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HomeMy WebLinkAbout9D - Unsafe Lake Conditions Public Notification Processt CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ~~~ DATE: AGENDA #: PREPARED BY: AGENDA ITEM: JULY 6,1998 9D LANOL LEICHTY, WATER RESOURCES COORDINATOR CONSIDER APPROVAL OF RESOLUTION 98-XX APPROVING AN UNSAFE LAKE CONDITIONS PUBLIC NOTIFICATION PROCESS. SUBJECT: HISTORY At the January 20, 1998 Council meeting the Council passed the following motion: "To have the Lake Advisory Committee meet with representatives from the Sportsmen's Club, snowmobile clubs, Prior Lake Association and other concerned parties to discuss the coordination of lake regulation efforts next year and see if there is a solution that can be reached about the notification process." Due to the warm winter of '97-'98 most of Lower Prior Lake had open water and thin ice during the season. Several snowmobiles and vehicles went through the ice in Lower Prior Lake. During one stretch of time there were six days in a row that snowmobile(s) went through the ice making the television news each occurrence. At the March 18, 1998 Lake Advisory Committee (LAC) meeting the met with the Scott County Sheriff, Bill Nevin; DNR Conservation Officer, Scott Carlson and Prior Lake Police Chief, Bill O'Rourke to discuss the unsafe lake notification process. At the April 15, 1998 LAC meeting the LAC met with Terry Hutchinson, Sno-Trails, Inc.; Dave Buresh, Prior Lake Snowmobile Association; Tom Moore, Sportsman's Club and Dale Brady of the Prior Lake Association to discuss the notification process. The minutes from these two meetings are attached to this report. 1620~~r~~reek Ave. S.E., Prior Lake, Minnesota 55372-1714 / Ph. (612) 447-4230 / Fax (612) 447-4245 AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER CURRENT CIRCUMSTANCES The Sheriff and Conservation Officer are empowered under Minnesota Statutes to enforce the rules and laws governing state waters. They are the only ones who can "close the lake". Practically speaking, since all accesses cannot be secured, lake closure is impossible. Minn. Stat. ~86B.111 states that the government does not have a duty to mark all hazards on state waters. The Scott County Sheriff and DNR Conservation Officer are in agreement that it is impossible to mark all areas that have thin ice, especially with constantly changing weather and environmental conditions on the lake. The City of Prior Lake has the authority to control City accesses such as West Avenue and Shady Beach Trail. These accesses can be shut down by the City, but, the City has no authority to control the DNR accesses near Sand Point Beach and DeWitte Avenue. ISSUES Knowing that all vehicular traffic cannot be kept off the lake, no matter how much effort is utilized, the LAC was in complete agreement that the City should limit its' involvement regarding regulatory action with the lake. The main concern is that the City would be exposing itself to potential liability by getting entangled with this issue. There was agreement amongst the parties that posting City accesses with signs warning users that dangerous conditions exist on the lake is legitimate. But trying to surround the lake with a barrier to prevent people from access to all unsafe areas on the lake is unfeasible and not within the City's authority. The County Sheriff has the authority to impose restrictions on a lake during unsafe ice conditions, MN Statute 86B.1 06. The DNR commissioner must be notified and can suspend any restrictions that have been imposed. CONCLUSION An organization chart was prepared showing the lines of authority and communication that should be followed in case LAKENOTE.DOC FISCAL IMPACT: ALTERNATIVES: RECOMMENDED MOTION: REVIEWED BY: LAKENOTE.DOC unsafe lake conditions occur in the future, see attached. The County Sheriff and the Police Department agreed that they should be responsible for public relations with the media. The City Manager of Prior Lake would be responsible for notifying the fire department, City Council and the Water Resources Coordinator. The Water Resources Coordinator would be responsible for notifying the Sportsmen's Club, Prior Lake Association, Snowmobile Clubs and Hennepin/Scott County Parks on a courtesy basis. These committees are then responsible for notifying their membership. The impact of permitting the Water Resources Coordinator to notify four organizations would affect only this position by requiring staff time to make phone calls. Staff time would also be spent by the Parks and Recreation Department installing signs at the City accesses. There are three alternatives for the City Council to consider: 1. Approve the Unsafe Lake Conditions Public Notification Process as recommended by the LAC. 2. Deny this item for a specific reason and provide staff with direction. 3. Table this item until some date in the future. A motion and second to Approve Resolution 98-XX which approves an Unsafe Lake Conditions Public Notification Process. 