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HomeMy WebLinkAboutParks and Recreation - 10/19/1998 a 1998 October 19 1998 Minutes Parks, Recreation & Natural Resources Commission CITY OF EDEN PRAIRIE i AGENDA PARKS,RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MONDAY,October 19, 1998 7:00 P.M.CITY CENTER 8080 MITCHELL ROAD i COUNCIL CHAMBERS COMMISSION MEMBERS: Richard Brown,Chair;Frantz Corneille,Claire Hilgeman,Don Jacobson,Vicki Koenig,Glenn Stolar,John Wilson STUDENT MEMBER: Ben Christian COMMISSION STAFF: Robert A.Lambert,Director of Parks,Recreation and Natural Resources; Stuart A. Fox, Manager of Parks and Natural Resources;Laurie 1•Iclling.Manager of Recreation Services j 1. ROLL CALL 11, APPROVAL OF AGENDA i III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES-October 5. 1999 IV. PETITIONS,REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS i V. DEVELOPMENT PROPOSALS r 7 A. Hilton Garden Inn VI. OLD R 1SIN'.SS x , VI1. NEW BF 1�ESS i i A. Goose ManaLcment Discussion t'.s Vill. REPORTS OF COMMISSIONFRS AND STAFF , A. Reports of Community Center Manager I. Recommendation to Reduce Lap Swim Hours at the Eden Prairic Community Center Pool IX ADJOURNMENT APPROVED MINUTES PARKS,RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MONDAY,OCTOBER 19, 1998 7:00 P.M.CITY CENTER 8080 MITCHELL ROAD COUNCIL CHAMBERS COMMISSION MEMBERS: Richard Brown,Chair,Frantz Corneille,Clairc Hilgeman, Don Jacobson,Vicki Koenig,Glenn Stolar,John Wilson STUDENT MEMBER: Ben Christian i COMMISSION STAFF: Robert A. Lambert, Director of Parks, j Recreation and Natural Resources, Stuart A. Fox, Manager of Parks and Natural Resources,Laurie Hclling, Manager of Recreation Services, and Barbara Anderson, S City Recorder 1. ROL.L.CA1._I, Vice Chair Jacobson called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. Chair Brown was absent. 1L APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Wilson moved, seconded by Hilgcman, to approve the Agenda as published. Motion carried 6-0. I III. APPROVAL.OF MIN IT .S-Oc1oh er S 1998 1 Stolar noted his name was misspelled. t MOTION:Wilson moved,seconded by Hilgeman,to approve the October 5, 1998 Pviiuuies of the Parks,Recreation and Natural Resources Commission as corrected. Motion carried 6-0.. IV. PETITIONS.REQUESTS AND—COMMUNICATIONS V. DEVEL.OPMENT PROPOSA S A. H111on Garden Inn This item was deferred until later in the meeting its there was no one present PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES October 19, 1998 Page 2 representing the developer. Scott Mym,Stearn Engineering reviewed the plans and noted the project was revised several times and the Planning Commission had recommended moving the building 17 feet to preserve the wooded hill area. Fox reviewed the staff report and noted that the plan was being reviewed by this Commission because of the tree loss issue. The revised plan would result in a lesser impact to the trees and a lower retaining wall. The revised plan reduces the amount of tree loss to 5011). Staff recommended approval of the plans as revised. The landscape plan will have to be worked out later as the site plan revisions will change the submitted landscape plan. MOTION:Hilgen-Lin moved,seconded by Corneille,to recommend approval of the Hilton Garden Inn based on the supplemental staff report dated October 15, 1998. Motion carried 5-0. VL OLD BUSINESS t V11. NEW BUSINESS A. Goose Manneement Discussion Dr. James A. Cooper, Associate Professor with the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife at the University of Minnesota was present to give an overview of the goose management program which has been implemented by the State of Minnesota to manage the goose population in the metropolitan area. The Canadian goose has adapted beautifully to the metropolitan setting and the population has grown considerably. He described the digestive process of the geese which is vc►y inefficient and they are quite prolific in their waste production. These birds create hazards to people both on the roads and in the air. This requires that the geese be managed in areas around airports and high traffic areas. ; t The main problems with geese occur in the spring and early summer when the geese become territorial around their young. Goose management plans consist of moving the geese to other areas to be relocated or simply removing them from a particular area. Gccsc do not fly when they have young goslings and they can be fenced out of particular areas where they are unwanted. This oflcn result:,ii,ihoir simply moving to another site. Dogs arc effective in scaring geese its they have an innate fear of { them. The geese simply move somewhere else where they arc also probably I PARKS,RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES October 19, 1998 Page 3 unwanted. He described the chemicals that have been found to be etective in repelling geese;one called Rcjcxit is quite good,but it is expensive and also water j soluble which requires that it be reapplied offcn. It usually does not last more than l two weeks,and if there is a hard rain,it can be washed away completely. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) prefers that goose populations be reduced by hunting,but in metropolitan areas this is not always feasible because of the issue of human safety. Goose removal has been done by capture of the adult birds and removing them to other areas. This has been done in the past few years,but there arc fewer states that are willing to take them now. By removing adult geese the population can be reduced substantially. Other states are looking at egg destruction, representing what would occur with natural predators, as a means of reducing the goose population. They experimented with this method at the metropolitan airport and it does work,but it's not as effective as removing the geese. It is very difficult to find the nests hidden in the wetlands in the spring,and it takes a great deal more time and personnel to accomplish goose reduction through egg destruction. Problems with large flocks of geese congregating at airports in the till have been addressed by banding geese found within a 15 mile radius of the airport. These birds are then removed to other areas and tracked. This is rather expensive,and has only been done at the two large airports in the metropolitan area. The goose is protected by the federal government and the state government,but the Department of Fish and Wildlife has recognized that the geese are a problem in the metropolitan areas. Permits can be obtained to move geese and destroy their eggs. Dr. Cooper described the policies that arc in effect,but noted that at this time the DNR does not issue hunting licenses. He reviewed the policies for cacti of the metropolitan areas surrounding Minncapolis/St. Paul and the classifications of the cities and the different criteria which apply to these classes. Exceptions arc made in instances where geese are deemed to be a threat to public health and safety. Swimming beaches have been included in this category,as have airports. Jacobson asked about goose droppings being harmful to human beings and Dr. Cooper responded there were no known pathogens contained in them which would be harmful. The droppings could be a contributor to the algae growth in water. Jacobson asked about the use of snake decoys and Dr.Cooper responded they have not had any perceivable effect on the gees:.. No dcccy:: have been found to be effective to date,but they have not tried any dog decoys yet. Jacobson asked about the geese at flying Cloud Airport and Dr.Cooper responded that concern has been expressed and if there were more jet traffic they would probably want a program I 1 a PARKS,RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES October 19, 1998 Page 4 there. Prop planes can be damaged by hitting a goose in the air, but it does not disable the plane. Jet engines are demolished by having a goose go through them. Wilson asked about how many geese there were in Eden Prairie and Dr. Cooper responded between 4,000 to 5,000. Koenig asked if only shotguns were permitted in goose hunting and Dr. Cooper responded that was correct. He noted that bow hunting has not been evaluated. Eden Prairie is an area where hunting is not allowed so the DNR would come in and round up the geese and kill them. Dr.Cooper commented the DNR has projected that it may be as long as five years before goslings are not wanted in other states,and when that ends it may be that the goslings are put out to pasture until they arc grown and then put into the food shelf program along with the adults. The goslings at the time of capture have grown too many pin feathers and cannot be slaughtered so they studied these goslings over the summer months,and found that by November, they have grown up enough to be processed for the food shelves. If goslings cannot be relocated in the future then a decision will have to be made as to pasturing and processing them at a later date. Lambert commented that Round Lake has a serious goose problem and the City has had to close the beach because of high coliform counts. He asked if the City would have to follow a similar process as is done at airports to have an effective goose management plan at Round Lake. Dr. Cooper responded that the airport has a different program because of the cost of the aircraft. It may be that their is not that great an area involved with Round Lake. Discussion ensued regarding what the future would hold for the City if nothing is done to manage the geese we have now. Lambert asked what the natural predators of geese were and Dr.Cooper responded that coyotes are very effective in the northern suburbs. The red fox is next,but there are too few of them to be really effective. Raccoons are very effective when the eggs arc Icft unattended in the nest. Overall,it is a very small percentage that is impacted by natural predators. Lambert noted that the coyote population has increased in the g' suburbs and has become relatively common in recent years. , Dr. Cooper commented that mallards have higher reproductive rates within goose territories because the geese are territorial and protect their nests,and the mallards benefit. Large goose populations can lead to lower water quality in some areas. Discussion ensued regarding the feeding habitats of geese and the potential for finding the grasses the geese don't like,and Dr.Cooper commented that so fair they have not found one. Koenig asked how the birds that were processed for the food shelves were killed and Dr.Cooper responded they are stunned electrically and their carotid artery is then cut. It is a standard poultry processing process. The USDA oversees this program. t