Minutes of Regular Meeting
# 736 Held in the
Lake Elmo City Council Chambers
Thursday, September 8, 2005
MANAGERS PRESENT: Lincoln Fetcher, Vice President; Don Scheel, Secretary; Dale Borash, Treasurer; Duane Johnson, Manager
MANAGERS ABSENT: Dave Bucheck, President
STAFF PRESENT: John Hanson, Barr Engineering; Ray Marshall, Attorney; Ray Roemmich, Inspector; Karen Schultz, Recording Secretary;
STAFF ABSENT: None
OTHERS PRESENT: Candice Kraemer, Grant City Councilperson; Wendy Griffin and Jay Riggs, Washington Conservation District; Paula Verstegen, Lake Elmo Elementary School; Timothy Gangnon, Mayor, City of Grant; Tim Freeman, Folz, Freeman, Erickson, Inc.; Connie Taillon, TKDA, Lake Elmo Public Works Facility
CALL TO ORDER Secretary Don Scheel 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 August 25, 2005 meeting, motion was made by Scheel and seconded by Borash to approve the minutes as amended. Motion carried unanimously.
ADDITIONAL AGENDA ITEMS There were no additional agenda items.
PUBLIC FORUM Grant City Mayor, Timothy Gangnon, announced to the managers that
AThe Grant City Council, on Tuesday night, did not pass the resolution to fund the elevation of Keats and Jocelyn Avenues.@ There was no discussion.CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE Chuck Taylor was not in attendance, but he had mailed his report on lake levels to the managers, and they discussed the report at this meeting.
SECRETARY
=S REPORT Secretary Scheel reported that he had distributed the mail.INSPECTOR
=S REPORT Inspector Roemmich reported on his activity since the last meeting.ATTORNEY
=S REPORT Attorney Marshall had nothing new to report.TREASURER
=S REPORT Treasurer Borash distributed copies of the Administrative and Program Budgets for Fiscal Year 2006 dated September 1, 2005. The budget will be discussed at the Public Hearing at 8:00 p.m.WASHINGTON CONSERVATION DISTRICT Children
=s Water Festival Jay Riggs, District Manager of the Washington Conservation District (WCD), introduced Wendy Griffin, Conservation Technician with the WCD. Wendy Griffin asked the managers to financially support the bus transportation for approximately 118 Lake Elmo School 5th graders to the 8th Annual Children=s Water Festival, which will be held at the State Fairgrounds in Vadnais Heights September 28th. She said the financial help for the transportation in the past has been provided by the school district, but this year it was not funded by the school district. Wendy said three buses may be necessary, at $200 for each bus. She informed the managers that the water festival is very popular with the 5th graders each year, and very educational. After discussion of the request, motion was made by Scheel and seconded by Borash to approve funding up to $600 for the bus transportation to the Children=s Water Festival at the State Fairgrounds on September 28, 2005. Motion carried unanimously.Stillwater High School Monitoring Program Wendy Griffin informed the managers that the request for financial support provided by VBWD for the Stillwater High School students
= monitoring program this year will be $5,000 instead of $7,000 because in the past, the costs of the program were less than expected.ENGINEER
=S REPORT Permit Request: CKC Contracting, Afton Engineer Hanson described a project located between I-94 and Hudson Road, about a quarter mile east of Manning Avenue, Afton, in the NE quarter of the NW quarter of Section 6, Township 28 North, Range 20 West. The purpose of the project is to construct an approximate 14,000 square foot industrial building, a 17-stall bituminous parking lot, and an approximate 3-acre gravel storage yard, with perimeter drainage swales and an infiltration basin.After discussion of the water management concerns, the wetland management concerns, and the erosion control concerns, motion was made by Scheel and seconded by Johnson, to approve Permit # 2005-17, with the engineer
=s suggested site-specific conditions, and standard conditions. Motion carried unanimously.Permit Request: Discover Crossing, Lake Elmo Engineer Hanson presented information to the managers on a project located about 500 feet south of Highway 36 and west of Lake Elmo Avenue (CSAH 17), Lake Elmo, in the NE quarter of Section 2, Township 29 North, Range 21 West. The purpose of the project is to construct a single-family residential subdivision with 28 lots, about 0.7 miles of roadway, about 1.1 miles of paved trail, storm sewer, and several stormwater basins.
After discussion of the water management concerns, the wetland management concerns, and the erosion control concerns, motion was made by Borash and seconded by Johnson, to approve Permit # 2005-18, with the engineer
=s suggested site-specific conditions, and standard conditions. Motion carried unanimously.Vice President Fetcher entered the meeting at 7:35 pm.
Lake Elmo Development Tim Freeman, Folz, Freeman, Erickson, Inc., (FFE), updated the managers on the development plans around the City of Lake Elmo. FFE has been hired by the three major landowners surrounding the Old Village to design the development. The City hired Robert Engstrom Companies to prepare development standards.
In discussing the proposed development standards with the City, FFE and the developer would like to change the design of the Lake Elmo Office Condo project, which had been permitted by the managers earlier this summer. The new plans for the project include moving the building closer to the road and having parking in front and behind the building. Mr. Freeman asked for a revision to the permit for the new design, and that the deadline of the condition regarding hydrologic modeling of the entire area be pushed back to July 2006.
After discussion, motion was made by Scheel and seconded by Borash to approve the new plans with the original permit conditions, but to change the deadline of Condition # 1 from January 1, 2006 to July 1, 2006. Motion carried unanimously.
