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| Post Number: 21
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BeBack
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Posted on: Jan. 02 2004,2:04 pm |
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These are all good thing that I would not oppose. The thing I was trying to point out was there appears to be a game of capture the tax base being played out on this issue. If we don't pay attention to this situation we could have a governmental failure to do anything about the problem but two taxes for the privilege of having their involvement.
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| Post Number: 22
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minnow
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Posted on: Jan. 02 2004,2:40 pm |
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If 1/2 percent tax is GOOD...why isn't 1 percent better?
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| Post Number: 23
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MADDOG 
Group: Moderator
Posts: 7821
Joined: Aug. 2003
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Posted on: Jan. 02 2004,2:41 pm |
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Excellent post, guest. That's pretty much exactly what needs to be done, and done before anything else is. | Quote | Have a watershed wide ban on fertilizers that contribute to algae blooms and harm the watershed and ecosystem.
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I'm assuming you mean primarily lawn care in town, farmers are pretty professional in testing and applying only enough fertilizer needed. In addition, tests have been done and have been found that very little agri-fertilizer is transported into streams and ditches. Town lawns are often professionally applied also, often by 17-18 year old kids with a couple days training for their summer job. | Quote | | People need to be more conscientious when it comes to our environment. Do not blow your leaves and grass into the street, they eventually make their way to the lakes and add nutrients to the water which further pollutes the water. |
Absolutely, this is by farther a lot bigger problem than people believe, and is done without the person even thinking about it, other than it gets the stuff off their lawns. | Quote | | Get the City to make improvements to their sanitary sewer system so they do not have to by pass raw sewage into the lakes during heavy rain events. |
This really burns my @ss everytime I hear this has been done, the @#%&*#@ city knows better, they have an evironmental department after all.
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Actually my wife is especially happy when my google check arrives each month. Thanks to douchbags like you, I get paid just for getting you worked up. -Liberal
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| Post Number: 24
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jimhanson
Group: Moderator
Posts: 8491
Joined: Aug. 2003
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Posted on: Jan. 02 2004,2:48 pm |
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Good points, Guest--and your comment on the order of precedence was right on target. I do have a question of viability on your #1 point, though.| Quote | 1. Have a watershed wide ban on fertilizers that contribute to algae blooms and harm the watershed and ecosystem.
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Farming without fertilizers isn't viable. Even "natural" fertilizers like manure cause pollution and odor problems. I'm unaware of any fertilizers that wouldn't raise nitrogen or phosphorus levels--is there such a thing?
Not fertilizing lawns would be easier to police--but politically unpopular.
A couple of additional issues--what do we do with the waterfowl problem--according to the folks that monitor Silver Lake over in Rochester, each "resident" goose "contributes" 88 pounds of "manure" annually to the water in which it resides. This "fertilizer" is very slow to break down--takes years.
How about motor boat stirring up mud? Any attempt to improve water clarity would have to address this issue--a 10 h.p. motor stirs up mud 7 1/2 feet below the surface, according to a guy I know that used to be on the Lake Minnetonka Watershed Board--larger motors go even deeper. Are we willing to restrict the size and speed of motors on the lake?
No easy answers!
Edited by jimhanson on Jan. 02 2004,2:49 pm
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"If you want to anger a Conservative, tell him a lie. If you want to anger a LIBERAL, tell him the TRUTH!"
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| Post Number: 25
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180
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Posted on: Jan. 02 2004,3:06 pm |
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We can never stop farming so trying to change the lake is nothing more than a mere fantasy. It won't show any change in the lake in the next 5 years, in the next 10 years, in the next 20 years, in the next 50 years, in the next 100 years.
But we won't have to build a new courthouse for 100 years! Yippee....Yes I know that's what they said in 1954 but they were wrong and Mr. Dan "the man" Springborg is right about the new courthouse.
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| Post Number: 26
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guest
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Posted on: Jan. 02 2004,3:14 pm |
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I think having the additional filter strips in the rural farm locations would help the fertilizer runoff from the fields. The city lawns most of the time do not need the fertilizer.
