Spencer well qualified for council seat

From: LuAnn Brenno, Independence

Brad Spencer is running for Independence City Council.

Brad served on the Independence Planning Commission for six years, the last 18 months as chairperson. Having attended almost every planning commission meeting for the past several years, I know Brad Spencer well.

He is informed about the issues – comprehensive planning, commercial development, water resources management, zoning.

He is respectful of diverse opinions, as evidenced by presiding over many animated public hearings with testimony from many different viewpoints.

He makes reasoned decisions and is willing to state and defend his positions.

I encourage all Independence residents to contact Brad by telephone at (612) 616-7548 or e-mail at brad@bradspencer.com to get to know him and discuss your questions and concerns about our city. Or get your neighbors together for coffee and have him come and visit with you.

I will vote for Brad Spencer for city council. Get to know him and I think you will, too.

New aquatic amendements proposed

From: Bill Lacoe, Minnesotans for Healthy Lakes

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is proposing new amendments to the rules governing aquatic plant management that will greatly impact you.

This is a Minnesota legislative directive to recoup the entire costs of implementing the aquatic plant management program through permit fees. The major change in these amendments is in the fee schedule for permits to control vegetation.

Currently the permit fee is $35/property with a cap of $750. The proposed change will be $90/property with no cap. The DNR is also adding revisions to the rules without going through the whole review process on these changes.

The DNR held two advisory workshops last fall in St. Cloud to discuss these changes. Approximately 20 people attended these meetings. The attendees were mainly lake residents, association presidents and commercial applicators. Those participants strongly suggested that if the DNR increased permit fees by over 250 percent, it would lead to non-compliance and not be in the best interest of Minnesota lakes.

They also suggested that the DNR needed to cut its expenses and improve the efficiency of its permitting process to reduce its budget. All attendees were opposed to a large increase in permit fee and removing the cap for lake associations and were optimistic that they were being heard and that at least some of their ideas would be considered in the final decisions. Unfortunately, none of their ideas were included in the DNR’s proposal.

What can you do to help? If we are to stop this change from going through and also make the DNR accountable for any additional changes that it is attempting to pass through the legislative process, it is critical that you and association members:

1. Write or e-mail Steve Enger at the Department of Natural Resources, 500 Lafayette Road, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155-4025 or steve.enger@state.mn.us commenting on these rules and also ask for a hearing on the remaining amendments.

2. Write, call, or e-mail your representatives regarding this fee increase and the additional amendments that have not even been written yet. This proposed fee increase did not meet the required number of days that it needed to be before the legislature in 2009 so it must fulfill the remaining 12 days in 2010.

It is still possible to stop this change if our legislatures vote against it. Your state senator and representative can be found under the legislation tab on the Minnesotans for Healthy Lakes homepage www.mnhealthylakes.org

3. Write, phone or e-mail Governor Pawlenty asking him not to sign this bill if it reaches his desk next spring. His contact numbers are: (651) 296-3391, 800-657-3717, fax (651) 296-2089 and e-mail: tim.pawlenty@state.mn.us.