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HomeMy WebLinkAboutConservation Commission - 08/03/2009 APPROVED MINUTES PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION JOINT MEETING WITH CONSERVATION COMMISSION MONDAY,AUGUST 3, 2009 7:00 P.M., CITY CENTER Heritage Room 1 8080 Mitchell Road PRNR COMMISSION MEMBERS PRESENT: Geri Napuck, Chair; Jeffrey Gerst, Vice- Chair, Commissioners Tom Bierman, Hutch Coburn, Lee Elliott-Stoering and Derek Gunderson PRNR COMMISSION MEMBERS ABSENT: Joan Oko CONS. COMMISSION MEMBERS PRESENT: Laura Jester, Chair; Commissioners Sue Brown, Ray Daniels, Geneva MacMillan and Greg Olson CONS. COMMISSION MEMBERS ABSENT: Ravi Jaiswal and Daniel Trebil COMMISSION STAFF PRESENT: Jay Lotthammer, Parks and Recreation Director Stu Fox, Parks and Natural Resources Manager Wendy Sevenich, Community Center Manager Regina Herron, Planner Leslie Stovring, Environmental Coordinator RECORDING SECRETARY: Carol Pelzel I. ROLL CALLANTRODUCTIONS The meeting was called to order by Chair Napuck at 7:05 p.m. Napuck welcomed the members of the Conservation Commission and commented it is good for them to hold a joint meeting since the Commissions have some common ground and this is a good opportunity to address those issues. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Motion: Elliott-S toering moved, seconded by Gerst, to approve the agenda as published. PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION August 3, 2009 Page 2 III. APPROVAL OF PRNR MINUTES —JUNE 1 , 2009 Motion: Gerst moved, Gunderson seconded, to approve the June 1, 2009 Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Commission meeting minutes as presented. The motion carried, 4-0-2 with Bierman and Coburn abstaining because of absence from that meeting. IV. REPORT OF CITY COUNCIL ACTION—JUNE 16 AND JULY 21, 2009 Lotthammer reported on the following City Council action: A. SENIOR CENTER PRESENTATION The Budget Advisory Commission had recommended to the City Council the closing of the Senior Center facility. The City Council elected to continue operation of the Senior Center. The message was clear that the City Council is in support of the facility and sees it operating as it is moving forward. B. PRNR PRESENTATION Napuck made a presentation to the City Council including the past work of the Commission for the last six to eight months. C. CUMMINS-GRILL BALL FIELDS AND PARKING The City Council approved a contract for the redesign of the Staring Lake Park east entry, ball field reconstruction and parking lot adjacent to the Cummins Grill Homestead. D. LIONS CLUB DONATION TO ART CENTER The Council accepted a donation of$1,522 for the Art Center from the Lions Club. E. REQUEST FOR ADDITONAL GRAVE MARKER AT PLEASANT HILL CEMETERY The City Council approved a request for an exception to current rules to allow a second marker to be placed on a gravesite at Pleasant Hill Cemetery. The City Council is the authority for modifying or making exceptions to the cemetery rules. F. HOMEWARD HILLS PLAY STRUCTURE The City Council approved the Homeward Hills play structure project. PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION August 3, 2009 Page 3 V. REPORT OF PLANNING COMMISSION Fox reported the Planning Commission met on July 13 and there were no items on the agenda that affected parks. The Commission approved a variance request by the City for a shoreland setback from 100 feet to four feet for the construction of an observatory structure. The City requires a 100 foot setback from the Ordinary High Water Level. VI. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATION VII. OLD BUSINESS VIII. NEW BUSINESS A. THE VALUE OF OPEN SPACE BY EMBRACE OPEN SPACE Jenna Fletcher, Program Coordinator from Embrace Open Space, explained they are attempting to reach out to local communities to make the case for open space parks and natural areas. Embrace Open Space is a collaborative of multiple non-profit and governmental organizations that care about open space and natural areas. Fletcher said this group is funded by the McKnight Foundation. They have conducted a study of home values in Hennepin County to quantify the financial impact of proximity to open spaces on the value of nearby single-family homes. Fletcher said this evening she would like to talk about property values which strengthen the local economy and enhances livability. She discussed the economic analysis and the method for this study. They found homes located near parks and natural resources in urban areas have increased values. This study looked at Hennepin County as a whole and at all municipalities in the County. Fletcher said they followed a similar report done in Washington County and worked with Hennepin County and the Three Rivers Park District. She explained what was included in open space and that they looked at individual parcels of open space including parks and greenways, natural areas and open space owned by charitable organizations. Bierman asked if Miller Park was included in this study. Fletcher responded