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HomeMy WebLinkAboutConservation Commission - 07/12/2016 APPROVED MINUTES CONSERVATION COMMISSION TUESDAY,JULY 12, 2016 7:00 P.M., CITY CENTER 8080 Mitchell Road COMMISSION MEMBERS: Lori Tritz (Chair), Amanda Anderson (Vice Chair), Gena Gerard, Michael Bennett, Ashley Young STAFF: Beth Novak-Krebs, Planning Division Leslie Stovring, Engineering Department I. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Chair Tritz called the meeting to order at 7:09 p.m. All commissioners were in attendance. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Anderson wants to add a discussion about meeting cancellation policy under reports from the Commission. MOTION: Anderson moved, seconded by Bennett, to approve the agenda as published plus the addition. Motion carried 5-0. III. MINUTES A. Approval of the Minutes for the May 10, 2016 Meeting MOTION: Gerard moved, seconded by Anderson, to approve the minutes of the May 10, 2016, meeting as published. Motion carried 5-0. V. REPORTS FROM STAFF A. Swearing in of Chair Tritz At the May 10, 2016 meeting all members, except Chair Tritz, were sworn in so Vice Chair Anderson swore in the Chair. B. Green Step Cities Update Novak-Krebs said the City was awarded Green Step Cities - Step 4,based on the data submitted for each metric. Anderson asked if the Commission could see the metrics and the data that was submitted to see how the City is doing. Novak-Krebs said she will go over the spreadsheet at the next meeting. CONSERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES July 12, 2016 Page 2 Chair Tritz asked about Sustainable Eden Prairie and when something might be presented to the Commission. Novak-Krebs said that staff is still working with the Consultant. As soon as there is something to share, it will come to the Commission. C. Update on Student Member Selections Novak-Krebs reported that four student members for the fall have been selected. They will have an orientation session on August 23rd and their first meeting will be in September. Chair Tritz asked what the expectations for the student commissions are. Novak- Krebs said that there isn't anything they are required to do beyond coming to the meetings. There was agreement among the group that they want to make the experience for the students more meaningful,engage them more and possibly direct their activities more actively while cultivating leadership skills. A number of ideas were brought up including: have each of them attend an event at which the Commission has a booth; in September have each of them introduce themselves and take 5 minutes to summarize why they wanted to be on the Conservation Commission and what their goals are for being on the Commission; have them identify opportunities where they could participate in goals that fit within the Commission guidelines and see if the Commission could help;,partner with the Commission and the community on conservation related issues; and/or have them work on a small project and see how this type of process works. The students should become aware of the resources available through the Commission and see what they could take back to their school and other students. Gerard added that halfway through the year, the Commission should check in with the students so they can report in and provide feedback. Novak-Krebs will check and see how other commissions engage the student members and a discussion item for this topic will be added to the next meeting agenda. D. Water Plan Update Environmental Coordinator Leslie Stovring gave an update on the Local Water Management Plan (LWMP) Update and the city code updates she has been working on. A draft of the LWMP has been reviewed by the watershed district and the last set of comments received were minor and it is anticipated that it will go to the August City Council meeting for approval. The LWMP is important for the City to be able to apply for grants from state agencies such as the Metropolitan Council. Stovring explained that as a result of the LWMP update she will be working on a number code revisions, including the use of lake waters, shorelands, stormwater and wetlands. Stovring distributed drafts of Section 9.60 (Lake Use) and 11.51 (Shoreland Management) for the Commissioners to review and comment on. She anticipates that Section 9.60 will also go to the August City Council meeting for first reading. She also asked that the Commissioners review the City Code Section on Vegetation Alterations in light of the new pollinator resolution. CONSERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES July 12, 2016 Page 3 E. Discuss Pollinator Display and Website (Open House/Recycling Education Discussion) The group reviewed and discussed the pollinator display that Chair Tritz has been working on. Chair Tritz explained that the display is a triptych that will follow the same pattern as the water display. The first panel defines the problem, the middle (larger) panel provides possible solutions, and the third panel provides action steps for residents. The display focusses on insect pollinators;pollinators such as hummingbirds were not included in the pictures. A handout will also be prepared for distribution when people are viewing the display. Anderson suggested that the group prepare a set of talking points to be used when the display is viewed. Gerard mentioned that we don't often talk about how property owners can live or co-exist with bees, wasps, etc.. Is there a tip list or set of talking points that could be developed to discuss how to manage pollinators without running a risk of injury to family or structures? What about options for safe removal of insect pollinators that pose a risk? Anderson suggested that perhaps someone could make some small "Let Them Bee" or"Let the Bees Be" flags or signs to hand out at events. Bennett also suggested that the Commission could have a do it yourself bee house at events with the triptych to illustrate what they look like. It was suggested that perhaps a demonstration at an upcoming event could be an Eagle Scout project or perhaps one could be made at the Senior Center's wood shop. A handout could be a set of DIY plans. Chair Tritz wondered if the pollinator display would be more appropriate for spring events and not necessarily at the fall open house. The Commission discussed the idea of highlighting re-use, recycling or organic recycling at the October open house and not