(Note: check out The Patch’s write up for facts and details about Tuesday’s Maplewood City Council meeting:  http://maplewood-brentwood.patch.com/articles/maplewood-quiktrip-vote-tabled-before-last-vote)

Dear MRH Parents and Citizens,

Citizens for MRH wishes to express our position on the QuikTrip relocation plan now that it has been read twice by the city council and amended via the PUD process.

From the start Citizens for MRH was in opposition to the plan as originally written. Two weeks ago we expressed to the city council our satisfaction that they were trying to create a safer plan. We also advised them that we would continue to oppose the original plan and insist that the amended plan not be voted on a third time until the county approves the signal changes stipulated in the PUD amendments and not unless the parties involved agree to conduct an independent safety study of the final plan.

Now that the MRH Board of Education has enlisted a second traffic consultant who helped them make suggestions for revisions to the plan we feel that third independent study is not necessary.

And so CFMRH’s current position is that we still oppose the original plan. But we applaud the efforts of the city council, the MRH Board of Education and the QuikTrip Corporation for combining their efforts to resolve the safety concerns of residents and MRH parents. Several ideas presented by all three parties will make this plan safer than originally proposed.

CFMRH recognizes our work is not finished. The process is not over so we will continue to engage citizens and the parties involved. Further, it is our understanding that the county has yet to review the recently suggested revisions to the plan. And hence they have not yet agreed to the recommended signaling changes at the intersection. CFMRH cannot support the development without these signaling changes. Although we have insisted that the city council not approve the plan without these changes, we stand ready to lobby elected and appointed county officials should we feel they are neglecting our
community’s safety concerns by not implementing the recommended signal changes.

In closing Citizens for MRH believes strongly that our community rests upon a few key pillars. Three of the most valuable pillars are our schools, our city governments and our resident businesses. Seeing all three working together is exciting. This sort of cooperation is how we will continue to build upon the strengths of this very promising community.

Sincerely,

Jeff Kiefer
Citizens for MRH

Last night was a very good turnout of our supporters at the city hall meeting. Standing room only and over 20 people speaking on behalf of our cause. It was just the right mix too. While many came prepared with the talking points no one was really comfortable just reading them. This was perfect actually. What we wanted was a good mix of facts and emotion. Had everyone just read the points we would have lacked our heartfelt feelings. It was so great to see people use the facts but give voice to their concerns with their own words. This delivered so much more creativity than just reading talking points. As a result there were several new points brought up that we up to now had not even thought of like the effects upon walking field trips at the ECC. It was incredibly pleasing to see our citizens in action.

Special shout outs to those who spoke and especially to those who came saying “I’ll speak but only if you really need me”. Several of you who said that were asked to speak. Thank you so much for following our lead to somewhere a bit outside your comfort zone. To you your fellow citizens are most especially grateful.

Of course the cause is not complete. The council tabled the 1st and 2nd reading of the proposal and it will not take place until at least the next council meeting on 9/11/12. You might say this buys us some time and buys QT some time perhaps to offer some changes or compromises. But it also buys time for us to go dormant on the issue. Let us not fall into that possibility. The safety of MRH children is no fading interest. The pressure of our engaged interest is working but we must continue that engagement and pressure. Now is a great time to write your council members again and tell them “see we really do care and we know the facts” or better yet if you have not yet written them please do so.

Also, don’t miss any future updates – please use our contact form to subscribe to our mailing list, and encourage your neighbors and other MRH parents to do the same.

You can read more about last night’s meeting on The Patch