming and the State of Minnesota. All of the studies were conducted by MnDOT. We didnít do it. We had to do it this way to create revenue for your bridge.î

Nevertheless, Councilmen Tom LaBarre and Blake Tiedeman both expressed concerns about traffic, with Tiedeman adding, ìIíve had a number of close callsî at the CR-22 intersection.

Milbauer said that his bankís customers are primarily of a commercial nature, who do the bulk of their banking by mail and thus create less traffic. He also noted that 95 percent of the banks customers live east of the proposed location, and therefore would take a right onto CR-22.

Milbauer, who had instructed existing branches of his financial institution to count the number of cars that access a drive-thru in a week, concluded the average is roughly six cars an hour and, ìeven at 10 transactions an hour, we are not concerned about stacking.î

Other opinions

Two tenants of the building, Chakib Benzakour of Tasty Asia, and Brian Salokar of Liquor Works and a partner in EVC, attended the meeting and noted no objection to Lino Lakes State Bankís plans.

David Boniface, who serves on the Wyoming EDA, added that when East Viking Commons was originally approved, ìwe were all excited at that time about the bank,î including the sitting council and various commissions.

More discussion regarding the CR-22 intersection prompted Muske to state ìthe 22 issues would be there for any tenant. To come back now and say the city screwed up and you canít rent that space... Hopefully I have the right to rent the space to someone.î

Mayor Sheldon Anderson said he was still concerned about potential parking and stacking problems at EVC, which prompted Muske and Milbauer to note there is a clause in the lease allowing Lino Lakes State Bank an out if they choose to build their own structure in Wyoming, an eventuality that would be prompted were the EVC space unable to accommodate customers comfortably.

Milbauer said he hoped his bank would be in a position to build a structure in 18 to 24 months.

The discussion returned to the subject of CR-22, the wisdom of the design of EVC, and other potential problems that could be caused in the parking area, causing an exasperated Muske to exclaim: ìThe building was approved. This is a gross misunderstanding. It is not up to the council to discuss whether the building should have been approved. That is already done.î

Miller seemed to concur with Muske.

ìThe building was designed for a bank there. They built the building they agreed to build. It may have been busier than anyone predicted, but the design was forced upon the city by MnDOT.î Later he would add that there were a number of allowed uses that would ìrun the riskî of causing more traffic.

Council acts

Again, the discussion returned to CR-22, although it was seemingly understood by this point that the issue created by the intersection was not the fault of EVC.

Tiedeman suggested the city consider eliminating the left-hand turn lane altogether, which seemed to generate some interest among council members. LaBarre would conclude ìAny traffic is going to add to the 22 problem. I donít want to drive business away, that is not fair to him (Muske). It was designed by MnDOT. I say go ahead and letís see what happens.î

LaBarreís sentiment that he would support the CUP for the bank was shared by Tiedeman and Councilman Ted Phillips.

Zerwas and Anderson however, remained opposed to the CUP, with Zerwas explaining ìThe old council made poor decisions. I canít say that I want to approve what they did wrong.î Anderson said he was unhappy with the overall layout.

It was suggested the issue be tabled once again to allow Muske and Milbauer a chance to meet with city staff, a suggestion that was not met with enthusiasm by Muske.

ìNo. I already tried that and no one called me back. We put millions into this based on what could go there. There is no opportunity to take that back. The bank and the drive-thru were part of the approved plan,î he replied.

ìThen why are we here tonight?î queried Anderson.

ìThatís a good question,î responded Muske, who also warned the council, ìthere are laws to protect citizens,î and added he would consider a lawsuit against the city if the CUP were not approved.

With discussion regarding parking and stacking seemingly wrung dry, a vote was taken regarding the CUP, with some minor conditions. Tiedeman, Phillips, and LaBarre voted in favor of granting the CUP, while Anderson and Zerwas voted in opposition, thus granting the permit by a 3-2 vote.

Merger questions

In other city news, resident Neil Gatzow, a former mayor, requested information from the council regarding the proposed merger with the township.

ìWhere are we in the process?î he asked, and added that although there were many reasons why the township would support the merger, there had been little information that made a case it was good for the city.

ìI want to make sure we are not on the losing end of this deal,î Gatzow stated.

Gatzowís comments led to an exchange between himself and Anderson, who reminded Gatzow that he sat on the committee which explored the possibility of a merger just a couple of years ago.

ìI am aware of the positives and negatives, but there was reluctance on the committee at that time,î responded Gatzow.

ìPeople were more concerned about losing staff positions than the good of the city at that time,î Anderson said.

It was noted by another resident that Wyoming Township has no contract for police services, either with the city or the county and asked if that would change were the merger to be approved.

ìThe city does respond to township calls and does back up the county at times, and the county backs up the city at times,î responded Anderson, who added there would be no county response after the merger.

On the subject of the current situation in the township, Gatzow noted ìno one in the township pays for that.î

ìThey are well aware of that,î Anderson said.

ìWill they pay for it in the future?î asked Gatzow.

ìThere is no question about that,î responded Anderson.

Anderson further explained that both the city and the township had completed the initial surveys requested by Rinke Noonan and that once the information was compiled there would be another meeting scheduled between the city and the township.

Phillips reminded those in attendance that the straw poll taken at the joint informational meeting indicated that less than 5 percent of residents opposed the merger. Anderson added that people would have a chance to weigh in on the proposal again once it has been drawn up, and that the ìfeelingî was that any merger proposal would likely go before the people of both entities as a referendum question.

Other business

In other business July 5, the council:

ï Accepted the resignation of Jennifer Hegstad from the park board, as she is moving out of the area, and approved an ordinance requiring a license for transient commerce and movable places of business.

Top of Page

Forest Lake Times
P.O. Box 218
880 SW 15 St.
Forest Lake, MN 55025
651-464-4601
Fax 651-464-4605