2.5 Request for a Public Gathering Permit, Water Ski Event
CITY OF
CHANHASSEN
I City Center Drive, PO Box 147
hanhassen, Minnesota 55317
Phone 612.937.1900
General Fax 612.937.5739
19i1leering Fax 612.937.9152
blic Safety Fax 612.934.2524
"feb u'/lIu'.ci.chanhassen.iIln.lIS
P)
(.:~ i
''''~
MEMORANDUM
TO:
Todd Hoffman, Park and Recreation Directo~ p
Jerry Ruegemer, Recreation Supervisor ) ~ \
February 4, 1998
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJ:
Public Gathering Permit, Water Skiing Tournament at Lake Susan Park
Mr. Steve Carlson, State Coordinator for the Minnesota International Novice Tour (INT)
is requesting approval of a Public Gathering Permit to hold a water ski, wake-board and
kneeboard tournament again at Lake Susan Park on May 30 and 31. INT is a non-profit
company that promotes organized water-skiing, wakeboarding, and kneeboarding. The
company started four years ago and currently has support in more than 25 states.
If approved by the City Council, the tournament would host 50-60 participants. They
would hold a practice session on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the actual
tournament would be on Sunday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. INT plans on having 4 boats in
the water with only one boat pulling a skier, wakeboarder, or a kneeboarder at a time.
The remaining three boats would be on shore used as safety boats. The slalom course
would be set up 40-50 yards south of the sandy beach area, just west of the public access.
INT would also install a roll-in dock on the sandy beach area, which would serve as the
area the skiers start from. Skiers would be staged in this area allowing tournament
officials to conduct a safety check of the skier's equipment.
If INT would like to hold their tournament headquarters in the picnic pavilion at Lake
Susan there would be a reservation fee of $250 per day. INT has questioned the
reservation fee of $250 per day, as they feel it is exorbitant. They may inquire as to the
possibility of the city council reducing the reservation fee. If the city council chooses to
reduce the fee, I will adjust the fee in my records. Use of electricity, bathrooms or other
miscellaneous items would also require coordination.
In order to proceed with their tournament, INT must receive approval from the
Chanhassen City Council. If the city council approves the permit, INT is also required
to seek approval of a temporary structure permit from Carver County to allow placement
of a slalom course in a public water body.
Alllakeshore property owners have been notified ofINT's request. Mr. Carlson has
again been very cooperative in answering questions regarding the tournament and he will
be attending the February 9 city council meeting to answer any questions. Last year's
tournament was very well organized and I did not receive any complaints.
RECOMMENDATION
It is staffs recommendation that the city council approve INT's request for a public
gathering permit to host a water ski tournament at Lake Susan on May 30-31. It is also
recommended that INT pay the reservation fee of $250 per day to reserve the Lake Susan
Pavilion. It is at the council's discretion if they would like to charge the $1,000 escrow
fee like last year.
Ci(y of Cban!JflJSeJl. A growing community with clean lakes, qUilli01 schools, a channing downtown, thrilling businesses, and beautiful parks. A grmt place to lillI', work, allll play
CITY OF
CHANHASSEN
690 City eellter Drive, PO Box 147
ClwdJiliiCl1, Mil1l1esota 55317
Phol1e 612.937.1900
General Fax 612.937.5739
Engineering Fax 612.937.9152
Public Safety Fax 612.934.2524
I\"ib Il'Wll'.ci.cbanbassen./J/Il.lts
February 3, 1998
Dear Resident:
At their February 9, 1998 meeting, the Chanhassen City Council will be reviewing a
request for a Public Gathering Permit for a water-skiing, wake-boarding, and knee-
boarding tournament at Lake Susan on May 30 and 31. The tournament will be hosted
by the Minnesota International Novice Tour (INT), which is a non-profit group that
promotes organized water-skiing, wake-boarding and knee-boarding. The INT was
organized four years ago and currently has support in more than 25 states.
The INT held this same tournament last year in early June. This year's proposed
tournament will be identical to last year's with the exception of an expanded time of8:00
a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. (The tournament ended at 2:00 p.m. last year.)
The tournament will host 50-60 participants, A practice session will be held Saturday,
May 30, from 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., with the actual tournament taking place on Sunday,
May 31, from 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. The INT plans to utilize four boats, but will have
only one boat pulling a skier, wake-boarder, or ~ee-boarder at a time. The remaining
three boats would be on shore and used as safety boats. The slalom course will be set-up
40-50 yards south of the sandy beach area and just west of the public access.
The INT ,vill use the picnic pavilion at Lake Susan Park as their tournament
headquarters. The City will work with INT to ensure that adequate safety personnel,
refuse containers, restroom facilities, etc. will be available.
Staff has recommended that City Council approve the INT's request for their Public
Gathering Permit. Staff has also recommended the INT pay the reservation fee of $250
per day to reserve the Lake Susan Pavilion.
