HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/17/98
MINUTES OF THE LAKE ADVISORY COMMITTEE
June 17,1998
Prior to the meeting being called to order Chair Tom Kearney updated the
committee on the status of the Shady Beach Trail access. He mentioned that the
ad hoc committee that was formed to resolve this issue met several times and
arrived with an agreement that was satisfactory to all parties. Before the
agreement becomes official it will need to be approved by City Council.
I. CALL TO ORDER
The Lake Advisory Committee was called to order on Wednesday, June 17, 1998
at 6:53 p.m. Members present: Marianne Breitbach, Kate Haggerty, Tom
Kearney, Roger Soderstrom, Paul Trapp and Rick Warner. Others present: Donna
and Mike Mankowski, Jim Peterson and Lani Leichty, Water Resources
Coordinator. Members absent: Doug Larson.
II. CONSIDER APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF MEETING
The first item on the agenda was to approve the minutes of the meeting for May
20, 1998.
MOTION BY HAGGERTY, SECONDED BY SODERSTROM TO APPROVE THE
MEETING MINUTES OF MA Y 20, 1998. MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSL Y.
III. SURFACE WATER ORDINANCE ENFORCEMENT
The next item on the agenda was to be discussions with County Sheriff Bill Nevin
about enforcement of the surface water ordinance. Since Nevin was unable to
attend, this item was tabled until the July 1998 LAC meeting.
IV. LAKE LEVEL MANAGEMENT AND NO-WAKE ZONE
Leichty handed out a lake level graph showing the elevation of Prior Lake from
1983 to 1997. This showed the amount of fluctuation the lake has experienced
over recent years and the time period that the lake was above the 904 ordinary
high water level (OHWL). He reviewed comments made during conversation's
with the DNR on their position regarding lake normal water level (NWL) and
ordinary high water elevations (OHWL). They are taking a hands off approach to
16200 Eagle Creek Ave. S.E., Prior Lake, Minnesota 55372-1714 / Ph. (612) 447-4230 / Fax (612) 447-4245
AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
this issue and it will be very unlikely that the current levels for the NWL of 902.5
and OHWL of 904.0 can be changed.
Ms. Mankowski suggested that an ordinance should be adopted restricting
landscaping close to the waters edge. She said that new people moving onto the
lake know very little about the lake and the water level fluctuation that occurs.
Mr. Mankowski asked how many complaints there actually were regarding the
problem of high water this spring. He said that the impact on businesses of
lowering the NWL and OWHL should be looked at before any action is taken. He
brought up the fact that a DNR permit is needed for work done below the OHWL
unless it meets the DNR restrictions. Also, he thought it would be interesting to
see who was doing the complaining and check out their lakeshore property to see
if they were in violation of DNR rules.
Soderstrom mentioned that wind and wave action is a cause of much more erosion
than by boats when the no-wake zone is in effect. He also said that lakeshore
property values fluctuate along with high and low water elevations.
Mr. Mankowski said that a precedent for the no-wake elevation to be set at the
same elevation as the OHWL of a lake has been established by the DNR and that
changing this would be setting a new precedent.
Warner made the following motion:
MOTION BY WARNER, SECONDED BY HAGGERTY TO TAKE NO ACTION ON
THIS ISSUE A T THIS TIME.
Soderstrom made an amendment to the motion as follows:
MOTION BY SODERSTROM, SECONDED BY HAGGERTY TO TAKE NO
ACTION ON THIS ISSUE SINCE CURRENT DNR REGULA TlONS ARE
ALREADY IN EFFECT THAT CONTROL LAKE LEVELS IN A SUFFICIENT
MANNER. MOTION PASSED UNA NIMO USL Y.
MOTION BY WARNER, SECONDED BY BREITBACH TO GET A COPY OF ALL
COMPLAINTS AND CONTACT THESE PEOPLE AND RESEARCH THE
COMPLAINTS. MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSL Y.
MOTION BY WARNER, SECONDED BY HAGGERTY TO PREPARE A
LAKESHORE OWNERS INFORMA TION GUIDE WHICH WILL BE MAILED TO
ALL LAKESHORE OWNERS AND MADE AVAILABLE TO THE GENERAL
PUBLIC. MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSL Y.
Ms. Mankowski mentioned that the Prior Lake Association may be willing to fund
the material expense of preparing an informational guide to lakeshore owners.
She will bring this up at the next meeting of the Prior Lake Association.
.' _____.____'_..."_,~~~_.....__~____.~____.--..,...,,,.--~~,'_m.___.."~_"",~,_.",.",_~ _ ,. _,___,__~_~__.___..,.___"__..~..,,.~~~..., ..".._...,__"..__.__~__~..
v. NEW BUSINESS
A. Leichty updated the committee on the status of the eurasian milfoil treatment .
program. He said that DNR reduced the amount of treatment coverage
requested by 1.0 acre. This was done because 15% of the littoral area had
already been permitted by the DNR for private treatment. Leichty will call the
DNR to find out what their policy is and what areas are high priority, public
channel ways or private shorelines.
B. Trapp informed the committee about the outcome of the Lakeside
Demonstration Project. Approximately 5 people showed up for the
demonstration, which was considerably lower than the past years. It was
mentioned that the recent storm damage and resulting clean-up may have kept
people away. Trapp mentioned that it may be better to hold the demonstration
at Sand Point Beach in the future because of the easier access to the beach.
VI. ADJOURNMENT
MOTION BY HAGGERTY, SECONDED BY WARNER TO ADJOURN THE
MEETING AT 8:18 P.M., MOTION PASSED UNANlMOUSL Y.
Respectfully submitted,
~~
Recording Secretary