Eagle River may consider annexation of the Northland Pines school district property, and others, as a step toward fixing heavily used Pleasure Island Road.
At a city council meeting this week, the council and district administrator Mike Richie felt a solution needed to be found that would increase the roads base and widen the travel surface.
“We're in the business of educating kids, not fixing roads,” Richie said, pleading with the council to fix the road that not only damages vehicles but also presents a poor image of their school campus for both residents and visitors.
City police chief Mark Vander Bloomen indicated safety was his main concern. “This heavily used road has the highest concentration of inexperienced drivers, twice a day,” Vander Bloomen said, which led to looking at annexation. The city policy is to annexed properties only after receiving a petition for direct annexation by a property owner. While they could consider forced annexation of other properties along Pleasure Island Road, it was agreed the present focus would be school district property.
A grant application is pending but special assessments could be considered to pay for the project. The school board could consider a petition for direct annexation later this month.
