Minutes of Regular Meeting
# 751 Held in the
Lake Elmo City Council Chambers
Thursday, June 8, 2006
MANAGERS PRESENT: Lincoln Fetcher, President; Dave Bucheck, Vice President; Don Scheel, Secretary; Dale Borash, Treasurer
MANAGERS ABSENT: Duane Johnson, Manger
STAFF PRESENT: John Hanson, Barr Engineering; Ray Marshall, Attorney; Ray Roemmich, Inspector; and Karen Schultz, Recording Secretary
STAFF ABSENT: None
OTHERS PRESENT: Mark Youngdahl, Tapestry at Charlotte's Grove; Gregory D. Morris, Proterra Design Associates; and David Reed, Northeast Metro Business Park
CALL TO ORDER
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 25, 2006 meeting, motion was made by Bucheck and seconded by Fetcher to approve the minutes as distributed. Motion carried unanimously.
ADDITIONAL AGENDA ITEMS Added to the agenda under Engineer: Legacy Farm, Afton; Washington County Watershed District Boundary Cleanup; Under Managers: District Educator; Under Old Business: Meeting with North St. Paul City Council.
PUBLIC FORUM There was no discussion in the Public Forum segment of the meeting.
SECRETARY=S REPORT Secretary Scheel reported that the mail has been distributed.
INSPECTOR=S REPORT Inspector Roemmich reported on inspections he has made since the last meeting.
ATTORNEY=S REPORT Attorney Marshall said the contract between the Washington Conservation District and the VBWD for technical assistance in water monitoring in 2006 had been previously approved, and needed to be signed by President Fetcher. President Fetcher signed the contract.
CHANGE IN ORDER OF AGENDA ITEMS At this time President Fetcher authorized a change in the order of agenda items.
ENGINEER=S REPORT Letter of Credit Reduction Request; Tapestry at Charlotte=s Grove, Lake Elmo Engineer Hanson had mailed to the managers copies of a draft letter addressed to Mark Youngdahl, regarding the request for reduction in the Letter of Credit for the Tapestry at Charlotte=s Grove project. The managers discussed the request with Inspector Roemmich and Mark Youngdahl, who was present at the meeting. After discussion of the items that need to be completed before the project is finished, motion was made by Borash and seconded by Bucheck, to approve the Letter of Credit reduction to $300,000. Motion carried unanimously.
Permit Request: Lot 3, Block 1, Northeast Metro Business Park, Mahtomedi Engineer Hanson presented information on a permit request located north of Long Lake Road, approximately 0.5 miles east of Century Avenue, Mahtomedi, in the SE 1/4 of the SW 1/4 of Section 31, Township 30 North, Range 21 west. The purpose of the project is to construct two office/warehouse building, associated parking, two stormwater management ponds, and wetland mitigation sites on the 9.1-acre site.
The managers were concerned about the site not having enough green space, untreated runoff from the southern 0.7-acres of the site, and not knowing the TEP=s (Technical Evaluation Panel) comments regarding the wetland replacement site.
After much discussion of the water management concerns, the wetland management concerns, and the erosion control concerns, motion was made by Bucheck and seconded by Borash to approve Permit # 2006-15 with indicated changes to the engineer=s site specific Condition # 7. Motion carried unanimously.
Permit Request: Joseph and Marabeth Timmers Wetland Excavation, Lake Elmo Engineer Hanson presented information on a permit request located at 82XX Lake Jane Trail,, Lake Elmo, in the SE 1/4 of SW 1/4 of Section 9, Township 29 North, Range 21 West. The purpose of the project is to excavate an existing wetland.
After discussion of the drainage patterns and water management concerns, the wetland concerns, and the erosion control concerns, motion was made by Borash and seconded by Scheel to approve Permit # 2006-16 with the engineer=s standard conditions and suggested site-specific conditions. Motion carried unanimously.
Wetland Exemption Request: Jeff DeBace, Oakdale Engineer Hanson had mailed to the managers a Notice of Wetland Conservation Act Application for Impacts <10,000 Square Feet, for applicant, Jeff DeBace. The applicant for the project is merely requesting approval of an exemption to fill less than 400 square feet of wetland within Oakdale. The Wetland Conservation Act allows this exemption.
After discussion, motion was made by Fetcher and seconded by Borash, to approve the exemption as requested by Jeff DeBace. Motion carried unanimously.
Direction Request: Wetland Replacement Requirement For Concept Whispering Oaks Development Engineer Hanson reported that the Washington County Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) is proposing to re-develop the trailer park in Oakdale, located south of 50th Street and just west and almost under I-694 within the Long Lake watershed. The Washington County HRA is investigating the feasibility of purchasing wetland credits from a wetland bank outside VBWD for the proposed impacts to wetlands on the site. The Wetland Conservation Act allows this, and Engineer Hanson requested interpretation by the managers of the VBWD Rules, and direction from the Board regarding how to handle the required wetland replacement.
The managers discussed the issue and concluded that the permit applicant should first attempt to avoid wetland impacts. If wetland impacts cannot be avoided, replacement credits could be purchased, but the applicant should purchase credits as close to the project as possible, preferably within the VBWD.
Legacy Farm, Afton Engineer Hanson presented information on a request for a permit for a single family home. After discussion, motion was made by Bucheck and seconded by Scheel to table the request until the managers receive a written application on which they can vote. Motion carried unanimously.
Washington County Watershed District Boundary Clean-Up Engineer Hanson reported that Jane Harper, with Washington County, is requesting watershed districts in Washington County to update their legal boundaries before July 1st. After discussion, the managers directed Engineer Hanson to provide information to Washington County in a counter proposal.
MANAGERS= REPORT Next Meeting - July 13, 2006 The managers expect to have a quorum present at the next meeting on July 13, 2006.
District Educator Vice President Bucheck reported that he had participated in the interviews of the candidates for the District Educator position on Tuesday, May 30th. He said the candidate selected is Angie Hong, and will begin on June 26th.
OLD BUSINESS Meeting with North St. Paul City Council President Fetcher reported that he had attended the North St. Paul City Council meeting on June 5th and informed the Council members of the contents of the District=s revised Water Management Plan, and he said he mentioned the District=s draft Rules that are currently being reviewed by other agencies for comments, and basically, what the managers are doing with Silver Lake. He said he presented the Council members with some challenges for significant shoreline restoration. President Fetcher said he is going to talk with the stakeholders and bring them together to develop a Silver Lake management plan.
TREASURER=S REPORT Treasurer Borash distributed copies of the Administrative and Program Budgets for Fiscal Year 2006 dated 5/31/2006, and the Treasurer=s Report dated June 8, 2006. After discussion, motion was made by Borash and seconded by Scheel to approve the Treasurer=s Report. Motion carried unanimously.
ADJOURNMENT Motion made by Borash and seconded by Fetcher at 10:21 p.m. to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried unanimously.
Respectfully Submitted,
/s/ Don Scheel, Secretary
Don Scheel, Secretary
Minutes Approved by Managers 07/13/06