Committee Members Joe Ladner, Steve Pavek, Oliver Arrett, Ed Towey, Council Liaison Kim Crockett, City Administrator Dana Young

Jerry Laughlin, Tracy Gustafson, David Paulson

The Committee approved the July 9, 2003 Boat Committee minutes on a motion by Joe Ladner,

seconded by Oliver Arrett. Motion declared carried.

Dana Young provided a brief update on the status of the City’s application before the LMCD requesting the installation of additional boat storage units on St. Louis Bay. He stated that the LMCD did not make a decision regarding the application and requested additional information from the City before rendering a final decision. The requested information included showing the buoy field on the site plan, correcting the number of the proposed boat storage units, amending the BSU layout, resolving the parking problem in the Park Avenue parking lot (including a detailed plan of the parking lot showing emergency vehicle access), a detailed report on amenity points and a response to the 1974 Boat Density Policy Statement.

Bob Voyles stated that the Minnetonka Yacht Club Board appears willing to give up their existing dock on St. Louis Bay in exchange for the use of the end of the new dock. He stated that the Yacht Club currently has a 25-year lease with the City that is set to expire in 2006.

Bob Voyles opened the meeting to comments from the public.

Minnie Beaverson, 19000 Ridgewood Road – Minnie Beaverson stated that she was in favor of additional docks and questioned the use of slip #137 and slip #128 at Carson’s Bay. She stated that slip #137 has been empty for five weeks and slip #128 contained a boat without a motor. Bob Voyles stated that the boat in slip #128 doesn’t necessarily have to have a motor as long as it adheres to the length requirement of 14 feet, which it appears to meet. Dick Kreutter, also in attendance, stated that he leases slip #37 and the reason that it is not in its assigned spot is that he lets his relatives use his boat after he has met the 60-day usage requirement.

Tom Brislin, 3675 Parkway – Tom Brislin asked about the new docks proposed on St. Louis Bay and its impact on the 1974 Boat Density Report. He asked who makes the decision that a bay is too dense? Bob Voyles stated that the LMCD makes this decision. Kim Crockett stated that if the application were approved by the LMCD, the City Council would vote on whether to proceed on the new docks and hold one or several public hearings on the project. She added that she felt there was already a parking issue on Park Avenue and didn’t think that the new docks will worsen the problem. Mr. Brislin stated his strong concern over the environmental and aesthetic impact that the new docks would have on the patrons of the Main Beach. He added that the few spaces created by the new docks would not resolve the problem for the 500 or so residents that are on the waiting list.

Kingston Fletcher, 3845 Northome Road – Mr. Fletcher stated that the Boat Committee was committing a rush to judgement by proceeding with the new docks. He stated that people will be shocked when they see the impact of the 100’ long structure in such close proximity to the beach and provided pictures showing what the potential impact might be on the Main Beach. He stated that he is also circulating a petition objecting to the project that will be presented to the City Council. He stated that his main concerns with the project include water safety and increased traffic, the new docks promote services inconsistent with the neighborhood and it will spoil the enjoyment of Deephaven Beach. He asked the Committee to consider withdrawing the application before the LMCD until the issue can be further discussed and reviewed by the public.

Dick Kreutter, 18310 Rutledge Road – Mr. Kreutter stated that the Committee is going the wrong way with the new dock proposal. He stated that the new docks would make the area too crowded, create a huge parking problem and overburden the existing latrines. He also suggested that the Committee consider the dual use of the facilities by allowing residents to lease for one half of a season.

Ed Towey asked if those in attendance would be willing to consider reducing the number of docks by constructing a dry storage space for boats in the Parkway. Tom Brislin stated that he would not be in support of such an idea since the Parkway is heavily used by both children and pedestrians and provides a beautiful green space.

Gary Rappaport, 3940 Walden Shores Road – Mr. Rappaport stated that offering inexpensive docks is driving City policy by taking this beautiful area for the benefit of only 26 people. He stated that he couldn’t understand why the City is overreacting to pressure from 26 people. He referenced a letter sent by Dyke Williams to the Committee that describes possible environmental problems that might be created due to the new docks substantially reducing wave and current action into the bay. He stated that this would cause the water in the bay to become more stagnant and potentially increase the risk of disease to the children using the swimming beach.

Susan Rappaport, 3940 Walden Shores Road – Ms. Rappaport asked a number of questions regarding the LMCD and their oversight on the number of boats permitted to be stored by the Minnetonka Yacht Club. She recommended that a study be conducted to find out if additional pollution would be caused by the construction of the new docks and the additional boats added to the bay. She asked additional questions about the proposed long-range plan that will be reviewed later this evening and asked what the Committee was considering in terms of lease rates. Bob Voyles stated that Deephaven does not offer the same amenities as a commercial marina so rates won’t approach commercial rates. Kim Crockett added that commercial rates vary between $3,500 - $5,000.

Tom Madden, 19260 Lake Avenue – Mr. Madden asked who had come up with this idea for new docks?