she did not have the list of parcels with her so she was unable to tell if Miller Park was included. Fletcher explained the Washington County study was done in 2007 and that study found homes were worth $16,750 more when they were near conserved open space. These types of properties increased the county-wide property valuation by $148 million. They found Hennepin County to have an expanding rapid population growth and a large amount of unprotected natural resources. Fletcher presented a brief overview of the study conducted in Hennepin County. The study found over 81 percent of single-family residential homes in Hennepin County benefit from an open space premium because of the presence of open space. The average increment per home was a $16,300 increase in home values for a total annual tax increment of PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION August 3, 2009 Page 4 $36 million. The county-wide total increase in property values due to the presence of open space is $3.6 billion and open space premium generates $36 million in additional tax revenues every year in Hennepin County. Bierman questioned what the end objective of this study is and how do they intend to use this data. He questioned if they had some quantitative data. Fletcher responded it is their intent to make this presentation to those communities that are growing fast and not fully developed to get them to think differently about the development decisions they are making. There will be a million new citizens coming to this region by 2025. It is their hope that smaller outlying communities will take advantage of this information. Bierman suggested they think about making this information available to local realtors. Fletcher said a similar presentation will be made at the Minnesota Parks and Recreation conference and possibly the Planner's Association. They are always looking for audiences to present the results of this study to. Bierman said he likes that the study is independent. Fletcher pointed out the information also applies to trails. The Three Rivers Park District was a sponsor of this study and wants to take this information to those communities that are being developed. Elliott-S toering said Hennepin County is comprised of various communities and the importance of open space has been stressed. She asked if there is any focus on caring for and conserving that open space once they have the land. Fletcher responded management and restoration is important especially once the land is obtained. However, all of this takes money. Elliott-Stoering explained Eden Prairie's issue is buckthorn and cost for removal is overwhelming. The buckthorn issue has changed over the last 25 years and she questioned what will happen if they don't make the investment to get rid of the buckthorn. Fletcher said it is very difficult to eliminate buckthorn and the average citizen doesn't see a difference in quality and they don't know what buckthorn is. Olson said doing a study like this does help a community zero in on open space and finding space that is available for various types of development. The more open space there is the less possibility for growth. He said there has to be a balance and questioned if this study will help the policy makers find that balance. Fletcher responded if they are looking for standards, they will not find them in this study. They cannot decide for a community what the balance is. They can simply provide this information and this study will help improve the dialogue and process. This study does not include multi-family residential properties. There may be higher benefits for those homes and there may be a premium for commercial and industrial property located near open space. Elliott-S toering suggested this information also be shared with the Chamber of Commerce. Gunderson asked if public and private golf courses were included in this study. Fletcher answered public golf courses were included and she believes private golf courses were also included. PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION August 3, 2009 Page 5 Bierman said with today's economy, he would recommend when another study like this is done they look at whether or not the homes that have open space diminish less in value or recover more quickly. He said he found this study to be very interesting and appreciated Fletcher sharing the information with this group. B. GOOSE MANAGEMENT AND DISPERSAL PROGRAM Stovring provided a brief report on the goose management and dispersal program. She reported she does not have the contractor data available for 2009 but they spent less than $20,000 for the goose management program. They did go to a number of the same sites as they have done before. The number of geese at Purgatory Creek Park did go down substantially. She indicated staff is trying to keep the cost of this program at the same level. They started a volunteer program this year at Eden Lake Park and they believe it is working quite well. They have handlers with dogs to chase the geese and at times they have