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02.b Stephen SchmaltzWashington County, MN Boards & Commissions Date SubmiƩed: Jun 25 2026 Applicant: Mr Stephen W Schmaltz Email: swschmaltz@yahoo.com Pronoun: District: District 1 Address: 22736 Hayward Ave N Forest lake, MN 55025 Primary Phone: 651-777-5277 Alternate Phone: 651-925-7944 Is the address above your home mailing address? Yes If the address above is not your home address, what is the address for? Are you eligible to vote in Washington County, MN? Yes Which Boards would you like to apply for: Watershed Districts Please list the experience or skills you have related to the appointment you are seeking: EducaƟon/Work Experience: BS Chemical engineering; MBA, Northwestern Kellogg School of Management. 35 years with a fortune 500 Company in technical and senior management posiƟons. Mn watershed district experience: 13 years as a board mgr of the CLFLWD( served as treasurer and president a number of Ɵmes). Was one of two CLFLWD board mgrs selected to serve on the LSC 1W 1P formaƟon Policy CommiƩee. Other local water related experience: Forest Lake Lake Assoc(FLLA): 19 years on the Board and served two years as president. Extensive experience in interacƟng/partnering with the city of Forest Lake/DNR/CLFLWD/Washington county and other partners in addressing and managing water quality and recreaƟonal issues on Forest Lake. Please list special or personal interests relaƟng to the appointment you are seeking. When my wife and I moved onto Lake 1 on Forest Lake in 2002 , five of the six WD lakes were impaired and the 6th and largest ,Forest Lake, was nearly impaired. Frequent algae blooms were common , the beach was oŌen closed due to poor water quality, and if the wind was blowing onto your shoreline you had to swim in the middle of the lake off your pontoon. The CLFLWD community is blessed with a number of water assets( lakes/streams/wetlands). I strongly believe in both improving and protecƟng these community assets for future generaƟons. The CLFLWD is an organizaƟon that has both the authority and the financial resources to make a difference in whether we win or lose the ever changing water quality challenge. I have the interest, Ɵme , experience and enthusiasm to conƟnue to help the WD achieve it's goals and create and protect a beƩer water quality environment. I am also a big promotor of the judicious/producƟve use of tax payer dollars. The WD has has been extremely effecƟve in achieving significant cost effecƟve water quality improvements by careful screening and selecƟon of only the largest and cost effecƟve water quality capital projects combined with over $13 million in compeƟƟve grants so the net taxpayer project cost is approximately 20% in local levy dollars. I would like to see this type of technical and financial progress conƟnue as the WD conƟnues to maintain improved water quality and begins to address the significant flood miƟgaƟon issues faced by the city and local community. Why do you want this appointment? With 13 years experience with the CLFLWD, I am the second most experienced Board Mgr( current President has 25 yrs). The other managers , two have 3-4 years each and the most recent , 7mos. Sharing the knowledge and experience I have gained would be beneficial to helping these managers to conƟnue to climb the learning curve so the WD stays strong. I would like to see the producƟve work the WD has achieved conƟnue in both water quality and the new challenge of flood miƟgaƟon. Are you currently serving on any other County Advisory Boards or CommiƩees/Commissions? Have you noƟfied your local municipality of your interest in seeking appointment as a Watershed manager? No Which watershed are you applying to? Comfort Lake - Forest Lake Speech to city 0n CLFLWD Appointment request July 2026 Good evening Mayor Roberts, Council Members and Interim Administrator Chaikan, My name is Steve Schmaltz and I live on Forest Lake #1 at 22736 Hayward Ave N in Forest lake. We have lived on the Lake since 2002. I have been volunteering to do the water quality sampling on Lake 1 for the Met Council for well over 10 years. I am VERY familiar how the water quality has improved on Forest Lake since 2002. I am here this evening to follow up on my request for support from the city on my re appointment to the CLFLWD Board of Managers. I have been the City representative and more importantly the Community representative to the CLFLWD Board of Managers for 13 years. I have worked with and received support from 6 mayors,6 councils and 6 Administrators over the 13 years. As a member of the CLFLWD Board of Managers, I have provided leadership resulting in the WD making significant progress in impaired lake restorations as well as creating significant financial value for the City of Forest Lake. My track record and request for support is documented in my June 30 email sent to Mayor Roberts, the city Council and interim Administrator Chaikan. I know that the Mayor and some staƯ have expressed concern that the CLFLWD stormwater Rules negatively impact the City’s aggressive residential/commercial development program. The CLFLWD is addressing the City concerns. The WD ten yr plan calls for an internal and external review and any revisions of our Rules in 2026 and 2027. We have all the “concerns” input from the City which our engineering /technical staƯ will consider in this formal Rules review process. I was surprised to be completely shut out of the three candidate list the City is proposing to Washington County. Such action by the City is deciding that my years of volunteer service , track record , experience/knowledge in this technical/scientific area of water management is of no significance and should not, and will not even be considered by Washington County. As a result, I have two goals to achieve tonight in the limited time I have: 1.Request the City include me on the list of three candidates submitted to Washington County. 