The Brainerd City Council Monday night granted one request from the public and denied a different public request.
The council granted a request to place a two-way stop for north-south traffic at the intersection of North Ninth and Juniper streets. This went against the staff recommendation to install yield signs for east-west traffic at the intersection.
The traffic on North Ninth Street moves faster than the east-west traffic on Juniper Street, council President Dave Pritschet said. North Ninth Street separates St. Francis of the Lakes Catholic School from St. Francis Catholic Church.
The council discussed the request, submitted by the school on March 21, at its May 1 meeting. At the time, the council directed staff to work with the school to explore other options of traffic control not requiring stop signs.
The school previously made requests for stop signs at the intersection in October 2016 and September 2004. Both those requests were denied. The most recent request cites high-volume traffic times during the school's morning dropoffs and afternoon pickups, as well as certain times during the week when these pickups and dropoffs coincide with Mass at the church.
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A memo from assistant city engineer Paul Sandy detailed the reasoning behind the recommendation to install yield signs instead of stop signs at the intersection. He cited standards from the Minnesota Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices to outline why a stop sign would not effectively slow traffic near the church and school. According to the manual, stop signs don't always slow traffic and can do more harm than good if too many are installed in an area.
The four listed crashes at the intersection from 2008-2014 and the two unlisted crashes from 2016 and 2017 don't warrant the installation of stop signs, Sandy wrote. A majority of the crashes instead were due to driver inattentiveness, he wrote.
Instead of stop signs, Sandy recommended placing yield signs for east-west traffic at the intersection, in order to designate right-of-way for the intersection. Commuter traffic in the area is generally north-south, he wrote, so traffic control devices should preserve those traffic tendencies.
In other business, the council:
Denied an appeal contesting a liquor license violation fine levied against Big Dogs Bar, 718 Laurel St. Owner Isaac Carranza requested a hearing to contest the fine following a Brainerd Police Department liquor sale compliance check on April 21.
During the compliance check, a bar employee served alcohol to an underage minor working for the police department, according to a May 1 letter from Police Chief Corky McQuiston to Carranza.
The check happened during a 3-6 p.m. shift, which is a slow shift at the bar, Carranza said. Because it's a slower shift, it's harder to find people to work it, he said. The employee who served the underage patrons had completed a week of training and was on a three-day probationary period, he said, and has since been fired.
The employee had poor math skills, Carranza said, so after she served beer to the two underage customers, she turned from the bar to add up the total for two beers on a tablet. When she turned back to the bar, he said, the two customers were gone. She did not check the customers' IDs before serving them. One customer was 19 years old and the other was 17 years old.
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"I don't mean to be rude or non-compliant," Carranza said. "It was just strange to me, the way it happened."
Providing a minor with alcohol is the definition of serving alcohol to a minor, McQuiston said, even if no money has been exchanged. The department uses the same process for all of its compliance checks, he said.
"They were served the alcohol," McQuiston said. "The alcohol was given to them from the bartender."
City code section 1205.23 subdivision 3 dictates a $500 fine for the first violation of selling alcohol to a minor. It also requires training on liquor and beer sales regulations and restrictions. A motion to deny the appeal passed on a 6-1 vote, with council member Gabe Johnson voting against the motion.
City code section 1205.15 states beer may not be sold to anyone under the age of 19, as opposed to Minnesota Statute 340A.503, which sets the age at 21 years old. The city should consider changing the city code to reflect state statute, McQuiston said. He noted state law takes precedence on the issue.
Had the first reading of proposed ordinance 1467, to add section 455 to city code for technical standards and criteria for subsurface sewage treatment systems. The ordinance formalizes a process that's been in place for a few years, said Paul Sandy, assistant city engineer.
There are still a few septic systems within city limits, Sandy said, and this ordinance gives the city authority to regulate those systems. The ordinance adopts Crow Wing County technical standards for septic systems, he said. A memorandum of understanding between the city and county gives the county authority to inspect, review, approve and regulate septic systems within the city.
