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HomeMy WebLinkAboutConservation Commission - 03/12/2013 APPROVED MINUTES CONSERVATION COMMISSION TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 2013 7:00 P.M., CITY CENTER Prairie Room 8080 Mitchell Road COMMISSION MEMBERS: Laura Jester(Chair), Greg Olson (Vice Chair), Stacy Bettison, Sue Brown, Kurt Lawton, Anthony Pini, Prashant Shrikhande STUDENT MEMBERS: Natalie Sell, Katie Stoltz, Siddeswari Thunuguntla STAFF: Regina Rojas, Planning Division Leslie Stovring, Environmental Coordinator Jan Curielli, Recording Secretary GUESTS: Diane Spector, Wenck Associates Mark Voorhees, Eden Prairie resident I. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL Chair Jester called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. Pini, Shrikhande, Stoltz and Thununguntla were absent. Jester reminded Commission members about the attendance requirements. Rojas said City code has guidelines that state the City Council could ask a member to resign after missing a certain number of meetings. Olson suggested members make sure to let Ms Rojas know as soon as possible if they are not able to attend the meeting. He noted he came for last month's meeting as he was unaware it was cancelled. Rojas noted she received enough "No" replies before February's meeting that she was able to cancel the meeting. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Lawton moved, seconded by Olson, to approve the agenda as published. Motion carried 5-0. III. MINUTES A. Approval of Minutes for the January 8, 2013 Meeting CONSERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES March 12, 2013 Page 2 MOTION: Olson moved, seconded by Brown, to approve the minutes of the January 8, 2013 meeting as published. Motion carried 5-0. IV. PRESENTATION A. Local Water Management Plan Process Diane Spector, representing Wenck Associates, said she will be working with Ms Stovring, the Watershed Districts and the MPCA to update the City's water management plan. She distributed a memo regarding the plans for the update. Ms Spector said the Conservation Commission will review the plan, provide input, and host a public meeting about the plan. The local water management plan must be updated within two years following the update of the Watershed Districts' management plans. Ms Spector reported the project has three sections: the inventory, the goals and policies, and the implementation plan. She noted the 100-year storm requirements have changed based on new rainfall data. Jester commented that requirements change has huge political implications. During the first phase of the project Ms Spector said they will be pulling together information on the condition of the various bodies of water in the City. Bettison asked if the information will be comparative. Ms Spector said the water quality will be presented as a trend. Bettison asked if the number of wetlands changes. Stovring said the numbers change because the inventory in 1999 was done quickly without benefit of current techniques such as topographic data or GIS. Now, as staff is out in the field doing stormwater work, we find additional wetlands so the count is more accurate. Ms Spector said they will work with City staff to help organize the information which could be added to the City website along with studies and reports from the last ten years. Stovring noted the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for Nine Mile Creek is completed, and the one for Riley Creek is supposed to start in 2014 but may not meet that date. She noted most lakes have Use Attainability Analyses (UAA) completed,but some are seven to eight years old. Bettison asked about the Riley Creek information. Stovring said the TMDL is scheduled to start in 2014 because the lake and the creek are impaired waters. However, there will be a lot of public input, and there have been delays from previous years'projects. Jester asked who will do the TMDL. Stovring said right now Eden Prairie will probably do it. Ms Spector noted each Watershed District has their own requirements for local plans so they will meet with administrators of the three Watershed Districts to review their requirements. She said the City's stormwater permit has certain CONSERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES March 12, 2013 Page 3 requirements for storm water management and resource permits. The permit is being rewritten and will be reissued. There are some significant new requirements on the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4) and those must be incorporated into this plan as much as possible. She noted the Wellhead Protection document is separate from the local water management plan, and actions from that document will be incorporated into the local water management plan. Other agencies such as the Metropolitan Council, the MPCA and the DNR may have suggestions as well. For the goals and policies section, Ms Spector said they will develop water quality goals for lakes, will develop education and outreach policies, and will set goals for how the creeks and wetlands will be managed. The goals will be brought to the Commission for review and input. As the third phase of the project they will develop a comprehensive set of actions the City intends to take to implement the plan. They expect to hold a public meeting in early fall. Jester asked if the public meeting will be held after the goals and policies are reviewed. Ms Spector said there will be a draft for review and discussion at the public meeting. Jester noted it seemed somewhat late to have the public meeting after the draft is completed. Ms Spector said it is easier for people to respond to something in draft form. Jester suggested we ask individuals what they would expect a healthy body of water to look like so that we could see what people want and also how much they are willing to invest. Ms Spector said they could craft some opportunities for early input. Jester thought that was important. Olson asked if there are best practices around this sort of communication and education. Jester said it is an evolving part of the water world as we try to figure out what makes people change their behavior. She thought we need to look at different ways to get input rather than just holding a public meeting. Stovring said it could be a different format such as a lawn care workshop, a PowerPoint presentation or something else along those lines. Bettison asked about the format of the goals and policies document for the public meeting. Ms Spector said it would probably be a short summary with some graphics. Bettison asked