Lake Links Committee

• Attend Lake Links and Township meetings when topics are relevant to HWY 96, bikepath, and area park discussions are on the agenda.  

• Check the township meeting minutes and agenda to accuracy, and to find out if relevant topics are up for discussion

• Will report to the board (ideally at monthly meeting) on what information was learned

• When needed will provide feedback to lake links and local government, based on our members concerns and needs. The information shared/communicated must be agreed upon by the board prior to discussing it with lake links, government, or an entity outside our membership 
  

Update April 2024, WBBCC Liaison Lisa Ehrman

The latest zoom meeting in Nov. was one of the first where there were actual answers to our questions. Geri Longville, Mark and Teresa Moe, and Lisa Ehrman represented our interests for safety and right of way concerns. The Ramsey County commissioner explained the process that S. Shore Blvd. just completed and that the same processed would need to be applied to our corridor. Here were his bullet points concerning 96:

• MNDOT owns the road. Currently, they do not have a working document for the location of the right of way.

• Ramsey County will not take responsibility (turn back) without a working document for the location of the right of way. They are not accepting Lake Links or any other document currently, so they are at an impasse.

• MNDOT has made it clear that they will not make any changes to current location of the road. (They did say that there are plans to fix the Portland/96 intersection by adding a foot or two next summer.) We stressed the need for returning the separation cones and they said they didn't return them because of complaints.

• The Ramsey County Commissioner acknowledged that there is no solution to the right of way problem, and they cannot compel any property owners to give up property rights. Our 4-point WBBCC concerns were shared (safety, security, access to our utility needs and parking.) It was agreed that these concerns were significant and outweighed any problems with the trail they had encountered to date.

• Lisa’s conclusion is that we are not looking at having to deal with anything soon, let alone a decade or more.

• When asked what we could do to protect ourselves down the road, the response was that all legislative funding is driven by data.

• A form has been put together for our residents, to document as much as possible. Accidents, near misses, etc. This will go into a file for Lake Links, so the township or the city and county commissioner will have something on hand. This will be our single most effective effort to illuminate our issues, especially for safety.

• Lisa indicates this would be a great tool to add to our website, so our members can easily go in and document dangerous situations in real time. <<coming soon>>

Update March 2023, WBBCC Liaison Lisa Ehrman

The section of highway 96 from County Line Road going East has gone through a turn back and is no longer the responsibility of MNDOT but Washington County. With the turn back Washington County will receive 14 million for any physical changes to the highway.

•  MNDOT wants to do the same with the section of 96 (going West from County Line) that would include our beach to Hwy 61. This is still in negotiation due to the misalignment of the road. If a turn back is agreed upon, physical changes to the road/intersections could be implemented at the time of the turn back. MNDOT would be responsible for providing the finances for any physical changes required. Again, any money given from MNDOT for a turn back would not go towards the construction of the trail, only the physical road. Ramsey County does NOT want the road until MNDOT definitively assigns the exact location of the right of way.

• One of the Lake Links board members conducted an extensive study to locate as accurately as possible the actual line of the right-of-way  in order to move forward the turn back. MNDOT has agreed that this map is the best document they have to date, but truly, it is acknowledged as a best guess and has not been adopted at this time by all entities as the working document.

• Lake Links would like to have a dialog with all impacted and interested parties to deal with concerns and welcome input prior to this map being adopted as an official document. The map divides the section of 96 into separate owner parcels. Of the parcels,(3970’) at least 50% are in the hands of private entities and the remaining 50% public. As private entities now is the time to voice our concerns and reinforce our interests to be considered. A potential discussion of such questions as…would it be more amenable to push the road further north for some private owners, design an intersection change or provide a waiver for lost property? There is potential for some possible changes to the physical road if included in the final approved document at the time of the turn back with the money allocated by MNDOT.

• You may remember that in 2020 the legislature approved funds as described below with the stipulation of a 4-year lifespan for implementation. These funds will expire in summer 2024. There is however an opportunity for extension if approved. (Mahtomedi was already granted an extension)

  • $500,000 of this appropriation is for a grant to White Bear Township in Ramsey County to design, engineer, construct, and equip trail improvements along and parallel with the shore of White Bear Lake between the Washington County line and the city limits of the city of White Bear Lake, Ramsey County

  • $500,000 of this appropriation is for a grant to the city of White Bear Lake in Ramsey County to design, engineer, construct, and equip trail improvements along or parallel with the shore of White Bear Lake between the eastern city limits of White Bear Lake and Pacific Avenue

• Page 4 in this Washington County News Release discusses the turn-back of Highway 96.  We can reach out to Andy Giesen with questions.

• Mike Brooks is willing to meet with members, provide a larger presentation and clarification of the map, discuss ideas, gather input from our members and answer any further questions you may have. You can reach him directly at 262-442-4086.

• There seems to be a renewed interest in moving forward which is why I am bringing this to your attention as our board to determine how and who should be notified for input.