Thirty Lakes Watershed District
Board of Managers Meeting
Monday, March 23, 2009

Board Present:  T. Ebnet, G. Hardy, M. Young, B. Yund.  Present via Webcam was K. Svee.  Absent:  none.

Also present were Coralee Fox, Bob Albrecht and Rick Johnson of the Advisory Committee.

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

Open Forum:  Staff requested that Open Forum be delayed until the arrival of Rosemary Franzen, since she did have something to bring up.  M. Young stated he also had something to bring up.  MOTION BY HARDY/YOUNG TO DELAY OPEN FORUM.

Consent Agenda:  M. Young stated that he had questions, so the Consent Agenda will be separated.

Agenda:  No questions or comments.

Secretary’s Report:  K. Svee brought up a motion under “Office Location”, Motion by Hardy/Yund that the subject of moving principal location be tabled until 3/23/09, there was no vote taken and therefore the item was not tabled.

G. Hardy stated that on a Motion to Table, there doesn’t have to be a second or a vote.  K. Svee understood that a Motion to Table does need a second, and it should be voted on, however it is un-debatable.   T. Ebnet reviewed a Summary of Robert’s Rules and confirmed that it does need a second and a vote, yet it is un-debatable. 

 K. Svee questioned the $1,266.00 for Rinke Noonan from the minutes of the previous meeting.  Staff explained that this charge resulted from Attorney Kurt Deter coming to the Watershed District Office to discuss the situation at Breezy Point with the Managers.  M. Young stated that the bill should be itemized and detailed.  He also questioned the retainer fee over and above the other charges.

M. Young also questioned the bills from Mike Lauer for computer repair.  He stated that this was a conflict of interest.  He further questioned the fact that two Watershed Board members hold all the offices.  B. Yund addressed that by stating that Tasha Lauer is an employee, and therefore her husband repairing our computers is acceptable.

M. Young requested to see copies of all bills prior to them being paid.

G. Hardy questioned the bill for VISA Member Services, T. Ebnet explained that the registrations for the MECA Conference were charged.  M. Young questioned the $45 late fee on last month’s bill.   It was agreed that this should be avoided in the future.

R. Franzen arrived at the meeting and stated that she had a question about the minutes.  T. Ebnet suggested this matter be brought up under Etc. and Other Business.

MOTION BY YOUNG/HARDY TO APPROVE THE AGENDA AS PRESENTED.  ALL AYE, MOTION CARRIED.

Aerial Detection of Curly Leaf Pond Weed:  The matter for discussion is the suggested study of sinking a White Pine or other type of tree into a lake to reduce the weed population.  Administrator reported that while this is a fascinating issue, any study done should be acceptable to all other agencies.  M. Young stated that he checked with the Oklahoma Dept. of Natural Resources and they would neither confirm nor deny that putting a cedar tree into the water to eliminate weeds, and they did not approve of the practice. 

A letter from the Minnesota DNR outlined the locations where Curly Leaf Pond Weed had been discovered in Crow Wing County.  R. Johnson stated that the test done 6/25/08 on Pelican Lake was at the request of PLPOA.

T. Ebnet stated that if DNR is already checking for Curly Leaf, Thirty Lakes would not have to do an aerial detection for it.

MOTION BY YOUNG/HARDY THAT DETECTION OF CURLY LEAF POND WEED NOT BE PURSUED AT THIS TIME.  ALL AYE, MOTION CARRIED.

Office Space:  Administrator M. Peisch reported that there is space available in the Planning & Zoning Office of the Crow Wing County Land Services Building.  Rent is negotiable at this time.  At this time, building accessibility has not been established.

T. Ebnet asked about the entry.  Peisch reported that it is necessary to first enter the Planning & Zoning Office before entering the available space.  This space would not be separated or secured from the rest of the Department.

G. Hardy and M. Young stated that there was a separate entry from the outside hall, and the rent would be $900 per month.  M. Young went on to say that he had researched both possible locations, and there would be a net savings of $180 a month by moving into the County Building where we would not need separate phone lines, internet, or computer repair.  All services are included in the rent.

M. Young confirmed that the rent at the Land Services Building would be $900 a month, three large meeting rooms capable of holding 50 to 200 in a meeting room, two of the meeting rooms are in the lower level however there is an elevator.  Everything is handicapped accessible.  The cubicles in the office space are movable, and each has a power strip.  There is room for two small offices.  M. Young favored the exposure that Thirty Lakes would receive by being in the County Building.  Not having to pay phone charges would save $180.99 per month.  All the chairs and meeting rooms would be available, no charges for heat or snowplowing and no trash removal fees.  The County also offered to take messages if the Thirty Lakes employees were unavailable.  Regarding the meeting room down the hall, Young stated that everyone could sit around the table so that it would not appear that the Board of Managers were “bosses”, but rather the Managers should be sitting with the taxpayers.

On 3/19/09 M. Young visited the “Dave’s Appliance” or “Curves” Building, which is 14 ft. wide and probably 45 to 60 ft. long.  On that date, the sewer was frozen up.  The rent is $750 a month, and the landlord suggested another $250 per month for heat and electricity.  Young felt that propane and electricity would exceed $250 per month.  There is no phone service there.  The dumpster costs $100 a month, and the snowplowing is $60-something.   Those fees are divided by the three units, however if there was a vacancy, it would be divided by two.  He computed $1190 a month, not including the partitioning.  If the building is not handicapped accessible, the bathroom would have to be modified, a ramp installed, and a button to enter the building.

