Sep 12, 2011

City Council Meeting Notes 8/10/2011

ELECTRONICS/ SAVAGE LAKE:
Rocky Waite appeared before the Council asking the status of the sedimentation pond on the Gopher Electronics property. Waite noted that he raised this issue with the Council 3 ½ years ago. Waite felt that the
existing situation is causing harm to Savage Lake. The City Administrator reviewed an August 1st email wherein it is reported that the Watershed and Gopher Electronics is working out a costshare agreement to address the situation.

Waite again noted that it has been 3 ½ years and nothing is done yet. He pointed out that a condition of construction of the Gopher Electronics building was that there be a sedimentation pond to filter run-off before it went into the lake.

The City Administrator reported that there was a delay by the Watershed in moving forward on this issue, but it is now proceeding. Initially there was some discussion on who was responsible, but the Watershed is agreeable to a cost-share agreement with Gopher Electronics. The Council asked that the City Administrator request a timetable for completion from the Watershed as well as progress updates.

Waite indicated that he would provide the City with copies of minutes that reflect the requirement that Gopher Electronics maintain a sedimentation pond on their property. Blesener asked that Waite submit that information to the City Administrator.

REQUEST TO RENAME SAVAGE LAKE AND SAVAGE LANE:
Waite reported that he is a Choctaw Cherokee and that he is offended by the name of Savage Lake and Savage Lane. Waite requested that theCity provide him with assistance in getting these names changed.Montour stated that while the City would have some control over a streetname, he did not believe the City had any authority to rename a lake.

Keis and Boss stated that they never associated these names as derogatory terms. Waite felt that the process to change the names should start with the City and asked for any assistance that the City could provide. Montour stated that while he appreciates Waite’s position, he felt that such a request should come from people living on Savage Lake and/or Savage Lane. Waite felt that it was a violation of his civil rights to have this name in place.

Sep 1, 2011

Spraying Permit Problems

The weather has completely foiled my planning efforts this fall. Joel Hanson managed to get the DNR permit signed off on the 11th, but between work, family, and the constant rain fake-outs I've been unable to get a date sorted out for the spraying. Up to next week, I am available to do the work most days. After that, it's weekends only. Next week I have a new school semester with 3 new classes for which I'm in preparation-panic-mode. If someone else can take on the DNR contact portion of this project, it would really help.

Otherwise, we might miss this window to take care of a few of the weeds on our lake.

I have posted the permit information on my website: http://home.comcast.net/~twday60/SAVAGE PERMIT_20110811095915.pdf

Aug 19, 2011

Last Spraying

We received our permit to spray the lake for water lilies one last time (on the city's buck) early this week. We need at least two dry days for Rodeo to do it's work and the weather report for the weekend seemed sort of undependable up until this morning, so I didn't get the paperwork into the DNR in time. I hope to try again next week. This has been an over-full week for me as it is.

I hate to toss in the towel, but I think this labor of frustration and solitude is about to end. I named this website/blog the "Savage Lake, Little Canada, Minnesota Lake Owners' Association" with the hopelessly optimistic goal that there might actually be such a group in the near future. HTML clipboardThe website has been around since May of 2008 and we're no closer to being that organization than we were when I wrote the first entry, "Getting Started." Someone said, "You get the government you deserve." With that in mind, I think we are getting the mosquito infested swamp we deserve as we passively let this small body of water deteriorate into mess it has become. I loved our little lake a few years ago. Today, it has become a liability.

It is nothing but painful to me to look out of my backyard and see the lake we once enjoyed become the disaster the Watershed District so desperately and incompetently wanted it to be. Not that many years ago, we canoed this lake almost every summer evening. On muggy days, we'd paddle to the interior of the lake to avoid bugs in the backyard. Now, the lilies have made fine nesting homes for every kind of biting insect that lives in Minnesota and the lake is the last place you want to be when the damn things are out hunting. One of our neighbors has been trying to sell his home for a while and at least one prospective buyer stated that they lost interested in the home because of the freeway noise. A more interested buyer would probably have second thoughts after experiencing the insect "wildlife" some evening. Our backyard is worse than our front yard and simply crossing the street is enough to reduce the need for bug repellent considerably.

John Bibeau has, again, volunteered to help spray the lake this last time. I'll use this website to post when that will be as soon as we set a date with the DNR. After that, I'm going to shut the site down. I'm too old to bang my head against a closed door.