The Council will consider this item at approximately 7:00 p.m. on February 9 and you
are more than welcome to attend the meeting and comment on the request. If you have
questions prior to the City Council meeting, please call me at 937 -1900, extension 126.
Sincerely, ~
1"U).I~k -<.1 I (J 4'i'\Y\t/\
o v,,'~\' 0 "-
Je y Ruegemer
Recreation Supervisor
pc: Todd Hoffman, Director of Park and Recreation
Chanhassen City Council
G : \park\j erry\Pu b 1 i cG atheringPermi tN otice98. doc
7!Jc Ci(r of CllilllbilSSl'I1. A growing cOiillliunio' with clcllillil~t's, q/!di~;' sJouh. 1/ chmilling dOll'IItOll'n, thril'ing busincs.<fs, and beautiful parks. A greilt place to liti', work,
Shaded areas indicate property owners who were
notified of the event and meeting.
STEPHEN & JUDITH SLACK
8675 CHAN HILLS DR NO
CHANHASSEN, MN 55317
SHIRLEY M. ROBINSON
8502 GREAT PLAINS BLVD
CHANHASSEN, MN 55317
JAMES L PEHRINGER
1010 LAKE SUSAN HILLS DR
CHANHASSEN, MN 55317
TIM KEEHBLER
8511 DRAKE COURT
CHANHASSEN, MN 55317
DAVID PAYNE
8504 GREAT PLAINS BLVD
CHANHASSEN, MN 55317
DALE A LEWIS
1020 LAKE SUSAN HILLS DR
CHANHASSEN, MN 55317
DAVID DUMMER
8523 DRAKE COURT
CHANHASSEN, MN 55317
GEORGE & LESLIE GILMAN
8506 GREAT PLAINS BLVD
CHANHASSEN, MN 55317
DICK ANDERSON
1030 LAKE SUSAN HILLS DR
CHANHASSEN, MN 55317
ROGER HALL
8535 DRAKE COURT
CHANHASSEN, MN 55317
DON SLATHER
8508 GREAT PLAINS BLVD
CHANHASSEN, MN 55317
SUE SAMPSON
930 LAKE SUSAN HILLS DR
CHANHASSEN, MN 55317
ROBERT ARMSTRONG
8400 GREAT PLAINS BLVD
CHANHASSEN, MN 55317
BRAD WILLMSEN
8510 GREAT PLAINS BLVD
CHANHASSEN, MN 55317
JOHN GOEDERT
940 LAKE SUSAN HILLS DR
CHANHASSEN, MN 55317
DON GALE
8402 GREAT PLAINS BLVD
CHANHASSEN, MN 55317
TERRY OWENS
8520 GREAT PLAINS BLVD
CHANHASSEN. MN 55317
TODD BLACKWELL
950 LAKE SUSAN HILLS DRIVE
CHANHASSEN, MN 55317
MILTON BATHKE
8404 GREAT PLAINS BLVD
CHANHASSEN, MN 55317
ROME NOONE
8522 GREAT PLAINS BLVD
CHANHASSEN, MN 55317
JEFFREY D. TEN DICK
960 LAKE SUSAN HILLS DR
CHANHASSEN, MN 55317
JAMES & KATHRYN JACOBY
8410 GREAT PLAINS BLVD
CHANHASSEN, MN 55317
WALTER PAULSON
8528 GREAT PLAINS BLVD
CHANHASSEN, MN 55317
ROBERT IRWIN
970 LAKE SUSAN HILLS DR
CHANHASSEN, MN 55317
EUGENE KLEIN
8412 GREAT PLAINS BLVD
CHANHASSEN, MN 55317
AL H. KLlNGELHUTZ
8600 GREAT PLAINS BLVD
CHANHASSEN, MN 55317
JOHN MC CONNELL
980 LAKE SUSAN HILLS DR
CHANHASSEN, MN 55317
TRUDI AMUNDSON
8500 GREAT PLAINS BLVD
CHANHASSEN, MN 55317
VERONICA PERTTU
1000 LAKE SUSAN HILLS DR
CHANHASSEN, MN 55317
EUGENE WAARA
990 LAKE SUSAN HILLS DRIVE
CHANHASSEN, MN 55317
SEMOUNT INC
fN: PHYLLIS MARTINSON PC09
10 MARKET BLVD
ANHASSEN, MN 55317
3MAR DEVElOPMETN CO LlC
78TH STREET W
<\NHASSEN, MN 55317
:PHEN & JUDITH SLACK
5 CHAN HillS DRIVE
!\NHASSEN, MN 55317
iN DAVIS
o WEST lAKE COURT
~NHASEN. MN 55317
JDAll & EMilY MATTRAN
o WEST LAKE COURT
~NHASSEN, MN 55317
)MAS & TINA SHEAR
1 WEST lAKE COURT
\NHASSEN. MN 55317
City Council Meeting - April 28, 1997
parking lot island will be changed to a species recommended in the City's Approved Tree List for
planting in parking lots. A revised landscape plan will be submitted to the City before final
approval.
