9.c Engineering Updates
City of Scandia
Engineering Updates 3/16/2021
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 and Approved Plans & Specifications and Authorized Ad for Bid at
the January 19th City Council Meeting.
Bid Opening was held on February 24, 2021 at 10:00am, as a separate agenda item project
award will be discussed at the March 16, 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.
City received on February 22, 2021 a Pre-Public Notice Review of Draft Permit - Bliss
Collector WWTP (#MN0054119) that also included a statement of basis outlining any
changes or new requirements to the draft permit. This 30 day pre-public notice review
period starts on February 22, 2021 and ends on March 24, 2021. Once your pre-public
notice review is complete the draft SDS permit will be placed on public notice for 60 days.
· First thing that needs to be done is complete a Facility Evaluation Report within 180
days of issuance of the new permit they requested. Based on the report, MPCA will
then ask the City to follow either Track 1 or Track 2. Track one is the new
monitoring well. Track two is a facility upgrade. There are a few other changes to
the permit, they include some additional monitoring required over this
permit. Also, MPCA is requesting flow monitoring at WS 004, WS 005 and WS
006. These are to each of the infiltration trenches. We are in the pre-public draft
notice stage where just the City received these draft documents and can
comment. We can review and suggest changes or modifications prior to March
24th.
· 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.
Watershed has completed the evaluation of potential projects on Big Marine. The Subwatershed
Analysis is currently being prepared. Schedule still anticipates to be on track to apply for Clean Water
Funds in July 2021.
· 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)
The Water Management Plan timeline: Watershed has pushed back the expected start date of the
60-day review. Instead of January, it’s looking more like February or March. Here’s a brief table of
upcoming checkpoints. For a more extended outlook, see the memo here:
https://www.clflwd.org/documents/Agendaitem10b-1-MemoWMPUpdate_000.pdf.
· January 7, 2021 – completed Technical Advisory Committee meeting
· January 12, 2021 – completed Citizen Advisory Committee meeting
· January 14, 2021 – completed regular Board meeting
· January 19, 2021 – Board workshop: detailed discussion of draft WMP
· January 28, 2021 – regular Board meeting
· February 11, 2021 – regular Board meeting
· TBD/if needed in Feb – Additional Workshops for further detailed discussion
· February 25, 2021 – Regular Board meeting, proposed deadline to approve the 60-day draft
· Begin 60-day agency and public comment period – See below
· CLFLWD & Scandia Staff Quarterly Meetings
Meeting held on October 19, 2020.
Meeting on February 9, 2021 covered the following topics:
· CLFLWD 60 – Day Plan Comment Period
The comment period begins February 26 and ends April 30, 2021. All comments must be
submitted to the District no later than the April 30, 2021 deadline. The draft Plan, along
with further comment submittal instructions, are available at the following webpage.
https://www.clflwd.org/60-DayDraftWatershedManagementPlan.php
Please send comments to the District at one of the following contacts (email or mail).
Reviewers are requested to copy the Board of Water and Soil Resources on their comment
submissions.
Email:
Emily Heinz, Planning Coordinator, Emily.Heinz@clflwd.org
CC Dan Fabian, BWSR Board Conservationist, dan.fabian@state.mn.us
Mail:
Comfort Lake-Forest Lake Watershed District
Attn: Emily Heinz
44 Lake Street South, Suite A
Forest Lake, MN 55025
· 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.
· This work has been completed; 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’s first Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan
Washington County Board of Commissioners approved/adopted the plan on February 9,
2021.
Final Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan: https://www.co.washington.mn.us/3050/Washington-
County-Bicycle-and-Pedestrian
Project Manager, Emily Jorgensen, 651-430-4338
· emily.jorgensen@co.washington.mn.us
· Floodplain Risk Assessment
Online Workshop held, January 5, 2021
The Brown’s Creek Watershed District (BCWD), Carnelian-Marine-St. Croix Watershed District
(CMSCWD) and the Comfort Lake – Forest Lake Watershed District (CLFLWD) are jointly evaluating
approaches to conducting a floodplain mapping/flood risk assessment with two goals in mind:
· The short-term goal is to outline potential approaches the watershed districts could take to
map and quantify future flood risk.
· The long-term goal for these watershed districts is to build a common understanding of risk
and prioritize projects and other resiliency actions.
Small group is meeting on February 3, 2021 to discuss the outcomes of the online workshop and next
steps. Consultants are still working on recommendations for an approach to define and
agree on what should be the intensity, duration, and frequency of design events under
future climate conditions (e.g., 100-year, 24-hr rainfall event) they will be sharing with
District Administrators for their consideration.
CMSCWD has completed their Hydraulic and Hydrologic Model update and calibration. This
model will be the foundation for any future climate resiliency modeling we conduct. This
information will be presented to their Board at the April 10, 2021 CMSCWD Board meeting.
· MnDOT – Hwy 95 Tree Removal Work
In March 2021, in preparation of a drainage culvert repair project in late summer, a MnDOT
contractor will be removing trees and brush at four drainage culvert locations along Hwy 95
between Hwy 97 in Scandia and Pleasant Valley Road (County Road 26) in Franconia
Township. All the vegetation to be removed is on state right-of-way. Crews will use flaggers
to control traffic during the work, so there may be some short traffic delays near work
areas. Work will be done during daytime hours and is expected to take about one week to
complete. Due to the Federal Bat Protection Act, tree removals must be done prior March
31 annually.
· Programs / Grants – Bicycle Related Items:
Nice Ride Minnesota – partners (Blue Cross Blue Shield, City of Minneapolis, U of M)
· Located in Minneapolis and surrounding areas 3,000+ bikes and 400+ stations
https://www.niceridemn.com/
· The People for Bikes grant may also be an option but is very competitive
https://www.peopleforbikes.org/grant-guidelines
· Here are a few reference websites:
https://betterbikeshare.org/resources/toolkit/
https://www.pedbikeinfo.org/topics/bikeshare.cfm
· Blue Cross And Blue Shield Of Minnesota Initiative Aims To Reduce Barriers To
Physical Activity
· https://www.bcbs.com/news/press-releases/blue-cross-and-blue-shield-
minnesota-initiative-aims-reduce-barriers-physical
· REI Grants Help People Care for and Connect with the Great Outdoors
· https://www.rei.com/newsroom/article/rei-grants-help-people-care-for-and-
connect-with-great-outdoors
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