Jul 16, 2011

A New, Bigger Lake


 It's been a few years since we've had this much water in the lake. Our rain gauge said we got almost 5" this morning.

When I built this dock, somewhere around 10 years ago, the water level was so low I could walk all around it during construction. A year later, I had to chase the dock down because it floated into the middle of the lake after a big rainstorm.  Five or six years ago, I anchored the dock to the awing frame in case we ever got a major lake-fill again. Looks like it worked.

I'd say the water is about 6" above the historic shoreline. It looks like more from the pictures, but the water is only about 1-4" deep between the dock and the beach. My wife has some potted plants in the water (which you can see the tops of to the left of the dock about 8') and all the pots and most of the plants are almost submerged.

We had a pretty good sound and light show this morning, too. All of the pets crowded onto the bed about 4AM, so I got up to watch the lightening. Some of the louder shots were close to 1,000 feet of our house (based on the timing between the light and the sound). I'm amazed we still have power in the neighborhood.

Jun 23, 2011

Cattails and Minnesota Revisited

Hopefully, you've all recieved notice from the city that Little Canada will, again, be paying for our DNR property permits for spraying the lillies. Please get the forms back ASAP so we can get on with the spraying before the plants start to flower and seed. The earlier the better. And don't forget to thank Joel Hanson (joel.hanson@ci.little-canada.mn.us) and the city council members for getting this started without our having to rattle their cages. The work we did last fall definately had an effect on the lillie growth this year and the high water is helping, too. We might just get our lake back if we keep after it.

Jun 21, 2011

Where We Are Today

I stopped by the city offices last week to look at the plans for the upgrades to I35E between Highway 36 and the I35E and I694 rats' nest, but the city doesn't have anything to show, yet. Supposedly, we're going to be getting some noise abatement design into the work, but based on the amateur work I saw from the state with the "analysis" of the impact on our homes with the last work on that roadway, I don't expect much value from that. Honestly, if one of my Musical Acoustics students turned in a final project that was as poorly written and analyzed, I'd fail him.


[Note: The clear weather pictures above are from early June and the overcast pictures were taken 6/21/2011.]
The lake water height has been at historic levels almost all spring, thanks to an extremely wet spring. That hasn't, however, had much impact on the lily growth. It is gratifying to see that last fall's Rodeo spraying has given us some clear water this spring, which indicates that we could get control of this pest weed if the DNR weren't an obstacle and the Water Shed District made some sort of useful contribution. Unlike this time last year, we've been able to canoe the lake in the evening and, other than the dramatic increase in mosquitoes, it's nice to have some of our lake back.

The milfoil is another issue. I found some minnows tangled in that crap near our dock, which is a great demonstration of how destructive that weed is. You'd think the DNR and Watershed District would want to aggressively control this crap at the headwaters of our county's major lakes, since lakes like ours feeds all of the big lakes and there will be no way to get rid of the weed without getting rid of it upstream.

There was some noise about how the city was going to make one last contribution to lake shore owner DNR weed eradication permits, but I haven't heard anything new on that subject either. Regarding the milfoil, it almost seems like we're going to have to get out on our shorelines with a rake and drag the junk out of the lake manually.

Speaking of the Watershed District, they use our lake access to make some sort of water sample, drainage analysis a few times every year. I don't know what results from that testing, but you'd think it would be the kind of thing they'd make available to lake shore owners and the city. Anyone have an idea where that information might exist?

Our pair loons left town a couple of weeks ago. I'd become used to hearing them trumpet every morning and when it stopped it seemed like a good neighbor had moved away. I guess we should just feel lucky to have had them for as long as we did.

May 25, 2011

More Damage from MnDOT?

Just when it appeared that our lake might recover from the abuses of MnDOT and the neglect of the rest of our state and city government, here comes more "improvments" to 35E:

-----Original Message-----
From: Peterson, Scott (DOT) [mailto:scott.r.peterson@state.mn.us]
Sent: Wednesday, May 25, 2011 3:03 PM
To: Bev Scalze
Subject: RE: MN PASS lane, 694 to 94

Rep. Scalze,

Here's additional information about the MnPASS project on 35E from the folks involved in the project.