11 RESOLUTION 98-XX A RESOLUTION APPROVING THE UNSAFE LAKE CONDITIONS PUBLIC NOTIFICATION PROCESS. MOTION BY: SECOND BY: WHEREAS, periodically unsafe conditions occur on the lake which the City believes should be conveyed to others, and WHEREAS, the City recognizes that not all unsafe conditions will be known or communicated, and WHEREAS, the Lake Advisory Committee has worked with the Scott County Sheriff, DNR Conservation Officer, Prior Lake Police Chief, Prior Lake Snowmobile Association, the Sportsman's Club, Sno-Trails, Inc. and the' Prior Lake Association to prepare an Unsafe Lake Conditions Public Notification Process chart, and WHEREAS, the Sheriff and Conservation Officer are empowered under Minnesota Statutes to enforce the rules and laws governing state waters, and WHEREAS, according to Minn. Stat. ~86B.111 the government does not have a duty to mark all hazards on state waters, and WHEREAS, approval of the Unsafe Lake Conditions Public Notification Process will help in notifying lake users of hazardous conditions in the future. NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF PRIOR LAKE, MINNESOTA, the Unsafe Lake Conditions Public Notification Process as shown on Exhibit A (attached), is hereby approved. Passed and adopted this 6th day of July, 1998. YES NO Mader Kedrowski Petersen Schenck Wuellner Mader Kedrowski Petersen Schenck Wuellner LAKENOTE.DOC ". .... UNSAFE LAKE CONDITIONS PUBLIC NOTIFICATION PROCESS ORGANIZATION CHART SCOTT COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE .------ " DNR COMMISSIONER P.L. POLICE DEPT. -CITY OF PRIOR LAKE CITY MANAGER -P.L. FIRE DEPARTMENT - CITY COUNCIL - PARKS & REC. DEPT. , ~ 1 -PRIOR LAKE AMERICAN -CABLE TELEVISION -RADIO STATIONS -TELEVISION STATIONS -LOCAL BUSINESSES " -LAKE ADVISORY COMM.I WATER RESOURCES COORDINATOR TO MAKE A COURTESY TO THE FOLLOWING GROUPS w -GENERAL PUBLIC I -SPORTSMAN'S CLUB -PRIOR LAKE ASSOCIATION -SNOWMOBILE CLUBS -HENNEPIN/SCOTT- COUNTY PARKS ~ -MEMBER CONSTITUENTS -FRIENDS -ASSOCIATES -ETC. I . LAKE RESTRICTIONS IMPOSED 1 DNR STATE CONS. OFFICER DNR TRAILS & WATERWAYS ,- ;.,j;,' ~f MINUTES OF THE LAKE ADVISORY COMMITTEE March 18, 1998 I. CAll TO ORDER The Lake Advisory Committee was called to order on Wednesday, March 18, 1998 at 6:35 p.m. Members present: Marianne Breitbach, Kate Haggerty, Tom Kearney, Doug Larson, Paul Trapp and Rick Warner. Others present: Bill Nevin, Scott County Sheriff; Bill O'Rourke, Prior Lake Police Chief; Scott Carlson, DNR Conservation Officer; Frank Boyles, City Manager; Dale Brady, Prior Lake Association, and Water Resources Coordinator Lani Leichty. II. CONSIDER APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF MEETING The first item on the agenda was to approve the minutes of the meeting for February 18, 1998. MOTION BY LARSON, SECONDED BY BREITBACH TO APPROVE THE MEETING MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 18, 1998. MOTION PASSED UNA NIMO USL Y. Frank Boyles passed on four items of interest to the LAC members, they are: 1) Inflow/infiltration Studv. Council approved a study which will identify improperly connected sump pumps to save the City sanitary sewer treatment costs. Included in the study was also a program to identify leaking manholes, which the Metropolitan Council of Environmental Services denied as part of the grant because of the difficulty of proving the effectiveness of the sealing. 2) Advisorv Committee liaisons.. City Council has re-initiated the Council liaison program. Each advisory will have a Council member appointed to it to improve communication between the two bodies. The LAC Council liaison for the first year is Tom Kedrowski. 3) Cable Televisinq. City Council meetings will be aired on cable TV beginning June 1, 1998. The Council is interested in having advisory meetings aired on cable also if this meets with favorable opinion. 4) Lake Notification. In order to improve the communication process during thin ice winters, Council has asked the LAC to put together a formal notification process that could be followed in the future to inform the general public as quickly as possible of dangerous lake conditions. 16200 Eagle Creek Ave. S.E., Prior Lake, Minnesota 55372-1714 / Ph. (612) 447-4230 / Fax (612) 447-4245 AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER III. UNSAFE LAKE PUBLIC NOTIFICATION PROCESS The next item was the notification process to be followed when thin ice conditions occur on the lake. Sheriff Nevin noted that it is impossible to mark off areas on the lake that have thin ice. With the lake environment changing daily the unsafe areas are in a constant state of change. Haggerty asked the question, "What would the sheriff do on a more normal year?" Nevin said that most of the time there isn't this kind of problem on the lake. DNR Officer Carlson said that he doesn't think the lake should be closed, that the lake is always dangerous and that you can't regulate common sense. Nevin mentioned