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HomeMy WebLinkAboutConservation Commission - 08/14/2007 APPROVED MINUTES CONSERVATION COMMISSION TUESDAY,AUGUST 14, 2007 7:00 PM, CITY CENTER 8080 Mitchell Road, Eden Prairie, MN Prairie Room COMMISSION MEMBERS: Eapen Chacko (Chair), Ray Daniels, Laura Jester, Sean Katof, Rita Krocak, Geneva MacMillan, Jan Mosman CITY STAFF: Leslie A. Stovring, Staff Liaison Janice Curielli, Recording Secretary I. ROLL CALL Chair Chacko called the meeting to order at 7:06 PM. MacMillan was absent. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Mosman added Item V.A. Chacko added Item V.B, VLB, VLC and IX.A. Krocak added Item VILB. MOTION: Mosman moved, seconded by Krocak, to approve the agenda as amended. Motion carried 6-0. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. July 10, 2007 Stovring said she had some minor editorial changes to the minutes. MOTION: Krocak moved, seconded by Daniels, to approve the minutes of the July 10, 2007 meeting as amended. Motion carried 5-0. IV. REPORTS FROM STAFF A. Introduction of New Member Chacko introduced Sean Katof, the new member of the Commission. Katof reviewed his background for the other members, noting he has been a resident of Eden Prairie for almost three years. He said he is interested in serving on the Conservation Commission because over the last ten years he has had an increasing interest in environmental issues. B. Lawn Watering Program Status and Discussion Stovring said much of her time in recent months has been devoted to lawn watering and its effect on municipal water supply. Recent rains have helped slow down demand from lawn watering. So far this season the city has written 1,868 violation notices. There have been many calls from residents who complain and argue about the violation notices. She noted KARE 11 interviewed her about the lawn watering program, including issues with repeat violators. Eden Prairie Conservation Commission August 14, 2007 Page 2 Mosman noted Scott Neal was quoted in a magazine article saying there are those who think $300 is not too much to pay for a green lawn. She asked how much the tickets are. Stovring replied they start at $25 and then double to a maximum of$300 for each violation within a three year period. Chacko noted the visibility for Eden Prairie in the Wall Street Journal. After three years, the violations start dropping off the record. Jester said the City of Chanhassen ran some of their wells dry to the point of sand infiltration into the pumps, and a total watering ban was put in place. Stovring said they are now up and running again and have lifted the complete ban but do have an extended ban. Katof asked if they have thought about increasing the initial fine. Stovring said there are not quite 300 who are repeat offenders. Most residents receive only one violation notice. Stovring also noted that there are some newer varieties of bluegrass that can't survive being dormant. This makes it difficult to encourage less watering as residents are concerned about the health and survivability of their sod. Stovring has contacted Bearpath management regarding their requirements that residents must preserve the appearance of their lawns by watering more, during a time when the City was in a drought... She has had complaints from Bearpath residents about having to replace sod and landscaping during the hot, dry weather while the City is trying to encourage people to conserve water. C. Community Center Green Roof Decision Stovring said the original estimate of$140,000 for a green roof on a small area of the Community Center expansion was determined to be too expensive so it was eliminated from the plans. A contractor did come in two weeks ago with a proposal to do the green roof for $85,000. The Public Works Director, Gene Dietz, did take the proposal to the Council with the suggestion that funds come from the Storm Water Utility Fund. The Council discussion indicated concerns about costs and maintenance. The Fire Chief also had some concerns about having access through it in case of a fire as the contractor planned to use modular tins for the plants. Krocak asked why it did not come to the Conservation Commission. Stovring said it was a timing issue because it had to be decided upon very quickly. There was just a short time to make a decision on the proposal, and the rush to make a decision was one of the problems as information on the technology wasn't able to be assembled that quickly. Mosman noted we talked about this when staff were here at the last meeting. She thought it would be good to do research on each part of the process for this and put it together as a one or two page summary presentation for the City Council. She thought the Councilmembers were not aware of the use of these types of systems in the United States and their track record and cost effectiveness. She thought we could research other examples in Minnesota and perhaps the U.S. that would show these Eden Prairie Conservation Commission August 14, 2007 Page 3 can be cost effective and then let City staff, the Councilmembers, and the public know that the Commission is still supportive of this