Title
RESOLUTION OF SUPPORT FOR CONTINUED ASSESSMENT AND COMPLETE DESIGN OF A PROPOSED FLOW RESTRICTIVE CULVERT AT HARTLEY DAM
Body
CITY PROPOSAL:
WHEREAS, on July 21, 2014, the city council approved a Hartley Park Master Plan, which recommended that the city commission a feasibility study to assess options for reconfiguring the relationships between Hartley Pond, Hartley dam, and Tischer Creek to better advance the public’s interests in ecosystem integrity and outdoor recreation (14-0390R);
WHEREAS, on March 23, 2020, the city council approved the Management Plan for the Hartley Natural Area which recommended that the city commission a study of potential changes to the same pond, dam, and creek in Hartley Park (20-0274R);
WHEREAS, on October 10, 2022, the city council approved the Essential Spaces: Duluth Parks, Recreation, Open Space & Trails Plan which recommended that the city commission a study to retain, remove, or modify the pond in Hartley Park to best balance recreation, aesthetics, history and ecology (22-0828R);
WHEREAS, in 2023 and 2024, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (“MN DNR”), in cooperation with the city, undertook the recommended study with independent engineer support and extensive community input;
WHEREAS, in July of 2024, MN DNR issued a final report recommending that the city address the interrelated issues at the pond, dam, and creek by installing a flow restrictive culvert in the dam;
WHEREAS, in August of 2024, the city’s natural resources commission and its parks and recreation commission each unanimously recommended that the city authorize additional assessment and complete design of a flow restrictive culvert at Hartley Park subject to the terms and conditions set forth in Exhibit 1;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the city council supports continued assessment and complete design of the proposed flow restrictive culvert at Hartley dam subject to the conditions outlined in the staff memo attached as Exhibit 1.
FURTHER RESOLVED, that the city council supports development of a project agreement with MN DNR that would authorize MN DNR to undertake continued assessment and complete design of the proposed flow restrictive culvert subject to the terms and conditions outlined in Exhibit 1.
Statement of Purpose
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE: This resolution expresses the City Council’s support for continued assessment and complete design of a proposed flow restrictive culvert at Hartley dam and calls for development of a project agreement with MN DNR that would authorize MN DNR to undertake continued assessment and design on behalf of the City subject to the terms and conditions outlined in Exhibit 1.
The force of this resolution of support is, by intention, very limited. The resolution expresses support for assessment and design only, not construction. Moreover, the resolution provides only preliminary support for assessment and design-subsequent Council authorization of a formal DNR/City project agreement is necessary before the partners may proceed with any assessment and design activities. Further, continued advancement of assessment and design is, and will be, contingent upon ongoing assurances and demonstrations that the City will incur no cost in association with the project and that the project, if implemented, will not exacerbate downstream flood hazards.
As envisioned, the flow restrictive culvert, constructed through the existing earthen dam, would reconfigure the relationships between the pond, dam, and creek.
• Approximately 2,200 linear feet of Tischer Creek now submerged below Hartley Pond would be restored as a free-flowing, cold-water trout stream.
• Tischer Creek would be reconnected, above and below the dam, allowing free passage of native brook trout and other aquatic organisms.
• The current 12-acre pond-shallow, hot, and increasingly unsuitable for recreation-would be replaced with a deeper, cooler, 3-acre pond more suitable for fishing and paddling.
Exhibit 2 juxtaposes an aerial view of the pond, creek, and dam today with a simulation of how the site would normally appear following installation of a flow restrictive culvert.
The flow restrictive culvert would be designed so that water would temporarily back up behind the culvert during precipitation events, temporarily resubmerging the 12-acre area now occupied by Hartley Pond. In so doing, the culvert would moderate stream flows and downstream flood hazards much as the dam does today.
The City and MN DNR are recommending additional assessment and complete design of the flow restrictive culvert on the basis of an 18-month, community-engaged, engineer-supported feasibility study that examined five options for addressing the deteriorating condition of Hartley Pond and Tischer Creek downstream: no action (retain the dam as-is); route the stream around the dam; remove the dam; and install a flow restrictive culvert (with and without a retained pond). A flow restrictive culvert with retained, but reduced, pond was the highest scoring, currently feasible option.
The Natural Resource Commission, the Parks and Recreation Commission, and the Hartley Nature Center Board of Directors have each voted to recommend advancement of the flow restrictive culvert with reduced pond.