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News from the Board of the
Lake Shamineau Lake Improvement District
As a subscriber, you are receiving the November edition of the Electronic Newsletter for the Lake Shamineau Lake Improvement District (LSLID). The LSLID Board of Directors issues the monthly newsletter to provide updates on LSLID activities. Check out our website for detailed information, announcements and documents.
Public Hearing

A Public Hearing was conducted on October 17, 2019 at the Lincoln Evangelical Free Church at 6:30 pm. The notes from the Public Hearing, and the presentation can be found on the LID Website. In addition, an updated Frequently Asked Questions document can be found on the website.

The agenda for the meeting included the following:
  1. A review of the Engineer's Report and High-Water Improvements was presented by Brian Ross from WSN.
  2. A review of the Statutory 429 Process was presented by John Person, Breen & Person.
  3. A review of the estimated timeline and proposed costs was presented by Brian Ross and Cindy Kevern. 
  4. There was a comment period for speakers to provide input.
  5. The Public Hearing was adjourned.

At the conclusion of the Public Hearing, a brief LID Board Meeting was held and the LID Board voted to approve a resolution to move forward with the construction of improvements for the Lake Shamineau Outlet Control Structure and to let the contract for all or part of the work for said improvements. Check out our FAQ's for more project information.
Update on High Water
Outlet Plan
Since the Annual Meeting, WSN has made great progress with their work to determine a route to the infiltration site, complete design modifications for the infiltration area, and modify the plan to include submersible pumps for sound mitigation. 

The following tasks have been completed over the last month:
  • Significant progress has been made on determining a route to the infiltration site and working with property owners.
  • An Archeological Study has been completed, which is required for DNR permitting.
  • Additional borings, surveys and design work for the infiltration site and pumping areas.
  • Drafting of the Environmental Assessment Worksheet.
  • We have begun work on an initial draft of an Operations and Maintenance Plan.
  • There have been good meetings and positive communications with the DNR and other agencies.
We remain positive about the estimated timeline for completion of the High Water Outlet Project is at follows:
  • Completion of Plans and permitting - Dec 31, 2019
  • Completion of final design, plans and specifications, bidding and bid review - March 2020
  • Public Assessment Hearing for Temporary Financing - April 2020
  • Begin Construction - May 2020
  • Begin Pumping - Fall 2020
  • Hold Public Hearing and adopt final project assessment roll and issue bonding - Fall 2020
  • Finalize assessment certify budget for 2021 with project assessments - Nov 2020
Emergency Task Force

As you know the we have faced an emergency problem with heavy rains in late fall causing rising waters and more flooding around the lake. We received many media reports on the Twin Cities network news as well as in local news outlets. The reports can be found on Channels 4 (WCCO) , Channel 5 (KSTP), Channel 9 (FOX) ran one and another , Morrison County Record , MPR News , NPR News and the Brainerd Dispatch ran a press release from Rep. Ron Kresha and a summer-time lakes area report. Although the reports included a couple of errors, all of them were significant stories explaining our dire situation to all the legislators and residents in the state. Click on the above links to visit their websites to view the videos or reports.

While the LID continues to work hard on a long-term project to begin pumping next fall, an Emergency Task Force has been formed to explore additional steps that can be taken to alleviate the flooding problems. These steps include mitigating inflows and improving outflows, as well as looking at the possibility of emergency pumping next spring.

The Task Force includes members from the LID Board, the Lake Association Board, and other property owners. We want you to know that while LID Board members are participating on the Emergency Task Force, the Board's focus continues to be o ur long-term plan.
Emergency Disaster Aid
and DNR Grant Funding

We recently asked that property owners send letters to State officials to appeal for Emergency Disaster assistance. In addition, the LID Board sent a letter to Morrison County asking them for their assistance in submitting a declaration to the State office, to enable the lake area to obtain any funds that may be available. 

We have recently learned that we do not meet the threshold for emergency declaration or assistance. 

There was a recent article in the Morrison County Record that discusses the process followed by the MN Department of Public Safety's Homeland Security and Emergency Management. It was noted in the article that "Right now, there is no justification under Minnesota state law for a state of emergency". It should also be noted that any state assistance would only be available for public damage to infrastructure, not for assistance to property owners.
We want to emphasize that Emergency Disaster Aid is separate from the DNR Grant Funding. We continue to be hopeful that we will receive additional DNR grant funds for our long-term project as Lake Shamineau is on a list of needs with the DNR. These funds depend on approval of bonding funds by the legislature so we continue to ask property owners to please call or send letters to your legislators and tell them to support the DNR bonding bill which includes the Flood Hazard Mitigation Grant Funds for Lake Shamineau.

Note that both Sen. Gazelka and Rep. Kresha (legislators representing the Lake Shamineau area) have agreed to author bonding bills during the 2020 session, to help with funding the LID High-Water Outlet Project.  You may want to thank them for their support of our project.
Updates from the Board of Directors
LID Board Meeting
A LID Board Meeting will be held on December 10, 2019 at 6:00 pm SCT. The meeting will be held online. If you would like to attend the Board Meeting, send an email to Fred Comb by December 9th at fred@homeinspectionsofmn.com. Prior to the meeting, Fred will send you an email invitation for the meeting. Information regarding online meetings is on the LID website.

The agenda for the meeting will include:
  • Approval of minutes
  • Treasurer's Report
  • Board Meeting Schedule
  • High Water Project Update
  • Emergency Task Force Update
  • Letters of Intent
  • WSN Agreement
  • Other Business

An agenda has been posted on the website.
Website Information

Be sure to visit the LID website for the following information:
  • Treasurer's Reports will be posted at least quarterly, but more frequently as available.
  • Status reports from WSN will be posted monthly.
  • The recent AIS survey.
  • Announcements and notes for meetings such as the LID Board meetings and public hearings.
  • There are many other documents and information available that you might find of interest.
DNR Bonding Bill Committee

LID Member volunteers Cheryl Koll and Nancy Hanson are working with our local state representative, Rep. Ron Kresha, to get a bonding bill drafted for a hearing at the next MN legislative session. They will be following the bill during the session to keep us up to date on progress. This is an effort in addition to the State DNR grant. They will keep us informed when they need our help with letter writing or other activities. Thanks to Cheryl and Nancy for their efforts

Project Bonding

We have had discussions with our Bond Counsel to determine the process for bonding of the high-water outlet control structure. Since grant funds may not be known until after the legislative session, it is anticipated that temporary financing will be utilized in April to enable the start of construction in May 2020. This temporary financing will require a public hearing and includes interest-only financing with payment beginning in 2021.

It is anticipated that the final bond issuance will occur in early fall when the final construction costs and grants will be known. The bonding will allow for repayment of the temporary financing and for payment over time. A pre-payment option will be available to property owners and assessments will begin in 2021.
A Message from the LID Board
As we enter the winter months, the LID Board of Directors will continue to work on the very important High-Water Outlet tasks with the goal to begin construction in the spring. We again urge you to call or send letters to your legislators in support of Flood Hazard Mitigation Grant Funds for Lake Shamineau. These funds depend on approval of bonding funds by the legislature and will be used to offset the cost to property owners.

We will keep you up to date with postings to the website and newsletters. Continue to let us know your comments and questions. We welcome your input.

If you know of someone that would like to be added to our newsletter subscriber list, have them send a text to 22828 with the message LAKESHAMINEAU or send an email to LSLIDBD@gmail.com . You may want t o add this email address to your white list to ensure that you will receive future newsletters.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families,

Cindy Kevern, Bob Koll, Rick Rosar, Fred Comb and Ardis Sandstrom
Lake Shamineau Improvement District Board of Directors