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That's a huge shift in responsibility, and one that deserves a lot more City and community <br />input than it's currently getting. The City should NEVER take on this type of responsibility! <br />But if you vote this in, The City will take on that liability! <br />And then there's the tax itself. Once the LID is approved, the board has the power to raise <br />taxes with very insufficient notification or resident participation. What I mean is Carman's <br />Bay LID had a meeting and only had 10 lakeshore owners attend the meeting and vote out of <br />112 people for voting in a tax increase (link in your packet) <br />Harrisons Bay and Carmans Bay (all of Lake Minnetonka) is public water — owned by the <br />State of Minnesota. And yet this LID puts the cost, liability, and long-term impact squarely on <br />The City and the residents who own lakeshore in the bay. While it's a public resource that <br />anybody can use and enjoy. <br />Now we are being told that we will be taxed (like a HOA) to fund the LID projects because <br />it's (and I quote) "Too hard to fundraise". I vowed that I would NEVER EVER live in a <br />neighborhood that has anything like an HOA and I will continue to fight this (and others in <br />Orono) along with over 100 signatures that we have received from people in Harrison's Bay to <br />stop this LID forming. We've received more than enough signatures to pass a Referendum <br />against the LID from forming on Harrisons Bay. And I believe that there are enough to have a <br />Referendum for Stubbs bay as well. If these are approved, that process will start immediately. <br />Now let's talk about the chemicals they are using and why they choose the chemicals instead <br />of manual removal of the weeds they don't like in front of their homes. The people trying to <br />form these LIDS have indicated that it's easier to use chemicals and they say is more cost <br />effective than manual removal. This is at the expense of harming the natural ecosystem of the <br />lake so they don't have to look at the weeds. But the DNR recommends that manual or <br />mechanical removal is preferred AND using chemicals should be used as a last resort. But <br />these people trying to form LIDS are getting their recommendations from the companies that <br />are selling them the herbicides and the companies that they pay to perform the surveys. The <br />companies that our taxes will be going to. The companies that benefit. <br />Killing the weeds with herbicide chemicals causes the weed cell structure to decompose <br />rapidly releasing concentrations of nitrogen, carbon and phosphorus into the lake. <br />Contributing to the green color and possibly more algae blooms which we are currently seeing <br />in Harrison's Bay from the treatment using Diquat from May 12025 (see photos). <br />This potentially harms water quality more than if weeds were left alone or manually removed. <br />(link in your packet) <br />Herbicides like Diquat aren't selective. It kills the native plants like coontail. Which they <br />should not be removing! <br />Diquat is highly persistent and can last in the lake from application up to 160 days in the <br />lake sediments due to it's low bioavailability. This means that it stays in the lake that <br />long!! This means that families and their pets that swim are exposed, birds and animals <br />that eat the weeds are exposed. Boaters from other bays that are not notified about <br />treatments will be harmed <br />What are the Effects on birds that eat the weeds? Diquat ranges from slightly to <br />moderately toxic to birds that feed on the weeds and fish <br />291 <br />