8.g Administrator's report
Staff Report
Date of Meeting: October 16, 2018
To: City Council
From: Neil Soltis, Administrator
Re: Administrator’s report
Building Inspection – Through the end of September, permits with a total valuation of
$22,840,547 have been issued. The 2018 totals include the permits for the Scandia Elementary
School improvements and for 12 new homes. The compares to permits with a total value of
$23,958,332 with 15 new homes for the first nine months of 2017. The majority of the 2018
permits issued continue to be for reroofing or residing.
Gateway Trail – The Department of Natural Resources executed the Cooperative Agreement
for the Gateway Trail on October 4. Any action taken by the City before this date would not
have been reimbursable. A proposal from Bolton & Menk for the design work is on the agenda
for approval.
B3 benchmarking award – One of the commitments in the GreenStep Cities resolution is for th e
City to enter utility consumption information into the B3 benchmarking software. Mayor
Maefsky requested that the City seek recognition for their Best of B# Benchmarking awards.
Based on a submittal of the City’s work on energy savings in 2016 and 2017 the City has been
selected as a finalist for an award. The awards winners will be recognized at a luncheon on
Thursday, October 25th.
Argo Navis Community Solar Garden – On October 8 there was an inspection of the site from
the stormwater overflow to the St. Croix River. I attended the inspection along with
representatives of MnDNR, MPCA, BWSR, Washington Conversation District, BHE Renewables,
Westwood Professional Services (BHE engineers), and M&W Group (BHE contractor). One of
the main issues is that of jurisdiction. Jennifer Sorenson of MnDNR clarified that the DNR has
authority over public waters (which in this instance is the St. Croix River) and water use permit s.
The City and BWSR are responsible for WCA wetland impacts, and MPCA for activities based on
the construction stormwater NPDES permit and releases not regulated by MnDNR or the City.
Argo Navis has applied to MnDNR for a water appropriation permit that would allow for
dewatering the stormwater retention area.
Following this report is a document from Jennifer Sorenson that shows an estimated path of
the water and sediments and the area in the River impacted by the sediments and maps from
the National Park Service that show the path and depth of the sediments along with the
underlying parcel ownership.
Washington County Capital Improvement Program 2019 – 2023 – The County has prepared
their 2019 – 2023 CIP and has distributed a draft for review. The p lan calls for $345,000,000 in
expenditures 94% of which are on road and bridge projects. There are no proposed projects in
Scandia. The CIP document is available online by visiting the county website at 2019-2023
DRAFT CIP. Comments on the proposed projects can be sent to
melinda.kirk@co.washington.mn.us or wayne.sandberg@co.washington.mn.us. Comments
must be received in writing no later than November 21, 2018 to be considered when
developing the final CIP. A public hearing will also be held on December 11, 2018 prior to
adopting the final document.
Exception for Historic Accessory Buildings and Structures – An exception to the development
code for historic accessory buildings and structures was approved for 20361 Ostrum that will
allow for the construction of an accessory building while maintaining existing historic accessory
buildings. The Development Code requires the Council be informe d of any approvals under this
section.
Community Septic systems – On September 19th the City received in excess of 4” of rainfall.
The following charts show the impact of the stormwater entering into the community septic
systems. Significant in this is that the flows into the Bliss System reached the design capacity of
the system.
Argo Navis Solar Site (Former Zavoral Mine), Scandia
Location of Sediment Delta and Estimated Path of Water and Sediment (Data Collected on 10/8/2018)
Pink dots – location of sediment delta (GPS)
Pink dots – location of sediment delta (GPS)
Pink line – estimated path of water based on site visit and 2-foot LIDAR contours; Pink dots at river – location of sediment delta (GPS)
%,
%,%,
Source: Esri, DigitalGlobe, GeoEye, Earthstar Geographics, CNES/Airbus DS, USDA, USGS, AEX,Getmapping, Aerogrid, IGN, IGP, swisstopo, and the GIS User Community
^_Breach
Sand Flow
Sand Deposit
%,Culvert
Fee
Scenic
Private
Public
0 250 500125 Feet
E
2018 Middle Creek Sand Flow
Located in Lands/Working_GIS/ProjectMaps
Source: Esri, DigitalGlobe, GeoEye, Earthstar Geographics, CNES/Airbus DS, USDA, USGS, AeroGRID, IGN, and theGIS User Community
Depth of Sand
Inches
0
1 - 2
3 - 4
5 - 6
7 - 8
9 - 12
13 - 16
17 - 20
21 - 26
27 - 42
²Middle Creek Sand Flow 2018