Thirty Lakes Watershed District
Board of Managers Meeting
Monday, September 22, 2008

Board Present:  T. Ebnet, K. Svee, B. Yund.  Absent:  none.

Also present were County Commissioner Rosemary Franzen, Bob Albrecht and Rick Johnson of the Advisory Committee.

The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. by President T. Ebnet in the office of the Thirty Lakes Watershed District, 17064 Commercial Park Road, Brainerd, MN.

Agenda:  MOTION BY SVEE/YUND THAT THE AGENDA BE APPROVED AS PRESENTED.  ALL AYE, MOTION CARRIED.

Secretary’s Report:  MOTION BY SVEE/YUND THAT THE MINUTES OF THE SEPTEMBER 8, 2008 MEETING BE APPROVED AS PRESENTED.  ALL AYE, MOTION CARRIED.

Monthly Bills:  Administrator M. Peisch noted that a bill has not yet been received from A. W. Research for the second one-third of the TSI contract amount.

MOTION BY SVEE/YUND THAT THE MONTHLY BILLS LISTED ON THE ACCOUNTS PAYABLE FOR 9/22/08 BE APPROVED FOR PAYMENT.  ALL AYE, MOTION CARRIED.

Aubrey McClendon:  A completed permit application has been received from McClendon.  T. Ebnet asked if there was proper documentation for the project, and K. Svee replied that all the necessary drawings are contained in the file.  T. Ebnet asked if the proposed tennis court was on the drawing, and K. Svee said it was not.  T. Ebnet also asked if the cottage on the south side of the property was still standing, and it is.  There was a question as to the OHW from years ago when Landecker & Associates did the survey, according to Ebnet.  Svee pointed out that SWCD has made many inspections of the property and a SWPP is on file.  He also explained that the rain gutters on the buildings are connected to underground pipes which carry the runoff to rain gardens.  The grass yard is also sloped to drain into rain gardens.

MOTION BY SVEE/YUND THAT PERMIT #080911 BE APPROVED FOR AUBREY MCCLENDON FOR THE PROJECT AT 9364 CIMINO BAY DRIVE, PEQUOT LAKES, MN.  ALL AYE, MOTION CARRIED.

Elks Camp Shoreline Restoration Project:  M. Peisch reported that Pelican Lake Property Owners Assoc. is leading this project for restoration of native vegetation on over 300 ft. of shoreline.

T. Ebnet questioned the location of the OHW with regard to the project area.  B. Yund stated that the lake level is probably down 2 ft. from normal.  T. Ebnet felt that all projects partners needed to sign on the dotted line before payment is approved.  He also disapproved of the $3,000 “plant deposit” shown on the project budget.  He further stated that aquatic vegetation should be planted lakeward of the OHW, however he did not approve of planting anything below the OHW.

B. Yund said that we should require a site design, and that having one drawn is a cost of doing business.  T. Ebnet said that Thirty Lakes needs to know what the others partners are going to pay for the project, and that the OHW must be staked.

MOTION BY SVEE/YUND TO APPROVE THE $280 COST FOR FALL SEEDING AND FABRIC COVER.  ALL AYE, MOTION CARRIED.

2008 Overflight:  The District will be divided into two sections, north and south.  North will be flown in 2008 and the south in 2009.  The focus of the overflight will be documentation as opposed to searching for land use violations, and photographs will include an area of ½ mile outside the actual district boundary.

MOTION BY YUND/SVEE THAT THE PROPOSAL OF $2,641.00 FROM A. W. RESEARCH BE APPROVED FOR THE 2008 OVERFLIGHT TO BE CONDUCTED AFTER LEAF-OFF AND BEFORE SNOWCOVER.  ALL AYE, MOTION CARRIED.

BWSR Academy of the North:  T. Ebnet, K. Svee and M. Peisch will attend.

Jolly Rogers Cooperative:  Sections 4.1 and 4.31 of the District Rules require a Permit be obtained before work is started, and that additional information such as a stormwater management plan may be required with the Permit Application.  Attorney K. Deter wanted to be sure that the rules allowed him to pursue action.

MOTION BY SVEE/YUND TO AUTHORIZE ATTORNEY KURT DETER TO SEND A LETTER TO JOLLY ROGERS COOPERATIVE REQUESTING A REVISED STORMWATER PLAN.  ALL AYE, MOTION CARRIED.

B. Albrecht asked what could be done to enforce this issue.  M. Peisch stated that a Court Injunction could be secured, which would be enforced by the Sheriff’s Dept.  Albrecht questioned whether or not the County Attorney would follow through on enforcement of the injunction.

K. Svee asked about the lake gauge located on the Jolly Rogers property, and the Managers agreed that it was late enough in the season to remove the gauge.

Postcard to District Residents:  It was suggested that a postcard be sent to the year-around residents of the District notifying them of the openings on the Board of Managers and instructing them to send a letter of interest to the County.  The cost would be $488 for printing, with an estimated $500 postage cost.

B. Yund suggested that we try a newspaper ad, and T. Ebnet stated that the County will advertise when they decide to fill the position.  Yund pointed out that the postcard said nothing about remuneration.  B. Albrecht suggested that if it was going to be done, it should be done now.

