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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/25/03 MINUTES OF TtlE LAKE ADVISORY COMMITTEE February 25, 2003 I. CALL TO ORDER Dale Braddy called the Lake Advisory Committee (LAC) Meeting to order at 6:30 P.M. Members present: Dale Braddy, Shirley Gengler, Brad Beneke, and Harry Alcorn. Members absent: Dan O'Keefe Others present: Chad LeMair; City Council, Jim Peterson; City Council, Marv Mirsch, Sue McDermott; City Engineer and Larry Poppler; Assistant City Engineer. ~ II. CONSIDER APPROVAL OF THE JANUARY 14, 2003 MEETING MINUTES MOTION BY BENEKE, SECONDED BY ALCORN TO APPROVE THE JANUARY 14, 2003 MEETING MINUTES. UPON A VOTE, MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. III. OLD BUSINESS a. Review 2004-2008 Capital Improvement Program McDermott went over the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) items from the Water Quality Fund: 1. Repair to the outlet channel- Natural armoring of the outlet channel 2. Carp harvesting - Harvest carp on Prior Lake 3. Storm water pond dredging - A few years ago pond surveys were performed. The surveys identified ponds that need to be dredged. They include Hampton Pond, 42 & 21, Carriage Hills, Northwood Road, Wilderness Ponds. Some can be moved up and be done sooner. The City maintenance staff may be able to do some of the work 4. Lake Bank Stabilization - Because of low prices, last year more stabilization projects were done than were planned. A couple of areas remain to be done. A couple can be done each year. Inspection of previous projects will be done and if any need to be fixed they can be 16200 Eagle Creek Ave, S.E., Prior Lake, Minnesota 55172-1714 / Ph, (952) 447-4230 / Fax (952) 447-4245 AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER fixed in conjunction with new stabilization projects. Fairbanks Trail and another project can be moved up to 2003. 5. Drainage Improvement Projects - Drainage improvements are done with street reconstruction projects. They include construction of sedimentation structures and ponds. 6. Update Surface Water Management Plan (SWMP) and Wetland Management Plan - The City will wait until the Scott County Water Management Plan is completed so that the Scott County Standards can be followed. The Wetland Management Plan can now be completed. The City has been busy completing the NPDES Phase II Permit. 7. Boat Slips at Watzl' s - Construction of a dock for boat slips at Watzl' s Beach. Sand Point dock was also added. Milfoil treatment is being done every year through an operating budget. Chloride testing will continue. E-coli was not added to the CIP. E- coli is a budget item, not a CIP item. b. Summary of 2002 Accomplishments McDermott mentioned that the City would draft a summary memo of 2002 accomplishments for the next meeting. IV. NEW BUSINESS a. Review Year 2003 CLMP Goals and Objectives McDermott mentioned that the CLMP Goal and Objective for 2003 was to review the water level management. The LAC agreed that reviewing the water level management would not be a good topic for this year. McDermott asked the LAC what it's 2003 goals and objectives will be and whether the LAC would like to update the CLMP or work with the Watershed District to define goals? Gengler stated that the LAC should add the "Vision 2020" goals to this year's plans. Mirsch mentioned that the LAC should work with the Watershed District to define tasks. Braddy mentioned that McDermott and Braddy would go through the CLMP together and draft changes to the document. 