The MnPASS lane (both directions) from St. Paul to Little Canada Road will tie into to existing lanes constructed as part of the unweave the weave project. There is no proposed widening southbound between Little Canada Road and TH 36 because four lanes exist today, but there will be widening northbound from TH 36 to Little Canada Road to add MnPASS lane since only three lanes exist today. Every effort will be taken to minimize impacts to east side of 35E in this area. A noise analysis is being done as part of the Cayuga project to determine noise levels and mitigation efforts.

--------------
From: Bev Scalze [mailto:Rep.Bev.Scalze@house.mn]
Sent: Monday, May 23, 2011 2:58 PM
To: Peterson, Scott (DOT)
Subject: Re: MN PASS lane, 694 to 94

Thanks, Scott.

Bev Scalze
State Representative, 54B
259 State Office Building
100 Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd
St. Paul MN 55155
651/296-7153
rep.bev.scalze@house.mn

"Peterson, Scott (DOT)" 5/23/2011 2:55 PM

I have already sent a request for additional information. I will let you know as soon as I hear anything.

--------------
From: Bev Scalze [mailto:Rep.Bev.Scalze@house.mn]
Sent: Monday, May 23, 2011 02:40 PM
To: Peterson, Scott (DOT)
Cc: joel.hanson@ci.little-canada.mn.us
Subject: Re: MN PASS lane, 694 to 94

Scott,

Thanks for the quick reply.

If Little Canada Road is the beginning of the MnPass project, there may be a problem. The Little Canada Road/35E intersection is at the northern end of Savage Lake. If there are any "added" lanes south of Little Canada Road, that is the section where the 10 lanes of asphalt go through the middle of Savage Lake. There would be a problem with the lakeshore homeowners on Savage Lake.

I would like to know if the plans include any new fill or asphalt to be added south of Little Canada Road in the area of Savage Lake.

Bev Scalze
State Representative, 54B
259 State Office Building
100 Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd
St. Paul MN 55155
651/296-7153
rep.bev.scalze@house.mn

--------------
"Peterson, Scott (DOT)" 5/23/2011 1:46 PM

I think it is Little Canada Rd.

--------------
From: Bev Scalze [mailto:Rep.Bev.Scalze@house.mn]
Sent: Monday, May 23, 2011 01:28 PM
To: Peterson, Scott (DOT)
Subject: Re: MN PASS lane, 694 to 94

Scott,

So then the southern limits of the "Unweave the Weave" improvements would be Highway 36?

Bev Scalze
State Representative, 54B
259 State Office Building
100 Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd
St. Paul MN 55155
651/296-7153
rep.bev.scalze@house.mn

--------------
"Peterson, Scott (DOT)" 5/23/2011 1:15 PM

Rep. Scalze,

Actually the additional lane for MnPass will only extend to the southern limits of the improvements made as part of the "unweave the weave" project. We just use 694 as the northern limit because that gives most people a better understanding of where it will be.

I will double check with our Metro folks to see if there is going to be any additional impact in that area.

Scott R. Peterson
Director, Office of Government Affairs
Minnesota Department of Transportation
395 John Ireland Blvd.
St. Paul, Mn 55155

--------------
On May 23, 2011, at 1:01 PM, "Bev Scalze" wrote:

Scott,

Regarding the proposed amendment to Rep. Beard's Transportation bill, I have a question for you.

The memo that I just received details the "added" MN Pass lane in the vicinity of 694 to 94.

I have concerns about any extra lanes in the area of Little Canada Road. The present 10 lanes of asphalt that currently run through Savage Lake, have severely impacted the quality of life and the quality of the water in Savage Lake. The people who live there have been there for a long time, some for 75 years.

Savage Lake was once one lake, with very clean water. Freeway 35E was constructed through the middle of Savage Lake, beginning in 1959. Lanes have been added since then, and the residents are outraged that the value of their lakeshore property has been severely eroded by actions of the state.

Can you assure me that there will be no extra fill and asphalt used for the "added" Mn PASS lane?

This is a very important issue in Little Canada.

Bev Scalze
State Representative, 54B
259 State Office Building
100 Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd
St. Paul MN 55155
651/296-7153
rep.bev.scalze@house.mn

May 9, 2011

Still There

In case you haven't made it out to the lake lately, the two loons are still there. If you get up and out early, about sunrise, you can hear them calling. I don't know why they haven't left, but I'm not complaining. We have as much wildlife on the lake as I can remember, including an occasional bald eagle roosting in the trees behind Gopher Electronics. The island is considerably smaller than it has been in years and nesting is more distributed than in years past. Several lake shore residents appear to have created habitat for water fowl and they are going to need it because this extended cold weather and rain has been hard on nests. We've made a few laps around the lake in our canoe and there are lots of abandoned goose eggs and blown-apart nests.

