Fred Heinonen
Scandia Area Reporter

The Scandia Planning Commission and City Council reviewed a first draft of revised shoreland management regulations, which make up Chapter Five of the Scandia Development Code during its joint meeting Tuesday, Oct. 2.

City Administrator Anne Hurlburt updated and presented the current regulations, which were adopted from Washington County. When the city amended its regulations to allow places of worship last spring, the state Department of Natural Resources urged the city to adopt its own shoreland regulations as soon as possible.

The DNR also gave the city a list of eight natural environment lakes that must be added to protected waterways. Only Wojtowicz Pond, Rasmussen Pond, and Clear Lake have names.

The review was simplified by not proposing major substantive changes at this time because the entire development code should be reviewed after the comprehensive plan update has been completed. The council decided to schedule a public hearing on the shoreland management regulations in December.

Phone system

During her report, Hurlburt requested the phone system in the Scandia Community Center be replaced because of many shortcomings. The current AT&T system is obsolete and no longer supported, she said.

Hurlburt said it is not expandable so new dedicated lines were required for the fax machine and for the new building inspector. Calls cannot be transferred to the building inspector and the voice mail system is very cumbersome and inadequate, she said.

Caller ID and transferring calls to outside lines and cell phones is not possible. Security and privacy are compromised because of how the kitchen phone is tied in, she added.

Hurlburt spent a lot of time investigating the vast array of telephone systems and the many complicated options available to the city. She gave a summary of her findings and asked the council how involved they want to get in selecting a new system. Being that Hurlburt knows best what phone options should work best for the city, the council decided to release up to $4500 from the capital improvement fund for her to purchase a new phone system.

Other topics

A public hearing was held on the application of John and Sandra Swanson for a minor subdivision/preliminary plat to create Old Marine Estates, consisting of three lots at 11980 Lakamaga Trail N.

The planner recommended tabling the application until comments have been received from the DNR, Carnelian Marine St. Croix Watershed District and the Washington County Conservation Service. The issue was tabled until November 6 and the public hearing will be continued.

Next meeting

The next Scandia City Council meeting will be at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Oct 16.

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