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HomeMy WebLinkAboutConservation Commission - 10/14/2014 APPROVED MINUTES CONSERVATION COMMISSION TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2014 7:00 P.M., CITY CENTER Prairie Room 8080 Mitchell Road COMMISSION MEMBERS: Greg Olson (Chair), Laura Jester(Vice Chair), Margaret Powell, Prashant Shrikhande, Lori Tritz STUDENT MEMBERS: Ashray Manipalli, Anthony Polyakov, Sophia Modeas STAFF: Regina Rojas, Planning Division Rick Wahlen, Utilities Operations Manager Jan Curielli, Recording Secretary GUESTS: Blake Aakhus and Hayden Hermes I. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL Chair Olson called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. Powell, Tritz, and Modeas were absent. II. WELCOME NEW STUDENTS AND INTRODUCTIONS III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Jester moved, seconded by Shrikhande, to approve the agenda as published. Motion carried 3-0. IV. MINUTES A. Approval of the Minutes for the September 9, 2014 Meeting Sentence 1, Paragraph 2, Page 3 should be changed to "...scheduled to be updated on the local water management plan this fall." MOTION: Shrikhande moved, seconded by Olson, to approve the minutes of the September 9, 2014 meeting as amended. Motion carried 2-0-1, with Jester abstaining. V. REPORTS FROM STAFF A. City Landscaping--Wahlen/Buettner CONSERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES October 14, 2014 Page 2 Utilities Operations Manager Wahlen said he would be giving the update on the City landscaping project tonight because Jonathan Buettner, the Environmental Design Specialist, was unable to attend tonight's meeting. Wahlen said the goal of the project is to advise residents about landscaping their yards for low water use. Jester asked if he was promoting zeroscape. Wahlen said they are not,but they do have an example of that at the entrance to the water facility. Wahlen said they decided to have examples of landscape conservation projects on various City properties by implementing alternative landscaping that does not require a lot of water to maintain. They also approached other City departments about doing something similar. The Parks Department began a similar program to cut back on their expenses to maintain the park property. In addition, Fire Station 2 wanted to become involved and offered the lawn on the west side of their property as a demonstration area for a natural landscape project. Shrikhande asked about the goal for this promotion. Wahlen replied it was developed as part of the Conservation Commission asking Robert Ellis to attempt a water usage goal of 75 gallons per capita,per day. Because the water use figures include lawn irrigation on the residential accounts, staff is trying to attain the goal with projects such as this. Shrikhande suggested setting a time to attain the goal. Wahlen distributed a handout about the Fire Station 2 landscape project. He said the objectives for the project were to develop a landscape to save water; to create a less expensive option to turf; and to use the project areas to teach residents how to implement these features for their homes. Shrikhande asked what the budget would be for such projects. Wahlen said it would depend a lot on what individuals want to do for themselves. He said his department has $20-45,000 in the budget for these types of environmental education opportunities. Shrikhande suggested it would be important to show the details about costs and considerations for the use of various materials. Olson asked if they had considered using pervious pavement for the walkways. Wahlen said the planned walkway will be made up of pavers with sand in between. Olson noted the Commission has an abiding interest in promoting porous pavers, and this would seem to be a good opportunity to try porous pavement. Wahlen said the project used Minnesota varieties for plantings so the project could qualify as a native planting project. Jester asked if they will use plugs or seeds. Wahlen said the grass is seed, and they will use pots and plugs for the plantings. Jester asked which company was used for the landscaping and if the plantings will be bee-friendly with no neonicotinoids. Wahlen was not sure of the company name but noted Ms Stovring has used them for other projects. CONSERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES October 14, 2014 Page 3 Wahlen said they also located a small project at Well No. 15 on Technology Drive where there is a lot of traffic to show off the plantings. He noted the Parks Department is doing something similar in Topview Park near Home Depot. Jester asked how long they have been working on this. Wahlen said it has been under discussion for two to three years, and they began work in January of this year. Jester asked if this is the only thing Mr. Buettner works on. Wahlen said he is a part-time employee who is also performing the stormwater property inventory. Jester asked if they will be coordinating with the green neighborhood people. Wahlen said they have their own design team who did not seem interested in working together. Jester asked if they have plans for education and outreach. Wahlen said he would like to show those plans at a later meeting. They have some ideas for the website and signage for the project. It would probably be incorporated in some of Ms Stovring's mailings. Shrikhande suggested having some way of identifying stakeholders in the community who might be early adopters of native plantings. Wahlen said staff talked about reaching out to some of our private partners and offering to create such sites on their property or to put their logo on a sign. Jester said there are natural groups that would be interested in helping such as the Wild Ones and Master Gardeners. The West Metro Water Alliance is launching a campaign to turn 5,000 acres of turf into native plantings by 2025 and are looking for opportunities for that effort. It would also be wonderful if the School District would get on board with changing the turf they have on so much of their property. Olson suggested the student representatives might research whether the School District is looking to convert some of their green space to native plantings to take some pressure off their maintenance costs. B. Wellhead Protection Plan--Wahlen Wahlen gave an overview of the Eden Prairie water system showing the location of City wells, the geologic constraints for the system, and the details of the Wellhead Protection Plan. He noted the Utilities Division is the steward of the water, sewer and stormwater components of