9.c Engineering Updates 12-15-20
City of Scandia
Engineering Updates 12/15/2020
Engineering italics = old information
· 2021 Street Improvement Project & Layton Ave
City Council authorized Plans and Specifications for the 2021 Street Improvement Project at the
October 20th City Council Meeting.
Anticipated schedule would be to approve plans & specifications/authorize ad for bid at the
January 19, 2021 City Council meeting.
· Bliss Drainfield System
Both the 2020 permit application for this system and the “final report” for nitrogen mitigation have
been completed and submitted to the MPCA. The memo which serves as a final report doesn’t
present final solutions for the nitrogen issue, but instead outlines the issues that have been found
and solved in this treatment system, as well as some additional testing that will now be
recommended to get a handle on the nitrogen, BOD, and TSS entering and leaving the facility. The
hope is to gain us a little more time from the MPCA before they mandate action. We’ll use this time
to perform the aforementioned testing and evaluate options for removing nitrogen at Bliss.
To date we still have not heard anything from the MPCA regarding the permit and this is very typical.
This means the City’s existing permit is still in effect until the new permit is issued.
· Sump Pump Inspection Program
2 homes/cabin remain to be inspected.
· Bliss Addition Stormwater Planning
Public Outreach meeting being held at City Hall with the adjacent property owners prior to the City Council meeting, on April
16, 2019, from 5:30pm – 6:30pm.
Met with watershed district on 8/2 to discuss preliminary options for expanding regional water storage, restoring infiltration
capacity and improve water quality. The watershed made some great recommendations for managing overall project costs
and those options are currently being explored.
Second public meeting occurred on August 20th. Preliminary stormwater management practices were presented to the
residents and were well received. Some new recommendations were also presented and considered in the plan revisions.
Final Draft will be presented to the City Council at the November 19, 2019 meeting.
Meeting with City Staff and Watershed District was held on January 16, 2020 to discuss prioritization and implementation
schedule for the items presented in the final stormwater study. Separate costs estimates have been put together based on the
prioritization which will be used for future funding submittals.
Recent engagement with the Carnelian Marine St. Croix Watershed District resulted in the two bullet points below:
· Cost responsibility - Who would take on what costs and how? Ideally the District would like to participate with a
Clean Water Fund Grant.
· Timeline - The District is working to complete the Subwatershed analysis for Big Marine Lake. It will be complete by
June 2021. Clean Water Fund Grants are awarded based on how the score. Without a completed Subwatershed
analysis for the entire lake and application would score low. We planned to apply for a CWF grant in the fall of
2021 (after the completion of the analysis). If the City would like to dedicate funding and move up the timeline, they
could request the CMSCWD Board of Managers consider funding a phase of the project without a CWF grant. I do
know that next year’s budget is tight with the state required 10-year management plan update.
Temporary drainage improvements that included two options were presented at the August 5th City
Council Workshop that were intended to relieve drainage concerns at the property of 19123 Layton
Ave. Upon the discussion there seems to be separate opinions forming on both sides of the street of
what temporary solutions are favored but why the ultimate correction is not just completed in
conjunction with the storm sewer improvements identified in the neighborhood stormwater study.
On October 14, 2020 at the Watershed Board meeting, Board Managers approved $3,600
cost share for option 1.
Watershed anticipates in 2021 they will apply for 2022-2025 Clean Water Funds to
implement stage 1 and 2, but could potentially also apply for all three stages. It should also
be noted it will be difficult for the District to participate in just the directional pipe
installation without the water quality BMPs being installed in that area. City may want to
consider adding water quality practices to this stage to leverage more funds from District
(with or without Clean Water Funds).
· Stage 1 – directional drilled pipe to re-route drainage to wetland
· Stage 2 – North Layton Ave bioinfiltration basin, concrete trench and enhanced
ditch improvements, west bioinfilration basins, and 189th culvert crossings and
enhanced ditches.