He stated that the problem is that the people who want to get elected are only elected for a short period of time and the beach is going to be here forever. He added that doing nothing in this case is doing a lot.

Julie Welle, 19400 Park Avenue – Ms. Welle stated that the environmental impact of this project concerns her. She stated that she contacted the Freshwater Institute on the impact of this project and was referred back to the LMCD. She stated that if these docks are built and problems develop, it would be too late to do anything. She stated that the docks would take away the view of the main lake from the beach, which is sure to have a substantial impact on the 75-100 people who use the beach each day. She added that she would like to see someone take responsibility for the cleanliness of the water.

Louise Heffelfinger, 3980 Walden Shores Road – Ms. Heffelfinger stated that she walks the beach every day and loves the pristine lake. She stated that she didn’t understand why those opposing this project have to compromise on this project.

Patricia Florance, 3920 Walden Shores Road – Ms. Florance stated that she felt this project was a very serious mistake and many people that she has talked to are very critical of the idea. She stated that she believes all leaseholders should be limited to five years and lakeshore owners should not be allowed to lease marina space. She stated that she believes the waiting list should be maintained and the City should not convert to a lottery system.

Allison Fletcher, 3845 Northome Road – Ms. Fletcher stated that the site plan for the new docks should be reviewed prior to the upcoming meeting with the LMCD. She encouraged the Council to hold a public hearing on this matter prior to the meeting with the LMCD. She added that she supports the 1974 Boat Density Policy and recommends that shoreline owners should be invited to serve on the Committee. Kim Crockett stated that public hearings would be held before anything is done to the bay. Ms. Fletcher stated that it was her understanding that the LMCD wanted the City to resolve the outstanding issues with the public prior to returning to the Board. Both Kim Crockett and Bob Voyles stated that they didn’t think that this was the direction of the LMCD Board.

Bob Combs, 19450 Willow Haven – Mr. Combs stated that he supported the comment made by Kim Crockett that there is another group in the City that have an entirely different viewpoint than the group represented here tonight.

Bob Voyles thanked those in attendance for their comments and closed the public comment portion of the meeting.

Bob Voyles stated that the Committee has been charged with providing the City Council with a long-range plan by their August 18^th meeting. He suggested that the Committee review the proposed list of recommendations put forth by himself and Committee member David Paulson, who unfortunately wasn’t able to attend tonight’s meeting. Ed Towey suggested that the Committee submit broad recommendations and avoid specific details that can be ironed out at a later time.

A copy of the Committee’s recommendations is attached.

The Committee recommended approval of the Long-Range Marina Plan on a motion by Ed Towey, seconded by Steve Pavek. Joe Ladner added a friendly amendment that would require the Committee to explore ways to speed up the administrative process of filling vacant spaces and to provide critical and informative information to citizens on marina related issues. Motion declared carried.

In a final comment, Ed Towey suggested further direction from the City Council in determining whether the direction of the Boat Committee is to increase or freeze future boat storage units. In other words, he inquired whether the Committee should be charged with finding all available sites for additional BSU’s or should the Committee be equally concerned with safeguarding the aesthetics of Deephaven.

The following is a summary of the recommendations submitted by David Paulson and Bob Voyles that were not approved by the Committee.

• The City of Deephaven will continue to re-examine marina resource configurations to determine the best use of the water resource, the maximum installation of boats etc. The Committee felt that this was already one of the missions of the Boat Committee and that it didn’t need to be included in the Long-Range Plan.
• After completing a five-year lease, leaseholders will be placed into a lottery system. The Committee generally felt the lease period was too short and the Committee valued the waiting list over a lottery system.
• The City will provide six rowing dories for those who have sailboats. The consensus of the Committee was that this was impractical and was workable only if you could guarantee that these dories would be available for those with sailboats.
• Investigation should be made regarding dry land docking of powerboats. The Committee noted that the LMCD counts the dry storage of boats as BSU’s so it was concluded that this might not be the best avenue to increase the overall number of BSU’s.
• Excess funds derived by the marina resources should be provided to the Park Committee to improve park infrastructure for all residents. The Committee did not take any action on this issue.
• No one holding a current resource will be awarded a second resource. The Committee felt that those individuals with sailboats should continue to have a second resource to obtain reasonable access to their boats.
• Develop a practical methodology to track boat usage. The Committee felt uncomfortable with defining what constitutes acceptable usage (10 times per year?) and with how to enforce usage requirements.

Brief discussion was held on the Ordinance recently adopted by the City Council that defines Committee roles, membership, terms of office, etc. Bob Voyles noted that according to the new ordinance, the Committee would need to appoint one new member who is a non-permit holder.

Further discussion on this issue will be held next month.

Motion to adjourn by Joe Ladner, seconded by Ed Towey. Motion declared carried. The meeting adjourned at 10:24 p.m. The next meeting of the Boat Committee is scheduled for September 10^th.