2 b. Provide Comments for the City Council Regarding 75 Foot Setback from Prior Lake's Ordinary High Water Elevation Gengler mentioned that setback averaging can be used and the 75 setback is meaningless. LeMair stated that in certain circumstances that is true, but not all. Mirsch mentioned that the setback has always been 75 feet other than for two years in the 1990's. LeMair asked the LAC, why IS the greater setback from the lake important. Gengler answered that the greater setback area IS used to absorb stormwater runoff closer to the lake. Mirsch mentioned that the main reason that the setback is 75 feet is appearance. LeMair asked why the setback was changed in the 1990's to 50 feet and why was the setback changed back to 75 feet. Mirsch responded that it was changed to accommodate a variance request. LeMair asked why is the state setback at 50 feet. Mirsch responded that various ordinances within the City are modified from the state guidelines. The City at one point in time decided to place the setback at 75 feet as a standard for Prior Lake. Consensus in the City has been 75 feet. Mirsch mentioned that a lake in California became a "dead lake" because the houses were built too close to the lake and inhibited wind from mixing the water. MOTION BY ALCORN, SECONDED BY BENEKE TO VOTE ON THE 75 FOOT SETBACK ON PRIOR LAKE. UPON A VOTE, MOTION FOR KEEPING THE SETBACK AT 75 FEET PASSED. BRADDY, GENGLER, ALCORN, AND 0 'KEEFE VOTED FOR KEEPING THE SETBACK AT 75 FEET BENEKE ABSTAINED. 3 V. OTHER BUSINESS a. Distribution of Aquatic Plant Surveys for Lower Prior Lake McDermott passed out the Aquatic Plant Survey done last fall. Braddy mentioned that this survey was good to establish a baseline for Prior Lake. Alcorn asked if the City web site will be updated. McDermott answered that the web site is being worked on and will be completed soon. Braddy recognized Mirsch for his work on the 75 foot setback issue. VI. ADJOURNMENT MOTION BY BENEKE, SECONDED BY ALCORN TO ADJOURN THE MEETING AT 8:40 P.M Respectfully submitted, Sue McDermott City Engineer Larry Poppler Assistant City Engineer 4 -- ~ PRIOR LAKE - SPRING LAKE WATERSHED DISTRICT ", ~~ 13] ...' ~ ,~~~ (952) 447-4166 Fax 447-4167 March 11, 2003 ~---'--;~ '~'\il \C,\,,\l f- '""" ';1J Ie-' 'J '''' I~ ';\\~ II' ..\ ,c, \~ \? \ \1JI \.S II \ J ~ ," \ I [ i \n '..:l - ,\ ,I \ I'}' 1 G '.::.1 I \ \\i.\ . -" ' II :' \, ~! u "R 1 2 2003 \ U i\ \ \\ \ \l1M LJ · .\Ju , \ :8v~ C;. - To: Bob Palmby, Madison Groves, Frank Fourre, Dennis Odoms; Spring Lake Homeowners Assoc., John Barton; Three Rivers Park Board, Cheryl Langer, Linda Mentor, Frank Boyles; Cityof' Prior Lake, Sue McDermott; City of Prior Lake, Dawn Tracy; Scott County, Marv Mirsch, Loren Jone~ Prior lake Association, Prior Lake Chambef'Of Commerce, Wagon Bridge Marina, Prior Lake Marine, Dale Braddy; Lake Advisory Committee, Dan Borchardt;. Prior Lake Sportsman's Club, MK Rshing, Pat Lynch; DNR, Daryl Ellison: DNR, Dave McCormick; DNR, ,James Conroy, Craig Gontarek; PLSLWD President, WiUiam Kallberg; PLSLWD Secretary, Larry Mueller:; PLSLWO Treasurer, RogerWahl; PlSLWD Manager, William Schmoekel; PLSLWO Manager, Walt Burris. Bill TIsdell I'- CC: Greg Wilson and Hal Runke, Barr Engineering From: Paul Nelson, District Administrator ~ Re: Sustainable Lakes Planning Workshop #3 Our next ~ng for the Sustainable Lakes Planning effort isMarch 20, 2003, 7:00 - 9:00 PM. The meeting location is at the City of Prior, Lake Public Works Maintenance Building 17073 Adelmann Street SE Prior Lake. MN 55372. The main topic for this meeting is water quality dynamics. Representatives from Barr. Engineering will be there to present , and discuss the results of some of their work on hydrologic,and phosphorous budgets (i.e., Where the water and phosphorous comes fran). Also attached isa copy <?f the newspaper artide covering our last meeting. AGENDA Introductions Review of Workshop #2 Water Quality Overview and Trends Spring lake Hydrologic and Nutrient Budgets Prior Lake Hydrologic and Nutrient Budgets ". 