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Gem Lake News Page 3 of 6 Although her job is an unglamorous one, city recorder Julie Newkirk has learned a lot about the way a city operates through her job for Gem Lake. Each month Julie is in charge of attending the meetings and producing the official minutes of the event. For the past year, Julie has been taking care of the minutes for the Gem Lake City Council, and recently added the Gem Lake Planning Commission meetings to her assignment list. Prior to this assignment, she was a temporary employee for White Bear Township. Her job involved administrative assistant and receptionist duties. She also worked for ten years at Pillsbury as an administrative assistant in the consumer foods department. A Behind the Scenes Look at City Government for Julie Newkirk "I have really found the work to be interesting for Gem Lake. I get to see how a city government operates. In some ways, it's a lot like a corporation. It takes a while to get projects completed. " Julie says she has learned a lot of things about the way cities get things done, including everything from how and why permits are issued. "Recently, I learned that in some cases, cities might have to pay for damage to a citizen's car when they hit a pothole. This came in handy when my daughter hit one near our home. " Julie lives in Columbus, which is near Forest Lake. She is now also attending Century College. Julie has two sons and one daughter. Shallow Lakes Workshop Has Relevance to Gem Lake On Saturday, February 27, the Vadnais Lake Area Water Management Organization (VLAWMO) sponsored a workshop on the unique challenges facing shallow lakes. A lake is considered “shallow” if it has a maximum depth of 15 feet or less or with 80% or more of the lake area shallow enough to support emergent and submerged rooted aquatic plants. (Gem Lake would be an example of a shallow lake.) Shallow lakes are also not stratified. That is there is no substantial difference in water temperature between the upper and lower levels of the lake which in turn allows for constant mixing of water and nutrients. Shallow lakes are either considered “clear” or “turbid.” A clear lake has a balance between plant growth and fish which indicates a healthy lake. Clear lakes are preferred for swimming (who would want to swim in brown, murky water?) and fishing (game fish represent the top rung of a healthy lake’s food chain). Turbid lakes do not have a clearly defined food chain and algae growth often dominates. Excessive levels of phosphorus also contribute to turbid waters. Phosphorus “loading” may come from storm water runoff which carries lawn fertilizers and other organic materials directly into lakes and rivers. Construction runoff may also contribute to phosphorus levels. The challenge for shallow lakes, since there is little stratification of temperature, is that once a lake becomes turbid, it is difficult if not impossible to “flip” it back into the clear water category. VLAWMO’s workshop presented some ideas on how to maintain lake clarity by combating invasive plants that do not promote the natural food chain. Best management practices (BMP) also discussed limiting phosphorus loading through runoff controls. Once a lake becomes turbid, the cost of restoration increases significantly. (continued on page 5)