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Local resident raises alarm over LMCD reserves, questions return to AIS work
Summary
Richie Anderson, a long‑time Lake Minnetonka Conservation District (LMCD) participant, told the council he believes LMCD reserves have dropped substantially and warned the district should not resume active flowering‑rush treatment without clearer finances; he urged caution about levy increases and described historical levy and reserve moves.
Richie Anderson, who identified himself as a long‑time local businessperson and past treasurer to the Lake Minnetonka Conservation District, told the Orono City Council he is concerned the LMCD has drawn down reserves and that returning to active AIS (aquatic invasive species) programs such as flowering rush treatment should be reconsidered until the district’s finances are clearer.
Anderson said he remembers LMCD reserves at roughly $113,000 during his tenure and said more recent accounting shows the district drawing down reserves and increasing levies. He estimated that, if current trends continue, the LMCD will need to draw significantly from reserves or require a large levy increase to meet a recommended 35% reserve target. “We had to bring in a 195,000,” Anderson said, summarizing his review of the LMCD books.
Anderson also criticized the LMCD’s historic harvester program and asserted that some management choices led to the spread of vegetation and uneven levy burdens across lake communities. He encouraged the council to examine LMCD proposals and levy changes closely and asked the city to be wary if the LMCD seeks to expand AIS activities without clearer fiscal plans.
Council members thanked Anderson for his work on lake issues and said staff would follow up as needed. The remarks were delivered before the council’s longer discussion of the North Arm landing and related county proposals.
