News

We are looking to judge interest in the Ramsey Conservation District holding an Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Volunteer Ambassador training. 

As an AIS Ambassador you will undergo training by the MN DNR.  This will prepare you to educate the public about invasive species at public accesses.  While the AIS Ambassador role is strictly educational, it plays an important part in reminding boaters of the importance of protecting our waters.

Please contact LLIA here with names and contact information if you be interested in attending this training.  If we have at least 20 people sign up, the Ramsey Conservation District will host an AIS Ambassador training here in Arden Hills.

If you have any questions, please let us know at llianewbrighton@gmail.com.

Rich Kusick

President
LLIA

Warm temps and wind are the conditions needed to erode lake ice from lake surfaces.  Throughout February and March we experienced temps above freezing, according to the National Weather Service.  On Monday and Tuesday winds reached high levels, up to 20-30 MPH with gusts up to 50 MPH, which contributed to our early ice out.  

If anyone has statistics prior to the 2015-2016 season please email them to llianewbrighton@gmail.com and we'll put them on our site.    

Members,

LLIA would like to thank the New Brighton City Council Members, Mayor Val Johnson and City Manager Dean Lotter for their tireless support of the treatment funding Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) in Long Lake.   They all sat through many meetings to listen and learn of our concerns with AIS in Long Lake and stepped up to fund the treatment for this year.  Their commitment this year is up to $15,000 toward the treatment of AIS.  You can view the City Council Meeting on 2/28/17 here at http://newbrighton.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=632   the LLIA content starts at the 20.50 minute mark and goes through the 34 minute mark.  They did a great job on the overview, discussion and comments of the LLIA.

Moving forward, annual treatment will be required as AIS can be managed but not eradicated.  Therefore, the City of New Brighton will be expecting additional parties to participate in funding for future years.  We are continuing to seek future funding participation with Ramsey County and possibly the State of MN.  Rep. Connie Bernardy has introduced state legislation to fund projects such as this.  LLIA has also applied for limited grant money available this year with the MN DNR.   The LLIA will work with the MN DNR, Ramsey County and the Rice Creek Watershed District to monitor treatment and it’s effectiveness in the years ahead. 

LLIA, as an organization, will be required to participate as well, estimating we will be required to contribute 1/3 of future AIS funding needs.  Therefore, each member’s annual contribution is necessary toward this need, as well as boat monitoring obligations.  You can sign up and contribute www.llianewbrighton.org 

I would like to thank LLIA member, Caroline Beckman for her time and expertise with assisting in preparing our request to the City of New Brighton and Ramsey County.  She assisted in multiple preparatory meetings as well as attended City Council Workshops and City Council Meetings.  I was out of town for a couple of the meetings and Caroline filled in and represented LLIA magnificently on behalf of us all.

Thanks to John Broghammer for all of his work on research, design and implementation of our new website llianewbrighton.org.  We have received many compliments on its looks, content, and ability to collect dues online.  This is a valuable tool for LLIA members as well as community members who want to stay up to date with information and upcoming events available on the website.

Thanks to John Johnson for his collection of dues and email notices for the past year.  We’re hoping the website will replace the need to send out individual emails in the near future.  In the meantime, I apologize for any duplication of information until the conversion is complete.  If you haven’t done so yet, please sign up on the website.

Finally, thank you to all who have, or will be making, their tax-deductible donations to LLIA.  We look forward to the continued growth of the LLIA organization for promoting safe recreational experiences and improved water quality.   We will be able to achieve our goals with your continued support in the future.

Sincerely,

Rich Kusick

President

Long Lake Improvement Association

Despite the short notice, I want to thank those who emailed the Council Members and attended the Council Meeting this evening.  We had approximately 12-14 lake owners in attendance. 

Rich Kusick began the discussion around the needs for lake weed control and several lake owners addressed the Council directly with their concerns on Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) and their impact on the lake. 

Our perception for City assistance is optimistic for initial funding to address the invasive weeds, but we’ll need to develop a long term, sustainable plan that involves LLIA, the City of New Brighton, and Ramsey County to continue the remediation process.

The Council will be meeting on Feb 28^th at 6:30 to vote on funding weed control on Long Lake.  We’d appreciate your attendance or voice your support of funding to: val.johnson@newbrightonmn.gov; gina.bauman@newbrightonmn.gov; mary.burg@newbrightonmn.gov; paul.jacobsen@newbrightonmn.gov; brian.strub@newbrightonmn.gov; dean.lotter@newbrightonmn.gov

We appreciate your support and involvement, 

LLIA

The City Council will be meeting on Feb 14th at 6:30 PM to discuss funding for treatment of AIS in Long Lake.  They will be discussing it and hearing from those in attendance, so please try to attend if you can or email those referenced below with your concerns.  

The City meeting on Feb. 28^th will be to vote on whether to fund it and what to expect moving forward.  The City of New Brighton will be proposing to spend up to $15,000 this year for treatment as they understand time is of the essence and doubtful Ramsey County will have any funding approved that quickly.

After this year, the City will be looking for assistance in funding from Ramsey County as well as LLIA (and any other source we can come up with).

Please see more information in the Events section for the City Hall Meetings and please voice your AIS concerns directly to our Council Members at the following email addresses: 

val.johnson@newbrightonmn.gov; gina.bauman@newbrightonmn.gov; mary.burg@newbrightonmn.gov; paul.jacobsen@newbrightonmn.gov; brian.strub@newbrightonmn.gov; dean.lotter@newbrightonmn.gov

Ramsey County has informed us that the commercial effort to remove carp was unsuccessful due to the net getting snagged on debris.  This prevented them from bringing in any fish.  They’re hoping to give it another try before the end of winter and we'll keep you posted.  

Carp fishermen began setting up today by cutting a trench through the ice where the netting will go.  They've setup thin ice signs around this.  They'll be on the lake for a few days and should be wrapped up before the weekend.

LLIA will be interviewing three Weed Management companies and will provide an update in January.  

After a warm November, the south bay finally froze up on December 8th.  Hopefully we have some cold temps ahead to make it safe.  Remember, 4 inches of ice to safely walk on.  

I've seen bulldozers around the regional park, but couldn't find any information.  I reached out to Ramsey County and received this response.

The proposed Lion's Park in New Brighton is a collaborative park project between the city of New Brighton and Ramsey County Parks & Recreation. The New Brighton city portion of park will be located just to the south of Long Lake Regional Park and will include a softball field, lacrosse/multi-purpose field, play area, trails and related park amenities. Ramsey County is planning park development that will complement the new park, including a park shelter, nature play area, trails, restrooms, parking lot and additional park amenities within the portion of Long Lake Regional Park that is directly adjacent to Lion's Park. As a part of the Lion's Park development project, a shared parking lot, trail connections and associated site grading and utility improvements will be made to allow future amenities to be completed. 

For more information on the project, please click on the attached link: http://www.newbrightonmn.gov/new-park-constructed-new-brighton/

Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Scott Yonke, PLA | Director of Planning and Development