(Spirit Lake)– After hearing a recommendation from the city’s Utility Committee to reject a proposed 28E agreement that would form a “Watershed Evaluation Board”, the Spirit Lake City Council Tuesday decided to review the matter further before taking action.
The Watershed Evaluation Board (WEB), would consist of governmental representatives from the county and each city. They would make recommendations to Planning and Zoning Commissions when they consider plans for various projects as to what impacts there would be on water quality. The Planning and Zoning Commission that has jurisdiction over the project would still have final say over whether or not a project would be a go.
Councilman Clyde Ihrke, the city council’s representative on the Utility Committee, recommended the WEB proposal be rejected for several reasons. He said the city already has strict standards in place and that the WEB would duplicate functions of similar groups such as the Cleanwater Alliance.
Greg Drees of Arnolds Park is with a group that drew up the WEB proposal. He pleaded with the city council to atleast give the proposal a chance and requested they review the proposal and forward it to the City Attorney for any revisions. After further discussion, the council decided to do just that.