15. The applicant has not shown the trash enclosure location. The materials used to screen the trash
enclosure shall be the same type of block used on the building.
All voted in favor and the motion carried.
REQUEST FOR A PUBLIC GATHERING PERMIT. WATER SKIING TOURNAMENT AT
LAKE SUSAN PARK. INT LEAGUE.
Todd Hoffman: These gentlemen have been sitting here since 7:30. Winter has returned. The lake has
frozen. Steve Carlson is present in the audience and he's a representative of Minnesota International
Novice Tour (!NT), and they're requesting a public gathering permit for a waterski tournament June 7th
and 8th. The 7th being a Saturday, a practice day and 8th the tournament date. The company started 3
years ago in Washington state and is currently traveling across the country gaining momentum.
Essentially what you have going on here is a owner representative in businesses sponsoring the
tournament to gain support for skiing and knee boarding and other things that we talked about in the
material. If approved they expect 50 to 60 participants. In order to proceed with the tournament they
must receive approval from the Chanhassen City Council for this permit. They would also need to seek a
permit from Carver County to allow placement of a slalom course in a public water body. What I would
like to bring to your attention is that the ordinance, as it reads. What they need to prove in order to have
the City Council approve the permit is that the proposed activity or use of the park will not unreasonably
interfere with or detract from the general public enjoyment of the park. The proposed activity or use will
not reasonably interfere or detract from commotion of public health, welfare, safety and recreation, etc.
And the proposed activity or use is not reasonably.. .crime or disorderly conduct. The proposed activity
will not entail any extraordinary... operation of the city. That the facility desired... The applicants are
here. I'd like them to talk about what they perceive to be the, kind of the feel of this type of event.
There's no doubt it wouldn't have a significant presence on the water front and on Lake Susan Park and I
want the Council to understand that consideration. We also need to talk about whether there would be an
entry fee for these people. Are they thinking about charging spectator fees along with the water-skiing,
wake boarding and knee boarding, there is going to be a boat demonstration and a P A system that's
talked about in the report. What affect that has on the property owners and the recreation use over a
weekend... P A system for 2 days. And Roger should talk about, if it is approved, any additional
insurance or what other needs would he need.
Mayor Mancino: Thank you. Would the applicant like to come forward please?
Councilman Senn: Whoops. I've got some question for staff real quick at first. I'm sorry.
Mayor Mancino: Sure.
Councilman Senn: Todd. I mean were the residents notified of this?
Todd Hoffman: A mailing did not go out to the lakeshore home owners but it was notified in the paper. I
received a single call.
54
City Council Meeting - April 28, 1997
Councilman Senn: Okay, but I mean isn't it pretty easy to send a notice out to the residents since it's a
defined area? I mean wouldn't you be more comfortable with that?
Todd Hoffman: I don't think the residents would be too excited about it.
Councilman Senn: But I mean how do we know that? I'm not sure we're at liberty to even be suggesting
whether they, I mean how would I say this? I mean it's kind of hard to tell that, especially if we just put
it in the newspaper. I mean it seems to me if we're going to consider something like this, we ought to
send notices out to the residents that live there and give them an opportunity to come in and hear the
same thing.
Mayor Mancino: Do we do it in others? I mean for the February Festival and you know, in other?
Todd Hoffman: No.
Mayor Mancino: Do we usually.
Todd Hoffman: The difference here is this is not a city or local community sponsored event.
Councilman Senn: And I'm sure, I mean the other thing, and Nancy I have the same question but I said
to myself well, first year after February Fest if somebody didn't like it, we would have heard. You know
and this is kind of interjecting a new element. I think maybe we should look for a comment for.
Another, a couple other questions if! could. I saw in here you )Vere looking at a few of $250.00 per day.
That's just in my mind seems really light, I mean considering I'm sure we get stuck with trash pick-up,
trash hauling, electricity, etc, etc.
Todd Hoffman: The $250.00 indicated is a standard reservation fee. It is not the fee specifically
designated for or arrived at.
Councilman Senn: For an event like this?
Todd Hoffman: That is correct.
Councilman Senn: Okay. More like company picnics at the pavilion.
Todd Hoffman: Absolutely.
Councilman Senn: Alright. And last question. I was going to bring this up as a separate item tonight but
I thought since this item was I'd just bring it up under this. What happens, I mean right now our lake
levels are at the highest I remember them in the last 10 years. I mean there's some real shoreline erosion
problems starting to occur, which I think percipitate the discussion on our part of whether we should
implement no wake on the lake. But now again, I mean it's hard to say, now is May. This is June 7th.