technology. Krocak asked if there will be any more opportunities to try this. Stovring thought there will be in the future. Mosman stated that the Commission should gather research that has been done on this and bring it together to keep on file so it is all available the next time this comes up. Stovring suggested preparing an FYI item pointing out places where the Councilmembers can go to look at green roofs because there are several in Minneapolis that are open to the public. Chacko asked if we could put something in the Friday packet for the Council. Mosman thought we should limit it to one page because they don't have the time to read a lot of information or to search websites. A discussion followed about how best to produce and present the information. Katof asked if there would be any reason why we wouldn't send this out to businesses and other organizations as well as providing it to the Council. Stovring thought once it is written we can figure out how to use it. Mosman and Jester agreed to work together to produce the information. Daniels thought one of the schools would be a beneficial place for a green roof. Mosman said CMS is scheduled to get a new roof this year. Daniels thought we could approach the School District about this because they can bond for it and recover the costs. Mosman suggested we send the information we are preparing to the School Board to see if they would like more information about it. V. REPORTS FROM COMMISSION MEMBERS A. Recent State Legislation on Enemy - Mosman Mosman read excerpts from emails she received from Fresh Energy about the dramatic progress on energy efficiency legislation made during the recent Minnesota State Legislature session. More than 90% of the legislators voted for the legislation that included laws regarding renewable energy and energy efficiency as well as goals for global warming reduction. She said the legislation was promoted by Legislators Barnes and Moe and it puts us second only to California. Daniels noted Maria Ruud was very instrumental in this as well. Krocak commented she hopes they follow through and really do the work. Daniels thought there are some real solid incentives in place. Mosman said the Renewable Electricity Standard will encourage adding more wind power and will help rural communities. Daniels noted Hennepin County was looking at developing a wind farm a year ago but they ran into legal questions. B. Report to City Council - Chacko Chacko said Stovring and he worked up a brief slide presentation for the City Council meeting on July 17. In the presentation he discussed the Commission's desire to review our charter at some point and noted we did not do much on the Eden Prairie Conservation Commission August 14, 2007 Page 4 subject of healthy living and walking because it seemed to overlap with the mission of the Parks Commission. He said he talked about some of the things we have done. Stovring distributed copies of the slide presentation. Chacko said Councilmember Butcher complimented the commission on how much work has been taken on and how much has been done. Mosman asked if he had made suggestions about some of the things we would like to do as a Commission. Chacko said he put it in terms of wanting to change or add to our charter because we are a brand new commission. He thought this might be a topic to discuss at our joint meeting with the Council. A discussion followed about requesting funds for the Commission to use for programs or projects. Stovring said we receive money for educational seminars and she has an idea for a grant program for shoreland restoration. If funding is needed for a specific project, it would have to go before the City Council. Daniels said he would hope that we would move towards doing some things with education, such as producing some displays that would be educational. Jester noted the City of Apple Valley received a storm water legacy grant last year for more than $200,000. Stovring said we would have to take the time to research potential projects and then write a grant application. Jester offered her help in writing the application and noted one of the hardest things is coming up with a viable project. She noted most of the current money goes to impaired waters. Chacko noted the Transportation Department from the School District received more than $80,000 in a grant for Project Green Fleet after they applied for it. Chair Chacko recessed the meeting at 7:55 PM and reconvened at 8:05 PM. VI. OLD BUSINESS A. Change A Light Campaign Update Chacko said this is a national campaign sponsored by the EPA aimed at replacing incandescent bulbs with fluorescent ones. It is set up such that a non-profit organization is responsible for a multi-state region and a local utility is selected to do the marketing in each area. They organize local retailers to order bulbs and the utility asks manufacturers to give rebate coupons and recycling rebates. He said Kim Sherman, the Director of Consumer Marketing at Xcel, is in charge of our area. She was quoted in a recent article in the daily newspaper that also showed several new varieties of bulbs and discussed the energy savings that could be made