2.Inform the Council that diminishing the protective value of CLFLWD stormwater rules could have a severe, negative impact on the future health of our lake, Forest Lake, as well as other lakes in the watershed. So let’s start with the first goal:Why you should reconsider including me in the select list of 3? When I was appointed in Sept 2013, 5 of the 6 primary lakes in the WD were on the State Impaired Waters list. Today, through a professional CLFLWD staƯ, their engineering firm and strong leadership from the Board of Mgrs, 2 lakes(Bone and Comfort) are oƯ the Impaired List and the remaining three have high enough restored water quality to be removed with 2 more years of good water quality performance. This success in restoration of impaired lakes was accomplished in record time and at a very low cost/pound of phosphorus removed . In addition, the WD won over $13million in competitive grants which paid for 80% of the restoration costs; saving the local taxpayers significant local tax $$. In 2013, Forest Lake, a valuable community asset, still had terrible algae bloom issues and was only 5% from being on the State Impaired Water List. In fact, during the summer season ( Memorial day to Labor day) the lake phosphorus levels were actually above the state standards for impairment and algae blooms were common. You could not see your toes in waist high water, the beach was often closed and if the wind was blowing algae toward your shoreline you could not swim near shore but had to swim oƯ a pontoon boat in deeper water. If the wind and hot weather continued for 4-6 days, normal algae turned into dangerous blue/green algae. Today, the WD has completed 9 engineering projects for Forest Lake (the lake) and removed over 1330 pounds of phosphorus /yr from entering the lake. Remember that 1 pound of phosphorus will support 500 pounds of algae growth! As a result , water clarity has improved significantly and the lake is now 36% from being impaired vs the previous 5%. Let’s move on to cover my second and last point: the importance of our stormwater rules in restoring and protecting our community lakes/wetlands. The stormwater rules simply require that any stormwater or sediment runoƯ from a land disturbance of a certain size be controlled to be equal to or lower than the stormwater runoƯ of the same soil in natural condition. The remedial action requires stormwater Best Management Practices (BMP) of: eg., stormwater holding ponds, areas of infiltration, filters, etc. Stormwater Rules are one of only two key strategies to restore impaired lakes and keep them healthy: 1. The first strategy is to: Remove existing large phosphorus legacy loads via engineering projects: eg., wetlands impaired by agricultural manure, treating stormwater runoƯ from housing developments prior to stormwater rules, Alum treatments…lock phosphorus into lake bottom,etc 2. The second strategy is eƯective Stormwater Rules: Stopping the constant draining of phosphorus and sediment into lakes/wetlands from untreated stormwater from any significant land/soil disruption. Let me share with you the rapid decline in lake health that can occur without rules. In 1994 when Walmart and other big box stores were rapidly built near I-35, stormwater regulations were just developing. Evidently the stormwater protection was not suƯicient. The increased stormwater and sediment flow started and continued to enter Comfort Lake. Within 2 years, this pristine lake ended up on the State Impaired Water List. The City of Forest lake was sued for damages , settled out of court and eventually the CLFLWD was set up(1999) by the legislature to restore and protect the local waters. And the CLFLWD has brought lake restoration and protection to our Community. In closing, I just want to mention again that the WD is currently evaluating its RULES, using outside experts, including the U of Mn. While some changes may be made, they will be made on the cost/value and benefits to the City versus the increased risk/damage to community lakes/wetlands. WDs and cities in the metro area have coexisted for a long time. Development has continued as both the cities and WDs execute their respect responsibilities. Both development and protecting the community’s local water resources (assets) are important functions. We need to continue to work together as partners for the welfare of our common constituents. I believe I have represented the community and city well during the past 13 years on the Board of Managers of the CLFLWD. My knowledge, experience, commitment and enthusiasm will continue to be of value to the CLFLWD, community and city. I hope that in your discussions, this evening, on the final list of candidate appointments to the CLFLWD, that the Council decides to include me on the list of three recommendations to Washington County. Thank you for the time to speak. And thank you for your continued confidence and support. Steve Schmaltz Good evening Mayor and Members of the Council. My name is Kenneth Wood. I am a resident of Forest Lake, and although I serve as President of the Forest Lake Lake Association, I'm speaking tonight in my personal capacity as a resident and not on behalf of the Association. I would like to express my support for the reappointment of Steve Schmaltz to the Comfort Lake–Forest Lake Watershed District Board of Managers. I've had the opportunity to work with Steve for a number of years and have seen firsthand the commitment, knowledge, and leadership he has brought to protecting and improving our lakes. During his thirteen years on the Watershed District Board, Steve has helped oversee significant improvements in water quality throughout the watershed. Forest Lake has seen phosphorus levels decline, algae blooms become less frequent, and water clarity improve. These are measurable results that benefit everyone who enjoys our lakes. Steve has also been instrumental in pursuing innovative, cost-effective water quality projects that have attracted millions of dollars in competitive grant funding to our community. Those projects have improved water quality while reducing the financial burden on local taxpayers. Throughout his service, he has worked collaboratively with local governments, engineers, community organizations, and other partners to protect one of Forest Lake's most valuable natural resources. What has impressed me most is Steve's long-term commitment to our lakes. Watershed management is complex work. It requires technical knowledge, institutional experience, patience, and a willingness to make decisions that will benefit our community for decades to come. There is certainly value in bringing new people into public service. There is also value in retaining experienced leaders who have demonstrated success. Steve has earned the respect of many people through years of dedicated public and volunteer service, and I believe his experience, knowledge, and proven record of results continue to be valuable assets to the Comfort Lake–Forest Lake Watershed District and the City of Forest Lake. For those reasons, I respectfully ask you to give strong consideration to reappointing Steve Schmaltz to the Comfort Lake–Forest Lake Watershed District Board of Managers. Thank you for your time and consideration.