UPDATE: Roseville City Council Ratifies Dissolution of Grass Lake Water Management Organization

The Roseville City Council voted unanimously Monday evening to ratify a motion to finalze dissolution of the Grass Lake Water Management Organization and petition to bring that area into the Ramsey Metro Washington Watershed District.

Council member Tammy McGehee said the people working on the Grass Lakes Watershed district did a good job of hiring consultants to put together their plan.

"They had a lot of public input and I personally think it was a good plan, and I am reasonably confident that Ramsey Metro Washington will take advantage of that," she said. "I’m a supporter of local control, but I think the stormwater issues in the metro area are significant enough and broad enough that they do need a kind of larger oversight, and I think it’s better to pool the resources."

In late January, the Council petitioned to dissolve the water management organization, contending the watershed needs of Grass Lake could be better met by another entity's oversight.

The Council's initial vote came after the Grass Lake Water Management Organization (GLWMO) had requested an increase in funding from $37,000 to $150,000 to comply with state law.

The organization, which has been jointly funded by Roseville and Shoreview, is charged with protecting city water and stormwater quality through management of the Grass Lake watershed.

But in a recent memo, Roseville Public Works Director Duane Schwartz said, "The Joint Powers organization has met the needs in this watershed for nearly 30 years. But changes in water regulation and watershed management mandates require a level of professional management and technical resources that might be more efficiently provided by an adjacent water management organization that has these resources in place.”