Brainerd City Council: Stop sign to mark North 5th, Holly Street intersection

The unmarked intersection on the northwest corner of Gregory Park will get a stop sign, despite city's staff opposition.

Brainerd City Council member Kelly Bevans made a case Monday, Dec. 17, for the necessity of a sign at the intersection of North Fifth Street and Holly Street after he said a concerned resident brought the issue to him.

"A stop sign will slow people down," Bevans said during Monday's Safety and Public Works Committee meeting.

Council member Dave Badeaux said he drives that intersection often and can attest to the dangers of cars speeding through.

City staff, however, advised the council against the stop sign.

During the regular council meeting Monday, City Engineer Paul Sandy said stop signs have actually been known to increase vehicle speeds in some cases. At a two-way stop, Sandy said traffic on the through street tends to go faster, as drivers expect vehicles on the other street to stop, and higher speeds increase crash severity.

"We run through evaluation criteria every time we look at one of these," Sandy said of the request, noting staff looked at the crash history at the intersection in question.

He said his research found three crashes at North Fifth and Holly Street in the last 12 years. All were two-vehicle crashes in 2006, 2013 and 2014. One incident, Sandy said, happened on snow-covered roads, and another reported human factors-likely alcohol or distracted driving-as a possible cause.

"So there are things that we look at related to safety and stop signs in general, and there's a lot of data out there that shows that stop signs may not be the best improvement at intersections," Sandy.

Bevans noted a September crash at the intersection when high speeds caused a vehicle to roll over. Sandy said that crash was too new to be listed in his findings.

Sandy also noted permanent signs-like stop signs-drivers see regularly on their daily commute can become obsolete after a time, as people tend to ignore what they see frequently.

The council ultimately voted against staff's recommendation to leave the intersection the way it is, approving the sign 6-1. Council member Gabe Johnson opposed the measure.

Two north/south stop signs will be placed at the intersection.

Sandy said installation will have to wait until the spring when the ground thaws.

In other business Monday, the council:

Accepted third-quarter donations: $23.07 from Brainerd city employees for a memorial tree plaque; $100 from Brainerd Lakes Area Women of Today for Miracle League trophies; $734 from Helen Danielson for a memorial bench; $600 from Adam Rohlik-U.S. Army for youth softball shirts for the U.S. Army All-Star game; $200 from Katie Shetka for Miracle League caps; $5,000 from Stewart C. Mills Jr. for maintenance and upkeep of Mills Field; $175 from the Eagles Club for field improvements; $735 from Joe Ling for a memorial bench; $30 from Scott Shelito for a memorial tree plaque; $1,000 from Mills Automotive Group to the Brainerd Fire Department.

Approved a memorandum of agreement for interim building official Chuck Arvidson, who was appointed to the position in November. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union requested a memorandum of agreement to clarify terms of the appointment.

Approved the resignation of on-call firefighter Darin White, effective Dec. 1.

Awarded an $8,200 bid to Mike's Tree Company for the winter removal of 20 trees for the Garfield Safe Routes to School project. Trees will be replaced on a 1-to-1 ratio.

Approved an event closure application for the Tour of the Lakes Bike Ride 6 a.m to 9 p.m. June 1. The city hall parking lot and Laurel Street parking lot are requested to be designated as event parking only, and the applicant may request a brief street closure if the riders do not have enough room to the queue in the Laurel Street lot.

Adopted a $120,000 cooperative agreement with Crow Wing County for general maintenance, technical maintenance and administrative support services for Brainerd city facilities on a 5-2 vote. Council members Johnson and Sue Hilgart said they wanted a decision on the fate of city hall before approving a maintenance agreement. Later in the meeting, the council agreed to not to pursue a new city hall building right now but instead fix the existing facility.
The expense is included in the 2019 budget.

Agreed to maintain a potential trail segment on the south side of State Highway 25 between Southeast 28th Street and Northeast Fifth Street. If awarded, this project would be added to the city's five-year street and sewer capital improvement plan. The council also designated the city as the project sponsor.

Approved the 2019 facility fee schedule for season employee rates. The only change from the past year is a $5 increase per game for state qualifier tournaments for tournament umpires. This expense is covered by the increase in the tournament registration fee, which will increase from $350 to $375 per team starting in 2019.

Renewed the city's prosecution agreement with Mallie Law Office.