04-12-2010 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, April 12, 2010 7:00 o'clock p.m. • (4. Funding Request for Milfoil Project, Continued) Murphy stated he does not feel good about the facts and data that have been compiled so far. There has been a lot of anecdotal information gathered already but questioned where the scientists and the people are who can stand up and say how it is going to work. Murphy stated the applicator needs to do a better job at putting up the signs and informing the residents of what the restrictions are. Murphy indicated he personally does not know who the applicators are and where they come from. Murphy commented the City could do abetter job at experimenting on a lot of different issues under the guise of collecting facts and data. Drazan stated she did put a considerable amount of time into assembling her data and that the data was gathered from scientific studies conducted by other states. The state of Washington has been using chemical treatments for ten years and they are in agreement with it. Each of the bays is different but there are people out there who are experts and there is scientific evidence that state the chemicals have been used effectively. This is new to Minnesota but not to other states. Drazan stated she agrees that we need to be careful about putting chemicals in the lake and not do anything intentionally to harm the lake but that there is scientific data showing the affect on fish, the affect on native plants, and generally the affect on the ecosystem. Drazan stated she does have that data available and can provide copies of that data. Drazan stated the residents are hoping for a small contribution by the City to show their support of this project. Bremer moved, Franchot seconded, to approve funding of the milfoil chemical treatment project on Carman's Bay in the amount of $3000 for 2010. VOTE: Ayes 3, Nays 2, Murphy and McMillan Opposed. • LMCD REPORT — ANDREW McDERMOTT, REPRESENTATIVE McDermott noted the LMCD has been undergoing a boat inspection program for the past few years. Last year the LMCD contracted with the DNR to inspect for 3552 hours. The LMCD has found over the years that the DNR cannot meet that obligation, and as a result, the DNR was only able to inspect for 3100 hours. The inspectors have to be specially hired and have a natural resources background. In addition, the DNR has had trouble finding someone to work on weekends and Fridays. The LMCD this year will be working with Hennepin County and Three Rivers Park District to see if they can supplement the inspection hours. In addition, the LMCD will be contacting hiring agencies to see if some part- time employees can be hired. The LMCD has been able to compile the money necessary to complete the inspections for this year, which amounts to $57,184. $30,000 will becoming out of the LMCD's general fund, $11,000 will come out of the Save the Lake fund, and $5,700 will be coming from the MN DNR prevention grant, which is a decrease from last year. This year is the first time the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District will be contributing and they have agreed to contribute $7,500. McDermott noted the MCWD is becoming more interested in the lakes than they have been in the past. The LMCD is also going to take $1,700 out of the harvesting program. This year the harvesting will be done four days a week with ten hour shifts. McDermott noted the harvesting company has also had trouble finding people to work on Fridays. The LMCD will be hiring a new supervisor this year and are currently advertising for harvesters. McDermott reported the LMCD will commence work on the 2011 budget next month. The LMCD hopes to be completed with that process by July. The LMCD has not started discussing the budget at the present time but are • waiting to see what the assessed property valuations will be in 2011. Page 10 of 15