Granted you know it's a month or a month and a week away but what if those conditions don't change? I
mean we could be creating effectively a pretty big problem as putting this type of intensity or use on the
lake, if those water levels don't go down.
Todd Hoffman: Agreed.
55
City Council Meeting - April 28, 1997
Councilman Senn: There's no way to govern that. I mean is there a way to govern that? I suppose really
not. I mean you've got to say yes, we're going to allow it. No, we're going to allow it. No, we can't call
it off at the last minute because of the lake being high?
Todd Hoffman: Yeah. Many of the County Boards out west imposed no wake restrictions on their water
bodies due to high levels.
Councilman Senn: Yeah, I'd really like to see us do that because it's, in general.
Mayor Mancino: I mean will 2 days affect it? Having some wake on the lake for 2 days.
Councilman Senn: Oh, it could dramatically affect it. Ifthe water level.
Mayor Mancino: Erosion around the perimeter of the lake?
Todd Hoffman: Any wave action affect...
Mayor Mancino: Okay. I just wondered if it would take sustained activity. Okay.
Councilman Senn: Okay. That was it for questions.
Mayor Mancino: Is the applicant here and would you like to address the City Council please?
Steve Carlson: Hi, I'm Steve Carlson. This is Joe Mueller and basically I am the State coordinator for
the !NT League here in Minnesota. .. . some of these objectives I've heard obviously. So far the !NT has
grown nationwide...and Washington, Indiana, Arizona and Michigan where it's taken off real well.
There is a major corporate sponsorship as far as.. . sporting good manufacture association goes. As far as
the water sports industry goes... The league that has tried to bolster water-skiing at a real grass roots
level and.. .Little League of water-skiing is kind of what they call it. There's Little League baseball.
There's Pee Wee football. There's little guys hockey, as far as Pee Wee's and Bantams. I'm sure you're
all familiar with that but there's never been that for water-skiing. What they're trying to do is take it
from being just a recreation and many people enjoy being on the lakes throughout the.. . country
obviously and bring it back to be more ofa sport and that's where this type of event that we're holding is
trying to do. We're holding four tournaments in the State this year actually. This one in Chanhassen will
actually be the first. After the one here, up in Robbinsdale. There will be one at Madden's Resort up on
Gull Lake.. . Rochester. And so far we have been met very well, with open arms up in Robbinsdale. Up
at Gull Lake at Madden's Resort.. . quite a big deal about it there. And also with the.. . down in
Rochester... would be viewed as a fund-raiser also for their... Basically with this first tournament, we're
hoping to have somewhere between 50 and 60 participants. Like he says, it's going to depend on
weather. It's going to depend on how well we get the word out. There's actually, there will be 10-
15,000 fliers that will go out in the state to 15,000 different households. People who are from our
mailing list and from mailing lists of waterski magazines and waterski manufacturers. We're trying to
essentially promote it as more of a family... They're trying to bring more families together. I know a lot
of... They set up camp sites and there...
Mayor Mancino: Okay, thank you. Any questions for Mr. Carlson at this time?
Councilman Berquist: Your shop?
56
City Council Meeting - April 28, 1997
Steve Carlson: No.
Joe Mueller: I might add. My name is Mueller. I'm the owner of Minnesota Inboard Watersports.
We're Malibu Boats on Highway 7 and we also have a service shop in Christmas Lake Road. One of the
reasons really that we chose Chanhassen was because we have approximately 200 customers that
purchase goods from our store. Waterskis, because we have a pro shop. We have 180 Excelsior
residents and one of the biggest questions that comes up every year, we've been there 6 years, is do you
guys have clinics? Or where can my kids go? What can we do? I mean where can we go? INT has
approached us 3 years in a row. We're a very busy company this time of year. Taking on a project like
this was a huge commitment for us. I put Steve in charge, who's in charge of our retail sales and
purchasing. Hopefully finding some people, which we have, to follow with us and help us out in terms, I
hope you all got packets. I think we sent to Jerry and Sharmin and I know we have insurance information
as well through the INT. Personally I've run, I've held tournaments. I've held clinics. We have gone
through the City Councils to acquire permits for the clinics and tournaments. This is the first time
obviously with Chanhassen. He spoke of residential okays and I can assure you that the activity that is
done in this particular type of a tournament, there is 5 boat manufacturers that are major sponsors.