that once civil charges started to be filed the unsafe activity on the lake began slowing down. It was brought up that since there was little snow this past winter the snowmobile trails weren't conducive for riding. The alternative was to ride on the lake. Those who knew the lake could avoid the dangerous spots or would speed up to skip over the open water. But those who weren't familiar with the lake didn't know which areas could cause trouble. It was brought up that a civil citation can be issued to citizens if a vehicle is not removed from a lake and fined up to $2,000.00. The offense would be considered as solid waste disposal. Carlson mentioned that currently there isn't a law that addresses the issue of cost recovery for rescuing people from a water body. Leichty displayed a draft organization chart which could be followed to notify parties when unsafe lake conditions occur. After discussion with the group several changes were agreed upon and made to the chart. The DNR State Conservation Officer will notify the DNR Trails and Waterways. The County Sheriff and the Prior Lake Police Chief will be responsible for public relations with the media. The Water Resources Coordinator will be responsible for notifying the Sportsmen's Club, Prior Lake Association, Hennepin/Scott County Parks and the Snowmobile Club. Once the LAC has had a chance to meet with other civic groups a revised organizational chart will be sent to each party to see if any changes need to be made; Once every body has had a chance to review and comment the issue will be taken before the City Council for endorsement. IV. 1998 MILFOIL BUDGET The 1998 milfoil budget was discussed next. Kearney mentioned what was done in the past two years which included: a lakeside demonstration project, milfoil weed tools, educational mailings, and a sediment sample study. It was decided that a lakeside demonstration project should be done again this year which would also include information about proper lawn fertilization techniques. Also, an educational mailing to lakeshore residents will be done which will include information about the sediment sample study, free soil samples available through the watershed district and other pertinent information. MOTION BY LARSON, SECONDED BY WARNER TO SEND THE PROPOSED MILFOIL BUDGET TO THE WATERSHED FOR APPROVAL, MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSL Y. IV. 1998 LAC GOALS AND OBJECTIVES The 1998 Goals and Objectives were discussed briefly. The possibility of working on an ordinance pertaining to personal watercraft regulation was suggested. This suggestion may be discussed in the future. V. NEW BUSINESS Leichty also mentioned that the LAC needs to develop a 1998 Milfoil Budget that can be approved by the Watershed District. VI. ADJOURNMENT MOTION BY TRAPP, SECONDED BY WARNER TO ADJOURN THE MEETING AT 8:30 P.M., MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSL Y. Respectfully submitted, c~~~(~ Lanol Leichty ~ Recording Secretary ~ t/,.:RIO O<,~;C);'.t. ~")'A;;iiZ',~ >>.11.. "f ~...... f" ~s [~"...,,~:"J;~E ~~ ilrlNNESO~~ MINUTES OF THE LAKE ADVISORY COMMITTEE . April 15, 1998 I. CALL TO ORDER The Lake Advisory Committee was called to order on Wednesday, April 16, 1998 at 6:43 p.m. by Chair Kearney. Members present: Tom Kearney, Doug Larson, Paul Trapp and Rick Warner. Others present: Terry Hutchinson, Sno-Trails, Inc.; Dave Buresh, Prior Lake Snowmobile Assoc.; Tom Moore, Sportsman's Club; Tom Kedrowski, City Council Liaison; Dale Braddy, Prior Lake Association, Lani Leichty, Water Resources Coordinator; Roger Soderstrom, Paul Luger, and Barb Luger. Members absent: Marianne Breitbach and Kate Haggerty. II. CONSIDER APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF MEETING The first item on the agenda was to approve the minutes of the meeting for March 18,1998. MOTION BY LARSON, SECONDED BY TRAPP TO APPROVE THE MEETING MINUTES OF MARCH 18, 1998. MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. III. UNSAFE LAKE PUBLIC NOTIFICATION PROCESS The next item on the agenda was the unsafe lake notification process to be followed when thin ice conditions occur on the lake. Leichty displayed the draft organization chart which was used for discussion during the March LAC meeting with the law enforcement agencies. Discussion centered around what responsibilities the City had in notifying the public about unsafe lake conditions in the winter, especially with respect to legal implications. Leichty mentioned that the Water Resources Coordinator would be responsible for notifying the Sportsmen's Club, Prior Lake Association, Hennepin/Scott County Parks and the Snowmobile Club. These calls will be made for the notification process only and no other responsibilities will be assumed. MOTION BY LARSON, SECONDED BY WARNER TO PRESENT THE NOTIFICA TlON PROCESS AS CURRENTLY ORGANIZED TO CITY COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL. THAT THIS BE THE EXTENT OF THE LAKE ADVISORY COMMITTEE'S