Minutes of Regular Meeting # 636 Held in the Lake Elmo City Council Chambers
Thursday, January 11, 2001

CALL TO ORDER Meeting called to order by President Bucheck at 7:08 p.m.

ANNOUNCEMENTS There were no announcements.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES After discussion of the minutes of the December 14, 2000 meeting, motion was made by Borash, seconded by Fetcher, to approve the minutes as distributed. Motion carried unanimously.

ADDITIONAL AGENDA ITEMS Item added to the agenda: Under Engineer's Report, West Lakeland Storage Site Channel Sinkhole.

PUBLIC FORUM No discussion in Public Forum.

CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE REPORT - Lake Levels Chuck Taylor had mailed his lake level report to the managers and he discussed it at the meeting.

SECRETARY'S REPORT Secretary Scheel said he has distributed the mail received since the last meeting.

INSPECTOR'S REPORT Inspector Roemmich said there is nothing new to report on inspections.

ATTORNEY'S REPORT Attorney Ray Marshall was present, and asked the managers to sign their respective oaths of office for 2001.

TREASURER'S REPORT Treasurer Fetcher presented the following Treasurer's Report:

Motion made by Borash and seconded by Bucheck to accept the Treasurer's report. Motion carried unanimously.

AGENDA CHANGE President Bucheck authorized the moving of agenda items at this time.

MANAGERS Anna's Grove - Oakdale At the December 14^th meeting, the managers directed Engineer Hanson to invite residents of Anna's Grove in Oakdale to attend the January managers' meeting. Several residents of Anna's Grove were present to discuss the needed repair work on the wetland replacement site.

Engineer Hanson and President Bucheck thanked the residents for coming to discuss the problem in the Anna's Grove development, and explained the purpose of the wetland. The residents told the managers that the creek near their homes fills with water and moves very fast, doing a lot of damage to their yards, after only a one or two-inch rain. They said the berm at the creek is washed out during the rain, so it does no good to keep the water back.

The residents said they are not aware of anyone placing sandbags or other material in the creek. The residents had many comments about the erosion and damage to their property.

After much discussion for over one hour, the managers said they will need to review the calculations to see if the general site is designed properly, whether the berm should be located where it is, and to rebuild the berm in a way that it doesn't erode. They also said they will meet with the developer to discuss the solution. President Bucheck told the residents that if there is another detailed discussion on the issue, the residents will be notified. The residents thanked the managers, and left the meeting.

ENGINEER'S REPORT Hardy Driveway/Palecek Property Engineer Hanson had sent a memorandum to the managers summarizing the situation on the Palecek property. In the memorandum, Engineer Hanson explained that he does not believe that the culvert under the Hardy driveway is causing the problem. Several options were discussed to relieve the flooding problem on the Palecek property. Engineer Hanson was directed to invite Jim Palecek to the next managers' meeting to discuss the options.

West Lakeland Storage Site Channel Sinkhole At the last meeting, the managers agreed to make partial payment to the contractor for work he has done in repairing the sinkhole at the West Lakeland Storage Site. Engineer Hanson said he had discussed this with the District's attorney, and other engineering staff, and was informed that it would be a good idea to hold all payment until after the repair is completed in the spring. The managers agreed with this.

MANAGERS (Cont.) Next Meeting - January 25, 2001 The managers said they expect to have a quorum for the meeting, to include Managers Bucheck, Borash, and Scheel.

Review of Consultant Responses Legal Consultant President Bucheck said one bid had been received for legal consultant for the District; that bid was from Lawson, Marshall, McDonald and Galowitz. Attorney Marshall had mailed a letter to the managers stating that the hourly rate had been increased by $10.00 for each of the three attorneys who consult for the District. Motion made by Borash and seconded by Fetcher to accept the bid from Lawson, Marshall, McDonald and Galowitz to perform as legal consultant for the District for the period 2001 and 2002. Motion carried unanimously.

Auditing Consultant President Bucheck said only one bid had been received for auditing the District's accounts; that bid was from Tautges Redpath, Ltd. Motion was made by Borash and seconded by Fetcher to accept the contract with Tautges Redpath, Ltd., to perform as auditor for the District for the period 2001 and 2002. Motion carried unanimously.

Engineering Consultant President Bucheck said that two bids had been received for engineering consultant; one from Emmons & Olivier Resources, and one from Barr Engineering. The bid from Emmons & Olivier Resources was actually for short-term projects and particularly the Sunnybrook Lake project. Motion by Bucheck and seconded by Borash to accept the bid from Barr Engineering to perform as engineering consultant for the District for the period 2001 and 2002. Motion carried unanimously.

Cecilio Olivier, of Emmons and Olivier Resources, stated that the intention of the engineering bid is to assist Barr Engineering in the Washington County area and the Browns Creek area if needed.

Organization for 2001 Dave Bucheck was nominated for President; Dale Borash was nominated for Vice President; Don Scheel was nominated for Secretary; and Lincoln Fetcher was nominated for Treasurer. Hearing no other nominations, President Bucheck declared the slate of officers for 2001, as follows:

President Dave Bucheck
Vice President Dale Borash
Secretary Don Scheel
Treasurer Lincoln Fetcher

After a unanimous vote in favor of the above nominations for 2001, President Bucheck declared the above officers to be the official slate of officers for 2001.

Selection of Official Newspaper and Bank Motion was made by Fetcher and seconded by Scheel that the Oakdale-Lake Elmo Review and the Ramsey County Review, of the Lillie Suburban Newspapers, continue as the legal newspapers for the District in 2001. Motion carried unanimously.

Motion was made by Fetcher and seconded by Borash that the Lake Elmo Bank continue as the official bank for the District in 2001. Motion carried unanimously.

Salary for District Staff The managers agreed that there has never been a structured salary schedule for the District's Recording Secretary or the Inspector. Secretary Scheel suggested that the Treasurer and the President look at the issue and discuss it with the managers at the next meeting.

MAWD Annual Meeting Secretary Scheel and Vice President Borash attended the MAWD annual meeting in Alexandria in December. Vice President Borash said there was a discussion of the enlargement of the Valley Branch Watershed District, and many metropolitan watershed district managers present at the annual meeting were in favor of the enlargement and the abolishment of the Water Management Organizations in Washington County.

OLD BUSINESS Silver Lake Shoreline Improvement Project Treasurer Fetcher told the managers that Fred Rozumalski, Landscape Ecologist at Barr Engineering, had commented on the proposed design plan prepared by the Ramsey SWCD. Mr. Rozumalski's comments are that the proposal is not thorough enough, and that the erosion factor needs to be further studied. Treasurer Fetcher said the project will probably cost between $30,000 and $50,000, which is much more than was anticipated earlier. The managers discussed the possibility of obtaining money through a grant for part of the project cost. Treasurer Fetcher suggested that staff at Barr Engineering should put together a plan that is realistic.

Treasurer Fetcher said he will continue the discussion with North St. Paul staff and keep the managers informed.

ADJOURNMENT Motion made by Borash and seconded by Scheel at 9:47 p.m. to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried unanimously.

Respectfully Submitted,

Donald Scheel,
Secretary