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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 04/04/2017 - Workshop APPROVED MINUTES CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP & OPEN PODIUM TUESDAY,APRIL 4, 2017 CITY CENTER 5:00—6:25 PM, HERITAGE ROOMS 6:30—7:00 PM, COUNCIL CHAMBER CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Nancy Tyra-Lukens, Council Members Brad Aho, Sherry Butcher Wickstrom, Ron Case and Kathy Nelson CITY STAFF: City Manager Rick Getschow, Police Chief James DeMann, Fire Chief George Esbensen, Public Works Director Robert Ellis, Community Development Director Janet Jeremiah, Parks and Recreation Director Jay Lotthammer, Administration Intern Aurora Yager, Senior Planner Beth Novak-Krebs, Water Treatment Plant Supervisor Joe Dusek, Environmental Coordinator Leslie Stovring, Community Development Coordinator Marisa Bayer, Parks and Natural Resources Manager Matthew Bourne, Utility Operations Manager Rick Wahlen, City Attorney Ric Rosow, and Recorder Jan Curielli Workshop - Heritage Room H I. SUSTAINABLE EDEN PRAIRIE Getschow said in 2015 and 2016 the Council and staff talked about what was next after the 20- 40-15 initiative. Those discussions led to a workshop last fall to talk about all the work we are doing. There were many things going on; however, most of the work could be placed under four main umbrellas: energy, landscape, waste and water. Marisa Bayer, Community Development Coordinator, gave a PowerPoint presentation about Sustainable Eden Prairie. She said a work group has been meeting regularly over the past few months to develop the new initiative. The work group includes key staff members from different divisions who have worked to input current and future projects into the project management tool. She reviewed the mission statement for Sustainable Eden Prairie that was developed by the work group. Bayer said there is no definite end date for the new program such as there was for 20-40-15. There is a Sustainable Eden Prairie button on the main page of the City website, and material is organized under the four focus areas. A Sustainable Eden Prairie Award to recognize property improvements and enhancements and behavior changes that impact sustainability will be given in place of the previous Spirit of Eden Prairie award. The Conservation Commission had input into the new program and will help with the selection of award recipients. Nelson suggested putting the names of the focus areas under the four symbols on the website page to make it easier for those who aren't into technology. Aurora Yager, Administration Intern, reviewed features available in the Clear Point project management software chosen by the work group to organize and track the progress of City Council Workshop Minutes April 4, 2017 Page 2 Sustainable Eden Prairie. She reviewed projects and tasks included in the Energy focus area that will improve energy efficiency and promote development of clean energy usage. Nelson asked if Council Members will be getting regular reports on the program. Getschow said a list of projects will be made public, and staff will report to both the City Council and the public on those initiatives. Yager said the Partners in Energy program provides an opportunity for City staff, Commission Members, businesses, CenterPoint Energy, and Xcel Energy representatives to partner as an Energy Action Team. The Partners in Energy will be a two-year partnership with a six-month planning phase and 18 months for implementation. The partnership includes members of the community and staff who volunteer their time to attend five workshops sponsored by Xcel to determine our goals for the next few years. The partnership will identify what strategies and goals we want to put in place, determine what measures we want to establish, and determine where we want to put staff effort. Members of the Energy Action Team include residents, City commission members, local businesses, CenterPoint Energy representatives, Xcel Energy representatives and staff members. Aho asked if we will publicize the results of the program to the public at large so they can take advantage of what we learned because he thought it would be beneficial to pass on the knowledge to businesses and residents. Yager responded there will be a long engagement process as part of the Partners in Energy initiative, and that can be put on the website. The website will provide an opportunity to document what we are doing and what we have learned with a section for residents to access information. Getschow noted we will have to spend some time deciding how we will disseminate the information and share the best practices. Matt Bourne, Parks and Natural Resources Manager,reviewed projects and tasks designed to promote the use of native landscapes. He noted when this area was first discussed the name of the focus area was pollinators,but that was changed to landscape to include a broader range of topics. He gave examples of work to be done in the area of landscape such as converting mowed turf areas on City property to native habitat with pollinator-friendly plants. The various departments and facilities grouped together what they were doing and identified the areas that could be converted to native plantings so a single RFP could be put together to get a better price for the conversion process. In addition, they plan to make a conscious effort to keep areas of large park projects as native plantings rather than converting the areas back to turf. He noted seven acres will be converted this year in addition to many areas that are included in this year's large park projects. Tyra-Lukens asked what happens to the area if it is left to go to native plantings. Bourne replied that would not mean there would be no maintenance,just that it would not be as intense. Staff would continue to spot spray for some types of weeds and would mow some areas once or twice a year. Tyra-Lukens asked how such areas would be maintained next to private properties. Bourne said they would keep a five to ten-foot buffer along such property lines. Nelson asked about plans for the prairie areas outside of fire stations or other City buildings. Bourne said there will be some rain gardens constructed similar to those at the Smith-Douglas- More House. City Council Workshop Minutes April 4, 2017 Page 3 Getschow noted the list of landscape projects includes buckthorn management. Bourne said that will be done on City property,but also will occur through groups that have volunteered to remove buckthorn in several locations in the City. The City provides tools or chemicals for the groups to use and will pick up the materials removed. He noted controlling invasive species allows native species to be re-established. Butcher Wickstrom asked if the areas for buckthorn removal are distributed around the community. Bourne replied there are areas in Edenvale, Smetana and other