News from the City of Lake Elmo
                                                                                                                                                                   October 23, 2020
Public Meetings Next Week:


Planning Commission Meeting Monday, October 26 7:00PM



Links to the 2020 City Meetings, Agendas and Meeting Minutes: 

City Meetings
 

*The City Council returned to in-person meetings June 1st, but we still encourage residents to submit their Public Comments ahead of time via phone or email. Accommodations have been made in the Council Chambers to promote social distancing and there will be limited space for people to attend.
                                                                               

Tuesday, October 20 City Council Meeting Summary


Meeting materials may be accessed here.




Monday, October 26 Planning Commission Meeting Agenda


Meeting Materials Can Be Accessed Here.





 Water-Quality Criteria Developments For PFAS

Yesterday the 
 Minnesota Pollution Control Agency announced several metro water bodies now have new protective water and fish consumption value for PFOS. The target waters include Lake Elmo, Raleigh Creek, Eagle Point Lake, Horseshoe Lake, and Tartan Pond. Because of the values of PFOS found in fish in these waters, the Minnesota Department of Health is extending "do not eat" fish consumption advice to these bodies of water. Signage will be installed to advise anglers. More information can be found here, and a full copy of this brief is available here.



 
 
The Washington County Board of Commissioners approved the expansion of the county's COVID-19
financial relief programs on October 20.
Using CARES funds, the County Board created a Small Business Relief Fund to provide grants of up
to $15,000 to small businesses in need of support.
Tuesday's action extends that program through Nov. 4.
More information is available here.


More information specifically related to voting in Lake Elmo is available here.
Drinking Water Update
The Co-Trustees (MN DNR and MPCA) have released their recommendations for the Conceptual Drinking Water Supply Plan (CDWSP) for the east metro including Lake Elmo. This work began more than two years ago after the State of Minnesota and 3M $850 million settlement regarding PFAS.

Of the three options in the report, the Co-Trustees prefer Option 1. Below is a summary of Option 1 for Lake Elmo. This option does not provide for any new municipal wells in Lake Elmo but has a placeholder for a connection to Woodbury so Lake Elmo can purchase water from them to meet future needs. In addition, Option 1 does not include bringing water or a treatment system to all of the Lake Elmo neighborhoods located in a Special Well Construction Area. If the private wells in these areas fail, property owners are faced with installing deeper, more expensive wells due to being located in proximity to contaminated groundwater.

You can access the CDWSP and provide feedback at https://3msettlement.state.mn.us/DrinkingWaterSupply
The public comment period is open until October 26th.


Well No. 5 and Pumphouse Project Update
The City began drilling a new high capacity well in June. Well No. 5 will be located in Tana Ridge Park and will be the third high capacity well supplying water to the City's municipal water system. Traut Companies has been retained to drill the production well. This work will begin in June 2020 and be ongoing for two months. A test pumping period will occur towards the end of the drilling work which will direct groundwater into Goetchel Pond.
 
Once the well is complete the City will begin construction of the pumphouse. This work will begin sometime in September, 2020 and will take until the summer of 2021 to complete. The pumphouse is a building to house the production well, pump, mechanical and electrical devices, and chemical feed equipment needed to operate a well.
 
The schedule is to have the production well online and producing water for the City by summer of 2021. The City received about $2 million from the State of Minnesota 3M Settlement Grant Funds for the new well and the sealing of Well No. 1 in the Old Village area.

Project updates will be published in the FRESH, online and in the City newsletter. Up-to-date information can be found on the website, here.

How would you improve transit along Highway 36? Tell us your priorities by taking our questionnaire at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/XJP7R2J. Your feedback will help shape future transit improvements on Highway 36!

Washington County Public Works is leading a study to explore the potential for transit improvements in the Highway 36 corridor, which extends about 27 miles between Stillwater/Oak Park Heights/Bayport and downtown Minneapolis. For more information about this study and to sign-up for email updates, visit: www.highway36transit.com
 


More information and materials about the Adopt-A-Park program are available here.


The 2019 Consumer Confidence Report Is Available Now

The 2019 Lake Elmo Consumer Confidence Report is now available. The full report along with past years reports can be found here. Hard copies of the report are available by request at City Hall, 3880 Laverne Ave N. Ste 100, Lake Elmo, MN 55042.

There has been a shortage of toilet paper in stores, this may cause people to use alternative products such as tissues, paper towls, baby wipes, flushable wipes, and simlar items. Only toilet paper breaks down, other products can cause backups in the sanitary sewer, which can further public health concerns. Please help prevent sewer backups and only flush toilet paper.
 
 
Water Conservation Rebate Program

The City of Lake Elmo, in partnership with the Metropolitan Council, is offering a rebate program for purchases of eligible WaterSense Toilets and Smart Irrigiation Controllers. Qualifying purchases of a WaterSense Toilet are eligible for a $100 rebate on your water bill, purchases of a Smart Controller device are eligible for a rebate of up to 90% of the cost of the device (up to $200). To qualify you must be on City water services.

Program details and documents are available


 

 
 The Friends of Lake Elmo's Sunfish Lake Park have received a Grant called "Restoration of Sunfish Lake Park" from the Outdoor Heritage Fund.

The State of Minnesota Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council Conservation Partners Legacy Grant Program is administered by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.   The focus of this effort is to 
remove buckthorn and restore the native habitat. It covers a designated 40 acres of the woodland area of the park - 
shown in BLUE in the current sketch below - and runs through September 2023 .  The State will reimburse up to $139,000  in costs, the City of Lake Elmo has voted a $10,000 contribution, and the Friends will contribute at least 300 volunteer hours valued at $20/hour for a total program cost of $154,000. We have begun working on the administrative side. We are requesting bids from suitable Contractors for the heavy work.  Volunteer opportunities are described below, and you are certainly invited to participate. If you visit this part of Sunfish Lake Park, you will be seeing activity .