Unfortunately, our old non-native nemesis, the water lily, is about to rear its lake-killing head. Hopefully, the council will get the spraying permit approved soon so we can head the plants off early this year.

Supposedly, there was a toxic chemical (machine cleaning chemicals) dump from the high school a few years back that killed off the fish in the west lake. If the effects of that contamination are lowered, it seems to me that restocking the lake with fish would help balance the flora and fauna. If anyone has a line on how we might go about that, maybe we can get back more of our lake.

Apr 25, 2011

Spring or Not

I think it's spring on Savage Lake. I don't know for sure because there is a chance we'll get snow tomorrow night. However, last Friday I was working in my yard and heard a sound I haven't heard in years; loons calling. Sure enough, there were a pair of Great Northern Divers, or common loons, on our lake and they were very vocal.

We took the canoe out today and tried to get a few shots of the loons without scaring them off. As a photographer, I suck. But the birds tried to accommodate us and, at least, I came away with evidence if not with memorable nature shots.

Yesterday, we made the same trip and I only wish I had thought of a camera then. We saw the two loons, egrets, herons, geese, wood ducks, mallards, red-wing blackbirds, cardinals, snapping turtles, muskrats, deer, and hawks. One of the loons put on a show of feathers that made me decide to try the lake again, today, in case it happened again. No such luck, but they did seem pretty unconcerned by our presence and kept at their diving and swimming while we paddled around the lake.

With all the freeway noise, it's hard to hear the bird song from our lake, but it's out there and would be a shame to lose it. The lilies are about to make their damned appearance and the milfoil is already making a run for dominance. Hopefully we can get a head start on beating back the lilies this year and our lake will stay recreational all year.

Jan 31, 2011

"Unweave the Weave" Landscaping

The February-March edition of the Little Canada Le Petit Canadien mentioned that about $250,000 will be made available for landscaping to recover some of the damage done by the increased width of the freeway and to moderate some of the noise that came with that freeway traffic. All I can say is, "it's about time." I've monitored the sound pressure level in my backyard during rush hour and the noise level far exceeds EPA and OSHA safe limits; well into the low 90dBSPL territory.

The Canadien article suggested that the City Council has "focused on the area between I-35E and West Savage Lake in an attempt to create some natural barriers to the sound and view coming from the freeway." This is a solid approach. The extended barriers on the east side of the lake have reflected additional noise in our direction, which makes safely enjoying our neighborhood and yards impossible during much of the day. Hopefully, the character MnDOT used as an "acoustic expert" won't be involved in this analysis, since pretty much all of his guess-timates about the effects on our neighborhood from the freeway expansion and the noise barriers were so far off I'd be surprised if that guy ever attended a science class at any time in his life.

Sound absorption is a much better tactic for silencing noise than obstruction. The noise barriers have a limited effectiveness, based on height, length of the barrier, distance from the noise source and the target clients, the noise bandwidth, and the mass of the materials used for the barrier. Absorption actually converts sound energy to heat; not a lot of heat, but that energy is no longer sound. Noise doesn't bounce off of conifers. Instead, the air motion pass through the branches and leaf tissue and moving those obstacles converts sound to motion and heat.

Of course, the trees will absorb some of the carbon dioxide, lowering pollution levels. In all, this is a plan my wife and I have been advocating for almost a decade and I'm glad to see the city and state buying into it. We should all give Joel Hanson a call at 651/766-4040 or email at joel.hanson@ci.little-canada.mn.us and get the city behind this idea. With decent sized plantings, almost immediately we could have a substantially more quiet neighborhood. In a few years, this could be our view of the freeway.

Jan 20, 2011

Winter 2011 on Savage Lake

It's been a while, I know. Even in the heart of winter, some of our neighbors are enjoying our lake.There are snowmobile tracks all over the lake and our family uses the lake as a dog park. Whenever I begin to think about living somewhere warmer, I only have to take this little mutt outside and it's impossible not to soak up some of her love of running in the snow. Not that I actually run in the snow, but I love watching her do it.