Valley Branch Watershed District

Minutes of Regular Meeting # 663 Held in the Lake Elmo City Council Chambers
Thursday, April 25, 2002.

MANAGERS PRESENT: MANAGER ABSENT:	Dale Borash, President; Don Scheel, Secretary; Lincoln Fetcher, Treasurer; and Duane Johnson, Manager Dave Bucheck, Vice President
STAFF PRESENT:	John Hanson, Barr Engineering; and Ray Marshall, Attorney; Ray Roemmich, Inspector; and Karen Schultz, Recording Secretary
OTHERS PRESENT:	Jeff Berg, Washington SWCD; and Bob Jordan, 1007 Project Maintenance

CALL TO ORDER Meeting called to order by President Borash at 7:02 p.m.

ANNOUNCEMENTS There were no announcements.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES After discussion of the minutes of the April 11, 2002 meeting, motion was made by Fetcher, seconded by Scheel, to approve the minutes as corrected. Motion carried unanimously.

ADDITIONAL AGENDA ITEMS Added to the agenda: F.12. DeMontreville Public Access; G. 2. Project 1007, Bob Jordan Ditch; and G.3. Oak Park Heights Letter regarding Stillwater Area High School

PUBLIC FORUM Bob Jordan, VBWD resident, was present to ask the managers if the ditch near his home can be cleaned out. He said he is planning to plot the area to sell, and would like the ditch cleaned of cattails. President Borash said the maintenance of the ditch is the responsibility of the watershed district, since it is within the Project 1007. He suggested that Mr. Jordan hire someone with a backhoe to clean out the ditch, and get reimbursed by the watershed district. Mr. Jordan would then have control of the project.

SECRETARY=S REPORT Secretary Scheel said the mail has been distributed.

INSPECTOR=S REPORT Inspector Roemmich reported that he has begun to inspect every permit site pending to see if any can be eliminated from his records.

ATTORNEY=S REPORT Attorney Marshall said he had nothing new to report at this time.

TREASURER=S REPORT Treasurer Fetcher distributed copies of the Treasurer=s report dated April 23, 2002, and also copies of the Administrative & Program Budgets. Managers discussed the reports. Motion was made by Fetcher and seconded by Johnson to approve the Treasurer=s report. Motion carried unanimously.

ENGINEER=S REPORT Permit Request - St. Mary=s Cemetery, North St. Paul At the last managers= meeting, the managers tabled the approval of a permit to relieve flooding near the St. Mary=s Cemetery in North St. Paul because the managers had many questions about the project. Engineer Hanson now explained that while extending the cemetery property, there appeared to have been encroachment on the wetland. Engineer Hanson said he has tried to contact the City Engineer, but has not been able to talk with him. Motion was made by Fetcher and seconded by Scheel to again table the permit application until more information is available. Motion carried unanimously.

Permit Request - Frank Bastyr Long Lake Project, Pine Springs Engineer Hanson presented information on a project located at 3498 Long Lake Road, 900 feet west of Warner Avenue, Pine Springs, in the NW 1/4 of Section 5, T30N, R21W. The project purpose is to repair erosion damage occurring from wave action since 1980 and to restore casual landing.

After discussion of the wetland concerns, erosion control concerns, and the water management concerns, motion was made by Borash and seconded by Scheel to approve Permit # 2002-07 with the special conditions suggested by the engineer, and also to waive the permit fee. Motion carried unanimously.

Permit/Wetland Fill Exemption Request: Dan Daly, Lot 5 Fairview Ridge, Baytown Township Engineer Hanson described a project located a quarter mile east of Manning Avenue (CSAH 15) and directly south of 40^th Street (CSAH 14), Baytown Township, in the NE 1/4 of Section 18, T29N, R20W. This is an after-the-fact permit for wetland filling.

The District permitted the plat in 1994. Letters regarding the development of Lot 5 have been sent to the owner and his representative over the past several months. The project is generally in conformance with the 1994 VBWD permit, but the applicant filled a portion of wetland in order to construct the driveway. The 1994 VBWD permit contained a condition that the wetland could not be encroached. Approximately 250 square feet of wetland were filled by the project. The fill is within the allowable limits of the Wetland Conservation Act.