CHANGE IN ORDER OF AGENDA ITEMS At this time Secretary Scheel authorized a change in the order of agenda items.
At 8:03 p.m. motion was made by Borash and seconded by Johnson to postpone the Public Hearing on the 2006 Budget scheduled for 8:00 p.m., until the managers
= regular business is completed. Motion carried unanimously.City of Lake Elmo Public Works Facility, Lake Elmo Engineer Hanson presented information on a project located northeast of Ideal Avenue (CSAH 13) and T.H. 5, Lake Elmo in part of the SW 1/4 and part of the south half of NW 1/4 of Section 16, Township 29 North, Range 21 West. The purpose of the project is to construct a public works facility, including a water tower, a fueling station, a salt/sand storage shed, a gravel storage yard, an approximate 13,000 square foot enclosed bay, an approximate 1,700 square foot office, an approximate 1,100 foot long 24-foot wide bituminous entrance, a small bituminous parking area, and 3 stormwater management ponds.
After discussion of the water management concerns, the wetland management concerns, and the erosion control concerns, motion was made by Borash and seconded by Fetcher, to approve Permit # 2005-16, with the engineer
=s suggested site-specific conditions, and standard conditions. Motion carried unanimously.Permit Request: Jeska Excavation (Lot 3, Block 3 Rolling Hills Estates), Lake Elmo Engineer Hanson described a project located at 9605 - 57th Street North, Lake Elmo, in the SW 1/4 of NE 1/4 Section 3, Township 29 North, Range 21 West. The purpose of the project is to excavate about 25 cubic yards of material from a wetland and line area with clay to slow seepage.
After discussion of the drainage patterns and water management concerns, the wetland concerns, and the erosion control concerns, motion was made by Fetcher and seconded by Scheel, to approve Permit # 2005-15, with the engineer
=s suggested site-specific conditions and standard conditions. Motion carried unanimously.MANAGERS
= REPORT Sunnybrook Lake Candice Kraemer was present for the Sunnybrook Lake project discussion. She said that she understood that a letter would be sent to the managers, explaining that the Grant City Council did not pass the resolution to raise the roads in the City of Grant. The managers said they had not received a letter, but that Mayor Gangnon had appeared at the meeting earlier and announced that the City Council of Grant had not passed the resolution to fund the elevation of Keats and Jocelyn Avenues.The managers said they were surprised at the announcement by Mayor Gangnon, and needed time to think about the issue. Mr. And Mrs. Victor Klindt, residents of the City of Grant and the Sunnybrook Lake neighborhood, were present to discuss the Sunnybrook Lake project with the managers. Mr. Klindt asked the managers if VBWD could get the roads raised, if the City of Grant refused to do that. Attorney Marshall said that the roads are the City
=s responsibility, and that he wasn=t aware of a law that would allow another entity to take over the responsibility of city roads.ENGINEER
=S REPORT (Cont.) Watershed District Educator Engineer Hanson reported that there is money available in the Washington County budget to hire an environmental educator as a half-time position. The managers discussed the possibility of making it a full-time position, with financial participation by the Washington County watershed districts. There was discussion of a joint powers agreement among the entities to pay for the full-time position.Brown
=s Creek Watershed District Groundwater Rules Engineer Hanson had mailed to the managers, meeting notes from an August 24th meeting he had been directed to attend, concerning the Brown=s Creek Watershed District=s (BCWD) efforts to prepare groundwater rules regarding volume control, groundwater appropriations, groundwater-depend resources, and groundwater quality. The BCWD has developed cost estimates to complete a Statement of Need and Reasonableness for developing the rules, and has proposed that the costs could be paid by Washington County, watershed districts, and watershed management organizations.Engineer Hanson said that some in attendance at the August 24th meeting, questioned whether a county-wide Statement of Need and Reasonableness would benefit all the organizations. Vice President Fetcher suggested that it may be easier for VBWD to work on its own groundwater rules.
Engineer Hanson had also provided the managers with copies of a letter from the BCWD Administrator, requesting a $5,000 contribution from each of the Washington County watershed districts and watershed management organizations for the groundwater rule development.
The managers directed Engineer Hanson to draft a letter to BCWD, stating that the VBWD managers are not interested in contributing $5,000 for the groundwater rule development.
2005-2015 Plan Engineer Hanson said there will be a meeting scheduled in October to meet with representatives of the Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR). Secretary Scheel and Vice President Fetcher said they may be able to attend the meeting. The managers authorized Engineer Hanson to prepare the presentation for the meeting with BWSR in October.
MANAGERS
= REPORT (Cont.) Next Meeting - September 22, 2005 The managers expect a quorum to be present on September 22, 2005.ADJOURNMENT Motion made by Borash and seconded by Lincoln at 9:15 p.m. to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried unanimously.
BUDGET HEARING At 9:15 p.m. motion was made by Fetcher and seconded by Borash to open the hearing on the 2006 proposed budget. Motion carried unanimously.
Treasurer Borash had distributed copies of the 2005 administrative budget for the managers to discuss. Secretary Scheel asked for questions from the audience about the budget. Hearing none, he asked for a motion to approve the budget. Motion made by Fetcher and seconded by Borash to approve the preliminary administrative and program budget for tax levy purposes in the amount of $218,790.00. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion was made by Johnson and seconded by Borash to close the public hearing on the 2006 proposed budget. Motion carried unanimously.
Respectfully Submitted,
/s/ Don Scheel, Secretary
Don Scheel, Secretary
Minutes Approved by Managers 09/22/05