M. Peisch pointed out that the entry into the space available in the Land Services Building does not have a separate entrance.  The door to the proposed space is the same one that accesses the Planning & Zoning Office.  CTC is our internet provider, half of the monthly fee is our website, and the other half is high-speed internet.  Moving to the County building would save us $45 per month if the County provided internet access.  She also did not recommend losing our own telephone number.  Reserved parking in the east lot by the post office is available for $15 per space.

G. Hardy felt that we would be doing a service to the public by being in the same location so that a Construction Permit and a Thirty Lakes Permit could be applied for at the same time.  He suggested that an offer be made of $750 per month be made to the County.

K. Svee stated that he did not agree with Young’s comment about everyone sitting around a table during a meeting, since it is not professional. 

B. Yund stated that he was in favor of further negotiations to secure the “Curves” building.  He felt that the parking situation would not be favorable at the County Building.  As for the Permitting process, Thirty Lakes has focused on prevention and monitoring of the lakes rather than permitting.

M. Peisch stated that she has talked to the current landlord, and he was not willing to negotiate downward from the $900 a month.   With the sewer currently frozen at the Curves Building, even if the rent came down, the additional charges could not be negotiated.  Chris Pence, Land Services Manager, did indicate that there might be room for negotiation in the rent at the County.

R. Johnson asked if there were any other non-County entities in the Land Services Building.  M. Peisch stated that the University of MN Extension office is located there.

Storage must be considered should Thirty Lakes move into the County Building said Peisch, since there would not be room for all of our records and furniture.  T. Ebnet mentioned the Dredge Fence and other items he has been housing on his property.

MOTION BY HARDY TO GIVE ADMINISTRATOR PEISCH AND M. YOUNG THE AUTHORITY TO NEGOTIATE THE RENT AND REPORT AT THE NEXT MEETING.

MOTION AMENDED BY YUND TO INCLUDE T. EBNET IN THE PREVIOUS MOTION.

MOTION BY HARDY/YUND TO GIVE ADMINISTRATOR PEISCH, M. YOUNG AND T. EBNET THE AUTHORITY TO NEGOTIATE THE RENT AT THE LOCATIONS UNDER CONSIDERATION AND REPORT AT THE NEXT MEETING.  ALL AYE, MOTION CARRIED.

Bursh Situation on Hartley Lake:  M. Peisch reported that there is a discrepancy as to whether the Carpenter or the property owner is the General Contractor for the construction of the home.  She asked if the cost of installing the fiber log could be discounted by the normal $250 taken off the cost of a permit. 

G. Hardy asked if this work could be done by Managers instead of hiring someone to do it.  G. Hardy offered to review the situation and see if another alternative is available.

Lake Gauge Request for Volunteers:  Peisch reported that this was primarily a Public Relations project to have constituents become a part of the study done by Thirty Lakes and the DNR.  G. Hardy suggested that he might know people interested.  Sending postcards to property owners around the lakes with gauges would cost $244 for the postcards, plus $246 for postage.

M. Young brought out a postcard sent as part of the cooperative project with Minnesota Waters to form Lake Associations.   He stated that his next door neighbor received a postcard, but the next five neighbors up the road on his lake did not receive one.  He questioned the list of property owners used, and felt it was a waste.

Young further stated that Bass Lake has an Association, and so does Mission, Horseshoe, and Lougee.

MOTION BY HARDY/YUND THAT POSTCARDS BE SENT TO THE LAKE ASSOCIATIONS FIRST, REVIEW WHERE THE GAUGES ARE AND SEE IF THE MANAGERS KNOW ANYONE IN THE AREA, THEN IF NECESSARY DO A SECOND MAILING.  ALL AYE.

Discover Racks:  MOTION BY YUND/YOUNG TO APPROVE RENEWING THE CONTRACT WITH DISCOVER RACKS FOR $36 PER LOCATION PER YEAR.  ALL NAY, MOTION FAILS.

Dredge Fence:  This will take approx. a 10 by 10 ft. area for storage.  B. Yund stated that in prior years, one Manager used to store the lake gauges, so perhaps a Manager could store the dredge fence.  M. Peisch suggested that the matter could be tabled pending a decision on moving to a new location.  G. Hardy stated that he could store the dredge fence on his property if it could be covered with a tarp.

Legislative Breakfast:  T. Ebnet attended and reported the current status of many bills before the Legislation,

Etc.  Rosemary Franzen noticed that the March 9th minutes included mention of Bob Albrecht providing a summary of the relationship between Crow Wing County and SWCD.  She came into the Watershed Office and listened to the tape of the meeting.  Franzen disputed many statements made by Albrecht, and proceeded to provide explanations from the County’s point of view.

B. Albrecht then gave a short rebuttal.

G. Hardy referred back to the discussion about using poison and/or trees to control Curly Leaf Pond Weed.  He was informed by Gary Williams that the poison used on Mission Lake killed the snails.

T. Ebnet brought up the subject of Election of Officers.  K. Svee requested that the elections take place in May, after his return. 

MOTION BY YUND/SVEE THAT THE MEETING BE ADJOURNED AT 8:10 PM.  ALL AYE, MEETING ADJOURNED.