There are, there's one boat that is run. There isn't 5 boats. There's one boat that's run during the day for
these activities through a slalom course. So it's basically working with Jerry, positioning this slalom
course away from residents and the best location of the lake, I don't feel that it's going to be a big
negative to the residents. But then again I'm not a resident on Lake Susan. But we have held many of
these clinics throughout the City in the past. I guess we chose Lake Susan because quite a few of our
customers waterski on Lake Susan. But it's a great opportunity for us and to get involved with this and
create more of an atmosphere of family fun and the Little League, because that's what it's all about is fun
and the families getting together. We've talked about having, I've got one company that might come in
and just have some games for the little kids. To be able to playa bowling game. And we have, it's all
computerized. It's a very formal put together tournament. Very organized. Probably the most organized
tournament. It's even more organized and funded than the pro tours that you see on TV as far as the
organization is done. So with that, we're willing to work, do whatever we can to assist.
Mayor Mancino: Sounds like fun. Thank you. Anyone wishing to address the Council on this issue?
Seeing none, comments. Councilman Berquist.
Councilman Berquist: I kind of feel, are we the, this is the first one that you folks have put together here
in Minnesota, right? So this list of, this spread sheet on your personnel has yet to be filled in.
Joe Mueller: No. That is the...I would say 80% of that is filled in.
Councilman Berquist: We're your first tournament?
Joe Mueller: In talking with Jerry on dates, we were looking at a later date, which I guess wasn't going
to work out. We were looking at Crystal Lake being the first. This came up as turning out to be the first.
Councilman Berquist: But we are your first?
Joe Mueller: You are the first.
Councilman Berquist: We're the rehearsal for the first three? For the next three.
Joe Mueller: Right.
57
City Council Meeting - April 28, 1997
Councilman Berquist: I mean from my point of view, Lake Susan is a very small, nice lake. Small being
the key word. And you're going to have, if you fill these positions, you're going to have roughly 40
people there.
Joe Mueller: As far as positions or being taking up with the people that are actually going to be
participating.
Councilman Berquist: Yeah, I'm sure.
Joe Mueller: As a matter of fact I would say everyone on that list will be participating as well in the
tournament.
Councilman Berquist: Have either of you two had experience in other parts of the country in these other
states that are listed with the success of these tournaments to the approximate number of attendees?
Steve Carlson: One of the things.. .varies as far as Minnesota, we've got everybody in Minnesota has got
a cabin up north or has a lake place somewhere and that's one of the feelings that we.. .at their cabin.
Whereas in the states like Indiana or Arizona, where it's taken up very well, they don't have the
opportunity to. . . weekends, every weekend at their cabin. That's where it hurts the draw is because. . .
We're hoping to pull somewhere between 50 and 75 participants per tournament. The first one,
hopefully if 50 turns out that would fantastic for us. But it's going to be a struggle.. .to our tournament
rather than go to their cabin or go up north... In some of the other states they.. .I'd say 100 to 150 people
in a weekend. That's running a 2 day tournament though also. .
Councilman Berquist: So if you have 50 competitors and each one of them averages, I mean this is for
children so, mothers and fathers and siblings are going to come along so if each one averages 2 adult or 2
people that come along, that's roughly 150 people all tolled, right? That's kind of the answer I'm
looking for. 150 maybe. 200 outset.
Steve Carlson: At the most.
Joe Mueller: We do have two members on our crew that have had past experience... One is from
Washington state...
Councilman Berquist: I'll be honest with you guys. I looked through this thing trying to find the scam.
Joe Mueller: There is no scam. As a matter of fact this is an effort of sponsorship that all goes to INT, a
non-profit. To be quite frankly, Minnesota Inboard Watersports is putting out a lot of money into this.
Out of our own pocket in benefit of creating more of a family, fun atmosphere of water-skiing and boat
safety. It isn't just about putting out a slalom course and going out and cutting up the water. It's about
bringing families together and having fun together. There's a lot of them that own homes on the lake
around here. They don't spend a lot of time with their kids. Their kids are out playing in their own boat.
This is an opportunity to get them involved on a Sunday afternoon to come down and watch their 13 year
old ski a mini-slalom course and come back and just, you know arms up in the air and mom and dad are
there. That's what it's all about. Obviously for Minnesota Inboard, we have pro shops in the area, it's a
benefit for us in the long run for retail sales. But there is not a money maker in this. Everything goes to
INT and without the large amount of sponsorship to pick up the slack in the funds.. .it's a huge
commitment for us. But it's a very, like I say, it was always in demand of some type of clinic or. ..you
58
City Council Meeting - April 28, 1997
might say daycare. I mean it's not daycare but just a place for kids to go. I mean we have kids in our
shop daily. They just like to hang out looking for a place to go. Well they come to our place. Watch the
big screen and they're very clean cut, you don't get a lot ofrifrafin the waterski business which is one
reason why our family got involved with it. If that thing's run right and organized and cleaned up...very
well for the state, as well as water-skiing. And our business.
Councilman Berquist: Thank you.
Mayor Mancino: Councilman Engel.
