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City Council Minutes <br />February 3, 2020 <br />Page 5 <br />process can take up to six months. He stated staff has worked enough with the DNR <br />to know what they don't want to see in a plan and what they are in favor of seeing. <br />Mayor Dietz asked what groups staff has been working with to gather information. <br />Mr. Wisner stated city staff has worked with the Orono Lake Improvement District <br />(OLID) and the Water Quality Committee, and there are two lake property owners <br />who also sit on the Technical Advisory Panel (TAP) that gather comments from <br />various lakeshore residents and provide those to staff. Most of those comments were <br />incorporated with the plan. He stated there will be a public open house. He stressed <br />from day one they wanted this project to remain transparent and the goal was to find <br />an overall good project for everyone. <br />Ms. Erickson discussed next steps in the permitting process with an updated timeline <br />to include a public open house scheduled for March. WSB would then provide the <br />city with 90% plans that will have incorporated the TAP and open house feedback. <br />She stated because of no response from DNR Commissioner Strommen, after a <br />formal letter requesting the drawdown was sent in August 2019, the city's local DNR <br />Area Hydrologist felt the 75% support from Lakeshore property owners would <br />probably be required. She reviewed the lakeshore groups' letter requesting the city <br />again request direct approval from the commissioner and additionally to consider an <br />opt -out direct mail option for the drawdown as seen in other DNR projects. Ms. <br />Erickson explained the opt -out process with the city sending a direct mailing to each <br />lakeshore property owner with language stating if they're not in support of the <br />drawdown to mail it back saying they're not in support. She stated this route would <br />be taken rather than going door-to-door collecting signatures in support of a <br />drawdown. She said they would work with the city attorney to draft proper language <br />and provide a proper deadlin <br />Mayor Dietz asked if based upon the conversations she's had with the lake groups <br />did she feel they were confident there was 75% of lakeshore property owners in <br />favor of the drawdown. <br />Ms. Erickson stated based upon their feedback she stated they are hopeful and <br />confident there's enough in support of the drawdown. She indicated there have been <br />numerous meetings both with the city and on their own and the topic of the <br />drawdown itself has not been discussed as a negative. She indicated the drawdown <br />would likely occur in September. <br />Councilmember Christianson asked for clarification that without the 75% the <br />drawdown would not occur and therefore the entire project would not happen. <br />Ms. Erickson indicated in theory yes. She stated the DNR commissioner signing off <br />would be most preferred. <br />Mayor Dietz stated the council knows the DNR commissioner personally and is <br />wondering why she's not responding. <br />P O W E R E D 0 Y <br />UREJ <br />