if there would be documents available on line for people to look at. Stovring said we would probably have the draft report and a summary available. Bettison commented it is challenging to get people out for a public meetings. Jester noted the Watershed District uses a survey at this stage to gauge what people are thinking about water quality. Rojas said the Communications Department just started using the MindMixer website to pose a question to residents about the aquatics feasibility study. Ms Spector noted there is a large percentage of the population that does not use social media. Jester thought we should look for different avenues of public input. Olson believed we need to get to a meaningful sample. Ms Spector said the information is always biased to the CONSERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES March 12, 2013 Page 4 people responding. Stovring said she plans to start on the next Living Green publication in April and could include a small article with a link to a survey. She asked Commission members to let her know ideas for the survey. Bettison said the other benefit of a survey is to get people engaged at a level they weren't before. Jester said she wants to make sure the plan also includes relevant parts of the GreenStep Cities and Complete Streets programs. Lawton noted the groundwater report is separate and asked if there will be a synopsis of how that relates. Stovring said the Wellhead Protection and Management Plan deals with protecting and managing the groundwater. It is a separate document that will be integrated with the stormwater management plan. Jester asked if the City received any calls after the article about the aquifer levels appeared in Sunday's Star/Tribune. Stovring said they did not receive any calls but it is a concern of the City. She noted Mr. Ellis is starting to put together a plan for water conservation. Bettison said she heard a report that the DNR is not enforcing violations for over-usage of groundwater and asked how that plays out in Eden Prairie. Stovring said we don't monitor private well usage. The DNR has requirements regarding the speed and number of permits given out and that effort uses all of their available manpower. Jester asked if the DNR could delegate their authority for monitoring. Stovring said they could not. Bettison commented it was confounding to hear there was no schedule to enforce the permits. Stovring said we will need to get together with all the agencies about how we integrate the data that is collected. The Commission will be invited to that meeting. Jester asked if the agencies will include lake associations and other local groups. Stovring said they will be included. V. REPORTS FROM STAFF A. 2012 Annual Report and 2013 Work Plan Rojas said the 2012 Annual Report and the 2013 Work Plan were presented at a City Council workshop a couple of months ago. She noted the Public Works Department is in the process of purchasing an electric vehicle and is also working on getting an electric vehicle charging station. They are talking about placing rain gardens in the right-of-way. Stovring said the City received a grant to connect the trail along Mitchell Road from Valley View to Martin Drive and will do two sections of the trail in permeable pavement. Jester asked if there is street reconstruction planned this year. Stovring said there is none that has the potential for adding a rain garden. Jester asked if we received a clean water grant. Stovring said we did get one for a trail on the north side of Staring Lake on a pond across from the school. CONSERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES March 12, 2013 Page 5 Olson said he came away from the meeting with the Council with the impression there was strong interest in the Energy Crawl so we should probably try to prioritize that event. B. Recyclins!Update Stovring said the rates went down a little when the figures were recalculated after we determined one of the haulers had a data error. She noted plastics and glass rates went up a lot. Olson asked to what those increases could be attributed. Stovring said they now accept different types of plastic for recycling. She said there were also nine tons of source-separated organics. Bettison asked if the household pays for that. Stovring said they do. Jester noted the Mayor asked about recycling rates at her Commission interview. She told the Mayor her opinion was the economy. Stovring said April 27 is the electronics drop-off day, and June 15 is the City clean-up day. There will be a recycling guide in the Living Green newsletter. Rojas said in Mr. Lotthammer's memo regarding recycling in the parks, he reported Matt Bourne applied for a grant through Hennepin County and did not receive it. The County indicated they liked the idea of educating and promoting the use of reusable bottles. She said Andrew Rotschafer asked that the information about Minneapolis' indoor/outdoor recycling be included in the agenda packet. She noted Andrew will be at the Commission's May meeting. Lawton asked if staff looks at the indoor/outdoor reports because the conclusion pages are interesting. Jester asked about the grant application included in the packet. Stovring said it is her document for planning and outreach to help promote recycling. She asked Commission members for their input. Jester asked if we get funding from Hennepin County for recycling. Stovring replied we can get a grant from the County for recycling and rebates. This is the same grant as before, although they are requiring more documentation. Rojas noted Mr. Shrikhande has been put into contact with the Parks staff to work on a specific Zero Waste event. C. Earth Hour Rojas said the City Manager forwarded an email from a resident asking if the City would be interested in participating in the Earth Hour challenge to turn off the lights for one hour on March 23. Mr. Getschow asked if this was something the Conservation Commission would like the City to promote. Rojas said the event is sponsored by the World Wildlife Foundation each year on March 23. Jester CONSERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES March 12, 2013 Page 6 thought turning out the lights dovetails with the City's 20-40-15 plan. She asked if it would be too late to get an article in the Eden Prairie News about the event. Rojas said she will check on that as soon as possible. MOTION: Olson moved, seconded by Bettison, to propose a resolution of support for the annual Earth Hour on March 23 and to support the event as much as possible. Motion carried 5-0. Lawton suggested sending the information out to our