CALL TO ORDER President Bucheck 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 December 8, 2005 meeting, motion was made by Scheel and seconded by Borash to approve the minutes as corrected. Motion carried unanimously.

ADDITIONAL AGENDA ITEMS No items were added to the agenda.

PUBLIC FORUM There was no discussion in the Public Forum segment of the meeting.

WASHINGTON CONSERVATION DISTRICT Water Resources Educator Jay Riggs reported that there are now $61,000 allocated to the Water Resources Educator position, which is enough to proceed with the drafting of a job description. He said he will provide the managers with a draft for their review.

Real-Time Monitoring of Valley Creek WOMP Station Jay reported that there is a an opportunity to upgrade two of the WOMP Stations in Washington County, including the one on Valley Creek through the USGS (United States Geological Survey)and its cost share program. He told the managers that a USGS representative will be in touch with the managers to discuss the cost of the local match by the watershed district.

Grant Opportunities Jay reported that there are four Grants available for watershed districts to make application for funds. The deadlines for applying are in February and March 2006. The available Grants all concern environmental issues. The Washington Conservation District is planning to apply for funds to subsidize the cost of materials for the shared Water Resource Educator position. Jay asked the managers to consider applying for the Grants.

This permit request was discussed at the December 8^th meeting, and tabled because it was unclear if the Agriculture Society found the plan acceptable. At this meeting, Steve Anderson, with the Washington County Agriculture Society, was present to discuss the plan with the managers.

Stabilizing Valley Creek on the Tom Johnson Property Engineer Hanson had mailed to the managers a memorandum dated January 3, 2006 regarding the Valley Creek Stabilization. Listed in the memorandum were four options to consider in the stabilization. Engineer Hanson said that he has discussed the options with Tom Johnson, but Mr. Johnson does not agree with any of the options. In the memorandum, Engineer Hanson suggested that the managers discuss the situation and possibly meet with Mr. Johnson. Secretary Scheel said he will try to contact Mr. Johnson by telephone while he is out of state for six weeks.

Woodbury Northeast Regional Lift Station L-77 and Lake Elmo East Connection EAW Engineer Hanson had mailed to the managers a draft letter dated January 15, 2006 addressed to the project manager of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency commenting on the EAW for Woodbury Northeast Regional Lift Station L-77 and Lake Elmo East Connection. In his draft letter commenting on the project, Engineer Hanson commented that the VBWD is concerned about the possible negative effects to water resources that the project will enable. The managers approved the draft letter and directed Engineer Hanson to mail the letter.

Draft 2006 Impaired Waters List Engineer Hanson had mailed to the managers a draft copy of a letter to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency dated December 21, 2005, regarding Downs Lake and McDonald Lake, on the Impaired Waters List. In the letter, Engineer Hanson requested that the two lakes be removed from the impaired waters list because they are open-water wetlands instead of lakes. The managers agreed with the letter, and directed Engineer Hanson to mail the letter to Howard Markus, Ph.D., at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

2006 Lake Water Quality Monitoring Engineer Hanson had mailed to the managers a table of the minimum recommended water quality monitoring program for 2005-2015, from the VBWD Watershed Management Plan. Each year the Metropolitan Council requests that VBWD ask residents to volunteer to monitor certain lakes in the District. Engineer Hanson asked the managers how they would like to conduct the volunteer search. Last year, a newsletter was sent to residents adjacent to lakes, but only one volunteer was found through requests for volunteers in the newsletter. The Washington Conservation District (WCD) could conduct the sampling if volunteers are not found, and Engineer Hanson had mailed to the managers the WCD costs for lake sampling. After discussion, the managers directed Engineer Hanson to make phone calls to residents, concerning the issue.

Dam Inspections Engineer Hanson reported that the inspections of the Rest Area Pond Dam and the Eagle Point Lake Dam found nothing significant that needs maintenance. He had mailed to the managers copies of the inspection reports.

Miscellaneous Correspondence Dancing Waters Sink Hole Engineer Hanson had mailed to the managers copies of a letter from the Department of Health to the City of Woodbury concerning the stormwater basin failure at the Dancing Waters Lake development. At the October meeting, the managers asked Engineer Hanson to keep the managers informed of the problem of the sinkhole that had formed after the heavy rainstorm on October 5^th.

Engineer Hanson had also mailed the managers a copy of an article from the Pioneer Press regarding a potential fly ash landfill in Barton Pit over Project 1007.

Silver Lake Aquatic Plant Management Vice President Fetcher reported on a recent meeting of the Silver Lake Improvement Association. He said that the residents of Silver Lake are going to find out the percentage of public and privately owned land around the lake. The residents feel that at least 15% of the lakeshore owners have treated their area for aquatic plants. Vice President Fetcher will keep the managers informed on the issue.

Lake Elmo Eurasian Watermilfoil President Bucheck said the editor of the Lake Elmo Leader newspaper contacted him concerning the issue of Eurasian Watermilfoil in Lake Elmo. He said he explained to her what Eurasian watermilfoil is, and that Lake Elmo is a very deep lake, making it less possible for the weed to grow. He said an article is to appear in the near future about the issue.

Sunnybrook Lake The managers briefly discussed the November 22, 2005 letter they had received from the City of Grant. Engineer Hanson said he received a call from the newly appointed liaison between the City of Grant and VBWD.

2005 Pond Inventory President Bucheck said he has read the report on the 2005 Pond Inventory, and he feels that it was a good report. He directed the engineer to execute the recommendations, including continuing to inventory the ponds in 2006.

Organization of Officers for 2006; Selection of Newspaper and Bank Lincoln Fetcher was nominated for President; Dave Bucheck was nominated for Vice President; Don Scheel was nominated for Secretary; Dale Borash was nominated for Treasurer. Motion was made and seconded to approve the slate of officers as nominated for 2006 as follows: President - Lincoln Fetcher; Vice President - Dave Bucheck; Treasurer - Dale Borash; Secretary - Don Scheel. Motion carried unanimously.

Motion was made by Scheel and seconded by Fetcher to designate the Lake Elmo Bank as the official Bank for the Valley Branch Watershed District for the year 2006. Motion carried unanimously.

Oaths of Office Signed The newly appointed officers signed the Oaths of Office provided by Attorney Marshall.

ADJOURNMENT Motion made by Borash and seconded by Scheel at 9:53 p.m. to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried unanimously.

Respectfully Submitted,

Don Scheel, Secretary