Minutes of Regular Meeting
# 707 Held in the
Lake Elmo City Council Chambers
Thursday, May 27, 2004
MANAGERS PRESENT: Lincoln Fetcher, Vice President; Don Scheel, Secretary; Dale Borash, Treasurer; and Duane Johnson, Manager
MANAGER ABSENT: Dave Bucheck, President
STAFF PRESENT: John Hanson, Barr Engineering; Barb Wolle, Attorney; and Karen Schultz, Recording Secretary
STAFF ABSENT: None
OTHERS PRESENT: Many Students, and biology teacher from Stillwater Area High School, Volunteer Monitoring Report for Valley Creek and Raleigh Creek; Jeff Berg and Melissa Lewis, Washington Conservation District; Allen Schlipp, Wildridge Pines 3rd Addition; Susan Fussell, Stone Wood Meadow Permit; and Ray Lucksinger, Property Ownership Issue in West Lakeland Township
CALL TO ORDER Vice President Fetcher called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m.
ANNOUNCEMENTS There were no announcements.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES After discussion of the minutes of the May 13, 2004 meeting, motion was made by Scheel, seconded by Johnson, to approve the minutes as distributed. Motion carried unanimously.
ADDITIONAL AGENDA ITEMS There were no additional agenda items.
CHANGE IN ORDER OF AGENDA ITEMS At this time Vice President Fetcher authorized a change in the order of agenda items.
Volunteer Stream Monitoring Report by Stillwater Area High School Students Several students and the biology teacher from the Stillwater Area High School were present to report on their project to monitor Valley Creek and Raleigh Creek. They made a very good visual presentation, and verbally reported on the way that the samples were taken from the creeks. A
A2003 Volunteer Stream Monitoring Report for Valley Creek and Raleigh Creek; Valley Branch Watershed District was distributed to the managers. The managers thanked the group for making the presentation, and welcomed them back next year for the next presentation.PUBLIC FORUM Mr. Ray Lucksinger, from West Lakeland Township, was present to ask the managers about the ownership of property located near the former 5th Street North, west of Neal Avenue. He said he has been told that the property belongs to the VBWD. Mr. Luxinger lives near the property, and said it is an area that attracts groups of people who disturb the area and the neighbors with noisy parties. Mr. Lucksinger said he has placed poles at the entrance to the property in an attempt to keep trespassers off the property, but the posts get removed. The managers were not aware that the VBWD may own the property. They directed Attorney Barb Wolle to contact Washington County concerning the ownership, and to state that if the VBWD owns the property, permission is given to replace the posts on the property. They also directed Attorney Wolle to inform Mr. Lucksinger and the managers of the results.
SECRETARY=S REPORT Secretary Scheel reported that he had distributed the mail.
INSPECTOR=S REPORT Inspector Roemmich said he has visited many of the permitted project sites, as he discussed at the last meeting, and will make a list for Engineer Hanson on the results of the visits.
ATTORNEY=S REPORT Attorney Wolle said she had nothing new to report.
TREASURER=S REPORT Treasurer Borash distributed copies of the Administrative and Program Budgets for Fiscal Year 2004 dated May 31, 2004, and the Treasurer=s Report dated May 27, 2004. After discussion, motion was made by Borash and seconded by Scheel to approve the Treasurer=s Report. Motion carried unanimously.
WASHINGTON CONSERVATION DISTRICT Jeff Berg said there was nothing new to report.
ENGINEER=S REPORT Permit Request: Wildridge Pines 3rd Addition, Mahtomedi Engineer Hanson presented information on a project located east of Woodland Drive and south and west of Arcwood Road, on the northeast side of Echo Lake, Mahtomedi, in the SW 1/4 of NE 1/4, Section 31, Township 30 North, Range 21 West. The purpose of the project is to construct 11 single-family homes, about 1100 feet of roadway, about 850 feet of storm sewer, and one stormwater runoff management pond.
The entire site is legally within the VBWD. However, under existing conditions, about nine acres of the 14 acre-site drains to the Rice Creek Watershed District (RCWD). Prior to the developer submitting a permit application, the RCWD was contacted to determine which watershed district should permit the project. Since the project is legally within the VBWD, the RCWD recommended that the project be permitted by the VBWD.
The project proposes to significantly change the drainage patterns of the area. A major concern is the developer=s proposal to divert about 5.1 acres that currently drain to RCWD, into VBWD and Echo Lake. This would exacerbate an existing high water issue at Echo Lake and the surrounding neighborhood.
Developer Allen Schlipp was present to discuss the permit application with the managers. He said that the City of Mahtomedi has approved the plan, and that to change the plans to conform to VBWD rules, would require complete revision of the project plans.
The managers agreed that to approve the project, knowing the existing situation with Echo Lake, would create a liability issue. Vice President Fetcher directed Engineer Hanson to arrange a meeting between the Mahtomedi City Engineer and the VBWD managers to discuss the issue.
