SURFING THE (LAKE VIRGINIA) CHANNEL
ENGINEERS TO REVIEW THE SITUATION.
Residents near the channel that con-nects Lake Minnetonka and Lake Virginia expressed concerns on June 28th about problems involving their driveway, sea-wall, and cement culvert.  That same evening, Council directed staff to review the situation, obtain information from the DNR, and report back to the council with-in two weeks.

Mrs. Nelson referred to the ongoing problems.  "The seawall continues to be stressed.  Now it is in danger of collapsing.  Our new driveway is now breaking up.  The streets are in poor shape with eight-inch potholes."  She said they could not wait for these problems to be corrected along with the Hwy 7 project.
Said Mr. Nelson, "If the wall collapses, I'm not sure you're going to be able to use Smithtown Road."  He said it's a simple matter to fix it today, possibly by dredging the channel, but may not be simple tomorrow.  He offered a boat ride to anyone interested in viewing the problem.
The Nelsons continued to express concerns on July 12th about a retaining wall collapsing and closing navigation on Smithtown Road.  Administrator Sarvi said he'll get an engineer to inspect the situation.

WHY ARE CARVER COUNTY TAXES SO HIGH?
VICTORIA HOPES TO FIND THE ANSWER
Council approved an expenditure of $5,000 to hire an independent third party, the Springsted firm, to determine why Carver Co. taxes are so high
Said Councilmember Jim Paulsen, who made the recommendation and motion, "I know some people at the county think we are pandering to the press to get attention, but I think this inquiry is an appropriate thing for the city to do."
Said Councilmember Richard Tieden, "This is not only an opportunity, but our right."  Councilmember Jerry Bohn said, "I think our taxpayers are wondering why the property taxes are so high.  The city's portion is only a small portion of those taxes.  We're just trying to get the answers for our local residents.  It is a reasonable and responsible thing to do."

UPDATE ON VICTORIA ICE ARENA

IT'S TURNING INTO A COMMUNITY CENTER
It's not a done deal.  People shouldn't get too excited.  The design is not etched in stone.  Costs are not known for its various components.  It doesn't have a name.  But it does have a location, if it happens.  That location would be Diethelm Park in Victoria.
On June 28^th Mike Ayres, principal with Oppidan and the Minnetonka Ice Arena that almost came to Victoria, gave an update on the proposed ice arena for Victoria.  "We've sold out every single hour of ice at $175 per hour," he said.  "Ice time is guaranteed for a seven-year period.  There are 1,850 hours each year from September to March.  We expect to have a great facility for the City of Victoria next year."
A special Victoria city council meeting was called for 3 p.m. on Thursday, July 5^th, at which time it was more or less decided that one single regulation sheet of ice, rather than two, would suit the needs of Victoria better at this time, especially as the plans could then include other amenities such as a gymnasium, workout room and lockers, meeting rooms, kitchen and public bathrooms.  It could then host wedding receptions and Victoria's Touch of Bavaria event.

Councilmember Richard Tieden, who complimented Mike Ayres on his ability to sell the available ice time to various hockey associations, agreed with Mayor Mary that the community has needs beyond skating. 
Councilmember Jim Paulsen said the facility needs to have showers and a kitchen.  Parks & Rec Director Mary Saarion said the weight room and meeting rooms that overlook the ice arena would be beneficial for families that are waiting for their children to complete ice practice.
On July 26^th another special work-shop was held before the regularly scheduled council meeting at which time Chuck Freiberg, architect with RSP, presented drawings of a facility that incorporated the many suggestions of councilmembers.
Said Mike Ayres, who was responding to a question about groundbreaking, "It is most important to get the right design rather than force a date."
Mr. Freiberg's drawing included a concession area, a weight room, reception rooms, track, showers, warming kitchen that could be used for cooking, an elevator that serves both floors, easy access to public bathrooms, park vistas from some windows as well as views over the ice floor from other windows.
The four community rooms would each be about 750 square feet, with the option of opening them to one large room of 3,000 square feet.
Said Mr. Freiberg, "Basically, we've added 5,000 square feet to a single sheet of ice.  The arena is handicapped access-ible.  The floor is 6" of concrete and could accommodate bike races, rodeos, soccer, rollerblading, hockey, concerts, class parties.  Cars can drive on it."  He spoke of carpet and wood material that can be used over the floor.
"This building can have ice on it year 'round," he said.  "It really is a versatile building."  Regarding the exterior as seen from Kochia or within the park, he said, "We're not here to give you anything but a nice looking building.  It's no longer just an ice rink.  It's a community building."
Cost of the various components will probably dictate how much of the building gets built immediately and how much will be added as it becomes affordable.  Said Dave Hanson of Wells Fargo, "We'll do a line item budget for you.  It'll be 90% to 95% as accurate as we can be.  I'll probably have it in about three weeks."
More workshops are being scheduled.  Said Mayor Mary, "We need to make sure we've explored all the options so the public doesn't think they're getting some-thing for sure and then it falls through."

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