Minutes of Regular Meeting
# 712 Held in the
Lake Elmo City Council Chambers
Thursday, August 26, 2004
MANAGERS PRESENT: Dave Bucheck, President; Lincoln Fetcher, Vice President; Don Scheel, Secretary; Dale Borash, Treasurer
MANAGER ABSENT: Duane Johnson, Manager
STAFF PRESENT: John Hanson, Barr Engineering; Barb Wolle, Attorney; Ray Roemmich, Inspector; and Karen Schultz, Recording Secretary
STAFF ABSENT: None
OTHERS PRESENT: Candice Kraemer, Citizens Advisory Committee
CALL TO ORDER President Bucheck called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m.
ANNOUNCEMENTS President Bucheck announced that he had received notice from Washington County that Duane Johnson=s three-year term as manager will expire in November this year.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES After discussion of the minutes of the August 12, 2004 meeting, motion was made by Scheel and seconded by Borash to approve the minutes as amended. Motion carried unanimously.
ADDITIONAL AGENDA ITEMS Added to the agenda were: Under Managers: Washington County Water Consortium; 2005 Budget Levy.
PUBLIC FORUM There was no discussion in the public forum segment of the meeting.
SECRETARY=S REPORT Secretary Scheel reported that he had distributed the mail.
INSPECTOR=S REPORT Inspector Roemmich reported on sites he has inspected since the last meeting.
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 August 31, 2004, and the Treasurer=s Report dated August 26, 2004. After discussion, motion was made by Borash and seconded by Fetcher to approve the Treasurer=s Report. Motion carried unanimously.
ENGINEER=S REPORT Permit Request: Kevin Birky Wetland/Long Lake Fill, Pine Springs Engineer Hanson described a project located at 5960 Warner Avenue, Pine Springs, in the NE 1/4 of the NW 1/4 Section 5, Township 29 North, Range 21 West. The purpose of the project is to partially fill a wetland and the Long lake floodplain for access to Long Lake.
The landowner has about 75 feet of Long Lake shoreline. The home on the property sits about 40 feet above the lake, and the access down to the lake is relatively steep and mixed with woodlands and wetlands. Without a permit, the landowner began creating an access to the lake by clearing trees and filling a wetland this spring. A concerned neighbor contacted Inspector Roemmich and Engineer Hanson. The landowner was requested to remove the fill. At this time, almost all of the fill has been removed from the wetland.
The property owner has requested a de minimus exemption from the Wetland Conservation Act for the remaining wetland fill. It appears that approximately 72 cubic yards of fill has been placed below the 100-year flood level of Long Lake.
The permit holder wants to pave the access to the lake, which would create approximately 4,000 square feet of new impervious surface. The landowner also wants to construct a retaining wall closer than 16.5 feet from the wetland=s edge. The VBWD rules require a 16.5 foot wetland buffer. The managers agreed that the landowner could construct the retaining wall within 16.5 feet from the wetland edge.
After discussion of the water management concerns, the wetland concerns, and the erosion control concerns, motion was made by Borash and seconded by Scheel, to approve Permit # 2004-23, with the engineer=s suggested site-specific conditions and standard conditions, and also with an added site-specific condition made by the managers. Motion carried unanimously.
CHANGE IN ORDER OF AGENDA ITEMS At this time President Bucheck authorized a change in the order of agenda items.
Echo Lake Study Draft Letter At the last meeting, Engineer Hanson was directed to redraft the letter to the City of Mahtomedi, asking the City of Mahtomedi to participate in the study of Echo Lake, and to contribute to the cost of the study. At this meeting, the managers approved the redrafted letter, and motion was made by Borash and seconded by Scheel to direct Engineer Hanson to prepare the letter for President Bucheck=s signature. Motion carried unanimously.
Silver Lake Bioretention Site At the last meeting, Engineer Hanson said he had an appointment to meet with a landscape contractor who may be able to install the draintile and add some fill to low areas of the basin of the Silver Lake Bioretention project, without disturbing the existing vegetation. At this meeting Engineer Hanson provided the managers with five alternatives to get the seeding accomplished. After discussion, motion was made by Fetcher and seconded by Scheel to approve the expenditure of up to $5,000, which is needed for Alternative # 2, for the Silver Lake Bioretention Improvement project; and that Vice President Fetcher will meet with North St. Paul officials to discuss the situation of the VBWD preference and get their input. Motion carried unanimously.
Annual Presentation to Washington County Commissioners - October 12, 2004 Engineer Hanson said that presentations to Washington County Commissioners by watershed districts will be made on October 12, 2004. The presentations will include administration efforts by watershed districts, and also a presentation on a resource issue. After discussion, the managers directed Engineer Hanson to suggest to County staff that the Woodbury well study, in which the District is a partner, could be the resource presentation.
MANAGERS= REPORT Next Meeting - September 9, 2004 The managers expect a quorum to be present on September 9th.
Sunnybrook Lake Candice Kraemer was present to discuss the City of Grant=s budget for 2005, as it pertains to the Sunnybrook Lake project. She said that the Grant City Council will be approving its 2005 budget at their September 7th meeting, and one of the items to possibly be placed in the budget, would be the raising of the roads in the City of Grant. She asked the managers if they thought that the expenditure for the roads should be placed in the budget at this time, since the Sunnybrook Lake project is uncertain. The managers said the raising of the roads would be a good thing whether or not the project is completed.
The managers agreed to send a letter to the Grant City Council, supporting the placement of the road expenditure in the Council=s 2005 budget. Engineer Hanson was directed to draft the letter for the managers, and to include information on the flood elevations in the District. He will electronically send the draft to the managers for their approval, so that the letter can be sent to the Council for their September meeting.
Washington County Water Consortium President Bucheck referred to the minutes of the last meeting of the Washington County Water Consortium. The Water Consortium is developing rules for ground water standards. President Bucheck said the managers should get as much information as possible about these standards, since the managers intend to place those rules in the Water Management Plan. Engineer Hanson said he has attended these meetings. President Bucheck directed Engineer Hanson to keep the managers informed about the standards.
2005 Budget Levy President Bucheck suggested that he and Treasurer Borash and Engineer Hanson meet to discuss the upcoming budget hearing. They agreed to meet at Treasurer Borash=s house at 6:00 on August 31st.
Watershed Management Plan The managers and Engineer Hanson discussed the chapters of the Watershed Management Plan that they worked on at the workshop held on August 19th. They also reviewed the distribution list for the preliminary draft plan.
ADJOURNMENT Motion made by Fetcher and seconded by Scheel at 9:47 p.m. to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried unanimously.
Respectfully Submitted,
Donald Scheel, Secretary
Minutes Approved by Managers 09/09/04