04-22-2020 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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STAFF REPORT TO: FROM: DATE: RE: Mayor Keis and Members of the City Council Chris Heineman, City Administrator April 22, 2020 Update on Morrison/McMenemy Drainage Issue ACTION TO BE CONSIDERED: No Action Required BACKGROUND: In February, the City Council was asked to consider awarding a contract to the low bidder (Blackstone Contractors) for the cleaning of the Morrison drainage area. Prior to the meeting, City Attorney Pat Kelly provided a letter with questions and concerns about status of public right-of-way and easements in this area. Since February, Chad Lemmons conducted additional background research and provided the attached legal opinion on this issue. This issue revolves around an existing 'Manage C' wetland located behind the properties on the west side of McMenemy Street and behind the properties on the east side of Morrison Avenue. The ‘Manage C’ wetland is the lowest classification of wetland delineation. This wetland flows to the south where it intersects with another wetland area that flows to the east and ultimately drains into Gervais Lake. The southern end of this wetland narrows and is essentially channelized as it passes through a ditch-like area before intersecting with the wetland to the south. Over the years, this area has built up with sediment and leaf compost and, as a result, the water draining from the wetland has not been able to drain as quickly and standing water has crept into the backyards of some of the properties after heavy rain events and hasn’t drained as quickly as it has in the past. This wetland area is naturally occurring and differs from a stormwater pond or retention basin in that it was not engineered for a specific volume or rate of flow. As with other local water bodies, the wetland has been impacted by recent precipitation trends. The ditch has not been cleaned since the early 1980's, when Ramsey County attempted to clean it out but had a bulldozer get stuck. The ditch and a majority of the wetland area is on private property, and there are no records of additional maintenance activities conducted by the City of Little Canada.