06-15-93 CCM - Laserfiche WebLink

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LAKE ELMO CITY COUNCIL MINUTES JUNE 15, 1993 2 Council member Conlin disagreed with Judy Blackford's assessment of the condition of the trails because she had walked the trails in the park and found them to be in excellent condition. Conlin felt that the expectation of total vegetation of the trailways would not be possible and still keep the park open for use. Larry Bohrer suggested materials such as gravel, rather than wood chips, be used for wooded areas because wood chips will decay and will lead to spongy trails. There is woven fiber mats and netting that will hold the mulch in place until vegetation can be established. He would prefer to rely on natural means of growing vegetation rather than artificial means such as timbers and structures. Mike Bouthilet agreed that erosion is an ongoing problem in the Park. Every Fall he tries to make the trails good enough for skiing season. He suggested the city consider closing off a trail in order for it to re-establish vegetation. Wood chips have been placed several times, but wash away. Nancy Hansen indicated that Sunfish Lake Park is full of trees, underbrush, animals, but devoid of people because we shut them all out. She feels we need to maintain the trails so that everyone can use the park and not just the people to stroll. The trails were developed for skiing and not for hiking, Metro Mountain Biking Resource Group are professional people whose aim is to promote biking by working on proper trail construction and maintenance throughout the metro area. They are now working with the City of Burnsville who is developing a new trail in one of its parks. The problem will not go away unless we address it positively. The council appreciated that this concern was brought to their attention and remanded the stabilization of the trailways to the Parks Commission with recommendations for trail materials to be submitted from Mike Bouthilet. 5. OLD BUSINESS: A. Washington County Landfill No. 1 Methane Issue M/S/C Mottaz/John - that the City Administrator informs the county that we don't object to their installing monitor wells at the public works building or any other test sites, but request they come to the city first for permission to install the wells. (Motion carried 5-0).