Valley Branch Watershed District

Minutes of Regular Meeting # 653 Held in the Lake Elmo City Council Chambers
Thursday, October 25, 2001.

MANAGERS PRESENT: MANAGER ABSENT:	Dave Bucheck, President; Dale Borash, Vice President; and Duane Johnson, Manager Don Scheel, Secretary; and Lincoln Fetcher, Treasurer
STAFF PRESENT:	John Hanson, Barr Engineering; Barb Wolle, Attorney; Ray Roemmich, Inspector; and Karen Schultz, Recording Secretary
OTHERS PRESENT:	Jeff Berg, Washington Soil and Water Conservation District; John C. Johnson, P.E., Metro Land Surveying and Engineering; and Brad Coats, Goldbridge Group, both for Oak Park Station Permit

CALL TO ORDER Meeting called to order by President Bucheck at 7:05 p.m.

ANNOUNCEMENTS President Bucheck announced that Manager Duane Johnson has been appointed to another three-year term, effective November 14, 2001.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES After discussion of the minutes of the October 11, 2001 meeting, motion was made by Borash, seconded by Johnson, to approve the minutes as corrected. Motion carried unanimously.

ADDITIONAL AGENDA ITEMS There were no additional agenda items. The engineer removed item # 5, Request from Mahtomedi to become LGU.

PUBLIC FORUM No discussion in Public Forum.

SECRETARY'S REPORT Secretary Scheel was absent. The engineer had picked up the mail and distributed it.

INSPECTOR=S REPORT Inspector Roemmich reported on inspections he has made since the last meeting.

ATTORNEY=S REPORT Attorney Wolle said there was nothing to report, outside of the items already on the agenda.

TREASURER=S REPORT Treasurer Fetcher was absent, but had electronically mailed copies of the September 2001 Income/Expense Report, which the managers discussed at the meeting.

Motion was made by Johnson and seconded by Borash to approve the Treasurer=s Report. Motion carried unanimously.

ENGINEER=S REPORT Oak Park Station (Kern Center), Oak Park Heights - Permit Request Engineer Hanson described a project located between Highway 5 and Memorial Avenue, directly south of 58^th Street, Oak Park Heights in the S 2 of the NE 1/4 and NW 1/4 of Section 6, T29N, R20W. The purpose of the project is to subdivide four lots into seven lots for commercial development, construct one new stormwater pond, and expand an existing one.

The site lies legally within the VBWD, but ultimately drains to Long Lake in Browns Creek Watershed District after first draining to the Kern Center Pond and a wetland west of the Kern Center.

Engineer Hanson said that the Browns Creek WD is also requiring a permit for the project. The managers agreed that this is the first time that they can remember that two watershed districts would require a permit for the same project. President Bucheck said the managers have the responsibility to issue the permit because 70% of the site is within the legal boundary of the VBWD, and the applicant has furnished the managers with information needed for approval.

The managers of both the Browns Creek and the Valley Branch Watershed Districts have unsuccessfully tried to bring about a boundary change between the two watershed districts a year ago, so that this kind of problem would be less likely to occur.

The managers agreed to attach a letter to the final permit, recommending that the Browns Creek WD approve the permit also.

After discussion, motion was made by Borash and seconded by Johnson to approve Permit # 2001-26 with the engineer=s suggested conditions. Motion carried unanimously.

Downs Lake - Update Engineer Hanson presented the managers with a cost estimate of $213,076 for the Downs Lake project. Attorney Wolle said she will meet with Mr. LePage next week to discuss the easement that is needed from him for the project. Engineer Hanson will attend the November 20^th Lake Elmo Council meeting to discuss the project. President Bucheck may attend that meeting also. A meeting will be held with the citizens in the area on December 6^th in the Lake Elmo City Hall Council Chambers.

Sunnybrook Lake Update Engineer Hanson reported that the field work will be done on November 6^th, and that it should be completed in one day. He distributed copies of a letter that will be sent to all residents in the area regarding the soil borings that will be done on November 6^th.

Request for Electronic Data Engineer Hanson said he had been contacted by a Soil Conservation District in Madison, Wisconsin, with a request for an electronic copy of the VBWD Best Management Practices Manual. After discussion, the managers directed Engineer Hanson to inform the Soil Conservation District that if they wanted an electronic copy, it would cost $100.

Meeting with City of Woodbury Engineer Hanson said the City of Woodbury, after receiving a copy of the VBWD draft report on Fahlstrom Pond, requested a meeting to discuss the report. Engineer Hanson will meet with them on November 1st.

Geography Fair Engineer Hanson reminded the managers that the Lake Elmo Elementary School will probably again sponsor a Geography Fair in their school in December, and will likely request the managers of the VBWD to present information. The managers decided not to participate, but will discuss maintaining a booth at the Washington County Fair in August 2002.

Legal Boundary Change with Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District in Oakdale Engineer Hanson informed the managers that a property owner of a parcel in Oakdale is being assessed by the Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District, and the Valley Branch Watershed District, because the boundary line of the two watershed districts crosses the parcel. In order to place the property into one watershed district, Resolutions were drawn up, authorizing the removal of property from the Valley Branch Watershed District and the placement in the Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District. Motion was made by Borash and seconded by Johnson to approve the removal of Lot 9, Block 1, Brochmann Acres, from the Valley Branch Watershed District. Motion carried unanimously.

Motion was made by Borash and seconded by Bucheck authorizing the addition of Lot 9, Block 1, Brochmann Acres, to the Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District. Motion carried unanimously.

President Bucheck and Vice President Borash signed the Resolutions.

MANAGERS= REPORT Next Meeting - November 8, 2001 The managers said they do expect to have a quorum at the next meeting. President Bucheck said he will be absent from the next meeting.

ADJOURNMENT Motion made by Borash and seconded by Johnson at 8:12 p.m. to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried unanimously.

Respectfully Submitted,

Donald Scheel,

Secretary

Minutes Approved by Managers 11/08/01