Mendota Heights City Council Dips Into Water Issues

“We have a big new issue in this town, and it’s water,” quipped Mendota Heights Mayor Sandra Krebsbach near the close of the city council meeting Tuesday night. The council spent much of the evening discussing pond, lake, and storm water issues.

Residents’ concerns and increasingly strict Minnesota Pollution Control Agency guidelines brought the city’s ponds to the forefront as Public Works Director John Mazzitello requested the council’s approval of a pond maintenance review. The city approved the request to spend approximately $35,000 to hire an independent consultant. In addition to assessing 10 of the city’s storm water management ponds, the consultant would recommend any needed improvements to the bodies of water.

The ponds that will be inspected are Upper Bridgeview, King, Copperfield, Wagon Wheel North, Warrior, Sutton/Marie, Bachelor Avenue (Par 3), Park Place, Burrows and Ivy Park.

Council member Jack Vitelli was among those questioning the proposal, pointing out that the assessment would be just the beginning. He stressed that the handful of ponds studied could result in years of much bigger expenditures.

“This is a dangerous venture we are starting here,” Vitelli said. “What are the expectations? What is our target goal?”

Despite some concerns, the assessment was determined by the council to be the best place to start. Several council members said that the health of ponds in Mendota Heights is critical to the area. According to Mazzitello, Mendota Heights has 96 bodies of water that qualify as ponds. 

“We have a commitment as a city to all 96 bodies of water,” said Krebsbach. “Some ponds have some serious issues that we need to address.”

Council member Liz Petschel emphasized that any action taken as a result of the review must be accompanied by strong resident cooperation.

“Without 100 percent buy-in from the residents, this will not be money well spent,” Petschel said after the meeting. “People think of the ponds as decorative, but they really are infrastructure. They are needed for water quality. And residents need to know that how they fertilize their lawns, how they dispose of grass clippings—these are the actions that can have major consequences on our ponds.”

Rogers Lake residents request weed control

The council also designated $3,000 for weed control treatment at Rogers Lake. While Mazzitello recommended deferring the treatment, residents of the lake area present convinced the council to set aside the funds. The lake has been treated for weeds both in 2009 and 2010, and several individuals have also treated their own lakeshore areas.

The designation of 2011 funds came with a caution, however. Krebsbach and several council members encouraged Rogers Lake area residents to form an association to face such matters in the future.

“Note this is the last automatic year of support (from the city),” Krebsbach said. Future requests, she warned, would require contribution from an organization of lake residents.