the City's water system. Shrikhande asked if there are any surface water bodies connected to our aquifer. Wahlen replied there are none that we know of, although there may be opportunities for water to get close to our water. Wahlen said the Wellhead Protection Plan is managed by the Department of Health and is updated every ten years. Part One of our plan was completed in October 2012, and Part Two uses the information from Part One to provide protection for our water supply. As part of this update, staff cooperated with our neighboring cities to gather data to define a new wellhead protection area. CONSERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES October 14, 2014 Page 4 Olson asked if Eden Prairie has a mechanism for people to finance sealing a well through something like a special assessment. Wahlen said we do not have that for private wells, although the State does offer grant money as an incentive to seal wells. Jester asked what is different about what is allowed on the surface within a wellhead protection area. Wahlen replied the DNR described a wellhead protection area as the area around a well that must be protected. The protection required varies by type and depth of the well. Our wells in the City are very deep so the risk is less. Jester asked if the details of the wellhead protection area affect zoning or land use in the City. Wahlen said he would like to see a wellhead protection overlay adopted that could be used to evaluate development in the City. VI. REPORTS FROM CHAIR Olson asked about the status of the water management plan. Rojas said Ms Stovring reported on the progress on the local water management plan earlier this year. Staff has been waiting to see what would happen with the Riley Purgatory Bluff Creek Watershed District rules for that portion of the plan. Those rules have not been adopted at this point, so the City is holding off on incorporating that part. She said she can have Ms Stovring come to a future meeting and talk about the progress so far. Olson noted there was a question at the last Commission meeting about offering composting on a City-wide basis. Rojas said we allow that on an individual basis,but it is not currently an option for pick up by the haulers. Staff is monitoring Hennepin County's goal that addresses waste collection by 2016. We could invite Hennepin County to talk about their goals in conjunction with Ms Stovring. Olson asked if this is something on which the Commission could make a recommendation. Rojas said the Commission could encourage it, and Ms Stovring would be the most appropriate person to bring forward the plan. Olson said it would also be good to see what other communities are doing with organics. Olson said we have talked about possibly assisting City staff with grant writing for some of the things we are doing such as recycling containers or additional rain gardens. Rojas said she brought the subject up at her debriefing session with the City Manager after the last meeting. The feedback she received is that a Commission member should bring an opportunity for a grant to staffs attention,but it would not be good to have Commission members actually write the grant. Jester said it would be good to have an opportunity to review a grant that staff would write. Olson said there was a question about an update on the Urban Land Institute (ULI) regional indicators. Rojas said the Commission received a presentation from the ULI that showed a comparison of energy consumption. One of the goals for 2014 was to have a presentation from ULI, and Rick Carter from the ULI will give an update at the December meeting. CONSERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES October 14, 2014 Page 5 Olson said we also discussed having the local watershed district representatives come in to give presentations. Rojas said she talked with Public Works Director Ellis to see the best way to bring this forward. We could start out by inviting one watershed district per meeting throughout 2015. We might also have a meeting at the new Nine Mile office when it is available. Jester suggested we brainstorm with Nine Mile Watershed District about how we could partner with them on the use of the new facility. Olson said these are all good areas to include in the annual work plan. Jester suggested it would be great for the Commission to be used in an advisory role as well as receiving presentations. Rojas said there would be opportunities for the Commission to be involved in the illicit discharge plan that recently went out to consultants for RFP. There will be an update to the Comprehensive Plan near the end of 2015. The Metropolitan Council wants to see sustainability features in that update so there will be opportunities for the Commission to have input and give direction. Shrikhande said he would like to see information about what the Met Council is specifically asking for. Olson noted the Commission has had an ongoing struggle to get a clear sense of its role and how it can have impact on City policy. People who want to have an impact on conservation become members of the Commission,but it is a struggle for us to find our way. He would like to see Commission members check with other communities to see what they are doing. He would also like to see us get active in the grant-writing process. Shrikhande said he had a passion about water rates and helped to change the City's water rate structure. Since that time he has struggled to see where he can have an impact. He was concerned about how we get community engagement. Olson commented that Commission members have to decide what issue we want to move on. Jester said it would be helpful if we could narrow down the number of issues. Wahlen said the Commission has a breadth of knowledge and a lot of good ideas, and he would like to engage the Commission in a partnership on the landscaping project. Rojas said he could coordinate updates or presentations through her. Whalen said he would like to pass the first draft of the education piece to the Commission for review. Shrikhande said it would be good to have a more open structure with staff. Olson noted it is difficult to have an open meeting more than once a month. He suggested one or two Commission members could set up an appointment to meet with a staff member. Rojas said a Commission member would be acting as an individual when having such a conversation. Shrikhande asked about staff using the commission as a sounding board. He noted staff provides updates when appropriate, but they might also bring recommendations to the Commission to see if we agree. Olson