MOTION BY SVEE/YUND TO SEND THE POSTCARD TO RESIDENTS IN THE DISTRICT WITH LOCAL ZIP CODES.  Discussion Followed:

Yund asked R. Johnson if he was going to apply for the position of Manager, and he replied that he was not sure what he wanted to do.  Yund said that Johnson has been associated with the District for 2 or more years, and that he would have been appointed under the old policies of the County Commissioners.  R. Franzen stated that it doesn’t make sense that Advisory Committee members are not appointed to the Board of Managers, then pointed out that currently two members of the Advisory Committee live outside of the District.  K. Svee said that 103D does not require them to reside in the District.

B. Yund stated that the postcard was too costly to recruit one person to fill a vacancy, since R. Johnson might apply for the other vacancy.

ROLE CALL VOTE:  SVEE – AYE, EBNET – AYE, YUND – NAY.

K. Svee suggested that the Administrator check with Attorney Kurt Deter to see if a 2/1 vote passes.

T. Ebnet stated that some Watershed District have abolished their Advisory Committees.  B. Albrecht said that if a Manager missed two meetings in a row, it is up to the County Commissioners to kick them off the Board.  He further stated that the District can’t afford to wait four months while a Manager is absent.

Pelican Lake Project:  T. Ebnet requested that the Utilities Report be obtained from Widseth Smith.  He then reported that the Timeshare Association was going to fix the pond and trees in the parking lot a few years ago, but Ray Wilson (former Watershed District Manager) and A. Cibuzar of A. W. Research stopped them by requiring an engineered plan.

Ebnet stated that the Resort is agreeable to using the grassy area for ground storage, since only the overflow would go there.  He also said that the Lodge would install a rain garden.

M. Peisch asked if a bid should be obtained from a Landscaper.  B. Yund stated that such a bid would not be exact enough.  T. Ebnet said that each entity would complete there own part of the project and maintain it.  He also said that the Resort is already paying fees through the Timeshare Association, and would be double-billed for the cost of the project.  Jerry Schroden of the Timeshare Association admitted that something needed to be done at the last meeting.

T. Ebnet said that Agreements should be on the agenda for the next meeting with the Residents.  He said that getting the four groups to agree is a big process, and must be accomplished even if it means that Thirty Lakes will absorb the engineering fees.

M. Peisch asked when the next meeting should be scheduled and T. Ebnet said that the Utility Report should be obtained from the engineer first, then the date will be set.  B. Yund said that the project should be pinned down with specifications.  T. Ebnet suggested that Beth Hippert of SWCD might explain how rain gardens are constructed at the next meeting.

Employee Review:  T. Ebnet will set up a workshop on this subject.

Master Gardener Program:  M. Peisch is asking for approval of the $250 Class Fee and $10 Background Check fee to enroll in the program.

MOTION BY YUND/SVEE THAT THE $260 BE APPROVED FOR M. PEISCH TO ENROLL IN THE MASTER GARDENER PROGRAM.  ALL AYE, MOTION CARRIED.

T. Ebnet stated that he felt being a part of the Master Gardener program would be useful for Public Relations and Grant Program purposes.

Resolution to change the Principal Place of Business:  103D.321 addresses the change of the principal place of business, but it also states “change to a different location within the watershed district”.  The Resolution will be acted on when it has been clarified that Thirty Lakes can have an office outside of the District boundaries.

Etc.  Lake Edward Township is calling for a special meeting on September 29, 2008 to consider establishing a special fire protection district.  R. Franzen stated that Mission Fire Dept. covers less than 20% of the Township and is asking $30,000 for the contract, while Nisswa Fire Dept. covers 80% of the Township and is asking $33,000 for the contract.  The issue will not be on the November ballot, but rather a special election will be held some time between November and the Township’s annual meeting.  The Fire Contracts are renewed the first of the year.

B. Yund went on record protesting the evening meeting due to family difficulties.  R. Franzen also protests, and stated that T. Lauer must also be having difficulty since she is absent.  M. Peisch replied that T. Lauer had asked if her attendance was required, and Peisch told her it was not.  T. Ebnet stated that he hates councils and Boards that cant’ accommodate working people.  Planning & Zoning and Board of Adjustment meet in the evening, and one evening meeting a month for the Board of Managers isn’t too much of a drain.

B. Albrecht said that nobody attends meetings unless they have business before the Board.  B. Yund stated that the economy is preventing development and Plats.

T. Ebnet reminded Yund that Drahos is grubbing and getting ready to put the road in at the Drahos Northwoods Development.  The sewer system will be built after four lots are sold.  R. Franzen asked what the first houses will do for a sewer system, and Ebnet replied that holding tanks will be used.

B. Yund stated that Engineers would prefer daytime meetings.  T. Ebnet stated that the evening meeting is a trial, and it can’t be determined if it will work or not after only one meeting.  He further said that it would be good public relations if working people can attend the meetings.  R. Franzen said that people only attend meetings when they have an issue before the Board.

MAWD Dues:  T. Ebnet reported that MAWD dues will increase from $2,000 to $3,400 due to higher demands on MAWD for education.  The new way of calculating dues will reduce the burden on the smaller districts, and result in building the reserves to the required 100% to 125% of the annual budget.  There will be more discussion about the dues at the annual conference.

Etc. Continued:  T. Ebnet reported that he met with Bob Spizzo of Breezy Point International on September 4th.  The Resort owns 50% of the Timeshares.  Spizzo felt that the stormwater project could be done cheaper if they bid it out themselves.

MOTION BY YUND/SVEE THAT THE MEETING BE RECESSED AT 8:10 AND CONTINUED TO OCTOBER 13, 2008 AT 9:00 AM.