Councilman Engel: Owning my own ski boat for 8 years and having attended some of these professional
events, I find them to be quite fun. It's a nice break in the summer and I did talk to a property owner on
that lake last night about this because they were concerned about the impact of the shoreline. Barring
any high water conditions, you know I can easily assure them, skiers are finicky. They don't like to ski
rough water. They're only going to have one boat out there because they want the water to be as smooth
as possible. That's the way they run. I can tell by the way they've got the course set up that it's going to
push the majority of the wake on the swampy west side of Lake Susan and the far east side the wake's
largely going to mitigated by the time it reaches the property. It's not going to affect too much north and
the south. So I don't think there's going to be too much impact, barring flooding levels at the lake. It
would be kind of fun. It will be a lot less impact down there than we put on that area during the February
Fest, I can tell you that. So I think it will be fun to have. It would be a neat thing. It's the kind of thing
where you get everybody out in the summer. That's what Chanhassen probably wants to be known for.
We've got these nice natural resources. This is the type of thing we can take advantage of them with. I
think it's great.
Mayor Mancino: Thanks. Councilman Mason.
Councilman Mason: Well, I'll just tell one quick story. The first time I ever waterskied, nobody
bothered to tell me to let go of the rope when you fall down. So I'm...so and it was just last year. No.
I'm not a waterskier. I am not a big boat fan. A big motor boat fan. I kind of paddle around in my canoe
but I think this would be cool. I think it would, we're talking about getting families out doing stuff.
Certainly water skiing is a pretty big use oflakes in the state of Minnesota. I think for a one shot deal,
it's worth giving it a try and seeing what happens.
Mayor Mancino: Councilman Senn.
Councilman Senn: Question first. Tell me a little bit more about your participants.
Joe Muleller: The participants are pretty much drawn together from the newspaper that would go out.
That is drawn from a database from, supplied from all, there's 4 to 5 pro shops in the metropolitan area.
Approximately 15,000 newspapers will go out. And that newspaper it pretty much states the tournament
sites, how the tournaments are.. .the different activities there are and the different.. .ofthe tournaments.
As well as everyone in our store that comes in receives a thank you for shopping or purchasing, it
mentions about the INT and.. .get more information on it.
Councilman Senn: Okay. And basically you're going to have participant groups with 35 plus. 13 to 35
and 13 and under. Is that correct?
Steve Carlson: Basically the participant can be anywhere.. .as old as they want to be.
59
City Council Meeting - April 28, 1997
Councilman Senn: Well I understand that but I'm looking at your data here and I'm looking, I mean so
far we've talked a lot about kids, but everything I read in the information tells me that you basically have
three classes of skiing. You have a junior class that's 13 and under. You have a main class that's you
know basically 13 to 35 and then you have a 35 plus, correct? So those are open classifications and it
just kind of depends on who signs up in what class, right? Okay. Well, I love water-skiing and I'm an
avid waterskier but I'll tell you, this is really bothering me that we're thinking about doing something
that's on little Lake Susan without notifying the citizens and asking them, or at least giving them an
opportunity to comment and if, I think that's an essential first step if we're going to go ahead with this.
And I guess my other concern is I don't know what we do do if the water levels are high and stuff
because they're definitely high now and we're losing lakeshore as we speak.
Mayor Mancino: Todd, do you have any suggestions on that?
Todd Hoffman: Table it and notify the residents.
Mayor Mancino: Well I know that part we can but what about lake shore level. Do you have, are there
any predictions about what's going to happen in the next month?
Todd Hoffman: Not that I know of.
Councilman Mason: ... the Weather Service forecast is for less precipitation than normal for the month
of May, just so you know. The 30 day forecast.
Mayor Mancino: Oh that's interesting. Well at least we're going to have rain tomorrow and Wednesday.
What about insurance? Roger, is that something that you've looked at or been able to review on what the
City needs to?
Roger Knutson: We'd want a million dollar.
Mayor Mancino: Do we need to add some.
Roger Knutson: We'd want a million dollar policy with us named as an additional insurer.
Mayor Mancino: Okay.
Councilman Senn: Only one?
Roger Knutson: We have statutory. Right now under Chapter 466 we have some limitations on our
exposure so that's, you certainly request more.
Mayor Mancino: Okay. I think it sounds fun. I think it sounds like, I think it'd be great to use our lakes
this way. I have some obviously concerns about the erosion problem. What could happen but I don't
have any answer for it. Is there a way, and we can just table this and at least notify the residents that live
around Lake Susan and let them know and ask them for feedback.
Todd Hoffman: We sure can. I don't know what that does to the applicant's time table.
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City Council Meeting - April 28, 1997
Mayor Mancino: What does that do to your time table if we notified and put this on for our next
meeting, which would be May lih. Is that? The lih. Would that be a problem? Oh, it's June 8th and
9th, geez.
