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Minutes for the NE Water Summit on August 25, 2016 Page 4 of 6 Commissioner Miron asked if they were looking for any resolutions or letters of support for the Legacy grant application. Phil explained that the application went in last month and will be reviewed in January. He will check with the Board of Soil and Water to see if they can still be submitted. City Administrator Bryan Bear talked about the importance of the rule changes. The Board is hosting collaborative meetings with engineers to talk about what is working and what is not. Board Manager John Waller encouraged the cities to bring their suggestions for rule changes and funding requests to the Board. Discussion on Joint Powers Agreement The group had been provided a draft of a Joint Powers Agreement for consideration. Bryan Bear explained that the primary reason for the document was to be able to provide a collective voice. Lino Lakes Mayor Jeff Reinhart said is seemed unnecessary. Each City could discuss items among themselves and perhaps provide resolutions. With the JPA, every city would have to agree with what the Water Summit group does. Jeff said that every council needs a chance to debate. Centerville Council Member Bill Krebs indicated that he felt it was unnecessary and that we are targets for the low White Bear Lake water level. He stated that the City of Columbus will be out of this group once that is over, and that Columbus is dealing with other issues with the DNR, BWSR, and the Army Corps of Engineers. Senator Roger Chamberlain said the cities will get run over individually, and with an agreement, the group can easily and formally as possible have the ability to push back as a coalition. There are strength in numbers by leveraging the collective assets of the cities. Columbus Mayor Dave Povolny said he was tired of hearing about conservation, purifying water so New Orleans can get it. He does not want to be told how much water he can use. We need to push back. hhh.. MN House Rep Peter Fischer spoke about friction between the Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities. The study is still ongoing and it indicates there is a bigger problem than in the past. Discussions and cooperation needed to be had with the Tier 1 communities since they share the same concerns. It is better to be proactive than reactive. He said he felt the group needed to continue meeting. Forest Lake Administrator Aaron Parrish agreed. Forest Lake is on the same aquifer as Columbus but it is important to work together as a group. It is hard to have every city voting on an issue. He believes 95% of the time, all interests are the same. A JPA may not be the right structure, and maybe another mechanism needed to be considered.