found it difficult to find geese to chase. Olson asked if the goose population is declining is the cost for the program also declining. Stovring said when she took the program over they were more aggressive in managing the parks. The goose population shifts around and she does not feel overall the population is decreasing. Lotthammer pointed out geese love green turf and because of the drought situation this year the number of geese has decreased. Fox explained the costs for the program are driven by the number of sites the removal is done on. Originally they did four or five sites. Olson said if the numbers decline the cost should go down as well. If the population of the geese falls because of those efforts it should correct itself. Stovring said staff does not expect the population to decline but they do expect it to stabilize. Originally the cost was $500 to set up a site; now it cost$1,200 a site. Elliott-S toering asked how many people volunteered with their dogs to manage the Eden Lake site. Stovring said there were six at the one location. If they are successful they may look to do it at other locations. Gerst asked what other surrounding suburbs are doing to manage the geese. Stovring responded not every city is doing as much as Eden Prairie is and it varies across the communities. She said it is nice to have a Metropolitan Goose Control Agency and this is a metro-wide problem. Napuck asked what triggers the decision to do a goose collection. Stovring said a collection is done when they have a certain number of geese at the location. They focus primarily on the parks and if there are a couple dozen geese they will set something up. Stovring said if they receive an aggressive goose complaint they will send the contractor out to that location. PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION August 3, 2009 Page 6 C. RECYCLING Fox presented an overview of recycling within the Eden Prairie Parks explaining they have been looking at recycling in the parks for a number of years. They had a relatively good program 20 years ago and everything collected went to a waste separation plant. When that plant went out of business the City tried to continue recycling but found most of the time the recycling cans also contained trash. They did begin a program this summer to implement recycling at special events as well as at some limited park locations. They placed separate cans throughout various locations that clearly identified the cans as recyclable waste. Fox said staff will continue to monitor the sites and plan to grow the program slowly. Daniels said he has seen an individual at various parks collecting aluminum cans. He suggested they contact that person and ask him to go to the various parks so they don't have to pay to remove the recyclable cans. Fox said there are individuals who collect aluminum cans at a few parks, for this reason we have a limited number of cans at those locations. Brown said at many of the school activity areas there appears to be a lot of plastic waste that goes into the cans and there doesn't seem to be any control over that. She asked who was responsible for those areas. Lotthammer said one of the reasons they chose to place recycling cans at Flying Cloud fields is because it is a sporting facility and there is a potential for a lot of plastic being collected. At Flying Cloud contamination is greater than they want or at other locations. Brown passed around a picture of containers that are used by the City of Chanhassen stating Chanhassen has an effective program and the containers are clearly marked and the openings are sized for recyclables. Jester suggested staff talk to Chanhassen staff to see if the different containers are making any difference in their collection of recyclables. She also suggested they include an article on the City's recycling efforts in the Life in the Prairie newsletter and ask that parents educate their children on recycling. They could also include some facts such as the amount of energy saved with recycling. Daniels suggested City staff talk to the coaches of the various associations asking them to remind their participants to recycle. Fox said they do have a staff liaison person who meets with the youth athletic associations and they did give that person information to distribute to the associations asking the coaches to tell the kids about the recycling cans and to ask the kids to recycle. Napuck said the cans read recycle only. She said it should read cans or bottles only. Brown said it would be helpful if staff worked with the coaches to encourage the various participants to recycle. PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION August 3, 2009 Page 7 D. NATURAL AREA MANAGEMENT Fox said a memo had been included in the agenda material explaining management and care of City parks and conservation areas. The City has 2,700 acres of park land with 1,100 acres of it as active park land; mowing about 550 to 600 acres including community parks, neighborhood parks, ball fields, etc. They have 1,600 acres