News from the City of Lake Elmo
                                                                                                                                                                      June 26, 2020
Public Meetings Next Week:



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

City Meetings
 

*The City Council is returning 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.
                                                                               

Restaurants and bars may begin serving food and alcohol outdoors on June 1

Mayor Mike Pearson issued a proclamation on May 26, 2020 to allow regulatory flexibility so that restaurants and bars may begin to serve food and alcohol in outdoor areas on June 1st. Restaurants and bars may sell and serve food and alcohol in outdoor areas provided that the restaurant or bar has submitted a site plan that is reviewe d and approved by city staff.

The full proclamation can be read here and more information is available on the City website.

A helpful and informative guide to outdoor dining has been prepared by the Department of Employment and Economic Development is available here. 
Drinking Water Update

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency held two informational meetings in Lake Elmo to update residents and share drinking water supply options. A draft Conceptual Drinking Water Supply Plan is expected in late Spring. The plan will cover public water systems and private wells, and lay out long-term projects addressing quality, quantity, and sustainability of drinking water contaminated by PFAS. The plan will evaluate options such as alternative drinking water sources, treating existing wells, and/or connecting homes with private wells to municipal systems. There will be a second series of meetings later in the Spring to share information on the long-term plan for use of the 3M settlement funds. The latest information on the 3M settlement, details on future meetings, and a sign-up form for email updates can be found at 3msettlement.state.mn.us/. 

To find out if your private well is eligible for testing go to www.health.state.mn.us/pfas and follow the link to the MPCA's interactive map to see if you are in the sampling area. If so, complete the MDH Well Sampling Request Form.

For questions and health concerns, contact the Site Assessment and Consultation Unit at he MDH at 651-747-4897 or health.hazard@state.mn.us
Well No. 5 and Pumphouse Project Update
The City will begin 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.

The 201 9 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.
 The Stonegate Development street and utility project will commence on Monday, June 15th. Staking is underway and equipment is being delivered. Substantial completion is expected on September 25th. Project and contact information are available


2020 Seal Coating Project Scheduled To Begin July 13th

Public Works will be chip sealing select City roads as one of its maintenance programs to extend the life of the asphalt. A map of streets to be seal coated is available here.



The 2020 Crack Sealing Project Will Begin Tuesday, June 23rd

A higher resolution version of this map is available here

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.
High Water Levels in Valley Branch Watershed District

Due to large amounts of rainfall in May, coupled with already high water levels, many water bodies in the Valley Branch Watershed District have water levels that are jeopardizing homes, septic systems, wells and public roads. This includes Downs Lake and Eden Park Pond. Valley Branch Watershed District will begin a controlled drawdown of the water levels on the lake. For the next several weeks, you may see sustained and elevated water levels. Because of this, the water level in the Royal Golf Course pond will rise.

As part of this work, representatives of the Valley Branch Watershed District will be monitoring the drawdown and may be on or near your property.

In these high-water conditions, please remember these safety tips:
  • Do not swim in flood waters
  • Do not walk through moving water - 6 inches is enough to knock a person over
  • Do not drive into flooded areas - 12 inches is enough to sweep away a vehicle
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Valley Branch Watershed District at www.vbwd.org



 
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).
Program details and documents are available
here 


 

Help Name Two Lake Elmo City Parks!

The City is seeking name suggestions for the newest City Park located in the Inwood development, and the completed park in the Easton Village Development. We are collecting name suggestions via Polco, and the submission form can be found here.   More information, as well as the park naming policy can be found here.





 
  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 .  





Applications for $10K Small Business Relief Grants Open Now Through July 2; Apply and Help Spread the Word!

This week, DEED was pleased to announce the opening of the 10-day application period for the new Minnesota Small Business Relief Grants Program. the program will disburse more than $60 million in grants of $10,000 to small businesses across the state that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Applications are now being accepted through 5PM Thursday, July 2. More information and application materials are available  here.


 

Xcel Energy will begin performing power line inspections via helicopter June 5
Xcel energy will perform aerial inspections of transmission lines for approximately 8-10 weeks beginning Friday, June 5th. The helicopters will travel at varying speeds within 50 feet of transmission lines and frequently hover near lines for detailed inspections.