16670 FRANKLIN TRAIL S.E. · SUITE 110. PRIOR LAKE, MN55372 r ~- : ke S continued from page 1 roles for each entity, "so we have were treated wiih a herbicide. Although a better, more coordinated effort," it is too early to see if these steps will Nelson said. have a long-term effect on the The first few meetings were curlyleaf, additional species of plants designed to give participants the back- were found in the treated areas and the ground information they would need exotic plants did not grow back, to discuss lake management. At the Nelson said. first meeting in midclanuary, partici- In 2003, the efforts will be repeated pants discussed the physical setting of with the help of 1 ao shoreline partici- the lakes and their economic benefits pants to help share the cost as well as , the grant. Commercial fisherman have, to the communIty. At the Feb. 13 meet- been contacted about the possibility of ing, the main topics were fish popula- harvesting the carp'in Spring Lake due tions, aquatic plants and aquatic plant to the water quality issues the fish management. create. However, in 2004, funds from Biology lesson the grant will no longer be available. Nelson opened that Feb, 13 discus- It must be decided if the project will sion by explaining the differences continue, and if so, with what funds, between macrophytes, or submerged Nelson said. plants, and algae, microscopic floating A survey in Upper Prior Lake plants. showed that plant diversity was poor Both are important parts of lake and that the lake was dominated by biology but can be a nuisance to exotic species. In June of 2000, the humans. lake had three species of plants, Many people refer to aquatic plants curlyleaf pondweed, Eurasian water" as weeds, according to Nelson. "But milfoil and sago pondweed, the first they're actually good for the lakes," he two of which are exotic. In September said. Plants create habitat for animals, of that same year, Eurasian watennil- fish and other aquatic creatures, protect foil and sago pondweed were grow- shoreline, minimize turbulence, and ing. help maintain the health of the lake. Lower Prior Lake was more ....4.survey in 2000 showed that there diverse. In June of2000, there were 12 '" '0 species of aquatic plants in species, and in September, 13 species S ~ake in June. About 180 acres were growiitg. Coon tail, which is a of s..go pondweed, which is, a native native plant but can also grow to nui- plant, and Gurlyleaf pondweed, an sance level, was the domitiant plant. exotic plant, was growing along the There was 113 acres of Eurasian water- shoreline of the 580-acre lake. About milfoil and 178 acres of curlyleaf 87 acres of that area was growing thick pondweed - not generally at a nuisance enough to be considered a nuisance to amount Illinois stargrass and water recreational usage of the lake. A survey stargrass was also common. in September of 2000 showed that AIgae'is also present in the lakes, eight species were growing in Spring giving them that green color late in the Lake. The growth was mostly made up summer, Although algae is an impor- of curlyleaf, elodea and coontail tant part of the food chain, it grows plants. There was no Eurasian water- very quicldywhen abundance amounts milfoil, an exotic plant of phosphorus are available and can Curlyleafpondweedcangrowvery affect water clarity and slow the thick and contribute to water quality growth of aquatic plants. "We want problems, It also grows very early in algae to some extent but when over- the season and crowds out native abundant we can have problems," plants. Right around July 4, the plant Nelson said. dies. Not only does a large amount of Upper Prior Lake has the most it wash ashore and stink but it decom- algae, with Spring Lake not far behind. poses in the water and creates good Measured by the presence of chloro- conditions for algae to grow. phyIl-a, a plant pigment, algae has There are a few possible steps to increased slightly every year from control curlyleaf pondweed. To keep .1999 to 2001 in Upper Prior Lake, the plant from reproducing, Ule water Lower Prior Lake and Spring Lake. level can be lowered or the lake can be Measurements in Lower Prior Lake treated or harvested in early season. were in the 10 to 22 micrograms per "The key to long-tenn control is to do liter range in 1999 to 200 i. In Upper this really early before it produces Prior Lake measurements ranged