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FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MEETING _2_ March 12, 2003 POLICY AGENDA: Approval of the Memorandum of Agreement with the Ca itol Region Watershed District Administrator Worthington said the City has been negotiating the Memorandum of Agreement with the Capitol Region Watershed District (CRWD) for approximately one year. The agreement will create a framework for future interaction with the newly created (2001) District, and will facilitate statutory review processes between the two local units of government. Similar agreements are in place with Roseville and Saint Paul, and are also being negotiated with the State Fair and the University of Minnesota. The next step in this process will be for the City to adopt a local watershed management plan (LWMP). This is required under the statute that creates watershed districts. This MOA will allow the City to work with the CRWD and the Rice Creek Watershed District to draft a LWMP that will satisfy those requirements. The District's primary focus is water quality and storm water management, but they will not have any regulatory authority. They will be restricted to review and providing advice regarding projects that are in excess of one acre. The City has already involved them in several issues during the past year. They will be involved in the Serita wetland restoration on the State Fair and University of Minnesota properties. Council member Lamb asked if there would be any costs associated with them and if they can/will help the City with the NPDES. Administrator Worthington said there would be no City costs. The NPDES rule making did not involve the watershed districts and that would have been a nice feature to have. However, they can assist cities and their expertise can be utilized. Council member Kuettel asked how many watershed districts affect Falcon Heights and Administrator Worthington said that before there were three, now there are two: Capitol Region and Rice Creek. Mayor Gehrz said she is thrilled to see this in the form that it is. Administrator Worthington and City Attorney Knutson worked very hard with the governing board of this organization and their staff to formulate a cooperative agreement. They have to respond to City requests within 15-20 calendar days from receipt of those requests. What happens, from a budgetary standpoint, if they want more street sweeping? Administrator Worthington said she had serious concerns because cities are under statutory time limits of 60 days -the 60-day rule. Those concerns were addressed quite nicely in the final product. Watershed districts can levy and if they were to request more street sweeping, the City would request that they share in the costs. Like most cities, Falcon Heights sweeps twice a year.