After discussion of the wetland concerns, erosion control concerns, and the water management concerns, motion was made by Scheel and seconded by Johnson to approve Permit # 2002-06 with all of the conditions of Permit 94-5. Motion carried unanimously.

Sunnybrook Lake Update Engineer Hanson reported that the soil borings requested by Emmons and Olivier were completed on April 17^th. The results of the soil borings have been given to the Browns Creek Watershed District managers. Engineer Hanson reviewed with the managers the schedule of future tasks.

Downs Lake Update Engineer Hanson reviewed with the managers the draft plans for the Downs Lake project. He said the permit from the MnDNR may take 60 days after receipt of the plans. A permit is also needed from the City of Lake Elmo. He said that the survey firm, Folz, Freeman, Dupay and Associates, agreed to perform the easement work for the District. After discussion, motion was made by Johnson and seconded by Scheel to approve the draft plans and to authorize Engineer Hanson to make application for a MnDNR permit and a City of Lake Elmo permit. Motion carried unanimously.

Request to Present Information at Afton Public Meeting Engineer Hanson had mailed an agenda for an Afton Town Meeting regarding issues related to the City of Woodbury=s growth, to be held May 7th. After discussion of the agenda, it was agreed that President Borash and Secretary Scheel will attend the meeting with Engineer Hanson.

Fahlstrom Pond Engineer Hanson reported that neither the City of Woodbury nor the City of Afton has signed the contract regarding the dollar amount for the Fahlstrom Pond project, so nothing has been accomplished recently.

Draft Comments on Woodbury EAW Engineer Hanson had mailed draft comments for the proposed sewer in the City of Woodbury. After discussion, motion was made by Borash and seconded by Fetcher to approve the draft letter dated April 18, 2002 regarding the EAW for Northeast Area Trunk Sanitary Sewer Project, Washington County. Motion carried unanimously.

CAMP Engineer Hanson had mailed a list of the volunteers who will collect water quality samples on Klawitter Pond, Cloverdale, McDonald, and Sunnybrook Lakes, Goetschel Pond, Weber Pond, and Downs Lake, and record water levels on Klawitter Pond, Lake Edith, and Fahlstrom Pond.

Washington County Fair Engineer Hanson said he has talked with a few of the surrounding watershed districts about having a booth at the Washington County Fair. Secretary Scheel said the applications for County Fair space for a booth will probably be mailed in the middle of May. He will return the application immediately. It may not be possible to get a space, but it could be possible that space could be shared with the Washington SWCD. The managers agreed that they would volunteer to tend the booth during the fair.

DeMontreville Public Access Jeff Berg, Washington SWCD, described to the managers the plans for the lakeshore restoration at the DeMontreville Public Access. He asked the managers to review the plans for approval, and give him an answer at the next meeting.

MANAGERS= REPORT Next Meeting - May 9, 2002 The managers said they do expect to have a quorum at the next meeting.

Oak Park Heights Letter regarding Stillwater Area High School The City of Oak Park Heights, in a letter to the District=s Attorney, requested that they not be given the responsibility for the maintenance of the easement that is necessary for the permit for stadium improvements at the Stillwater Area High School. After discussion, motion was made by Borash and seconded by Fetcher that Permit # 2002-01 is amended to provide that the drainage easements will be maintained by the applicant or the City of Oak Park Heights, and the District needs a formal statement as to who will maintain the easement. Motion carried unanimously.

MAWD Summer Tour Motion was made by Fetcher and seconded by Scheel that any manager attending the MAWD Summer Tour hosted by the South Washington Watershed District, will be reimbursed for all expenses, except lodging expenses, since it is in the metropolitan area, and within 50 miles of their homes. Motion carried unanimously.

ADJOURNMENT Motion made by Fetcher and seconded by Scheel at 9:25 p.m. to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried unanimously.

Respectfully Submitted,

Donald Scheel, Secretary

Minutes Approved by Managers 05/09/02