from those seeds," Nelson said. 63 to 80. In Spring Lake they ranged The district hopes to increase the from 41 to 58. The rule of thumb is that nap..... plant coverage and diversity to algae is noticeable at a reading of 12 3' percent of Spring Lake. Plus, and is obnoxious at a reading of30, Ii ,uld like to see the curlyleaf Nelson said. pOlluweed reduced from a l80-acre Algae produces a scununy look to area to 90 acres and nuisance areas lakes and can even produce toxins. In reduced'from 90 acres to 40 acres'or 2000 two dogs 'died, from drinking less. local lake water, Nelson said. A Challenge Grant from the Board Spring and Upper Prior lakes are of Water and Soil Resources set the considered impaired due to excessive process in motion in 2002, About 50 nutrients and a plant community acres of cUrlyleaf pondweed were dominated by exotic species, accord- mechanically harvested and 40 acres PRIOR LAKE AMERICAN/Februarv 22. 2003/PalJe 15 ing to Nelson. However, Spring Lake does have a remnant native plant com~ ,,' munity. Lower Prior Lake is not con- sidered impaired because it is a mod- erately productive lake with a more diverse plant community. All three lakes are infested with exotic species, Nelson said. Decision time Nelson wants to see the issue of the high production of algae and aquatic plants addressed in the lake manage- ment plan. The problem is that if the algae problem is addressed, the water becomes clearer and Ule aquatic plants can grow thicker. If the aquatic plant population is cut back, it leaves an opening for algae to grow. "Vou poke it here, and it comes out over here," Nelson said with a laugh, referring to the cycle. "What's your preference, algae or plants?" he said later. The room grew silent as the par- ticipants pondered the problem. "Which can you live with?" he prompted. Some participants eventu- ally said that the algae problem was harder to live with than the plant prob-' lem. Another thing Nelson stres,sed was that cleaning up the lakes,by eliminat- ing the algal blooms and managing the aquatic plant community in Prior and Spring lakes is a long-tenn project that must have the support of the commu- nity if it is to be implemented success- fully. And that support must be sus- tained over a long period of time. "It's not a one-year or a two-year effort," he said. "The community must have the staying power to do this." Fish communities Daryl Ellison, west areas fisheries supervisor With the Minnesota Depart- ment of Natural Resources (DNR) fishery division, presented infonna- tion, primarily on Spring Lake, to the group. His office is located in' Eden Prairie and covers Scott, Carver and Hennepin counties, within which 100 lakes, two large rivers and streams can be found. Ellison told meeting participants that Sprin~ Lake is 580 acres and is the eighth largest lake in the three-county area his office covers. Every other year the DNR stocks Spring Lake with about 580 pounds or 12,000 fingerlings of walleye. This gives the fish time to grow large enough to keep them from eating the fingerlings that are stocked the next year. Bass, panfish, pike and perch are native to Spring Lake. A survey done in December of 1998 through September of 1999 showed that anglers spent 56,000 hours on the lake, took 15,000 trips there and spent $375,OaO. Angleci on Prior Lake spent 84;000 hours' oidhe lake, took 24,000 trips there and spent $600,000. The figures for money spent by fishennen are taken from a national survey that estimated the average expenditures from a day offishing at $25, Ellison said. The survey included costs for things like licenses, bait, boats, tackle, lodging and food. "It sounds high, but when you go look at the price of a boat, it seems low," he said. The same survey showed that anglers took home the most sunfish, crappies and perch from Spring Lake. They harvested 44,000 sunfish, 15,000 crappies, 6,000 perch, 600 pike, 400 walleye and 200 bass. They released 24,000 sunfish, 8,000 crappies, 11,000 perch, 