Minutes of Regular Meeting # 638 Held in the Lake Elmo City Council Chambers
Thursday, February 8, 2001

CALL TO ORDER Meeting called to order by President Bucheck at 7:10 p.m.

ANNOUNCEMENTS There were no announcements.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES After discussion of the minutes of the January 25, 2001 meeting, motion was made by Borash, seconded by Fetcher, to approve the minutes as changed. Motion carried unanimously.

ADDITIONAL AGENDA ITEMS Items added to the agenda: Under Engineer's Report, BWSR Challenge Grant; Under Managers Report, Silver Lake Update; MAWD Legislative Breakfast.

PUBLIC FORUM No discussion in Public Forum.

SECRETARY'S REPORT Secretary Scheel was absent; President Bucheck distributed the mail.

INSPECTOR'S REPORT Inspector Roemmich said he had nothing to report, but that he plans to attend the erosion control conferences in March, as discussed and approved by the managers at the last meeting.

ATTORNEY'S REPORT Attorney Ray Marshall reported that the contract between the Washington SWCD and the VBWD regarding the placement of lake gauges in the eight lakes that Chuck Taylor, the CAC representative, monitors for lake levels, is in order. He recommended that the managers approve the contract. Motion was made by Borash and seconded by Fetcher to approve the contract between the Washington SWCD and the Valley Branch Watershed District to place the lake gauges. Motion carried unanimously.

Attorney Marshall said he has revised the pumping agreement with Indian Hills Golf Course to expire in April 2002, and sent it to the Indian Hills Golf Course management for signature.

ENGINEER'S REPORT List of Potential Citizen-Assisted Monitoring Program (CAMP) Lakes Engineer Hanson had mailed a chart listing lakes that have been monitored in the past 10 years, and also lakes that could possibly be monitored in 2001-2002. The cost to the District is $3,000 for six lakes, and another $1,000 for a seventh lake. After discussion, motion was made by Fetcher and seconded by Borash that Engineer Hanson attempt to find volunteers to monitor Weber Pond, Downs Lake, Sunnybrook Lake, Cloverdale Lake, McDonald Lake, and Mergens Pond, and if volunteers cannot be arranged for those lakes, to attempt to get volunteers for one of the following lakes: Edith, Goose, Echo, and Weber Pond. Motion carried unanimously.

Joseph Fleming - Wetland Alteration Engineer Hanson had written a letter to Joseph Fleming concerning unpermitted wetland excavation activities on his property. This issue had been discussed at the managers' meeting on December 14, 2000, and the managers moved to table the issue until spring when the site can be inspected. Mr. Fleming asked to be on the agenda at this meeting to discuss the issue with the managers.

In discussion, Mr. Fleming stated that the pond on his property is man-made, having been dug out in 1987, a very dry season, for the use of the black dirt. He asked that he be allowed to retract his application for the after-the-fact permit, which had been made in December 2000. The managers and engineer informed him that according to the National Wetlands Inventory map, Mr. Fleming's property is a potential wetland area. President Bucheck said it needs to determined whether it is a wetland, and that cannot be done until spring, or when the snow is completely gone. The managers said they will keep Mr. Mr. Fleming informed.

Update on Woodbury AUAR Engineer Hanson said he had attended the East Alternative Urban Areawide Review (AUAR) Issues Identification Meeting in Woodbury on January 30th. The meeting was held to hear all concerns that agencies will have about any new proposed development in the area. The area is mostly within the South Washington Watershed District, but some roads are proposed to be widened within the Lower St. Croix Valley Watershed District. Much of the January 30^th meeting focused on the proposed commercial site outside of the AUAR that drains to Fahlstrom Pond. The managers agreed that development is not the best use of the land. There will be a draft Urban Areawide Review for review by all agencies, to make sure their concerns are incorporated into any development plans.

Update on Palecek Property Engineer Hanson said he visited the Palecek property and found that the water is pooling up in front of the culvert, but not reaching his property yet. The recent big snowfall has probably made it worse. Mr. Palecek is still out of town, so Engineer Hanson will get in touch with him when he returns.

BWSR Challenge Grant Engineer Hanson said that it is possible that the watershed district can apply for a grant from the Board of Water and Soil Resources for studying strategies for managing the flooding of Sunnybrook Lake. After discussion, the managers directed Engineer Hanson to make the application, which is due February 16^th. President Bucheck asked Engineer Hanson to prepare the application and forward the draft to the managers electronically before submitting it.

Silver Lake Update Treasurer Fetcher said he had attended a meeting of the North St. Paul City Council recently to hear a presentation about the shoreline preservation project on Silver Lake. He said he feels more confident about the project after hearing the presentation. He will keep the managers informed as he learns more.

MANAGERS Next Meeting - February 22, 2001 Three managers will be available for the next meeting, but Treasurer Fetcher said it is possible that he won't be able to attend. If that happens, the meeting will be cancelled. He will notify Karen Schultz as soon as possible in order to notify the public.

District Enlargement President Bucheck had asked Engineer Hanson to draft a letter to the cities and townships that have been added to the territory of the Valley Branch Watershed District, informing them of the fact that the District has been enlarged to include these areas. Engineer Hanson distributed that draft letter and the managers reviewed it. The letter informs the cities and townships that the managers should be informed of certain activities that will require a permit from the District, according to its rules and regulations. Attorney Marshall said he will review the letter and discuss it at the next meeting.

The managers discussed the need for new stationery and envelopes, and a new logo for the stationery. Vice President Borash suggested that the logo for the new district could be designed by graphics classes at the area high schools. It was also suggested that it could be done through Century College in White Bear Lake. Engineer Hanson was directed to contact Century College.

Staff Salary Schedule Motion was made by Fetcher and seconded by Borash to increase staff salaries by 10%, retroactive to January 1, 2001. Motion carried unanimously.

MAWD Legislative Breakfast Motion made by Borash and seconded by Bucheck to pay any expenses and fees incurred to any manager attending the MAWD Legislative Breakfast in St. Paul in March. Motion carried unanimously.

ADJOURNMENT Motion made by Fetcher and seconded by Borash at 9:30 p.m. to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried unanimously.

Respectfully Submitted,

Donald Scheel,
Secretary

Minutes Approved by Managers 03/22/01