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Big Island Nature Park Management Plan November 2011 <br />____________________________________________________________________________ <br />33 <br /> <br />relatively unhindered. The 8,000 feet of shoreline provide many locations where vehicles are <br />able to access the property from the Lake. Erection of a barrier along the shoreline sufficient <br />to deter vehicular access would be cost-prohibitive. Limited financial resources make it <br />impossible for the City to provide a level of police presence sufficient to discourage all <br />motorized vehicle activity. Even with the assistance of the Hennepin County Sherriff‘s Water <br />Patrol and MnDNR Conservation Officers, the Park cannot be under constant monitoring. <br /> <br />Options for discouraging innocent as well as ill-intended motorized vehicle activity in the Park <br />should be investigated, and may include use of one or more of the following: <br /> - Public education via local media <br />- Additional signage along the park perimeter <br />- Establishment and publication of steep penalties for violations <br /> <br /> <br />Sanitation Facilities <br /> <br />Big Island Nature Park is not served by municipal sewer or water services, as these utilities <br />have never been extended to any properties on Big Island from either of the two adjacent cities <br />from which such service might originate. The high cost of installing sewer or water lines <br />beneath the lake bed, the relatively few properties that could be assessed for those costs, and <br />the difficulty of maintaining such facilities without service vehicle access, are factors which <br />make such installation financially impractical. <br /> <br />Sanitation facilities in the Park at the time of City acquisition included a 6‖ diameter, 376‘ <br />deep water well terminating in Jordan sandstone; water distribution system to a number of <br />buildings; and two functional septic systems, one constructed in 1991 serving the shelter/toilet <br />building northwest of the dock area with a design capacity of 1250 gallons per day, and a <br />second constructed in 1999 serving the south hill toilet building with a design capacity of 1260 <br />gallons per day. <br /> <br />The existing well was sealed in 2006 and a new 4‖ diameter, 143‘ deep well terminating in <br />gray sand was drilled in 2006 to replace it. The new well is located adjacent to the former site <br />of the northwest picnic shelter building. This well was initially connected to an existing <br />underground water distribution system which in 2006 was revised to serve just the northwest <br />picnic shelter, the south hill toilet building, and the caretaker‘s cabin. However, at the time the <br />south hill toilet building was razed, all water distribution lines were removed except for the <br />direct connection to the adjacent shelter toilets. In 2010 the well was shut off due to damage to <br />the shelter toilet facilities from vandalism. A final determination as to the future of the well <br />has not been determined. The options are to maintain it in a functional condition, which would <br />require electrical functionality and a secure structure to house the pressure tank; obtain a well <br />maintenance permit from the Minnesota Department of Health but not keep the well in service; <br />or properly abandon it. <br /> <br />The two septic systems on the property each include septic tanks discharging to gravelless <br />trench drainfield systems. While at this time the systems remain intact and are assumed to be <br />suitable for continued use should they be needed in the future, the tanks will have to be <br />inspected, pumped, and a determination made as to whether they should be filled with sand and <br />abandoned in place.