locations. Bourne said they plan to highlight the Fire Station 2 project, where there will be opportunities for education and outreach and which will include different areas done in slightly different ways. They want to showcase what can be done with a home landscape and will have signage designating the plant materials used. Leslie Stovring, Environmental Coordinator, said there will be three different areas at Fire Station 2: an area of traditional turf in the front by the flag; an area of no-mow fescue and an area of native plantings. There will also be rain barrel cisterns to capture and reuse rainwater runoff. Stovring reviewed the projects and tasks identified to promote increased recycling and reuse of materials from the waste stream. She noted we have been seeing a slow decline in the amount of recycling in the City, and they plan to hire someone to help develop a plan to encourage recycling. There are new recycling requirements from the County and the PCA. The group is looking at a number of ways to try to increase our percentages in solid waste management. They are looking at whether to provide yard waste pickup or to provide a site to drop off yard waste. They are also looking at whether to continue the City Drop Off Day or have a pick-up day like Bloomington does. Getschow noted there seem to be more people coming to the Drop Off Day every year. Nelson commented the wait time for the drop-off is too long, and she thought it would be great to do have a Drop Off Day both spring and fall. Stovring noted it is not cheap to do the Drop Off Day. Stovring said the work group is discussing a code change regarding organics collection. The MPCA wants cities to start organized organics collection by 2020, so the group is discussing how to do organics collection as well as how to organize recycling. Tyra-Lukens noted some haulers have stopped doing organics. Stovring said one small hauler did organics collection,but they have stopped doing that. Aho asked what happens to the organic waste from the City facilities. Stovring replied it is collected and taken to an organics site. Hennepin County is encouraging efforts to get organics collections started. Getschow noted the subject of organics was a topic on City Connect that included information about an ordinance that would be required in order to have organics collection. Stovring said there will be meetings with the City Council, the haulers and the public about organics collection. Case asked if there is any city that is doing organics collection. Stovring replied some cities are starting to collect organics as it becomes more popular. Nelson asked if there will be organized recycling of yard waste, trash, recycling and organics. Stovring said the group will look at the different programs. If we decide to do organized recycling, we will have to work with the haulers and will have to divide up areas of the City City Council Workshop Minutes April 4, 2017 Page 4 among the haulers. Getschow noted one of the first tasks after the plan is approved will be to meet with the haulers. Rick Wahlen, Utility Operations Manager, reviewed the projects and tasks planned for protection and management of our groundwater and water resources. They have identified several projects, many of which mirror what we have been doing for a long time. He said the annual water loss is going down as residents use more efficient appliances and take other water-saving measures. The revised water rate structure helps with water conservation, as evidenced by the reduced amount of water used during the winter. The water conservation rebate program has been very successful. He said the Met Council asked us to partner with them on a water conservation program that was modeled on our program. A program is now available to communities throughout the metropolitan area for grants to be used to offset the cost of water saving efforts. Staff has submitted an application for a$75,000 grant from that program. Fire Station 2 seemed to be a good place to use the Met Council grant to develop a rainwater savings program. Runoff from the roof could be used for such tasks as washing fire trucks. He noted we need to do more work to get the word out about the water irrigation rebate program because there have not been many people who have taken advantage of that rebate. Getschow commented the landscape focus area was one that we probably would not have been talking about five years ago. We will be working on the four focus areas, so there will be something for everyone in the initiative. We will use the newsletter and website to put out news about the programs. Butcher Wickstrom asked about recycling architecture materials. Bourne said that area is included as part of the Sustainable Eden Prairie Award. Nelson commented we need to encourage people to do projects such as redoing their decks with recycled materials. We should provide education on the benefits of recycled materials. Tyra-Lukens asked about the Wellhead Protection Program map. Wahlen said the red areas on the map are areas of high risk for ground water contamination, and the brown areas are areas of moderate risk. Nelson noted something like this was done 20 years ago for the Planning Commission, and she believed this is something that should be considered by the Planning Department and the Planning Commission when projects are reviewed. Wahlen said they have looked at areas where private wells are located and plan to continue to educate people about the need to cap the wells. Case said he would like to see the City get involved in partnering on solar gardens because there is a lot going on in that area. Getschow said we probably do not need to wait for 18 months to do that because solar is a big topic now. Case noted it sounds like the industry may be on the verge of solving the battery problems, and some cities are going off the grid. He would like us to look at what other cities are doing and to find sites in the City for wind and solar power. Getschow noted the group also talked about geothermal at their last meeting. Tyra-Lukens hoped we will be constantly thinking about what can be translated into something homeowners can do as we publicize the initiative. Open Podium - Council Chamber City Council Workshop Minutes April 4, 2017 Page 5 III. OPEN PODIUM Jim Bracke, Director of the Friends of Red Rock Lake, presented a letter of appreciation to the City for efforts made towards their mutual goal of protecting and restoring Red Rock Lake. The letter listed the following efforts: the sponsorship of plant management study; commitment to mechanically remove excess aquatic vegetation; operation of an inspection and public awareness program to combat aquatic invasive species; measurement and monitoring of specific conditions of the lake and its waste; and coordination with activities of the Riley Purgatory Bluff Creek Watershed District and other agencies. IV. ADJOURNMENT