of land that is considered conservation or passive park area. In the past ten to 15 years they have scaled back some of the maintenance in the park system because of water conservation and desire to mow less. Fox said staff has always had the goal of using non-phosphorous fertilizer in the parks. They do use a limited amount of herbicides and the only areas grass fertilized on a regular basis are the irrigated ball fields. Fox reviewed what work is being done at Crestwood Park and Miller Park. When they do a new project they look at things for water conservation. Fox also reviewed examples of current management plans that are used within the park system. They utilize the City's maintenance employees and also encourage various groups to come in and assist in maintaining the park land especially with buckthorn control at Birch Island Woods. Fox presented an overview of the City's management goals as well as the tools they use and the on-going process and evaluation for maintaining park land. Elliott-S toering said the trailhead in Edenbrook consists of natural plantings and she thinks it looks great and different every time she goes there. She said she feels this is an effective way to manage the park. Daniels asked if staff does anything to actively restore prairie plants. Fox responded they are restoring the Prairie Bluff Conservation Area and the Richard T. Anderson Conservation Area through the process of controlled spring burning. This encourages the growth to come back while some of the areas seem to be doing well on their own. Jester said she appreciated Fox's memo and found it very informative. The memo alluded to the management of conservation areas is limited by funding. She mentioned buckthorn as being so thick in some of those areas. Jester said she would pay more in her taxes to live next to something without buckthorn. She asked if there is any plan to do any buckthorn management. Fox responded the problem with buckthorn management is it is very time consuming and it has to be done more than one time. They have been doing a removal in Birch Island Woods for at least ten years and it is a very difficult plant to eliminate. Elliott-S toering said she understands they can't remove all of the buckthorn at City expense but suggested they do more to promote the awareness of it and to educate the residents about buckthorn. Elliott-S toering asked Fox to talk about Dutch elm disease and the removal process for the emerald ash borer infestation. Fox responded Dutch elm disease identification has been in the community since 1972. The City has had an active program with up to three inspectors identifying and marking the trees for removal. The intent is to not PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION August 3, 2009 Page 8 eliminate Dutch elm but to help slow the rate of spread and help maintain property values. Fox said the Emerald Ash Borer is in a `wait and see' mode. The only metro area infestation has been identified in St. Paul and the insect does not move quickly. Firewood is the main concern for rapid spread of the insect. Firewood that is not DNR certified should not be purchased. Elliott-S toering suggested this information be included in an article in Life on the Prairie. E. OPEN DIALOGUE Lotthammer suggested this item be held to the end of the agenda because of the time and since they have already had some open dialogue. F. FEE RESOLUTION - 2010 Lotthammer explained the City Council will be considering a Fee Resolution for 2010-2011 at a public hearing scheduled for the August 18 City Council meeting. Parks and Recreation is a marketing arm and charges various fees for various activities including programs that will occur after December. Staff is asking the Parks Commission to review and approve this Resolution to be forwarded to the City Council. When the Community Center opened new fees were added as well as increases to some of the existing fees. Lotthammer further explained costs continue to rise and if they don't do incremental increases a larger increase will have to be made at a later time. Lotthammer reviewed some of the changes to the Fee Resolution including a slight increase in meeting room charges. Also, as energy costs rise ice time charges are increased. MOTION: Gerst moved, seconded by Gunderson and all members present voting aye, to recommend to the City Council approval of the 2010-2011 Fee Resolution as proposed. Motion carried 6-0. IX. REPORTS OF STAFF A. PLANNER FYI: Best Buy Wind Generator Herron reported Best Buy has filed an application for a wind generator to be located at their Eden Prairie store. This is the first application for the City for a wind generator at a retail store. Planning staff views these generators as structures since there is no specific code for the wind generators. This application meets the height requirements and is about 45 or 46 feet in height. The maximum allowed by City Code is 65 feet for this particular zoning district. Herron said the only issue with this application is the required setback