pushing to finish the pollinator display. Stovring explained that the City's website on native plants needs updating to provide more discussion about pollinators. Right now it just talks about what is in the city code, she is working with Communications to put this in a brochure that can be referenced and then update the web site to add more information on pollinators. Anderson suggested framing the messages into actions and perhaps there could be a Does and Don'ts of Native Landscaping. The site should give direction and resources but need to realize this is not a final stop,but only a beginning on how to find out more. There are other resources we can link to, such as the resources, grants and rebates. Stovring said that the City currently has a rebate for converting parts of a lawn into raingardens or shoreland restoration areas with native landscape. City staff have also started discussions on potential new rebates for small pollinator gardens, however how to limit this to pollinator gardens only is a challenge and will need to be discussed further. The City is already starting to incorporate pollinator seeding into various park areas. They have also received a small grant from the Riley-Purgatory-Bluff Creek Watershed District for a native plant restoration on the west side of Fire Station 2. Along with the rebate, Stovring is working with Communications to develop a sign that will say "Pollinator Friendly Garden" that could be handed out to residents who CONSERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES July 12, 2016 Page 4 have received a rebate. The Commission will discuss the website at the next meeting. Gerard mentioned that Hennepin County does loan out some educational material about recycling and Stovring said she has some too if any of the members wanted to come in and look it over. She made a couple education kits with a recycling grant a few years ago and couldn't remember what was in them. The group decided the message they wanted to focus on for the open house is recycling and food waste reduction. Eventually, the commission will prepare a display for this, but there isn't time before October. Bennett mentioned that there is a still a huge need for educating people on even the basics of recycling such as when to leave a cap on (plastic bottles) or caps off(glass jars) or how plastic bags should not be used to sort recyclables as they interfere with the recycling process. Gerard will provide some statistics about recycling and Bennett will provide information on ways to recycle correctly and that information can be used on the IPads for a new survey. Stovring has a handout from Seattle about reducing food waste and how to keep food fresher longer to reduce waste and she will see if she can get copies to hand out. Other education ideas could be information on where the waste goes, what the cost of plastic bottles is, food storage tips or recycling trends. Perhaps they could pick 4 key messages to avoid overwhelming people? F. Discuss Annual Recyclins!Association Meeting Stovring said she attended Annual Recycling Association Meeting. One of the speakers was talking about"Divert 70", a study that showed that 70% of what is in the trash could have been diverted and that most of it was food waste. Gerard said the statistic she has seen is that 1 out of 4 bags of groceries is thrown out— meaning food wasted. Stovring stated that she thought food waste and proper storage is an important issue for future education. The Commission would like to see Eden Prairie collect organic waste. Gerard asked if the City has considered adding a drop off site for organic waste. There are other cities that have started to do this, such as in Minneapolis. Stovring stated there has been discussion to evaluate this for 2017. Stovring said the Draft Metropolitan Solid Waste Management Plan is out for public review and comment. The Plan includes a provision that all municipalities in the Metro Area have to have organized recycling by 2025 in order to retain their grant funding. Hennepin County may set a different timeline; they are waiting until the Draft Plan is completed before updating their recycling grant program requirements. Stovring stated that the city should allow a minimum of 2 years to get through the contract negotiations needed to implement this. Other requirements include development of standardized educational messages and review of city codes to ensure that there are not barriers to addition of new recycling and/or organics collection containers at commercial businesses CONSERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES July 12, 2016 Page 5 The Draft Plan also includes a mandate that first and second class cities provide organized residential organics collection by 2022. All residents are to have access to curb-side organics collection by 2025. Stovring stated she is also working with a new company, Simple Recycling, to expand pick up options for items such as clothing, small household electrics, and others. Once she learns more she will pass along the information. Right now they are active in the northeastern states. They plan on providing a draft contract for review in the next couple weeks. VI. REPORTS FROM CHAIR VII. REPORTS FROM COMMISSION A. Policy for Cancelling Meetings Anderson discussed the cancellation of the June meeting. Even if there isn't a quorum, those who can be there should be given the opportunity to meet and discuss items that are related to projects they are working on. The option should be provided. The Commission discussed how to communicate absences ahead of time in order to have better advance warning and perhaps set a new meeting date. At the end of each meeting, it was agreed that the Commissioners would talk about the date of the next meeting and determine if there will be any absences. Bennet asked if the Commission could adopt a policy that in the case of a cancellation, there would be a rescheduled meeting the following Tuesday. Novak-Krebs said she will check to see if that is possible. VIII. REPORTS FROM STUDENTS IX. CONTINUING BUSINESS A. 2016 Education Plan There was no discussion on this item. X. UPCOMING EVENTS XI. NEXT MEETING Next meeting is Tuesday, August 9, 2016. Gerard will not be able to be there. XII. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Anderson moved, seconded by Gerard, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 5-0. Chair Tritz adjourned the meeting at 9:10 p.m.