through use of the bulbs. The preferred vendors in our region are Home Depot and Wal-Mart but both of them declined at the local level. Ace Hardware Stores is a local sponsor, but they do not have a store in Eden Prairie. Menards, which does have a store in Eden Prairie, has also agreed to participate. The Menard's website has information on the Change-A-Light campaign. Jester asked what Menards is doing for the campaign. Chacko said Menards is the store where they accept the Xcel coupons for the bulbs and have the recycling rebate. Eden Prairie Conservation Commission August 14, 2007 Page 5 We have to figure out an event to partner with Menards. Jester asked if we could put coupons in with the utility bills. Stovring asked what time period the coupons are good for. Chacko said it is a couple of months. Stovring said the next utility bill will be mailed out between October and December. Stovring suggested we put the information out on our website and have an article in the Eden Prairie News or in our newsletter. Chacko said we need to figure out what kind of an event we want to have. We could hand out coupons or have people print them off from the website. He thought we should also hand educational information that Xcel can provide. Stovring asked if Menards will have anything because she thought it might be easier to partner with them. Chacko said it then becomes a matter of how we would get the people there. Mosman suggested using events such as Sunbonnet Days or putting something in the newspaper promoting the up-coming campaign. Chacko said the formal kickoff is the end of September. Mosman said the Historical Society is working with Dunn Brothers on a flea market that might be one avenue. She also thought the education piece would be helpful to distribute to the Energy Conservation Club at the High School and the students could hand out the information and coupons at football games or other similar events where there would be adults in attendance. Jester asked if Midwest Energy has any ideas. Chacko said they are responsible only for getting the utility and the retailers in the local area. Chacko thought we need to discuss how to market and promote it. Kim Sherman at Xcel is a contact for information on dates and coupons. He thought another thing to do is to tie it into the county. He contacted Tony Hainault at Hennepin County, and they are doing an event to let employees know about this. Mr. Hainault said he would be willing to work with us on our event and promotion. Chacko said the big items are figuring out timelines and assignments and determining what resources we can call on. Stovring thought we need to find out when the kickoff day is and when the coupons expire so we can develop a timeline and that will dictate what we can do. Mosman thought we could print the coupon and information on one sheet so that it could be multi-purpose. Chacko said the coupons are available on the Xcel website. Stovring said we would have to print the flyers if we want them, and she will look into putting the coupon and information on our website. She said one year we did a brochure with a coupon in it, mailed it to about 300 people, and about 20% of the coupons were redeemed. Mosman thought it would be effective to put information in the two local newspapers with a coupon the readers could take to the store on the weekend. She said the Eden Prairie magazine is very supportive of what's happening, but they need a longer lead time. Chacko thought we could call the editor about it. Eden Prairie Conservation Commission August 14, 2007 Page 6 Mosman suggested posting at the Outdoor Center because it has lots of classes, and Stan Tekiela would probably be amenable to a poster or something with a tear-off coupon. Katof volunteered to be the project manager for the campaign. VII. NEW BUSINESS A. 20/40/15 Program—Discussion and assignment of tasks Chacko said this is an initiative started by the last mayor to increase energy efficiency by 20% in buildings and 40% in fleet vehicles and equipment by 2015. The City is in the process of hiring a consultant to organize the program. There are two types of consultants: one is a traditional fee for service and the other guarantees a certain amount of cost savings from which they are compensated and they often include financing. Staff did come to the last commission meeting to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each type of consultant. Chacko said we want to keep involved on the issue,but it seems nothing has really happened yet. Jester thought the 20-40-15 initiative is something the City is very much behind and would be one place we can be very effective. Mosman noted Ed Sorenson asked us how this Commission could help them and she was hoping we could help with the promotion. She said she has to write to Ed and she will let him know of our interest and ask him when they will start working on this project again. B. Conservation Areas - Krocak Krocak encouraged the other members to visit all of the new conservation areas Eden Prairie has put together and to check out the beautiful walking paths. Jester asked if there is information about these on the City