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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, April 8, 2013 7:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 5 of 21 (5. LAKE MINNETONKA ASSOCIATION (LMA) FUNDING REQUEST, Continued) Lowe pointed out that if the City is concerned about a chemical footprint, why would the City of Orono use any road salt or sodium chloride on the roads during the winter. Lowe stated some of the chemicals end up in the lake and are detectable there. The City of Orono has determined that the use of salt on our roads is an acceptable trade-off for the safety it provides. If the Mayor and the Council have further concerns about the use of Triclopyr on Lake Minnetonka, the LMA strongly suggests that you visit their website at carmanbay.org and look at the documents posted there or the Council can ask additional questions tonight. Lowe stated in light of his comments here this evening and the reason it has been presented via email, the LMA would respectfully ask the City of Orono to show their support by making a financial contribution to this year’s herbicidal treatment and in the future, partner with the lakeshore residents and other Lake Minnetonka mayors to advocate for herbicidal control of milfoil and more public funding for that control. Lowe stated the folder on his computer concerning Carman Bay now contains over 800 files and that he feels he and the dedicated volunteers from Carman Bay and some of the other bays that are being treated are some of the most informed individuals in the Twin Cities when it comes to AIS control. Volunteers from Carman Bay are here to answer the Council’s questions and the LMA welcomes an open discussion on the merits of our view point. Bremer asked what cities are not publicly supporting the LMA. Lowe stated the City of Orono is one. Osgood stated the other two cities are Wayzata and Minnetonka and they have declined to invite the bay captains to make a request. Lowe indicated Minnetonka has always had a big problem with the LMCD due to its huge levy and a very small amount of lakeshore. McMillan asked if Gray’s Bay will be treated in 2013. Osgood indicated it probably will be treated at a very low level. Gray’s Bay was treated last year and the treatment has been lasting pretty reliably at least two seasons. The scope of the treatments will depend on the early season delineation, which cannot occur until the ice is gone and it may scope out some spot areas that require treatment. McMillan noted the City Council’s job is to be fair to all of the Orono taxpayers. McMillan asked how the City Council should say to the Orono taxpayers who do not live on Carman Bay and the ones who do not live on Lake Minnetonka why they should subsidize a private funding source for herbicide treatment. McMillan indicated Carman’s Bay can be mechanically harvested for the same cost and Orono would not have to pay anything more. The private funding is also a tax donation for those citizens. McMillan requested that Lowe explain how the Council can rationalize it to the other Orono citizens. Lowe noted the LMCD has already determined that Lake Minnetonka is 75 percent public use and not a private use. The harvesting of Carman Bay would cover about 10 to 15 acres and the herbicide treatment would cover 90 acres. The milfoil harvesting also does not cover the middle of the bay. Item #02 - CC Agenda - 04/22/2013 Approval of Council Minutes 04/08/2013 [Page 5 of 21]