Joe Mueller: Well the only problem.. .the mailings that go out, it's almost deadline for the mailings.
Actually the sponsorship on these is Wednesday is the deadline.. .dates will be listed. That's the
drawback. We could find out the exact last date we could send that date in...
Steve Carlson: Typically they want it 45 days before but. . .
Mayor Mancino: Which is next week.
Councilman Mason: This may be flying in the face of public opinion right now, and maybe I'm going to
get all kinds of hate mail for this. But I don't know, I mean I do not devalue the opinion of neighbors
that are directly affected by anyone event in this city. But I think the other side of that coin is, does this
mean that for anything that happens anywhere in this city at any time a resident has to be notified and by
god if that resident opposes it, we as a City Council won't do it? Now I know some people are going to
cry, so you mean you're saying we shouldn't tell people what we're doing and I hope people that know
me well enough know nothing could be further than the truth. But we have an opportunity here and yes,
if! lived on that lake I might kind of raise my eyebrows. The other side of the point is, I don't own any
of that lake. I own the property abutting that lake. None of that lake property is, none of that lake water
is mine. And I get a little concerned sometimes when we get into this microcosm of every little
neighborhood. You know should the neighborhood be notified~ Sure. Sure, they should but I can tell
you right now I think this is a good idea and if every resident that lives around Lake Susan says, you're a
horses petoot. You shouldn't do this. I can't believe you're going to do it. I'm going to say, you know
what? I think it's a good idea for the city.
Councilman Engel: Mike makes a good point. I want to add to that too. The one call I got the other
night about this was the concern about the erosion because they thought a lot of boats were going to be
driving around all the time creating a lot of erosion. I can tell you from personal experience and I live
right by that lake, any two boats on any given day will cause more trouble on that lake than one boat
running an organized course in the single spot it's going to. And I can say that. I don't need one study to
tell me that. I just know that.
Mayor Mancino: And do the other two boats are for emergency vehicles?
Steve Carlson: ... the safety crews.
Mayor Mancino: Okay, thank you.
Councilman Senn: Well, you know again. On the surface this appears very much like a good idea.
Okay. Ijust can't understand why, here we are. You know a month before the event. Backs against the
wall and here we are. You know we have to decide or not decide right now, which doesn't give us time
to you know, to effectively even go ask the people we supposedly represent. You know what do you
think of it. That's not to say that we're going to take every word that they say as a concern or vote it one
way or the other, you know as Michael said just because one objects or whatever. But you know, come
on. This is a new thing. Never been done before. I think there's legitimate reasons to ask people if they
have concerns related to it so the concerns can be handled and stuff, and I don't know how, I mean I
don't understand again why last minute we have to kind of take all that as.
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City Council Meeting - April 28, 1997
Mayor Mancino: Well because I think sometimes you do last minute. I was thinking about the 4th of July
parade last year and how we hadn't had one for 25 years and we were putting up no parking signs and we
were, you know the line up was on city streets and everything and you know some people were a little
upset because you couldn't get through and there were roads that were blocked half an hour before the
parade but dog gone it, the parade was wonderful and everybody loved it and there were a few that it
inconvenienced and you know they'll know about it next year and I would say that the majority of
residents just were happy to have had it. So what I'm getting to is, you know thinking about the lining up
on all the neighborhood streets, people were just great about it. I mean you know we had 75 different
floats lined up in front of people's houses and there was no trash left. It worked out fine. And I'm glad it
did. So think some of these community events we really do need to pull the neighborhoods together and
make sure that the people who are putting them on do a heck of a good job of being respectful to the
neighbors around and cleaning up and it's handled with our Park and Rec Department. So I guess I
would be okay with letting those who live on Lake Susan know. One days it's what, 4 to 6 hours a day.
8:00 to 2:00 and 8:00 to 4:00. Is that what it is?
Councilman Mason: Right.
Mayor Mancino: Starts at in the morning.
Councilman Engel: 8:00 to 4:00 on Saturday and 8:00 to 2:00 on Sunday.
Councilman Berquist: I agree with Mark's concern that the people on Lake Susan ideally should have
input into whether or not this goes on. And I hear what Mike's saying insofar as that communication is
something that we're trying to be better at. A lot of the times when we're, when we are questioned on
the communication levels that we provide, it's not so much the issue as much as the awareness. And I'm
comfortable with granting this approval with the understanding that we will educate the people that are
around the lake as to what's going to go on. And come at it from a Little League sort of a format. It's
not going to be 5 boats racing around at 40 mph. It's going to be one boat and a rescue boat and it's
going to be an organized, fun sort of a deal. Yeah, there might be a few people that will throw a fit but
most of the people will be just fine.
Mayor Mancino: And those be mailed, are you talking about something like that being mailed
individually to homeowners?
Councilman Berquist: Yes, I think so.
