The Lake Elmo City Council voted to support and submit letters backing three grant proposals from the Friends of Sunfish Lake Park to a Priority 2 fund created by the 3M settlement. Assistant Public Works Director Swanepoel described the three proposals—continued buckthorn removal and forestry work, a roughly 300-foot boardwalk on the northeast side of Sunfish Lake and a fish survey/advisory concerning PFAS contamination—and asked the council to authorize letters of support.

Swanepoel said the 3M settlement set aside $20,000,000 for Priority 2 projects that restore aquatic resources, wildlife habitat and outdoor recreation in affected watersheds in Washington, Ramsey and Dakota counties and downstream in the Mississippi River. Staff presented a short summary of each project and noted that, if awarded, the work would aim to restore habitat, add recreation access and inform the public about possible PFAS impacts in the lake’s fish.

An applicant who identified himself as the founder of the nature center and who gave a Kirkwood address answered council questions about maintenance and design. He said the applicant organization would include two years of maintenance in the construction contract and that afterward the city would be responsible for long-term maintenance if it accepted the improvements. He also said similar boardwalks in nearby communities had required only low maintenance and occasional board replacements. Swanepoel said design and construction would follow the usual city process: an RFP for design, council review of the proposed design, and then a construction procurement process if the grant is awarded.

Council members asked about winter maintenance and snow clearing (staff and the applicant indicated the boardwalk would not be plowed and likely would be snow-covered in winter), design visibility and how the design would be less obtrusive on the landscape, and who would handle construction procurement if the organization received the award. The applicant said the organization would oversee procurement and would return to council with a proposed design for approval if funding is awarded.

Council voted in favor of the motion to support and submit letters of support for the Friends of Sunfish Lake Park proposals. The motion passed by voice vote.