08-04-25 - City Council Work Session Agenda

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#'J,JVLAWM 0 800 County Rd E East, Vadnais Heights, MN 55127 www.VLAWMO.org rg office@vlawmo.org Vadnais Lake Area (651) 204-6070 Water Management Organ i . To: Connie Taillon, City of White Bear Lake, Environmental Specialist/Water Resources Engineer Kevin Kress, City of North Oaks, City Administrator Mike Grochala, City of Lino Lakes, Community Development Director Jim Hauth, City of Vadnais Heights, Public Works Director Melissa Lawrence, City of Gem Lake, Administrative Assistant Dale Reed, White Bear Township, Public Works Director From: Phil Belfiori - VLAWMO Administrator and Troy Gilchrist - VLAWMO Attorney Date: August 1, 2025 Re: Final Updated VLAWMO Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) for City Council /Town Board Consideration, Action/Signature- Revised with Updated Sect. 3.14 language. Please find attached (See Attachment 1) the VLAWMO Joint Powers Agreement ("JPA")for consideration and action by your respective City Council/Town Boards. Background As you are aware from the first draft of the VLAWMO JPA packet sent to you on April 24, 2025, VLAWMO is working to update its Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) in conjunction with its work to develop the 2027-2036 Watershed Management Plan. The current JPA was adopted in 2016 and will expire on December 31, 2026. While the current JPA will not expire until next year, VLAWMO determined the concurrent review and update of the JPA and the Watershed Management Plan is the most efficient and will help ensure the documents are properly aligned. As such, VLAWMO staff and Troy Gilchrist (VLAWMO Attorney) have prepared the enclosed final JPA which is the result of a detailed review and work to incorporate VLAWMO's long- standing practices and procedures. The primary changes from the previous JPA are summarized in the attached sample city /township staff memo and sample resolutions (see Attachment 3). The most import of these changes is the recognition that the storm sewer utility fee is VLAWMO's primary source of funding. The overall goal was to better align the JPA with how VLAWMO actually operates and has operated for many years. An effort was also made to streamline the language as much as possible. VLAWMO staff sent the draft JPA to member community staff for review and comments on April 24, 2025. Comments were received from four member community staff. The updated JPA reflects revisions where relevant and or necessary per these comments. Many of the comments were non -substantive and involved minor revisions to language for clarification, Page 586 of 617