After much discussion, motion was made by Scheel and seconded by Fetcher to table Permit # 2004-16. Motion carried with the voting as follows: Fetcher, Yes; Johnson, Yes; Scheel, Yes; Borash, No.
The Developer asked for permission to start clearing trees. Attorney Wolle answered that the developer needs to understand that he does not have a permit.
Stone Wood Meadow, Permit 2004-11 Engineer Hanson presented information on a project located north of the 15th Street South - Oelvig Avenue tee intersection or about 1.5 miles east of Neal Avenue (CR 71), City of Afton, in the SE 1/4 of NW 1/4 of Section 9 and parts of NE 1/4 of SW 1/4 of Section 9, Township 28 North, Range 20 West. The purpose of the project is to construct four residential lots (three new, and one existing), about 1,200 feet of roadway, and four stormwater ponds.
The site lies at the confluence of three intermittent streams that flow into the North Fork of Valley Branch Creek. The slopes on the site are very steep and the soils are sandy. Given these factors, erosion is a major concern.
The proposed road is basically a shared driveway that will serve only three homes, but is proposed to be 32 feet wide (24 feet of paved surface with four-foot wide gravel shoulders). Susan Fussell, representing the developer, was present to discuss the project with the managers. She said the City of Afton requires the 32-foot wide road, and to reduce the size, would require a variance from the City of Afton.
After much discussion of the water management concern and the major erosion control concerns, motion was made by Borash and seconded by Scheel to approve Permit # 2004-11 with the engineer=s suggested site-specific conditions and standard conditions. The managers said they will work with the City of Afton to attempt to obtain a variance to build a narrower road. Motion carried unanimously.
Permit Fees and Cash Sureties At the last meeting Engineer Hanson provided the managers information on the current structure of permit fees, and said he would elaborate on the information at the next meeting. At this meeting Engineer Hanson discussed a memorandum he had mailed in the managers= packets on the cash surety schedule.
In the memorandum, Engineer Hanson recommended that the managers revise the permit fee schedule. The current fee schedule was implemented eight years ago, and because standards and issues are typically more complex now, the fees should be revised.
Vice President Fetcher asked the managers to review the memorandum for discussion at the next meeting.
Update: Raleigh Creek Restoration in the Anna=s Grove Subdivision At the last meeting, Engineer Hanson was directed to finalize the plans for the Anna=s Grove Replacement Wetland Repairs. At this meeting, he said he has revisited the site, and has incorporated some revisions into the plans. He described the proposed plans for repair and after discussion, motion was made by Scheel and seconded by Borash that the plans for the Raleigh Creek Restoration in the Anna=s Grove Subdivision should be submitted to the City of Oakdale and the MnDNR for their comments. Motion carried unanimously. Engineer Hanson said that the latest cost estimate is $16,000.
Update: Oakdale Retail Development EAW Engineer Hanson said the deadline for the EAW comments has been extended. He said he will have draft comments prepared for the June 10th meeting.
FEMA Floodplain Studies of Raleigh Creek and Valley Branch Creek Engineer Hanson had mailed a memorandum explaining the FEMA mapping for Washington County streams. The 100-year floodplains and floodways along Valley Creek and Raleigh Creek have been re-evaluated and mapped as part of the contract with Washington County. Engineer Hanson used a map of the revised floodplain boundaries for discussion. Engineer Hanson pointed out that several homes that are in the current floodplain will be taken out if the new floodplain is adopted. The main reason for the change is that there is new and better topography mapping. While several homes will be removed from the floodplain, more information is needed for some of the homes. To determine if some homes will be within or just out of the new floodplain, the homes should be surveyed. After discussion, motion was made by Scheel and seconded by Borash to authorize Engineer Hanson to attempt to survey the structures in question before June 7th at an estimated cost of $6,000. Motion carried unanimously.
MANAGERS= REPORT Next Meeting - June 10, 2004 The managers expect a quorum to be present on May 27th.
Sunnybrook Lake President Bucheck had electronically mailed to the managers a report on his meeting with Mike Regan, manager of the Indian Hills Golf Course. Mike Regan told President Bucheck that he has not come to any conclusion about future development at Indian Hills. The managers and Engineer Hanson discussed the meeting results.
Silver Lake Bioretention Project At the last meeting, the managers authorized a letter to the Metropolitan Council requesting an extension of time to the existing June 30, 2004 contract for the Silver Lake Bioretention project. At this meeting, Vice President Fetcher asked Engineer Hanson to verify if the extension would be enough time, and to investigate options for shortening the inundation time of the site.
2003 Annual Report The recording secretary received the information from Treasurer Borash, and said the final 2003 Annual Report will be ready for review by the managers at the next meeting.
ADJOURNMENT Motion made by Borash and seconded by Fetcher at 10:42 p.m. to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried unanimously.
Respectfully Submitted,
Donald Scheel, Secretary
Minutes Approved by Managers 06/10/04