Abby Nadeau
Staff Writer

Area residents better watch when and where they squat at next year’s fourth of July parade or they could face the Forest Lake Police Department.

The Forest Lake City Council created a policy during the Monday, July 9 council meeting that prevents people from saving a spot on the parade route days in advance.

Council member Susan Young made a motion to ban the placement of items on the parade route before sunrise on the day of the parade.

The motion was made after area residents and Forest Lake Police Chief Clark Quiring approached the council of their concerns.

One audience member, who lives on the parade route, said he’s picked up half eaten food and diapers on his lawn. He said some people have even become belligerent when he’s asked them not to sit on his van that is parked in his driveway.

“It’s a blessing and a curse to live on the parade route,” he said.

Mayor Stev Stegner said that if he said he received 40 phone calls complaining about the tarps on US-61 and Broadway he would be underestimating.

Chief Quiring said the whole police department worked with the tarps, chairs and logs along the parade route.

He said that with the weather before the parade the department made the determination that if the pieces were in the public sidewalks they would remove the items.

“We took about 40 items,” he said, “we felt they were a risk to the public.”

The items were brought back to the station and Quiring said that about half of the items have been picked up. But tarps were the only thing keeping the police department busy.

During the open forum portion of the meeting several residents commented on the level of noise that was heard throughout the downtown area.

One resident who lives near the Birchwood Health Care Center said the fourth of July noise is “literally chaos.”

“I’ve lived here two years and it is definitely not buyer beware,” she said. “I don’t think any of my neighbors expect that. I am certainly not enjoying it.”

Forest Lake resident Corbett Johnson said the amount of noise during the fourth of July this year was “unbearable.”

Johnson, who lives one block away from the Upperdeck Bar and Grill, said the music shouldn’t be loud enough “to rattle my windows.”

Quiring said the department was also dealing with noise violations.

He said that the noise levels were measured at several different locations around the downtown area and the decibels were over what the city ordinance allows.

Prosecuting attorneys are currently reviewing the situation and charges could be brought against both the Upperdeck Bar and Grill and The Laker.

Construction delays

City Engineer Phil Gravel said the city had a “flurry” of phone calls from residents about the closure of TH-97. He reminded the council that the project was a state project and not a city project, therefore they have very little control over the construction process.

Young, who travels from her job in the Twin Cities, said at 6:30 p.m. a line of cars stood still from the TH-97 exit up to the West Broadway bridge.

Ochs asked Chief Quiring if there was a better way to have cars exiting off onto West Broadway.

Quiring said he had already spoken with the construction foreman who said better signage would be up immediately.

For more information about the construction residents can visit www.mndot.gov.

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