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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, May 13, 2013 7:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 23 of 26 (14. LAKE MINNETONKA CONSERVATION DISTRICT (LMCD) 2014 BUDGET, Continued) There were a series of subcommittee meetings last summer to discuss the program. John Barton, Three Rivers Park District, and representatives from the Watershed District, the LMA, and the DNR were actively involved in preparing the vegetation plan. The plan was finalized over a few weeks’ time and then came back to the AIS task force. The plan was presented to the LMCD Board in October. A public hearing took place in December and the plan was officially adopted by the LMCD Board on March 13th. Nybeck noted the plan contained references to typical money for harvesting budgets and typical money that would be probably be needed on an annual basis for equipment replacement and harvesting equipment, as well as partial funding for herbicide treatment, all of which were removed from the plan. The recommendation was to obtain feedback from the cities through the budget process for 2014. Nybeck indicated LMCD receives phone calls on bow fishing on Lake Minnetonka every year and at times the frequency of the phone calls can be heavy. It is very complicated or hard to respond to the concerns due to the different jurisdictions and ordinances involved. The LMCD elected to explore a lake-wide ordinance, which was adopted on April 24 and is now effective. The goal was to improve communications to the public for those who want to fish as well as the residents. Since there is now a lake-wide ordinance, the DNR and the Sheriff’s Patrol will do the enforcement of it. LMCD’s ordinance is similar to what Orono has currently. Nighttime bow fishing will no longer be allowed on Lake Minnetonka. In the high traffic areas, such as Cruiser’s Cove, restrictions are in place that only allow bow fishing from a certain time on Friday to a certain time on Saturday from Memorial Day through Labor Day. The third part of the ordinance is the DNR or local law enforcement has jurisdiction to act if it is in the best interests of the public peace or safety. The last part of the ordinance deals with disposal of fish. As it relates to the budget, Option 1 is a similar budget to what was adopted in 2013. The levy increase is a 3 percent overall levy increase from 2013 but it will be slightly less than 3 percent for Orono. The levy varies based off of your percentage of the tax capacity. The 1.3 percent increase in expenditures would increase it from 581 up to 588. There is a 25,000 transfer from the administrative reserve fund for equipment replacement fund and a two percent compensation adjustment is factored in for contingency. Nybeck stated it is important to keep in mind that simply because there is a two percent contingency budgeted, that does not mean the board is obligated to provide the two percent. In addition, there is also $30,000 budgeted for unspecified AIS management and prevention programs. Historically the LMCD has used that for watercraft inspections. Option 2 includes some recommendations for milfoil, curly leaf and pond weed. The levy increase under Option 2 would be 16.6 percent rather than 3 percent. There is a nine percent increase in expenditures, and that is primarily because of the money being included for herbicide treatments. The differences from Option 1 are the money for unspecified AIS management and prevention would be reduced from $30,000 down to $20,000 and $55,000 is proposed for open air and large scale herbicide treatments, which results in a net increase of $45,000. Nybeck stated over the years the LMCD has made a concerted effort to keep the levy flat and there has not been an increase in the levy from 2009 to 2013. The LMCD has attempted to keep the levy down because of the economic challenge the cities are facing. Item #02 - CC Agenda - 05/28/2013 Approval of Council Minutes 05/13/2013 [Page 23 of 26]