a i PARKS,RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES October 19, 1998 Page 5 Flilgeman asked about the possibility of sterilizing the geese to keep them from reproducing and Dr.Cooper responded that there are it couple of chemicals that will temporarily sterilize geese but these have not been widely used because of the costs and timing of delivering the chemical. "There is only a two-week period prior to laying of the eggs when these chemicals are effective, and it is very difficult to get the chemical to the adult geese within this period. The geese are migratory animals and when they leave the metro area and fly south they arc hunted,and they don't want to have chemicals present in game birds. In his opinion, it is very difficult to achieve goose management through sterilization and it would not be very effective. Discussion ensued regarding the best method of developing a goose management plan for the City of Eden Prairie. Stolar asked staff to establish a task force to develop a goose management process for the City. Discussion ensued regarding who should be on this task force and what goals should be established. Lambert commented the City has a policy in place which requires anyone wanting to have geese removed to come before the Parks.Recreation and Natural Resources Commission and the City Council to have a permit approved. He thought before setting up a task force the Commission should determine what areas they want to consider as needing to have a plan in place. Airports, beaches,and specific areas in the City might be possible areas where goose management plans would be appropriate. Lambert thought they i needed to have more specifics in place before establishing a task force. Lambert asked if Dr. Cooper was aware of any cities that have goose management plans in place and Dr.Cooper responded that the City of Edina has a plan that states they will control the geese if the people in the areas around the wetlands complain, i They compile the complaints and figure out the funding to remove the geese and then the Department of Fish and Wildlife removes the geese. It is the gold course and the country club which also causes problems for the Minnchaha Creek area. The City of Plymouth has adopted the City of Edina's approach,and they are cost-sharing with corporations which works well. Dr.Cooper noted that the costs are 100%paid by the people requesting the goose removal. The City has to approve the removal permit 'l but they do not pay the costs. He noted the City of Edina has it ban on feeding the ducks and geese. Removal is only done when the other options have failed. Lambert suggested that stafTobtain copies of these goose management plans from the other cities and work with some commissioners to draft it plan. Perhaps then it would be appropriate to solicit citizen input at a public meeting and make it recommendation which might be forwarded to the City Council. Discussion ensued regarding what could be done with urban geese, and what deterrents might be utilized. Dr. Cooper commented that in 1994 there were an estimated 14,000 geese within the metropolitan area and if they had not made an effort to implement some goose control plans then,there would presently be over PARKS,RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES October 19, 1998 Page 6 200,000 geese throughout the 7-county area. During the summer there are approximately 25,000 geese in the metro area and in the fall this increases to about j 50,000 because last year's population comes back from the north before leaving to Fly south for the winter. This is 4-5 times lower than what it would be if there were no goose management plans in place. Corneille commented that he thought 20%of the goose population resided in Eden Prairie! i MOTION: Hilgeman moved,seconded by Corneille, to form an ad hoc Committee to meet with Fox to develop a basic overview of a plan to bring back to the Commission. Hilgeman, Koenig,Jacobson,and perhaps Brown would serve on this committee. Motion carried 5-0. It was decided to meet on Monday,November 9, E 1998 at 7:00 p.m. { VI11. REPORTS OF COMMISSIONERS AND STAFF A. Reports of Community Center Manager t 1. Recommendation to Reduce Lan Swim Hours at the Eden Prairie Community Center Pool f� Frey reviewed the memorandum outlining the new hours for lap swim and i noted that at most they would be displacing 8 people but they have found they will work out at other times. They have suggested several alternatives, 1 including refunding membership costs to accommodate these people. If it becomes feasible to reinstate these lap swim times in the future,they will do SO. t a Y Lambert noted that stafl'has been guarding the pool when there is only one or at most two people in it during these times,and he believed it was a good business decision to close the pool during these times. The city cannot open the pool without lifeguards on duty because no other municipality does it,and our alternative is to cut services. j MOTION:Comcille moved,seconded by Hilgeman,to recommend approval of the reduction in Lap Swim Hours at the Eden Prairie Community Center Pool per the staff memorandum dated October 14, 1998. Motion curried 5- 0. IX. ADJOURNMENT MOTION:Hilgcman moved,seconded by Wilson to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 5-0. The meeting adjourned at 9:12 p.m, t t