10-24-2011 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, October 24, 2011 7:00 o'clock p.m. (9. MINNEHAHA CREEK WATERSHED DISTRICT (MCWD) PRESENTATION, Continued) Evenson noted at the end of August the Board authorized him to hire an AIS specialist to compile a comprehensive management plan and has been speaking with a number of different agencies to see what type of cooperation they will have in dealing with AIS. Evenson stated with this comprehensive management plan, the MCWD is not taking over the role of the LMCD and that it is not any kind of an effort to advance anyone's agenda. Evenson stated you cannot eradicate milfoil and other AIS but could work to manage the spread and growth of the aquatic invasive species on the 128 lakes that they oversee. Rahn commented it is kind of a Catch 22 and that he would like to know what the exact plan is prior to committing to anything long term. Rahn asked what type of funding stream the MCWD is contemplating. Evenson stated that watershed laws allow a number of ways to fund things. On an ad valorem basis, everyone in the watershed district pays a little bit. $280,000 is the average price of a home in the area, which would result in approximately $3 per home and would raise $1 million. The MCWD could also do it through special taxing districts based on hydrologic boundaries or taxing on a city boundary basis. Evenson concurred that it is a Catch 22 and that it will cost a lot of time and money to put the plan together. Once the MCWD starts down that path, there will be expectations that the plan will be implemented. Evenson stated this is the beginning of the planning process but that AIS is a big problem and unfortunately the state is not stepping up to the plate. Rahn noted if a plan is implemented, it would likely require a different approach to each lake. • Evenson stated he would suspect that the plan will focus on efforts to prevent AIS from getting into some • of the other lakes. Since Lake Minnetonka already has zebra mussels, the focus would be to protect the quality of the lake and avoid zebra mussels from being introduced to other lakes. Bremer asked if it is unrealistic to say that the MCWD knows for sure that the other lakes do not already have zebra mussels. Evenson indicated they have been monitoring those lakes and have also monitored Lake Minnetonka over the years, which led to the discovery of them. The MCWD does not know for a fact that they are not in other lakes but they do feel it is a possibility that they exist in other lakes. Bremer stated a sampling often consists of only a small area and that she is not sure of the amount of data that the MCWD has given the limited monitoring going on. Bremer indicated she would question that initial premises since this undertaking is supposing that the other lakes do not have zebra mussels. Bremer indicated she would rather have the MCWD take into consideration that there are other parts of Lake Minnetonka that should not be written off since 100 percent of the lake does not have zebra mussels. Bremer noted a number of cities have passed resolutions of support to varying degrees and asked why there is varying support and why the MCWD needs the support of the lake communities. Bremer asked what the impact would be if the City of Orono does not pass a resolution and what cities the MCWD has approached where they have received no resolution of support. Evenson stated the MCWD should not write off Lake Minnetonka but that it is likely the entire lake will become infested at some point. The zebra mussels will get into the channel eventually and some bays are • not infested as much as others. The worst infestations of zebra mussels are in Wayzata Bay and Grays Page 6 of 19