As for the City dumping the sewage, it is either that or let it back up into people’s basements. It really is a no win situation. The sump pump disconnection program from a few years ago seems to have helped. Since then we have had less dumping events. What the City needs to do is continue to keep people’s sump pumps disconnected and to upgrade their facilities in areas where the overloads have been a problem. I have also heard that the County Fair Grounds is a major contributor to this problem. I guess they have a number of open drains that are connected into the City Sanitary Sewer. When it rains all this water goes into the system and drains toward the Bridge Avenue bridge along Fountain Street. I’ve been told that the City has installed a valve in the fair grounds that they close when it is going to rain to keep that water out of the system until the system can handle the excess water.
As far as the boating stirring things up. I think that by changing the slope of the shorelines so the wave energy is dissipated instead of bouncing around would help with this issue. You will never get the size of boat motor restricted. Too many people with too much money that will whine and cry too much about it.
I never though maddog would ever agree with anything I had to say. What is the world coming to?
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| Post Number: 27
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jimhanson
Group: Moderator
Posts: 8491
Joined: Aug. 2003
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Posted on: Jan. 02 2004,3:24 pm |
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I see that by the new County depreciation schedule, buildings are to be depreciated over 40 years. Yes, that means the 1954 building reached 40 years and was certified as "not economically feasible" to remodel shortly thereafter. Are we out of the woods yet? No, the Current LEC will reach that "golden age" of 40 in a few more years!
While the current pro-expansive-expansion Commissioners (and the County Administrator, who leads these sheep around) will hopefully be drummed out of office by then, you can expect the clones of these clowns to propose tearing down the existing LEC to match the 1880 building. One more time, tell us how the 1954 building CAN'T be used, and the 1880 building CAN?
We need not worry about "depreciating" the new Courthouse, though--since the County Board elected to use Lease-Revenue Bonds to circumvent the need for a referendum--WE DON'T OWN IT--WE'RE JUST "LEASING" IT! 
Edited by jimhanson on Jan. 02 2004,3:27 pm
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"If you want to anger a Conservative, tell him a lie. If you want to anger a LIBERAL, tell him the TRUTH!"
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| Post Number: 28
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jimhanson
Group: Moderator
Posts: 8491
Joined: Aug. 2003
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Posted on: Jan. 02 2004,3:36 pm |
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Guest--the guy from the Minnetonka Watershed was talking about stirring up the bottom. Flying over the lakes in the summer time, you can see a dark mud trail behind boats on Albert Lea Lake. Fountain lake will often have a "trail" that lasts for up to an hour, as boats bring up clearer water from below the surface to replace the algae-laden water near the surface.
Fountain lake is pretty well rip-rapped--I assume that Albert Lea lake would have to be sloped and rip-rapped as well.
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"If you want to anger a Conservative, tell him a lie. If you want to anger a LIBERAL, tell him the TRUTH!"
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| Post Number: 29
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MADDOG
Group: Moderator
Posts: 7821
Joined: Aug. 2003
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Posted on: Jan. 02 2004,3:50 pm |
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guest | Quote | | I never though maddog would ever agree with anything I had to say. |
Hold on to your shorts, we disagree more.  I agree with the sump pump issue, also,  There is no good alternative just yet. As for the county fairgrounds, I believe the county board passed a resolution for fairground upkeep and repairs to sewer systems and electrical, along with some grandstand repairs. They are aware of the problem.
Sorry, though, I can't prove this, they passed this I think in October or November, and the public minutes have yet to be published for these dates.
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Actually my wife is especially happy when my google check arrives each month. Thanks to douchbags like you, I get paid just for getting you worked up. -Liberal
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| Post Number: 30
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guest
Unregistered
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Posted on: Jan. 02 2004,4:14 pm |
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jimhanson - I understand what you are saying about the boat motors. The only thing that would change that is the lower motor size or an aggregate lake bottom (something that would not stir up). With ripraping the shoreline you are only temporarily holding the shoreline in place. Eventually it will want to sluff into the lake to reach its equilibrum point. The riprap also just bounces the wave energy around instead of disapaiting it before it causes more harm.
I am sure the county is aware of the problem. The real problem is money though. Always too many things to do but never enough money.
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