MAY 19TH COUNCIL MEETING

The highlights:

47.25 mins in. Persons to be heard, Martin Sass. I've never met this fellow but damn I like him.

"It appears that there is a lot of sour grapes involved and I think we all need to listen and get involved as a group. We can pick on each other until we are blue in the face but lets just work with this current staff and the team thats here."

"When you don't know and understand. Dig in and get to talking to people. We're all human beings Lets make that work."

What a cool dude and a breath of fresh air.

And..

53.08 mins in. Arnold Helck (spelling?) This guy has lived in Minnetrista 71 years and he knows whats up.

"All the back stabbing and back-biting, its ridiculous grow up!"

"You got a problem with somebody, approach them tell the truth don't believe everything you read in the news paper, you can't do that anymore. Reporters used to be negative but now they sway the public"

"I don't care what kind of water system you put in this city. I don't use your water. I got my own. But I highly recommend a Reverse Osmosis system. I've had one for about 10 years and its expensive but I am saving all sorts of money by the fact all my appliances have out lived their lifespan and I haven't replaced my faucets"

*HIGH FIVE*

LAWMAKERS CONSIDER BANNING TRICLOSAN

READ ARTICLE HERE

which states:

"I think why Minnesota will be the first [to ban triclosan] is that we have better data than other states, and so we're in a better position to identify the risks that triclosan and its dioxin components pose to our environment," he said.

The bill which attempted to ban triclosan in MN eventually failed to gain traction

READ HERE

But I am glad I live in a state that considered being first and maybe after we finally here more from Environmental Protection Agency and Food and Drug Administration hopefully this subject will be back. 

Minnetrista, let's get ahead of this. Thats a great city marketing plan. 

WHAT WASTED MONEY SOUNDS LIKE

HERE'S YOUR SIGN

CITY ADMINISTRATOR MIKE FUNK TERMINATED

http://lakerpioneer.com/2014/05/05/council-fires-city-administrator-mike-funk-effective-immediately/

MAY 5TH COUNCIL MEETING

Another heated meeting. Standing room only with extra police staff on duty to keep residents in-line. I actually felt pretty unsafe at times the tension was running so high.

FEELING DISCOURAGED

I do not have thick skin and I wish I was as tough as nails like our fellow council members but I am not. The only reason I attended the meeting on Monday (May 5th) was to hear the presentation from B+M and discuss what was happening with our city's water. It is and has been the only thing I've been concerned about. Not city job titles or council seats. Which seems to be the only reason people show up lately.

After I spoke up about my test results to help others realize what I and other Hunters Crest residents have been dealing with Administrator Mike Funk took the opportunity to publicly humiliate me. You can see his reaction to my concerns at 1 hour and 49 seconds into the council meeting video. He literally smirked at my comments. The Administrator unknowingly (or maybe knowingly) put out the vibe that my test results where invalid. He even referred to them as a "home kit I did myself". I would never personally take on the responsibility of testing my water and display them to public as fact because I am not a water expert. Just a casual resident who was blown off by the public works department and took matters into my own hands by having a Reverse Osmosis system installed in my home and meeting one of the nicest Culligan employees ever who shared my concerns. He is the one that suggested I have my water sent into their labs for testing after I explained the situation. He also mentioned that later someone from the city contacted him to verify the test results where accurate. Why would I or anyone lie about water quality!?

All I want is clean and healthy water for my neighbors and family and can't understand why the subject gets people so heated.

MINNETRISTA RESIDENTS WATER

A POSITIVE LETTER TO THE EDITOR

http://lakerpioneer.com/2014/05/01/writer-praises-minnetrista-council/

Nice. And I totally agree.

SOMETHING SMELLS FISHY INDEED. AND ITS TOXIC VAPORS.

An Article worth a read:
http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/health/253063501.html

“The discovery that toxic vapor can rise from contaminated groundwater has undercut decades of pollution cleanup efforts in Minnesota, prompting state regulators to revisit 293 cleanup sites to determine if contaminants that once seemed contained underground are producing health hazards today.”

Paragraph six:

“Others include the Duluth Air Force Base and the Tonka Corp. Toy manufacturing site in Mound — where a primary issue had been preventing contamination of nearby Harrison Bay on Lake Minnetonka. The review of these sites has been ongoing since 2008, when the state issued its first guidance for dealing with soil vapor.”