website. Krocak said the City map shows parks and conservation areas. Krocak said she is concerned that the trees on Highway 5 are dying. She asked if the City could water the trees. Stovring said they can and do water in some areas, but it depends on access and where they are. Krocak asked if there is anyone she could call to report their need to be watered. Stovring suggested she call Stu Fox at the City. VIII. INFORMATIONAL MATERIALS /HANDOUTS /COMMUNICATIONS A. Lawn Care Conservation— Chacko Chacko said we discussed having a fall workshop. He went to Green Guide for help with it but they won't be available. Stovring suggested we do one next year on how to take care of your lawn while looking at water conservation or water quality concerns. Chacko said there is an opportunity to have Liberty Property talk about green buildings at the Chamber of Commerce meeting on environmental issues, but that subject is back in the Chamber's court. Eden Prairie Conservation Commission August 14, 2007 Page 7 Chacko said three families in his neighborhood sponsored an informal educational conservation event for which they invited Connie Fortin of Fortin Consulting. The five neighbors participating in the event walked along the path adjacent to Edenbrook Conservation Area and got information about different kinds of native grasses, weeds, and invasive species. The Johnson-Tesch, Westby and Chacko families had all replaced lawns with native prairie plantings, which among other things had attracted wildlife like wild turkeys and pheasants. After the walk they came together for dinner where they received informational handouts from Connie Fortin. It was a very low key event, but it was a big success and stimulated discussion and education about conservation issues like fertilizer use, water use, and benefits for soil and wildlife from native prairie gardens. Other neighborhoods could easily have an event like this, and Fortin did a nice job. The consultant said there are areas along the front lawns that have been eaten away by salt. She said there is a road salt education program run by Fortin Consulting to educate workers on better ways to use deicers. The program also includes a certification process. Chacko said he went back to the EAW on the new road in Hennepin Village. One of the mitigations required by the EAW was to be very careful about the deicing materials used. He thought it would be good to train City workers with this sort of program. Jester said she has heard of the Road Salt Symposium but did not know there was a certification process. Chacko said they also do programs for people who do parking lots and that might be a good use for some funds. Mosman asked if City employees do the road deicing work in Eden Prairie. Stovring said they do. Chacko thought this would be worth investigating because the consultant said you can cut the amount of salt by one third. Stovring said she knows our employees have been learning about a lot of new things but she did not realize there is a certification process either. IX. UPCOMING EVENTS A. Planning Commission — Oak Creek at Hennepin Village Public hearing — Aumst 13, 2007 Stovring said the project was approved at the Planning Commission meeting last night and will go before the Council in September. Chacko asked if the things we talked about in the EAW have been incorporated. Stovring said her department went through the EAW and incorporated those items. B. Nine Mile Creek Watershed District —Anderson Lakes Discussion — August 15, 2007 at 7 PM Chacko asked what this discussion is about. Stovring said this is about the draw- down and she thought there has been compromise worked out. Most of the shoreland is owned by the Three Rivers Park District and a draw-down is an alternative way of treating invasive species such as curly leaf pondweed without using chemicals. They do need 100% of the landowners to sign off on a draw-down and some of the people that live in Bloomington on Northwest Anderson are concerned with the aesthetics Eden Prairie Conservation Commission August 14, 2007 Page 8 and effectiveness of a drawdown. Stovring said Bloomington has agreed to submit a petition to do chemical treatment in Southeast Anderson if this project goes forward. C. Joint Meeting with the City Council—October 16, 2007 Chacko asked what the format for the meeting will be and noted he would like to have a discussion of the charter. Stovring thought we could get next year's work plan ready at the next meeting so we could discuss that and the charter information with the Council. Mosman thought we could tell them about what we are doing for the 20- 40-15 project and the Change-A-Light campaign. Commission members discussed the issue of two different companies for recycling and composting that come through the neighborhoods. Stovring said they just did a study on that last year and concluded that the city would not be limiting the number of companies or pick- up days at this time. X. NEXT MEETING A. September 11, 2007 XI. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Krocak moved, seconded by Mosman, to adjourn. Motion carried 6-0. Chair Chacko adjourned the meeting at 9:00 PM.