Minutes - Council Work Session - 11/10/2015 - Special

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keep the erosion of his boat launch at bay. He has spent over $50,000 so far on materials and reports that the cost would have been much higher except that he has connections and has been able to obtain the rip -rap at a heavily discounted rate. The downside of using rip -rap on the bluff is that in order to get it to the riverbank he has to roll it down the bluff or use chutes. This process invariably damages the plants along the bluff and in general tears up the bluff. Mr. Freeburg reports that there is a flooding component in all of this. Floodwaters typically come up fairly high on his stairs. There is a rock ridge nearby and the water above it is often quick to freeze. Water behind the rock ridge then backs up and floods the area, causing erosion. Mr. Freeburg is well aware that the conventional wisdom is "plant grass and trees" to address erosion but he has tried this several times and the river flooding has carried away his plantings. Mr. Freeburg states that if he had not added all of the fill over the years, the river would have eroded away most of his boat launch, leaving the posts that he has sunk into the bank surrounded by river. He isn't sure what the legal ramifications are from this, whether or not he would then be in violation of rules against installing permanent fixtures into the river. Mr. Freeburg reports that a dramatic increase in erosion has occurred in the last forty years and may be the result of temperature fluctuations brought about by the presence of the Monticello power plant up the river. He does not think it makes sense for the river to have been fairly stable for thousands of years only to suddenly start changing rapidly right after the power plant went in. He reports that he has done a lot of internet research and that many studies have found a causal link between nuclear power plants and issues like what his property is experiencing. He further reports that the river used to consistently freeze all the way over and remain like that for much of the winter. The river, possibly warmer these days because of the power plant, now typically only slushes up and never fully freezes. He suspects that this frequent melting and freezing throughout the winter may be exacerbating erosion. Mr. Freeburg pointed out several places on his property and the neighboring properties where the river has undercut the bank, eroding at least six feet deep beneath the bank itself. Mr. Freeburg and his neighbors acknowledge that this issue may be more of a county or state issue than a city issue. They hope that Ramsey's City Council can help them to better understand what help might be available to them and to advocate for beneficial projects that could help mitigate erosion. The residents noted that Anoka recently used a barge to dredge the Rum River and used the material that was dredged to reinforce the river banks. They contend that this is a lot less damaging to the bluffs than pouring rip -rap down the hill. Also, if enough properties are participating, there are economies of scale at play in using a barge that may end up making it cheaper than hauling in materials on trucks. Mr. Freeburg noted that the regional park on the Mississippi River has been experiencing major erosion problems as well. If the County were to hire a barge at some point to dredge and reinforce the park, might it be possible for nearby landowners to contribute extra funds in order to have the barge come to their properties and dredge and reinforce there also? It was noted that the river is unusually shallow in this area, generally not more than 8 feet deep. It was asked whether or not there might be other communities in the area experiencing similar issues with erosion who might be inclined to participate in these discussions and in potential