2023 Vol 17, Issue 5 September Gem Lake News

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Gem Lake News Page 6 of 8 Gem Lake Makes Huge School Supply Donation For the third year in a row, Gem Lake donated a huge assortment of school supplies to the Willow Lane Elementary School. Typically, the city waits for a list from the school of what they consider most needed supplies. The goal is to stock the school’s supply pantry and help the most number of children possible with basic needs. Once the list is received city staff goes on a shopping spree at Walmart, using charitable gambling funds and tries to find all or most of the necessary items in the quantity desired. This year’s shopping list filled two carts at Walmart and included enough materials for several months. Items purchased included everything from crayons and markers to folders, notebooks and Kleenex. The City also authorized $500 for the school to spend at their own discretion for children in need. MPCA to Provide Well Update Key representatives from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency will provide Gem Lake with an update on well contamination at the September City Council Meeting. This meeting will take place September 19 at 7:00 p.m. Several months ago, the MPCA reported to the City Council that a possible source for the 1,4-dioxane found in 22 Gem Lake wells had been located. The agency outlined a plan to do further well testing in the city and surrounding areas and to report back on the results. One of the key goals in collecting this data is to see if well contamination has increased or decreased and whether it has moved to new areas. Please feel free to attend this important meeting. Archery Deer Hunting Licenses Approved for the Fall Two archery deer hunting licenses were approved by the Gem Lake City Council on August 15 for organized hunts that will take place on private property in the South and Western areas of the city. Each will take place on large lots located near the water body of Gem Lake. The areas where hunting will take place are tightly controlled by city regulation, with deer stands located at least 300 feet from a property line. Each property owner had to present a list of deer hunters who will be involved and demonstrate that they have state hunting licenses and proper training. Each will take place this fall on three preplanned sets of dates so as to allow for notification of immediate neighbors. Property One Property Two September 16-18 September 22-24 October 27-29 November 10-12 November 3-5 November 17-19 The archery deer stands are typically deep within the property in both cases, so the hunts should go unnoticed by the general public. Gem Lake has licensed these private deer hunting events for over 7 years without a problem, due to the number of rules and regulations each property owner must follow. The hunts are done to cull the very large deer populations with city limits. (see story on page 3). Nuisance Ordinance Update After months of work by Gem Lake’s Planning Commission, the city council voted to approve a newly revised Nuisance Ordinance. Gem Lake Ordinance #86 defines public nuisances in more detail than the previous ordinance and also expands the language surrounding abatement and penalties for violations. This ordinance deals with things, acts, or use of property in Gem Lake that endangers health, safety, comfort or “repose” of the public, offends public decency, interferes with the use, or obstructs public areas, depreciates the value of property, etc. For the purpose of clarity and ease of use of the ordinance, the Planning Commission suggested creating totally separate ordinances for two subject areas that were previously part of the Nuisance Ordinance. These subjects are Clandestine Drug Labs (now ordinance #143) and Traffic, Parking, Vehicles and Use of Streets and Highways (now ordinance #144).