Item Description:
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Set Shingle Creek Watershed Mgmt Commission 2026 max levy at $848,400 and West Mississippi Watershed Mgmt Commission 2026 max levy at $106,050 for projects to improve water quality
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Resolution:
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BE IT RESOLVED, that the 2026 maximum levy for the Shingle Creek Watershed Management Commission be set at $848,400; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the 2026 maximum levy for the West Mississippi Watershed Management Commission be set at $106,050; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the levies for both commissions be certified to the county auditor and be placed on all taxable property under the jurisdictions of the Shingle Creek Watershed Management Commission or the West Mississippi Watershed Management Commission.
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Background:
The Shingle Creek Watershed Management Commission requests a levy of $848,400 to fund five priorities in the commission’s watershed management plan - two water quality cost share programs, a maintenance fund, and two water quality projects. The projects will achieve the commission’s goals to improve water quality throughout the Shingle Creek Watershed and downstream resources including the Mississippi River.
Descriptions of the programs, funds, and projects to be paid in part by the levy funds are:
• The Maintenance Fund (various locations throughout Shingle Creek Watershed) - This project will fund activities that are necessary to ensure the success of past capital projects such as ongoing long-term efforts to manage invasive carp or curly-leaf pondweed, maintenance of fish barriers, or water quality projects installed as research projects. The commission requests a 2026 levy of $53,025 for its maintenance fund.
• The Brookdale Park Natural Channel Project (Brooklyn Park) - This project includes 5,000 linear feet of Shingle Creek between Brookdale Park and Xerxes Avenue. The project will improve water quality, enhance wildlife habitat, and restore the natural form and function of the stream channel. The total cost of this project is $1,450,000, funded by the commission. The full amount of the levy for this project has been phased over three years. The commission requests a 2026 levy of $212,100 for this project.
• Bass Creek Trunk Highway 169 to 63rd Ave Project (New Hope and Brooklyn Park) - This project will stabilize eroded sections of Bass Creek between Highway 169 and 63rd Ave to improve water quality and enhance wildlife habitat. The commission requests a 2026 levy of $424,200 for this project and the commission will fund the full amount of the project.
The levy also includes one project for publicly owned areas and another for privately owned areas to provide additional infiltration and water quality treatment by retrofitting existing or incorporating new best management practices into already developed areas throughout the Shingle Creek Watershed. The commission requests a 2026 levy for the following amounts for these projects:
• City Cost Share Best Management Practices Project - $106,050
• Partnership (Private) Cost Share Best Management Practices Project - $53,025
The West Mississippi Watershed Management Commission requests a levy of $106,050 to fund one priority in the commission’s watershed management plan, the water quality Partnership Cost Share program. This program funds projects that provide additional infiltration and water quality treatment by retrofitting existing or incorporating new best management practices into already developed areas throughout the West Mississippi Watershed for privately owned areas. The project will achieve the commission’s goals to improve water quality throughout the West Mississippi Watershed and downstream resources including the Mississippi River.
The commission requests a 2026 levy for the following amounts for these projects:
• Partnership (Private) Cost Share Best Management Practices Project - $106,050
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 commissions must certify their final levies to the county auditor prior to October 1, 2025.
Current Request:
This request is to set the Shingle Creek Watershed Management Commission 2026 maximum levy at $848,400 and the West Mississippi Watershed Management Commission 2026 maximum levy at $106,050 for projects that will improve water quality.
This request also establishes that the levies for both commissions be certified to the county auditor and be placed on all taxable property under the jurisdictions of the Shingle Creek Watershed Management Commission or the West Mississippi Watershed Management Commission.
Impact/Outcomes:
Projects in this request will reduce pollutants from throughout watersheds by making cost-share funding available to private landowners and cities, and make targeted improvements to Bass Creek, Shingle Creek and downstream resources like the Mississippi River.
This request also contributes to a maintenance fund that covers routine activities necessary to ensure the continuing efficacy of past projects and investments by the Shingle Creek Watershed Management Commission.
This action supports the county’s disparity reduction efforts by enhancing stormwater management systems and mitigating the flooding risks that climate change poses to infrastructure and more vulnerable people.
Approval of this request will also allow certification of the maximum levy to the county auditor for inclusion in Truth in Taxation statement.
recommendation
Recommendation from County Administrator: Recommend Approval