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06-24-19 CC WS MinutesCITY OF SHOREWOOD 5755 COUNTRY CLUB ROAD CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING COUNCIL CHAMBERS MONDAY, JUNE 24, 2019 5:45 P.M. MINUTES 1. CONVENE CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING Mayor Zerby called the meeting to order at 5:47 P.M. A. Roll Call Present. Mayor Zerby; Councilmembers Johnson, Labadie, Sundberg and Siakel (arrived at 6:52 p.m.); City Administrator Lerud; Planning Director Darling; and Director of Public Works Brown Absent: None B. Review Agenda Sundberg moved, Johnson seconded, approving the agenda as presented. Motion passed 4/0. 2. Riley Bluff Purgatory Creek Watershed District (RBPCWD) Mayor Zerby introduced Dr. Claire Bleser from the Riley Bluff Purgatory Creek Watershed District (RBPCWD). Dr. Bleser gave a brief overview of the summary of the annual report for the RBPCWD and their work within the City boundaries. She noted that the RBPCWD Board was comprised of a member from Shorewood, two from Eden Prairie, one from Bloomington, and one from Chanhassen. She gave an overview of the duties of their six full -time staff members. She reviewed their volunteer program that works towards the mission of Protect, Manage and Restore the watershed district. She stated that there is also a Citizen Advisory Committee for the RBPCWD. She gave an overview of the projects they have worked on over the past year. She noted that they have about forty projects that they are monitoring and gave examples of stormwater holding ponds that they have looked at to make sure they are acting like they should be and phosphorus is not being released into the waterways. Mayor Zerby asked them to keep the City informed on these results because it has been a frequent conversation within the City about whether if the stormwater ponds are working like they should. Dr. Bleser stated that they are looking at different treatment options alongside the University of Minnesota for the stormwater ponds that are not working as they should be. Councilmember Sundberg asked who some of the partnership organizations were beyond the area cities. Dr. Bleser stated that their other partners are the area counties, the University of Minnesota, Three Rivers Park District, the Department of Natural Resources, school districts, Fresh Water Society, Met Council, and some area lake associations. CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES JUNE 24, 2019 Page 2 of 3 Councilmember Sundberg asked if the main focus of the partnerships were with governmental partnerships. Dr. Bleser stated that it was not because they have also partnered with the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts. She gave an overview of their regulatory program that prevents sediment pollution, and reduces food for algae. She stated that their ten -year management plan was approved which is similar to a city comprehensive plan. She noted that there are quite a few aquatic invaders in the district, which are also referred to as AIS. Councilmember Labadie noted that one of the points listed in the report lists goldfish as an invasive species and asked if someone had released goldfish. Dr. Bleser explained that there is one area to the east that they know there are goldfish, but she thinks they have mostly died off. She stated that goldfish are not a huge issue in our lakes and they are more concerned about carp at the present time. Mayor Zerby asked what the next big invasive species was that the City would have to start looking out for. Dr. Bleser stated that zebra mussels and starry stonewort are the ones they are watching closely for. She stated that the volunteers in the area are helping monitor for the invasive species and how quickly they are establishing themselves and populating the area lakes. She gave an overview of their data collection and vegetation management. She reviewed the water quality data and the health of the creek. She stated that they will be hosting a Celebrating our Community event in honor of the RBPCWD's fifty -year anniversary on August 28, 2019 from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Riley- Jaques Barn at Lake Riley in Eden Prairie. She reviewed some of the continuing education programs that they offer, such as smart salting courses. She stated that they are also monitoring the wetlands in the area. She reviewed the planned Silver Lake Water Quality Project for phosphorus reduction. She stated that they are an approved GreenCorps site, so there will be special initiatives they will begin working on in the fall. Councilmember Sundberg stated that it appears as though the watershed district is paying more attention to the creeks than in the past. Dr. Bleser stated that this was correct and noted that their older plan had a lot of focus on the lakes, but they have discovered that people care about all the water resources, including wetlands, groundwater, creeks in addition to the lakes. Councilmember Sundberg stated that she supports this change in focus. Mayor Zerby thanked the representatives from the watershed district for coming to the meeting and providing an update. 3. Christmas Lake AIS Funding Joe Schneider stated that although Todd Erickson has taken over as president of the Christmas Lake Homeowner's Association, he will continue to handle the AIS efforts. He stated that the AIS in the lake is the same as last year and there are no new species. He stated that they are very close to being able to say that Eurasian water milfoil is not a problem on Christmas Lake because of the weevil program that was used last year. He thanked the Public Works Department for their help in helping with the decontamination process. He stated that he thinks this may be the last year that they will need to have the weevil program because it has been a fantastic success. Councilmember Labadie asked what eats the weevil and if there was a concern for overpopulation. Mr. Schneider stated that there are fish that will eat the weevil and stated that "Mother Nature" will take care of balancing the population. CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES JUNE 24, 2019 Page 3 of 3 The Council discussed the program and whether it could be successful in a large lake by moving bay by bay. Mr. Schneider reviewed the entities that have partnered with them on this project and explained that it is a very expensive program. He noted that the watershed district has been dropping the amount of grant awards for AIS prevention. He stated that the City gave them a grant of $5,000 last year for the program and would like to ask the City to consider continuing their financial support. He stated that he would like to have a longer discussion with the City about more creative ways to fund AIS prevention and control because the lake association members end up footing the majority of the bill for the lake to be useable by visitors to the lakes. Mayor Zerby asked if there was a way to determine how much of the lake usage is residents who live on the lake versus visitors to the lake. Mr. Schneider stated that they do have data of how many boats go in and out over the course of a summer and noted that they monitor it via car license plate numbers. He stated that they may be able to subtract the homeowners out of that number to get a pretty good idea of the usage. Councilmember Siakel arrived at the meeting. Councilmember Labadie asked if Minnesota Inboard was still launching their test drives on Christmas Lake. Mr. Schneider stated that they have not seen as much of that but have seen demos from the new Midwest Watersports dealer. He stated that they do worry about that and plan to ask those companies if they will get a decontamination unit at their shops. He distributed a quick update from the recycling committee. Councilmember Johnson asked if the Council could discuss this since it was not on the agenda. City Administrator Lerud stated that Mr. Schneider was doing a quick overview and will come to a regular meeting to give a more thorough update. Mr. Schneider stated that the Recycling Committee has met four times and are working on packaging their ideas to present to the Council for their feedback. He gave a quick overview of some of the ideas that they have discussed at their meetings. Councilmember Johnson suggested that they look into the pilot program that was conducted with the school district at MMW with compostable silverware. 4. ADJOURN Labadie moved, Johnson seconded, Adjourning the City Council Work Session Meeting of June 24, 2019, at 6:58 P.M. Motion passed 5/0. ATTEST: IL L I AU--"," ­ ScoAZerby, M vor Sandie Thone, City Clerk