INVOLVEMENT. THAT THE CITY TAKE NO FURTHER ACTION ON THIS ISSUE. THAT ANY FURTHER ACTION REGARDING UNSAFE LAKE 16200 Eagle Creek Ave. S.E., Prior Lake, Minnesota 55372-1714 / Ph. (612) 447-4230 / Fax (612) 447-4245 AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER CONDlnONS SHOULD BE THE SCOTT COUNTY SHER~F~ - RESPONSIBILITY. MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSL Y. Moore expressed that people need to be responsible for their own actions. Kearney voiced that it's the rescue department's responsibility to respond to 911 calls whether they like to or not and that they are putting their lives in danger during the rescue. Hutchinson mentioned that he didn't feel it was the City's. responsibility to notify the public about unsafe lake conditions, but the County's. Leichty said that he would send out the organizational chart to each party for review and comment. Once everyone has had a chance to review and comment the issue will be taken before the City Council for endorsement. The earliest this will occur would probably be in June of 1998. IV. 1998 MILFOIL BUDGET The 1998 milfoil budget was discussed next. Kearney mentioned that he had attended the Watershed meeting the night before. The proposed milfoil management budget for 1998 was approved by the Watershed District. Kearney said that in the future it would help by identifying the budget at the top of the page as the "Prior Lake - Spring Lake Watershed District" budget for milfoil to avoid any confusion with other budgets. ManON BY WARNER, SECONDED BY TRAPP TO APPROVE THE 1998 MILFOIL MANAGEMENT BUDGET AS ADOPTED BY THE WA TERSHED, MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSL Y. Larson brought up the idea of making commercial lawn fertilizer applicators apply for a license on an annual basis as a way to generate revenue. This fund would then be used to combat eurasian milfoil and other water quality issues that have been created by an excess of lawn fertilizers such as nitrogen and phosphorous. Trapp mentioned that the additional cost from commercial applicators would be passed on down to the individual homeowners, and that there was a risk of the private citizen with no knowledge of proper fertilizer application which could actually worsen the problem by trying to save money by. doing the work themselves. IV. 1998 LAC GOALS AND OBJECTIVES The next agenda item discussed were the 1998 Goals and Objectives. The outline of the goals and objectives was reviewed and commented on. There was a suggestion to remove goal number five (5) from the list, which dealt with lake water level control. It was agreed upon to move goal number ten (10), review uses of non-vacated public (non DNR) accesses, to the forefront of issues to be discussed during the next several meetings. The objective is to address a long term solution to the Beach Lane access issue as directed by Council on December 15, 1997. The rational behind this is that it appears that no acceptable alternative exists at Sand Point Park for a new winter access without spending an enormous amount of I money. Without an alternative in place before this Vpcoming winter, the LAC will '... more than likely be dealing with this controversial matter again during the ice- fishing season. Moore, representing the Prior Lake Sportsman's Club, was asked if the Beach Lane access was still an active issue for the Club. He responded that their attorney was waiting on the outcome of a similar case which may set precedent for this situation. The members agreed that concerned residents and the Sportsman's Club should be invited to the June LAC meeting and a decision taken to the City Council in July. A question was raised whether the City is obligated to provide a winter access. Leichty will check to see if a joint powers agreement exists with the DNR to provide a winter access at Sand Point Park. MOTION BY LARSON, SECONDED BY WARNER TO CONSIDER ITEM NUMBER TEN (10) THE HIGH PRIORITY GOAL FOR 1998 FOLLOWING THE LAKE NOTlFICA TlON PROCESS. MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSL Y. The goals and objectives were re-prioritized as to order of importance, with number five (5) being eliminated. MOTION BY WARNER, SECONDED BY LARSON TO APPROVE THE PRIORITlZA TlON OF THE 1998 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES AS DISCUSSED. MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. V. NEW BUSINESS A date was chosen for the lakeshore demonstration project. The first choice was June 13, 1998, the second choice was June 20, 1998. Milfoil management techniques, proper lawn fertilization and aquascaping will be discussed at this demonstration. It was mentioned that the City Council liaison to the LAC, Tom Kedrowski, should be invited to the May meeting. VI. ADJOURNMENT MOTION BY TRAPP, SECONDED BY WARNER TO ADJOURN THE MEETING AT 7:58 P.M., MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. Respectfully submitted, ~-f~, Lanol Leichty / Recording Secretary 7---- .... If!: