Laserfiche WebLink
3 <br />3. A Council agreement to allow LMCD to cunduct the planning process but under <br />a sharply accelerated schedule. The Council would consider a loan made to <br />a member municipality if adequate reassurances, in binding agreements, were <br />made to convince the Council that LMCD will make every effort to meet the <br />Council's desired goal. <br />4. The Council to pursue a metropolitan significance review of LMCD and Lake <br />Minnetonka issues to study institutional arrangements and make <br />recommendations in the public forum created by that declaration. <br />POSSIBLE ALTERNATIVES <br />The following are presented because of previous suggestion or because they <br />potentially meet some of the objections the Metropolitan Systems Committee <br />advanced during its considerations on Feb. 2. <br />RECONSTITUTE LMCD <br />The Council could decide that the principal weakness in the current structure <br />stems from the too narrow composition of LMCD's board, which makes it respond <br />only to local authorities that appoint it, rather than to a broader regional <br />constituency. It could, therefore, make an immediate recommendation that LMCD <br />be reconstituted, including proposals for the makeup of the new board, and <br />suggesting new authorities, direction and funding mechanisms it finds <br />appropriate. <br />Pro anj Con <br />A reconstituted board should be better able to develop and implement a plan <br />that reflects a regional base. If authorities and funding mechanisms were <br />appropriately crafted, it should be able to manage for the wide public <br />interest, while adequately protecting the resource and without undue <br />infringement on lake residents and local governments which represent them. This <br />course of action has been suggested elsewhere, including by some local <br />officials from LMCD-member municipalities. This action could solve other <br />problems, such as removing the LMCD levy from the statuatory levy limit of <br />member municipalities, as it is now. It could also identify a wider tax base <br />to reflect the wider body of users the newly constituted board would represent. <br />Against this proposal is the fact that a legislative proposal would take a good <br />deal of time, needs to be introduced in the next two weeks to have a hearing in <br />this session, and will likely be opposed by a majority of the lake community, <br />including not only local government but business interests. Early completion <br />of an appropriate comprehensive plan is the major goal. This process does not <br />appear to offer an early resolution. <br />ABOLISH LMCD; PLACE MANAGEMENT IN THE HANDS OF ANOTHER EXISTING AUTHORITY <br />The Council could decide that surface use management of Lake Minnetonka could <br />be carr_ed out by some existing agency other than LMCD, rendering the district <br />re3undant. <br />