Item Description:
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Set Bassett Creek Watershed Mgmt Commission 2025 max levy at $2,303,500 for projects to improve water quality and reduce flooding
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Resolution:
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BE IT RESOLVED, that the 2025 maximum levy for the Bassett Creek Watershed Management Commission be set at $2,303,500, and that the levy be certified to the county auditor and be placed on all taxable property under the jurisdiction of the commission.
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Background:
The Bassett Creek Watershed Management Commission (BCWMC) requests a levy of $2,303,500 to fund the commission’s portion of the project costs to complete four water quality projects that are priorities in the Commission’s Capital Improvement Plan. The projects will achieve the commission’s goals to improve stream habitat and water quality. These projects will benefit the water quality of Bassett Creek, Plymouth Creek, Medicine Lake, Sweeney Lake, and downstream water resources like the Mississippi River.
Descriptions of the projects to be implemented, in part, by the levy funds are:
• Cost Share Purchase of a High-efficiency Street Sweeper (Golden Valley) - This project will be a cost share contribution toward the purchase of an enhanced regenerative sweeper in the city of Golden Valley to improve street sweeping effectiveness and reduce pollutant loading to streams and lakes. The sweeper will be used to capture and remove fine particles that cannot be captured by mechanical sweepers. Enhanced street sweeping will be used to help address impairments in Bassett Creek, Medicine, and Sweeney lakes. The total cost of the high-efficiency street sweeper is $356,000. The commission’s contribution is $150,000 with $50,000 included in the 2025 levy request. The remaining amount was requested as part of last year’s levy.
• Bassett Creek Main Stem Restoration Project - Regent Ave. to Golden Valley Road (Golden Valley) - This project will stabilize streambanks, reduce erosion, improve water quality, and improve stream habitat along a 7,000-foot section of Bassett Creek. This project will prevent an estimated 82 pounds of phosphorus and 68 tons of sediment from reaching the Mississippi River. The total cost of this project is $2.24 million. The commission’s contribution will be $1.74 million, with $653,500 included in the 2025 levy request. Last year’s levy generated $434,000 for this project and the BCWMC plans to include another $653,500 in next year’s request. An additional $500,000 will come from the City of Golden Valley and the BCWMC closed projects account.
• Sochacki Park Water Quality Improvement Project (Robbinsdale and Golden Valley) - This project will add several stormwater best management practices within Sochacki Park, which is operated by the Three Rivers Park District. Sochacki Park is in an area identified by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency as an area of environmental justice concern. The project will prevent an estimated 67 pounds of phosphorus from reaching Bassett Creek each year by improving water quality in Grimes, North Rice, and South Rice ponds. It will also reduce soil erosion and sedimentation, improve wildlife habitat, and improve recreation and educational opportunities within Sochacki Park for park users and surrounding neighborhoods in Minneapolis and Robbinsdale. The total cost of the project will be $2.3 million. The commission’s contribution will be $600,000. BCWMC requests a 2025 levy of $300,000 for the project. The remainder was included in last year’s levy request. A congressionally directed spending appropriation awarded to Three Rivers Park District will fulfill the remaining project budget needs.
• Plymouth Creek Restoration Project: Dunkirk Lane to 38th Ave. N (Plymouth) - This project will stabilize streambanks, reduce erosion, improve water quality, and improve stream habitat along a 7,000-foot section of Plymouth Creek. This project will prevent an estimated 148 pounds of phosphorus pollution and 148.5 tons of sediment pollution annually in Plymouth Creek and downstream Medicine Lake. In addition, creek buffers will be improved, accumulated sediment will be removed from two sections of the creek, and a section of the creek channel that was straightened in the past will be re-meandered to better mimic natural conditions. The total project cost will be $2.6 million, all of which will be paid by the commission. BCWMC requests a 2025 levy of $1.3 million for this project. The remainder will be included in next year’s levy request.
Levies authorized pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, section 103B.251 are exempt from any statutory limitation on taxes. A county levying a tax under Minnesota Statutes, section 103B.251 shall not include that tax in the county’s general levy but shall separately certify that amount to the county auditor. The county auditor shall extend that levy as a special taxing district. The commission must certify its final levies to the county auditor prior to October 1, 2024.
Current Request:
This request is to set the Bassett Creek Watershed Management Commission 2025 maximum levy at $2,303,500 for projects that will improve water quality and stream habitat. This request also establishes that the levy be certified to the county auditor and be placed on all taxable property under the jurisdiction of the commission.
Impact/Outcomes:
Projects in this request will improve stream habitat and water quality in Bassett Creek, Plymouth Creek, Medicine Lake, Sweeney Lake, and downstream resources like the Mississippi River. The Sochacki Park Water Quality Improvement Project (Golden Valley and Robbinsdale) project will occur in an area identified by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency as an area of environmental justice concern and will improve recreation and educational opportunities within Sochacki Park.
These projects will also make Hennepin County more resilient to climate change by reducing the risk of flooding to residents and structures and by creating streambanks that are better able to withstand higher intensity rain events by managing more stormwater, and by improving water quality in advance of even wetter and warmer conditions expected by mid-century.
This action supports the county’s disparity reduction efforts by enhancing stormwater management systems and mitigating the flooding risks that climate change poses to residents, infrastructure, and natural areas most vulnerable to climate change.
Approval of this request will allow certification of the maximum levy to the county auditor for inclusion in Truth in Taxation statement.
recommendation
Recommendation from County Administrator: Recommend Approval