02-08-1999 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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IL ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES FOR FEBRUARY 8,1999 • LAKE MINNETONKA CONSERVATION DISTRICT - Lili McMillan, Representative McMillan reviewed material concerning recent issues before the LMCD board. She said that 611 acres of milfoil were harvested in 1998. She said the harvesting machines are 10 years old and were refurbished in 1998 for approximately half the cost of one new machine. Gene Strommen is still involved with the milfoil program. Kelley questioned why some bays are not harvested. McMillan responded that harvesting is done in areas where there are navigation problems. Residents can also request that harvesting be done in certain areas. Jabbour asked if one of the harvesting machines will be equipped to spread non - toxic, organic chemicals. McMillan stated that one machine was equipped to see how it would perform. McMillan reviewed the 1998 Water Quality Testing. She said that Maxwell Bay has shown a consistent decline in water quality since 1995. This decline may be due to water entering Maxwell from the upstream Stubbs Bay, which has very poor water quality. She said this trend is of concern, since the same problems could occur in other high quality bays like Crystal, Spring Park, and West Upper Lake, which are downstream of poor water quality bays. • Jabbour stated that the residents need to be educated regarding best management practices. He said one problem with Stubbs Bay is that it is very shallow. McMillan talked about the way phosphorous affects the lake. She reviewed the Boat Density Survey. She is concerned about the accuracy of the count because the July 4th weekend was not included in the survey because of bad weather. A total of 15,360 boats were counted. Jabbour said he is also concerned about the accuracy of the survey because he does not believe the number of boats has declined. McMillan reviewed the zebra mussel ordinance that was approved by the LMCD. She stated she was not in favor of the ordinance because she did not feel it was workable, that it was a duplicate of state law and would be difficult to enforce. She discussed the damage that can be done to our lakes and rivers by the zebra mussel. McMillan also reviewed the LMCD Executive Director's Newsletter. PLANNING COMMISSION COMMENTS - Lili McMillan, Representative McMillan asked about the timetable for the City's Comprehensive Plan. • Jabbour stated that the Planning Commission will be responsible for the Comprehensive Plan with input from the City Council. Mike Gaffron is working on the Plan. Page 3