Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Environment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Lake Elmo Backs Letters of Support for Sunfish Lake Park Grant Proposals
Summary
The council voted to submit letters supporting three Friends of Sunfish Lake Park project proposals — forestry/trail restoration, a 300-foot boardwalk and a fish advisory study — to the PFAS 'priority 2' fund from the 3M settlement, while discussing maintenance responsibilities and competition for funds among neighboring communities.
The Lake Elmo City Council agreed to provide letters of support for three project proposals submitted by the Friends of Sunfish Lake Park to the ‘priority 2’ portion of the 3M settlement fund.
Assistant Public Works Director Swanepoel summarized the request and told the council that $20 million was set aside in the priority-2 pot for projects that restore aquatic resources, wildlife habitat and outdoor recreation in areas affected by PFAS across Washington, Ramsey and Dakota counties and downstream. The Friends submitted three proposals: continuing buckthorn removal and forestry/trail restoration; constructing a roughly 300-foot boardwalk on the lake’s northeast side; and conducting a fish advisory study to sample and assess whether fish in Sunfish Lake contain PFAS and to make those findings public.
Councilors asked who would maintain the boardwalk. Swanepoel said the city would assume long-term maintenance responsibility, while the applicants proposed two years of maintenance as part of a contract. A public commenter who identified himself as the founder of a Nature Center described a similar boardwalk installed in Oakdale in 2014 and said maintenance costs there were modest; he said his group’s proposal would include two years of contractor maintenance before turning responsibility to the city.
Council members expressed appreciation for the volunteer effort and noted the competitive nature of the settlement funding; they moved to support and submit letters of support from the City of Lake Elmo for the Friends’ projects. The motion passed by voice vote.
City staff said further design work — for example, detailed boardwalk plans — would be brought back to the council if the project receives funding.