Keep reading:

“The common thread at these sites is the use of solvents or other compounds known as “volatile organic chemicals” such as TCE and perchloroethylene, or PCE.

Research has linked these compounds to higher rates of cancer, birth defects and other disorders when people are exposed to high levels of them over long periods.

These chemicals tend to sink into the groundwater and sometimes collect in dense globs that contaminate the water unless removed. For years, the primary environmental concern has been whether the chemicals were contaminating drinking water supplies. If not, the strategy often was to contain the chemical plumes below the ground and slowly remove the chemicals by pumping and airing out the groundwater.”

No, I am not a water expert. I am just a mom and a Minnetrista resident but I'd say this kind of state information calls for a lot of thought for any community considering a drinking water project. We should be THANKING our current council for considering a gathering the numbers for us on a water treatment plant, like reverse osmosis, that is designed to remove these future contaminants!!

YES, TRICLOSANS DO LIVE IN GROUND WATER

“Water testing studies by the U.S. Geological Survey have found that triclosan is among the top 10 persistent contaminants in U.S. rivers, streams, lakes, and underground aquifers."

http://www.sott.net/article/205690-The-Dangers-of-Triclosan-A-Common-Anti-Bacterial-Ingredient

And guess what mama's, it's in our breast milk....

"Of further concern, triclosan has been identified as a contaminant in umbilical cord samples collected by Greenpeace International and Britain's World Wifeline Fund. Furthermore, surveys in Sweden have also identified triclosan in the breast milk of 60 percent of women tested."

Gravity filtration will not remove Triclosan from drinking water. However, reverse osmosis is among a select few technologies that are highly effective at removing not only Triclosan, but a wide array of other pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCP’s) and endocrine disrupting compounds (EDC’s).

So there. 

VAPOR SITES UNDER INVESTIGATION - STAR TRIBUNE

According to the graphic in the link above, the aquifer with provides Minnetrista’s ground water, sits under three sites which have been identified as:

“those sites, shown here, soil vapor hazards have been confirmed and are being cleaned up. The contaminants include volatile organic compounds such as benzene and toluene that are potential carcinogens. But the contaminants vary from site to site, and public information on some of the sites is extremely limited.”

READ STAR TRIBUNE ARTICLE HERE

Does it escape the realm of possibility these pollutants are also finding their way into the groundwater?

How about the old Mound Dump:
http://cf.pca.state.mn.us/wimn/siteInfo.cfm?siteid=173404

or The Westonka SD Transportation building:
http://cf.pca.state.mn.us/wimn/siteInfo.cfm?siteid=215494

and the Tonka Truck site:
http://www.pca.state.mn.us/index.php/view-document.html?gid=3188

What else is around that might affect our groundwater? Have a look:
http://pca-gis02.pca.state.mn.us/wimn2/index.html?center=-93.35643902,44.93867224,4326&level=16

You can tell us that today these may not be real issues inside our aquifer, but you can't promise us that that these won't be issues tomorrow. Everyone deserves the cleanest water possible. Period. 

HYDRANT FLUSHING

Minnetrista has been flushing the hydrants in Hunters Crest today. If you signed up for the email blast for the warnings before the flushings and did NOT receive an email, you are not alone. Turns out many of us didn't. I have emailed the city about this problem. In the mean time there is no harm in re-signing up of the emails.

SIGN UP HERE

Before the flushing operation begins:

Fill a bottle or clean, plastic milk jug with fresh tap water and store it in the refrigerator to use for drinking and cooking.
Do NOT wash white or light-colored laundry during the flushing operations.

During the flushing operation:

Avoid using the dishwasher and washing machine.
Avoid using faucets (hot or cold) is possible. Wait until the operation is completed.

After the flushing operation is completed:

Open the cold water faucets and let the water flow until it is clear. Turn off the faucets.
Open the hot water faucets and let the water flow until it is clear. Turn off the faucets.
When both hot and cold water are clear, the water is ready for use as normal.
Check the faucet screens for trapped particles.
Wash a load or two of dark-colored clothes first.