asked how often staff meets to discuss items that the Commission is doing. Rojas said one concern is that the organizational structure, as it pertains to the Conservation Commission, crosses a lot of departments. All departments are now working on work CONSERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES October 14, 2014 Page 6 plans for 2015, and staff will highlight the crossover areas where we will work as partners on different topics. Shrikhande said Commission members put a lot of personal time in the Commission's work. He suggested having each Commission member align with an individual staff member. Rojas said there would be concerns with clouding in that process if we work outside the meetings. Olson thought it could be done on an individual basis. Olson said we could start monitoring the minutes from other commissions' meetings. Rojas noted the minutes are on the website, and we have had joint meetings with other commissions. Jester said it would be helpful to receive materials before the meeting. She suggested the Commission discuss the 2015 work plan and then zero in on a few things. Olson said we need to talk about what as well as how we are going to accomplish items in the plan, and also what we could be doing between meetings. VII. REPORTS FROM COMMISSION A. Streambanks and Stormwater Workshop Recap Shrikhande said it was a great workshop. We received updates on what the watershed districts are doing and visited a church location in Minnetonka where they put in a lot of rain gardens with a goal of capturing 90% of the stormwater runoff. Jester said they visited a park in Hopkins where they had re-meandered a stream. Shrikhande said the winter maintenance workshops are the next events. Rojas said she will send out a email about those to other Commission members. She asked who attended the Streambanks Workshop. Jester replied it was Ms Tritz, Mr. Shrikhande, herself and a member of the Riley Citizen Advisory Commission. B. City Wide Open House Recap Olson said he and Ms Tritz attended the open house. A lot of people were interested in the exhibit from Hamline. That display continues to have educational value provided someone is there to explain what it is about. He believed having Commission members attend some of these venues will encourage others to join the Commission. He suggested having information available about participating in the Conservation Commission at such events. Rojas suggested highlighting the water filling station when we give out water bottles. The Commission's booth had information about recycling, City rebate offers and dog waste disposal bags. VIII. REPORTS FROM STUDENTS CONSERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES October 14, 2014 Page 7 Polyakov requested more background information for the next meeting so he could be more informed. Jester suggested Ms Rojas put him in touch with Mr. Wahlen and Mr. Buettner before the next meeting. In December the Commission will take a look at our annual report and work plan. She noted last year's plan is on the website. Olson suggested the students learn more about the City's landscaping project and then ask what the School District is doing about replacing turf with native landscaping. Polyakov asked who oversees the use of pesticides and what the impact of pesticides would be on our landscaping. Rojas suggested he should talk to Matt Bourne in the Parks Department and someone in the Facilities Department at City Hall. Polyakov asked about the comment that the Commission does not make policy. Olson said we can't make any sort of policy. Rojas said the Planning Commission makes recommendations,but the City Council has the final approval. Jester noted our Commission can make recommendations on City policies, and we have done that in the past. Manipalli asked if the Commission also works on energy and if the Commission's work has much variety. Olson said we do address energy concerns, but our recent focus has been on water partly because we have some control over water in our community. Rojas noted there is a lot of overlap in what the Commission does. Olson said the Commission advocated for PACE legislation which enables commercial property owners to finance significant energy improvements through special assessments. Olson said one of our educational themes is to have people keep waste out of the streets because it goes into the storm sewers. It has an adverse impact on our environment and costs the City to clean up the storm sewers. We recognize best practices because it is better for the environment and there are practical benefits to the community. IX. CONTINUING BUSINESS A. Communication Strategies--Website, Life in the Prairie, Facebook, etc. Rojas noted there are new ways to receive updates on various topics on the website by texting. Jester asked how often the website is updated. Rojas it is updated whenever we have new information. Olson noted some of the wellhead protection plan material would be good for one of our publications, especially the practical information. Rojas said Life in the Prairie has a section called Living Green and there is a separate Living Green page that comes out several times a year. Those would be posted to the website. X. INFORMATIONAL MATERIALS/HANDOUTS A. Upcoming City Projects and Development--Project Profile CONSERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES October 14, 2014 Page 8 Rojas suggested the Commission might visit the Margaret A Cargill Philanthropies project on Rowland Road which will have many green features and is seeking LEED Platinum certification. Rojas said the O'Reilly Auto Parts project is requesting waivers and staff will need to determine what items they must put in to compensate for any waivers granted. XI. UPCOMING CITY EVENTS Olson said there is an event sponsored by the Human Rights & Diversity Commission on October 15 from 6:30 to 8:30 that centers around human trafficking. He suggested we might have a joint meeting with the Human Rights & Diversity Commission at some point. Rojas said staff continues the discussion about the next City Eco event. The solar boat regatta is scheduled for May 16. Last year that event worked well to direct people to the park. Staff is starting to work on the event and will come to the Commission for recommendations. She did not know if the crawl event will be included. XII. NEXT MEETING-- December 9, 2014 XIV. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Shrikhande moved, seconded by Jester, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 3-0. Chair Olson adjourned the meeting at 9:15 pm.