Item Description:
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Approve Amd to Bassett Creek Watershed Mgmt Plan; set Bassett Creek Watershed Mgmt Commission 2024 max levy at $2,238,000 for projects to improve water quality and reduce flooding
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Resolution:
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BE IT RESOLVED, that the plan amendment submitted by the Bassett Creek Watershed Management Commission, including a revised capital improvement program, be approved; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the 2024 maximum levy for the commission be set at $2,238,000, 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) has proposed a minor plan amendment to its Watershed Management Plan. The minor plan amendment adds one project to the commission’s Capital Improvement Plan (CIP).
Staff reviewed the commission’s proposed minor plan amendment and found it to be consistent with Minnesota Statutes, section 103B.251; the Surface Water Management section of the Hennepin County 2040 Comprehensive Plan Update; and the Hennepin County Natural Resources Strategic Plan. As a result, staff recommends approval of the proposed minor plan amendment to the commission’s Watershed Management Plan. Additional information about the minor plan amendment is provided in a supplemental staff recommendation report.
The BCWMC requests a levy of $2,238,000 to fund the commission’s portion of the project costs to complete six water quality projects that are priorities in the CIP. The projects will support the commission’s goals to mitigate flooding risks, improve habitat, and improve 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. In addition, communities and homeowners around two of these projects will benefit from reduced flooding during rain events.
Descriptions of the projects to be implemented, in part, by the levy funds are:
• School of Engineering and Arts (SEA) - Wildwood Park Flood Reduction Project (Golden Valley) This project is the next in a series of projects identified in the Medicine Lake Road and Winnetka Avenue Area Long Term Flood Mitigation (MLWRA) Plan, completed by a partnership of the cities of Golden Valley, New Hope, and Crystal to alleviate flooding at the low point of Medicine Lake Road and adjacent properties just east of Winnetka Avenue, and downstream at DeCola Ponds. The project will reduce flood elevations around DeCola Ponds D, E, and F by creating 8.1 acre-feet of flood storage. This project will result in 13 homes no longer being included in the projected 100-year flood levels around DeCola Ponds D, E, and F. This project will also create 2.2 acres of wetland and prairie habitat and prevent 4 pounds of phosphorus from reaching Bassett Creek every year. Total cost of this project is estimated at $3.1 million. The 2024 levy request for this project is $252,000. BCWMC levied $1.048 million for this project in prior years. The remainder of the project costs ($1.8 million) will come from a Minnesota Flood Reduction Grant from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, as well as city funds and other grants.
• Medley Park Stormwater Treatment Facility (Golden Valley) - This project will reduce flood risk to homes in the Medley Park area by creating 8.8 acre-feet of additional flood storage, resulting in three homes no longer being included in the projected 100-year flood level. This project will also create 1.2 acres of wetland and upland prairie habitat and will prevent 16.4 pounds of phosphorus from reaching Medicine Lake every year. The total cost of this project is $2.15 million. The 2024 levy request for this project is $800,000. BCWMC levied $550,000 for this project in prior years. A Clean Water Fund grant from the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources and city funds will contribute remaining project costs ($800,000).
• 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 finer particles that cannot be captured by mechanical sweepers. Enhanced street sweeping will be used to help address nutrient impairments in Medicine and Sweeney lakes, biotic impairments in Bassett Creek, and chloride impairments in the same three water bodies. The total cost of the high-efficiency street sweeper will be $356,000. The commission’s contribution will be $150,000 with $100,000 included in the 2024 levy request and the remaining amount anticipated next year.
• 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 in-stream wildlife 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 2024 levy request for this project is $434,000. BCWMC anticipates levying an additional $1.3 million for this project over two more years. An additional $500,000 will come from the City of Golden Valley and the BCWMC closed projects account.
• Ponderosa Woods Stream Restoration Project (Plymouth) - This project will restore a 1,000-foot section of a small stream that drains into Plymouth Creek and then into the West Medicine Lake Park Water Quality ponds. The proposed project will stabilize streambanks, reduce sediment and nutrient pollution reaching Medicine Lake, and improve wildlife habitat. Phosphorus and sediment pollution will be reduced by an estimated 7.4 pounds per year and 7.5 tons per year, respectively. The total cost of the project will be $352,000 with that total amount requested as part of the 2024 levy.
• Sochacki Park Water Quality Improvement Project (Robbinsdale and Golden Valley) - This project will add several stormwater best management practices within Sochacki Park, operated by the Three Rivers Park District. 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. This project will benefit a diverse and often underserved community of park users and surrounding neighborhoods in Minneapolis and Robbinsdale. The total cost of the project will be $2.3 million. BCWMC requests a 2024 levy of $300,000 for the project and anticipates levying the same amount next year. Other contributors will include Three Rivers Park District and cities. Grant funding from multiple sources is also being sought.
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, 2023.
Current Request: This request is to approve the amendment to the Bassett Creek Watershed Management Plan and to set the Bassett Creek Watershed Management Commission 2024 maximum levy at $2,238,000 for projects that will improve water quality and reduce flooding. 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 reduce flood risks, improve habitat, and improve water quality in Bassett Creek, Medicine Lake, and downstream resources. 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.
These projects will also contribute to 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 high flows associated with increasing precipitation patterns, by managing more stormwater, and by improving water quality in advance of wetter and warmer mid-century conditions.
This action supports the county’s disparity reduction efforts by enhancing stormwater management systems and mitigating the flooding risks that climate change poses to our infrastructure and vulnerable populations.
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