Mayor Mancino: That are on the lake. .. .do you have any idea Todd how many residents live on Lake
Susan?
Todd Hoffman: 30 or 40.
Councilman Berquist: We'd get into trouble if we just did it and didn't do anything. But we can be
proactive and still grant the permit I think.
Councilman Senn: What's the, in could. Todd, what's your thought on the fees? I mean do you think
$250.00 a day covers all the expenses associated with something like this or?
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City Council Meeting - April 28, 1997
Todd Hoffman: It's difficult to tell. Roger, that'd be a good question. Ifwe have...do you want to put a
maximum limit on the amount of registrants. If you want cost of cleaning up and those type of things. ..
number of participants and spectators.. . dumpsters, portable satellites, those type of things. . .costs back
out to the applicant.. .
Mayor Mancino: And we escrow the money to cover that up front?
Todd Hoffman: .. . damage deposit...
Councilman Senn: And no traffic controls will be needed or parking direction stuff?
Todd Hoffman: I don't know. I would say that there may not be.. . anybody showing up at the lake that
day is going to be inconvenienced. Not just the lakeshore homeowners. Say you're a family, you wake
up that morning and you're heading down to go fishing and you show up and there's 85 people in the
parking...waterski. You're going to turn around and go somewhere else. It's not just the people that live
on the lake so you have to make a choice.
Councilman Senn: Okay, but how do we assure we cover, or recover our costs?
Todd Hoffman: You write up an agreement...additional costs. It says right in there, if there's additional
costs.. .
Councilman Senn: Well, I would hope the Council would inclu~e that.
Mayor Mancino: Yeah, I think that's a good idea. Joe, are there going to be outside speakers? Any, I'm
a little concerned about the noise also.
Joe Mueller: There will be a small P A that will be enough for the spectators and the people to hear.
There is an announcer there. The PA system we're presently looking at, we're right at 50 feet.
Steve Carlson: It's basically 50 yards...
Mayor Mancino: And you're not going to have any bands or anything like that? Okay. Well I just
thought I'd ask.
Joe Mueller: It's a professional announcer. We were working on this with Jerry since late January.
February. I guess if we just. .. more on top of it. We were just kind of talking with Jerry for a couple of
months on the dates and he let us know what we needed to get it approved.
Mayor Mancino: Well may I have a motion please.
Councilman Berquist: I will move that we approve the permit for the water-skiing tournament on Lake
Susan Park. Not having heard the damage question, the damage concern that you voiced to him that
someone said would be a good idea, I'll let you add to the motion if you wouldn't mind. I'm going to
move approval on this. With the caveat of the reason Todd just talked about.
Mayor Mancino: Oh, oh. You mean making sure that we get all costs for city uses.
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City Council Meeting - April 28, 1997
Roger Knutson: I would suggest, you know you're charging him $250.00 a day plus you will want an
escrow for the other. You don't want to chase them later after the event.
Councilman Berquist: So do you want me to set an escrow?
Roger Knutson: That'd be appropriate.
Councilman Berquist: Would it? I'll move approval with a $250.00 a day fee and a $1,000.00 escrow.
Roger Knutson: And then commercial and general liability insurance of one million dollars with us
being named as an additional insured.
Councilman Berquist: As said by the City Attorney. And we send a letter to the Lake Susan owners
notifying them of this event and asking them to participate and have fun.
Councilman Mason: Second.
Councilman Berquist moved, Councilman Mason seconded to approve the Public Gathering
Permit for a Water Skiing Tournament at Lake Susan Park for June 71h and 81\ 1997, with the
following conditions:
1. There be a $250.00 a day fee and $1,000.00 escrow for a damage deposit.
2. Commercial and general liability insurance of one million dollars with the City of Chanhassen
being named as an additional insured.
3. Alllakeshore homeowners on Lake Susan be notified of this event.
All voted in favor, except Councilman Senn who opposed, and the motion carried with a vote of 4
to 1.
AMENDMENT TO CITY CODE SECTION 20-405 IN REGARD TO WETLAND
AL TERA TIONS AND THE CHEMICAL TREATMENT OF WETLANDS. FIRST READING.
Sharmin AI-Jaff: .. .you adopted an ordinance that basically prohibited homeowners from using chemical
treatment in wetlands to take care of algae. Staff was contacted by the Minnesota Department of
Agriculture and was notified that we can't prohibit anyone from doing this. So staff is proposing an
amendment that would require homeowners to notify the City of their intention of treating the algae.
. . . staff has developed a brochure that basically has information. This is a draft. You're more than
welcome to look at it but it basically looks at what options... Staff is recommending approval.
Mayor Mancino: Thank you. Any questions for staff at this time? Okay, comments. Anyone have any
comments? Any Council members on this.
Councilman Senn: Move approval.
Councilman Mason: Second.
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