email list. Jester thought the student representatives might help with the promotion. Sell said the schools have daily bulletins, and there are groups in school that would be interested in the event. Bettison offered to call the Eden Prairie News editor. Rojas said she would check with the City Communications Division. Jester said it would be important to alert certain teachers in the school about the event. We may want to put the event on our calendar earlier in the year for 2014. VI. REPORTS FROM CHAIR Jester asked if there is an update on appointments to the Commission. Rojas said Ms Jester, Mr. Olson and Mr. Shrikhande were reappointed. Mr. Olson was appointed Chair and Mr. Lawton will be Vice Chair, with terms beginning April 1. Jester asked if Mr. Pini was replaced. Rojas said he was not because he plans to return to Minnesota in May or June and asked to remain on the Commission. VII. REPORTS FROM COMMISSION A. LRT Community Advisory Commission Update Rojas said the packet included the February 21 memo from the Southwest LRT (SWLRT) along with a map showing the proposed alignments. They are working with the City, Hennepin County and community groups to receive feedback. There will be a Council Workshop on May 7, and staff expects the alignment will be narrowed down more. The City has been talking to every property owner who is impacted and has held one-on-one meetings with businesses. Jester noted the southerly alignment has a huge impact to Purgatory Lake. Stovring said she was concerned that there was no Parks representation at the meetings. That southerly alignment is new and was part of an attempt to get the alignment down by the Eden Prairie Center and the heart of Town Center. It provides one way to make up speed which is very important to the transit system. Rojas noted there are many things to take into consideration regionally. Bettison asked where the operation and maintenance facility is located. Stovring said one option is at the end of the proposed line where the City's maintenance facility is located. Bettison asked if the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) CONSERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES March 12, 2013 Page 7 will have any input on the alignment. Stovring said the City's have a station in the Town Center area. Bettison said she didn't understand why a few seconds time difference would matter this far down the line. Rojas said a lot has to do with the engineering of the train because there can be no curves where the train comes to a stop. Brown noted the DEIS line appears to be less intrusive and asked if residents would want all of the disruption that will go on during construction of the line. Stovring said it is very close to the southwest station condos, and there are a lot of impacts from the DEIS line. Lawton asked about the deadline for a decision. Rojas said they expect municipal consent by the end of the year. Stovring said the City wants to determine our prime alternatives after the City Council workshop on May 7. Jester said she has not received an email about the CAC in a long time. She asked if there is a meeting this Thursday. Rojas believed it was held on the 3rd Thursday of every month,but she will follow up with that information. Bettison asked if Commission members are allowed to fill out the comment sheets attached to the memo. Rojas said she saw a list of comments recently from the BAC and the CAC. She will send those out to the Commission members. VIII. REPORTS FROM STUDENTS IX. NEW BUSINESS X. CONTINUING BUSINESS A. Comunication Strategies--Website,Life in the Prairie, Facebook, etc. Bettison said she called the water treatment plant to get a list of interesting facts about the aquifer and water plants. Rick from the Water Department was to send the facts to Ms Lorenz,but she never heard from him. Bettison noted we have not made any meaningful progress in getting this information out to the public. Jester said she hopes to have some information on water use habits to display at the Expo. Jester said we could print out the interesting facts that Rick came up with. Stovring said the Communications Department is working on something for us to use at the Expo that people will answer in order to get a free bag or bottle. Jester said she would prefer to just hand bottles out and talk to people about using the bottles. Stovring said she is working on the education plan for 2013 and asked for suggestions for fall workshops or other events. Lawton asked how the leaf project CONSERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES March 12, 2013 Page 8 went last fall. Stovring said it was very successful. Jester said she heard the Freshwater Society is planning to make it an annual event. Lawton noted we have a clean-up day in the spring, so we might want to do one in the fall as well. Stovring said plans are to have a limited number of booths at the Arbor Day event at Round Lake Park, so someone from the Commission could be at a booth for that event. Jester suggested we put that on the April agenda along with ideas for public input on the Local Water Management Plan. XI. INFORMATIONAL MATERIALS/HANDOUTS A. Upcoming City Projects and Development--Project Profile Jester said she didn't remember seeing the Hooverson addition before. Rojas said it involves a small strip of City land near Sunnybrook Road and Homeward Hills Road. B. Eden Prairie Recycling Update Memo C. Minneapolis Recycling Report (Indoor/Outdoor) D. Recycling Grant Planning Document (Items B, C and C discussed under Item V.B.) E. 2012 Water Pledge Results Rojas showed a printout of the results for the 2012 Water Pledge. The report showed the specific residence by zip code and what was pledged. She believes the Mayor plans to sign up for the 2013 Water Pledge, and the Communications Department will help get the word out. Jester asked how long it runs as we are also talking about the Earth Hour challenge and the two events will be pretty close together. Rojas said she will discuss the two events with the City Manager. XII. UPCOMING EVENTS A. Chamber of Commerce Home and Garden Expo--Saturday, March 16, 2013 (9 AM-3 PM) The Commission discussed plans to set up and man the booth and the displays that will be used. XIII. NEXT MEETING April 9, 2013--Focus: GreenStep Cities and Energy Crawl Update CONSERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES March 12, 2013 Page 9 XIV. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Bettison moved, seconded by Lawton, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 5-0. Chair Jester adjourned the meeting at 9:00 PM.