300 pike, 500 walleye and 1,700 bass. A discussion of the mercury level in fish caught in Prior and Spring lakes brought shocked looks around the rooW: Although Ellison said the statis- tics were "fairly typical for lakes in the three-county area," it is something anglers in Prior Lake should keep in mil!4. Several meeting participants "heard- for the first time that the DNR recommends that pregnant women and children should only eat one meal of fish a' month, due to the mercury leveL "Wow," commented Bil! Tisdel!, who lives on Spring Lake. "1 can't believe that," said Bill Schmokel, who lives on Prior Lake. The news was better for men and women who are not pregnant. Still, the DNR recommends that they only eat one meal a week offish. Predator fish, such as walleye, Northern pike and bass, have higher levels of merCury because the element accumulates mercury in their body fat every time they eat a fish that also has small amounts'of mercury in them. Sunfish, 'crappie and bluegills have relatively low amounts of mercury in them because they are not predators. Although this is something anglers should keep in mind, it does not mean the fish iIi Minnesota lakes are unsafe to eat. Mercury occurs natural!y in the soil and the air. "It ish't like someone dumped mercury in the lakes," Ellison said. For more infonnation on Prior and Spring lakes and fish consumption advisories, see www.dnr.state.mn.us. Click on lake finder on the right side and then locate the county and the lake. 'Next meeting , The next meeting has been sched- uled for March 20 and will deal with the subject of lake chemistry. After that, Nelson plans to start discussions about goalS and roles in the lake man- agement plan. The process should be completed; with a sustainable lakes ,manage~nt plliJ!, py August or some- "tiine;!n C;#ly rafi'Ofthis year, he said. ,; '. ,;Watcbtfor more,infonnation about the upcoming meeting in the Prior Lalce American, or contact the district office at 4474166 and asked to be notified of upcoming meetings. ' ) PRIOR LAKE CHLORIDE MONITORING RESULTS SAMPLE LOCATION ON CHLORIDE IN mg/L February 24. 2001 43.4 42.8 39.4 38,7 37.2 40,1 37,2 37,1 36.5 33,1 34.2 33.2 I 37.2 36.5 37,6 March 23. 2001 39,6 42.5 44,3 35.4 40,5 38.9 39.6 36.3 37,6 43.3 39,1 33.4 30.8 I 71,3 63,2 42,6 May 1. 2001 32.9 31.8 30.8 31,6 30,9 31.4 30,8 29,9 30.6 28.4 28.6 28.8 28.5 30,7 30.7 30,3 May 30, 2001 33,2 31.3 32.2 32,8 32,2 32.4 32.7 31,2 30.9 31.1 31,6 30.6 30,5 32,0 31.6 31.7 June 29. 2001 33.8 33,0 33.1 32,8 32.6 32.6 33,1 31,5 31.4 30.6 30.1 30.2 30.2 30,2 30.6 31.6 July 30. 2001 34.8 36,1 36,0 36.0 34,7 35.4 35.3 32.8 33.2 31.6 31,6 32.2 31,2 33,6 32.9 33,8 September 5. 2001 36,6 37.0 37,9 35.8 35,1 35,8 35.9 32.3 31.8 30,2 31.9 31,7 32.1 33.4 33,0 33,9 Septernber27,2oo1 34.5 52.7 37,3 36.3 34,2 34.6 35.8 31,2 33.0 30,6 30,8 30.6 31.6 30.3 30,0 34,2 November 1. 2001 37.9 44.9 41.7 37.6 38,2 38,0 38.3 34,8 34.4 34.8 34.3 34,2 34.7 33.8 34.3 36.7 November 30, 2001 36.8 37.6 49.2 36.4 36,6 37,1 36.6 32.7 32.4 32,6 32.6 33,4 33.2 33.6 172,0 45.4 February 1. 2002 40.3 44.0 45,0 38,6 38.3 37.8 42.9 36,6 36.5 33.8 34.7 34.1 35.9 42,9 41.9 38.8 March 1. 2002 39.0 82.0 85.0 35,4 41.3 34.0 39,0 29.7 34.5 33.2 35.5 34.1 36.4 36,8 39.4 42,6 April. 2002 (No tests taken) 0,0 May 8. 2002 38.3 38.4 39.3 38.8 38.1 38,1 38.0 32.5 33.3 33,1 32.4 32.3 33,1 43.8 43.9 36,8 June 11. 2002 42.8 54,8 52.8 41,0 40.2 41.4 41.1 35.4 34.7 35,0 34,5 35.0 I 34.9 54.5 53.5 42.1 July 17. 2002 40.1 40.1 40,0 38,6 38.5 37.5 38.1 33,5 33.5 32,0 '32.3 32,1 ; 32.3 56.3 55,9 38.6 Auaust 9. 2002 .39.3 38.7 38,6 37,8 37.9 37,5 37.6 32.7 32.6 32.5 32,7 34.2 i 32.6 46,5 38,1 36.4 September 4.2002 31.7 32.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0,0 32,2 32.8 30,4 30.1 30.5 I 30,2 I 31.9 30.1 20.0 October 2. 2002 29.0 29.4 29:5 33.4 33.0 32,8 32,6 31.6 31.4 30.4 30,8 30.2 I 29.9 I 28,0 28.0 30.8 I I February 3. 2003 34.9 40,0 40.5 39,1 48.6 41.0 41,6 35.9 37,5 36.7 39.2 31,5 I 36.0 I 41.4 40,1 39,2