· CLFLWD Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan
Watershed District staff reviewed the following topics with the City staff though a Zoom Meeting on May 12,
2020. Some of the topics included; Lakes (pollutants, recreational use, shoreline), Aquatic invasive species,
Stormwater management (Low Impact Development, rules), Floodplain (flood resiliency), Resiliency planning
(climate adaptation, development demands), Groundwater (quantity and quality)
View draft plan sections at www.clflwdplanupdate.org/documents
Below is a brief summary of immediate next steps and major checkpoints:
· May 2020
· Continue issues workshops, engaging TAC members in small groups
· Coordinate at the staff level with cities and townships
· Review EOR scope of work for next phase of plan update process
· Workload Analysis: Staff workshop with Houston Engineering (note that this is a separate,
parallel process from the plan update, but the information from the analysis will be useful in
planning the next ten years, so it is noted here)
· June 2020
· Hold the last of the issues workshops, engaging TAC members in small groups
· Begin holding joint board-council/town board workshops (workshop with Scandia City
Council occurred on June 22nd)
· June 25th regular board meeting: Board review and approve draft plan update outline
· July 2020
· Bring proposed plan section drafting schedule to Board.
https://www.clflwd.org/documents/Agendaitem5c-WMPUpdate.pdf
· Begin discussing draft plan sections per schedule. Sections will be brought to board meetings
for discussion, posted to the District website, and sent to the District’s Technical Advisory
Committee and Citizen Advisory Committee throughout the summer.
· August 2020
· Continue holding joint board-council workshops (City of Wyoming)
· September 2020
· Continue holding joint board-council workshops (City of Forest Lake)
· Hold a full TAC meeting (via Zoom). This will be the first time the full TAC is convened since
the Initial Planning Meeting on June 20, 2019. The District has been engaging TAC members
in smaller groups through the issues workshops this spring and via email with the draft plan
sections throughout the summer.
· October 2020 – December 2020
· Continue plan drafting through fall/winter 2020.
· January 2021
· Begin the first official review period, to last 60 days. Required review
agencies will be notified (BWSR, DNR, PCA, MDA, MDH, DOT, Met Council,
counties, cities, townships, SWCDs and adjacent WMOs/WDs), as well as
the public (through the District listserv, social media, newspapers, lake
association meetings, etc.).
· March 2021
· 60-day review ends. Respond to comments received and revise plan as
necessary.
· April 2021
· Hold public hearing.
· May 2021
· Goal to submit final draft plan to BWSR for 90-day review.
· By this time, we will have a clear view of the 2022 CIP for budgeting
purposes.
· August 2021
· BWSR completes its review and sends letter of approval or disapproval.
· Board adopts updated plan. Afterward, staff proceeds with distribution and
printing.
· September 2021
· September 28, 2021: Current Watershed Management Plan expires.
· CLFLWD & Scandia Staff Quarterly Meetings
Meeting on October 19, 2020 covered the following topics:
· MnDOT – Hwy 97 & Oakhill/CR 52
First initial contact/conference meeting with MnDOT to discuss issues and concerns with
intersection safety on October 13, 2020.
· Signing – MnDOT will upgrade the size of all the fluorescent yellow-green signs and
add fluorescent yellow green tape to the sign structure (the post). At the crossing
itself MnDOT will be placing the enlarged signs back to back as to warn motorist on
approach of the crossing on Hwy 97. These additions will enhance the visibility of
the intersection.
· Striping - The school Xing pavement markings were completed with the last
pavement maintenance project, if City staff observes that these are worn out,
please send in a request to MnDOT and they will submit it to our pavement
makings crew.
· Washington County – Draft Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) 2020 – 2024
Washington County will hold a public hearing on December 15, 2020, prior to adopting the
final document.
· Washington Conservation District
Will start accepting orders again mid December 2020. The 2021 Tree pick-up will be held at
the Washington County Fairgrounds in Lake Elmo on Friday, April 30th and Saturday, May
1st (Hours TBD). Questions, contact Lauren Haydon-Dries at lhaydon@mnwcd.org or 651-
330-8220 ext. 24
· Washington County’s first Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan
TAC Meeting #3 was held virtually on March 25, 2020. The planning consultant used this time to
present draft materials, which included a revised Future Network map and a methodology for
prioritizing future projects.
Washington County is launching their last phase of the public engagement. The website up
to date with the final draft plan, videos summarizing each chapter and a questionnaire for
folks to provide feedback.
· https://www.co.washington.mn.us/bikepedplan
Project Manager, Emily Jorgensen, 651-430-4338
· emily.jorgensen@co.washington.mn.us
· Merry Christmas & Happy New Year