05-09-2017 Parks & Rec Commission Minutes

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MINUTES PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION May 9, 2017 showed that 26 people (31.7%) would make use of the access, while 56 (68.3%) indicated they would not. One person skipped this question. The City Administrator stated 23 people indicated how they would use the access in a follow up question. He explained the majority of responses showed respondents would like to canoe or kayak on the lake via the access. The City Administrator stated the next question, regarding on- street parking on the south side of Lake Street, adjacent to Nadeau Park for the access, showed a very even split. He explained 51.3% were in favor of allowing on street parking while 48.7% were not. He also discussed the question regarding interest in attending a public input session to discuss the results of the survey. The City Administrator showed the results were evenly split with 55.6% indicating they would not like to have an input session, while 44.4% were in favor of a public input session. The City Administrator summarized the written comments, explaining the project was not well supported due to the condition of the lake. He also indicated a comment had been made by a family member whose family had donated the Nadeau Park land. This respondent shared her family was not in favor of the access because the park land had been donated to keep children safe and away from the lake. Darling asked if anything could be done about the condition of the lake. The City Administrator reported that the City had looked into removing sand plumes from the lake, but noted the conclusion was it may do more harm than good. He also explained a few years ago there had been an effort to create a path around the lake, by spraying to kill some of the lily pads. He stated a permit had to be obtained from the DNR and volunteers were only allowed to spray a small path around the lake. The City Administrator explained the DNR believes lily pads are a sign of water quality and eradicating them would harm the lake. He also stated that the term lake may not be the most correct term for the body of water explaining the DNR defined it as a wetland, but it also fit some definitions of a lake. The City Administrator stated there has also been discussion about raising the lake, but there would have to be a control point to ensure that the East side of the lake doesn’t also raise. He explained there had been a wooden weir structure in place to hold the water levels even, but it became dysfunctional a long time ago and was repaired. The City Administrator stated that while the new structure was supposed to create automatic water levels, many noticed the levels didn’t seem even. The City Administrator explained this was possibly due to the old weir structure having held excess water in the west side, and the new system held the levels equal. Another cause of the water level issues, he explained, was the construction of the 35E freeway. Darling asked what should be done to the lake. The City Administrator suggested obtaining another DNR permit to spray a path around the lily pads. He explained two volunteer residents were able to use the permit over two seasons to