May Township approves new conservation area

The May Township planning commission recommended that only two parking spaces be allowed and that there be no parking permitted along the driveway or adjacent on the county road. Hunting would be allowed but not the use of firearms. Trapping could take place by special permit and only for nuisance animals. They further requested that the county report to the township the number of animals taken by trapping. 

Supervisor John Pazlar said he didn’t recall any public conversation about the proposed conservation use. County Commissioner Fran Miron said discussions had been going on with the neighborhood and with a prior board chair. “The general public provided significant guidance on how they wanted us to approach the management plan for the property. 

“There were some DNR funds used for the acquisition. The DNR almost always requires that some form of hunting be allowed and we really limited that hunting to what you see in the management plan, which was amenable to the DNR. Surprisingly, quite honestly. Normally their requirements for access and hunting go beyond what we did here,” Miron said.

County staff said they hosted two community meetings. The prior owners and neighbors wanted to see the property preserved and protected. The county provided some funds to purchase the land and was able to access Lessard (Outdoor Heritage) funding for the rest. 

The supervisors asked about enforcement. Miron said that firearms regulations can be enforced by the Washington County Sheriff’s office. Overharvesting of deer is a DNR enforcement issue. 

The board voted to approve a resolution establishing the Long Lake conservation area. 

Washington County also requested a 5-year renewal of its conditional use permit to operate a gravel pit on 66 acres of land off County Highway 7. The existing gravel pit has been used to process and stockpile gravel. 

In the next five years, the county proposed to remove up to 25,000 cubic yards of fill sand, to remove previously processed Class 5 material, and to stockpile asphalt products.

Supervisors noted that there had never been a complaint from area residents about the operation of the gravel pit and commended the county. The CUP request was approved. 

Karen Kill of the Browns Creek Watershed District came to the board asking for a letter of concurrence with a proposed change of boundaries between it and the Carnelian-Marine-St. Croix Watershed District. 

She explained that the boundaries of watershed districts are intended to follow hydrological boundaries. As a result of updated DNR data, the Watershed Districts were planning to reassign 67 parcels of land to the Carnelian-Marine-St. Croix Watershed and 159 parcels to the Browns Creek Watershed. 

The boundary changes will make it easier to implement projects by keeping the project fully within one watershed district. It will also ensure that residents in a watershed area can participate on the citizen advisory committee or board that relates to their exact watershed. 

Supervisors voted to support the resolution brought by the Watershed District. 

Other Business

• The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has issued a permit for the operation of the May Township sewer system.

• Snow removal services from Miller Excavating increased by 11% for 2023. Supervisors approved the contract.