5.0. PRSR 03-07-1990 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Memo Page 2 Lake Orono that we cannot expect limited use by the rest of the City' s residents on a public waterway. The discussion then turned to enforcement of the parking regulations . The Police Chief should check with the ordinances presently being used in Lake Minnetonka areas to find out what the policy is on towing illegally parked boats and trailers, primarily those that end up parking on the grassy areas around the balifield. A little bit of enforcement may alleviate some of the problems of where those boat trailers are parked. Mr. Dale Homuth, the hydrologist for the DNR in St . Cloud was the guest speaker. He had some very distressing numbers and concerns about the future of Lake Orono. In a nutshell, the problem is the continued silting of Lake Orono. If nothing is done to deal with the problem, the lake will not be useable by boating traffic in the next 10 to 15 years . A very serious problem. Staff needs to be in contact with Dale as soon as possible to initiate requests for assistance from State and Federal government in first assessing what the problem really is and the cost of cleaning it up. There is a possibility we can get assistance, especially in a feasibility study from the Army Corps of Engineers. We will have to argue that the silting was a cause of the flooding on the upper north end of the lake in, I believe, 1983 . While we probably won' t get any Federal funds to help clean up the lake, Dale Homuth estimated that a feasibility study would be in the $80,000 to $100,000 range and we may be able to gain the assistance of the Corps. Dale Homuth also shared with the Homeowners some very distressing numbers. Approximately 150 acres of Lake Orono' s total 300 acres are unnavigable by boats at the present time; that is half of the lake. Basically, that means water in the two foot range over the muck. The problem is severe, and I believe, if the projected costs that Dale gave are even close, the total clean up will be in excess of $1 ,000,000 and possibly approaching $2 ,000,000 . This is a huge sum of money that we must be prepared to deal with in the near future. To that end, I am suggesting that of the fees going into the Landfill at the present time, we begin by designating a minimum of $25,000 a year into a special fund that will be used to clean up Lake Orono. Legal Staff is directed to investigate whether we can assess the entire City before a project is done so that we can begin capturing funds for this. Anyone else with any ideas on how we can begin saving the funds for this expense should share them with the rest of us. The last issue we discussed concerned the amount of litter along the shores of Lake Orono and the Elk River. Part of the Celebrate Minnesota program has a Minnesota Clean Rivers project . I would like the City go get behind such a project and organize a river clean up. I will take the lead on this and try to coordinate it through the 4-H or Boy Scouts in Sherburne County. I am also going to contact the County Staff and Commissioners to see if this can be a joint effort and