of 35 feet to the front property line. The proposed location encroaches into the front yard setback by about 3.5 feet and requires a PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION August 3, 2009 Page 9 variance. The generator would encroach on highway property and no residential property is affected by the variance. Best buy intends to use this generator as a pilot for other Best Buy stores in the country. Bierman asked if the City has the authority to provide the setback. Herron explained the public hearing process and indicated anyone can speak in opposition to the setback. Daniels said he realizes Best Buy is a private company but asked if there is anyway the City could obtain relevant data from this pilot program such as cost,payback, problems, etc. Herron responded Best Buy and their consultant are willing to give the City a presentation on this project later in the process and the City can request that. B. RECREATION SERVICES MANAGER FYI: Park-In Movie FYI: International Festival C. COMMUNITY CENTER MANAGER D. PARKS AND NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGER FYI: Cummins-Grill Ball Fields and Parking Fox reported bids for the Cummins-Grill/Staring Lake east parking lot project went to the City Council on July 20. The bids came in approximately $120,000 less than the Engineer's estimate. They did ask the Baseball Association to pay for Alternates 1 and 2 and they agreed to do so. This project was driven by the expansion of Pioneer Trail and required a new park entry and a reconfiguration of one of the ball fields. FYI: Homeward Hills Play Structure Fox explained a Request For Proposal was done and at that time it was determined all they had to do for the Homeward Hills project was to replace some components of the play structure. For approximately $3,000 they could retrofit the equipment and make it like new. They worked with the original manufacturer so they did not void any warranty. PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION August 3, 2009 Page 10 E. PARKS AND RECREATION DIRECTOR 1. 2009 PRNR Work Plan Lotthammer reported the next Parks Commission meeting will be at the Art Center on September 14. On behalf of the Conservation Commission, Jester thanked the Parks Commission for the opportunity to meet with them. The Conservation Commission is a fairly new Commission and was formed to help advise staff and Council on the 20-40-15 initiative. Their interest is in conservation measures including water, natural resources, recycling and looking at some City ordinances. The Conservation and Parks Commissions have a lot in common and the Conservation Commission would be happy to work with the Parks Commission any time they feel it is appropriate. Napuck agreed that it was good to have this joint meeting to help each Commission understand what the other Commission is working on. Bierman asked what the top two or three objectives of the Conservation Commission are. Jester responded their top priority is the 20-40-15 energy saving initiative. The purpose of this initiative is energy efficiency in all of the City's facilities by 20 percent, increase fuel efficiency of its vehicle fleet by 40 percent and accomplish these goals by the year 2015. Jester said the Commission is also interested in water conservation and recycling. They are working with a consulting firm hired by the City and they are looking at things that could be done right now to accomplish their goals. They are also looking at other energy and water saving initiatives including programs for residents to get money back for water or energy saving devices. Jester explained the Commission will also be looking at some of the City's ordinances that could be updated to require recycling. Daniels said the Commission also wants to educate the community. Brown pointed out there are places in Africa that don't have clean water. A company did put in a device called a play pump. Kids play on the pump and it helps pump water out of the ground. The cost is approximately $15,000. Brown said the Conservation Commission will look at things like this that can be used here to assist the environment. Jester asked if the water in the play area at Miller Park is recycled or fresh. Fox responded it is fresh for health reasons. They do not encourage people to drink it but if they do they will not get sick. MacMillan said they discussed recycling in the City parks. She asked what is being done with recycling in the Community Center. Lotthammer said he believes recycling PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION August 3, 2009 Page 11 is in place now at the Community Center. He indicated he would check to make sure it has been implemented. X. NEXT MEETING The next regular meeting of the Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Commission is scheduled for Monday, September 14 at the Art Center at 7 p.m. X. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Gerst moved, seconded by MacMillan to adjourn the meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 9:25 p.m.