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HomeMy WebLinkAboutConservation Commission - 02/09/2016 APPROVED MINUTES CONSERVATION COMMISSION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2016 7:00 P.M., CITY CENTER Prairie Room 8080 Mitchell Road COMMISSION MEMBERS: Greg Olson (Chair), Laura Jester(Vice Chair), Prashant Shrikhande, Lori Tritz, Amanda Anderson, Gena Gerard STUDENT MEMBERS: Emily Corpuz, Rachel Buckland, Jenna Horner STAFF: Tania Mahtani, Planning Division Leslie Stovring, Engineering Division Jan Curielli, Recording Secretary GUESTS: Lynn Marie Berntson, Mary Davis, Marilynn Torkelson I. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Chair Olson called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. Shrikhande, Gerard, and Buckland were absent. Olson welcomed the three guests and asked if they would like to make comments before the meeting began. Ms Torkelson said she saw that Eden Prairie is proposing to make the City pollinator friendly, and she was delighted with that. She had some concerns that the proposed resolution needs more"teeth." For instance, some bees need the flowers they were raised with to get at the pollen. Minnesota native bees are specialists regarding flowers and have a very limited range, so we should encourage the use of all native plantings for a bee friendly garden. She said she would like to see an education component to the program such as the one for the City of Minneapolis. Olson asked if she recommends the use of native plants. Ms Torkelson said she recommends native plants for a pollinator friendly garden. She thought a 75% native planting mixture might be sufficient, although 100% would be better. She did have concerns about the effect on bees of roadside and other types of mowing. Ms Berntson noted the Parks & Recreation Commission discussed the proposal and had revisions. She encouraged the Conservation Commission to meet with the Parks Commission to discuss the proposal before it goes to the City Council. She distributed a list of internet and other resources that provide information on pollinator protection and prairie restoration. She also wanted to know how the City will communicate the proposed resolution to residents. CONSERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES February 9, 2016 Page 2 Ms Davis said she recently began to research the issue of pollinator friendly plantings when she decided to put in a rain garden at her home. She noted the Watershed Districts and Blue Thumb are very good resources, and there are rebates available. She suggested there should be a link on the City website to pollinator resources. Olson thanked them for their input and said the Commission will keep their concerns and suggestions in mind. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Mahtani said the next meeting will be held in the City Center Heritage Rooms rather than the Outdoor Center. Stovring added Green Fair/Arbor Day to Item XI. Upcoming Events. MOTION: Jester moved, seconded by Anderson, to approve the agenda as amended. Motion carried 4-0. III. MINUTES A. Approval of the Minutes for the January 12, 2016 Meeting MOTION: Anderson moved, seconded by Jester, to approve the minutes of the January 12, 2016, meeting as published. Motion carried 4-0. IV. PRESENTERS V. REPORTS FROM STAFF A. Joint Commission/Council Meeting Debrief Mahtani thanked the Commission Members who attended the joint meeting and noted Ms Gerard did a great job presenting. Olson asked about any recommendations the City Council Members provided. Mahtani said Council Member Nelson suggested we incorporate public education on energy conservation into the work plan. B. Pollinator Resolution Update Stovring said there were changes made between the last Conservation Commission meeting and the Parks Commission meeting, and those changes are shown in red on the revised resolution that was included in the meeting packet. She noted the change made to Item 4 gets at the concept of educating the public. She said the Fire Department has put in some gardens at Fire Station 2, and they want to use that as a demonstration site. They plan to convert more of the grounds to native species, and are looking into the possibility of applying for a grant from the Met Council for a water reuse project which would include incorporating a cistern, low-maintenance turf that includes native fescues and native gardens. They also plan to add additional areas that include native species at Fire Station 4 CONSERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES February 9, 2016 Page 3 on Dell Road next. Both fire stations are located on a trail which offers a good opportunity for educational signage. She said the Parks Department is looking for other areas that are currently being mowed that could be converted to native plantings. Jester asked about the change to Item 8 to replace the word "non-native" with "naturalized." Stovring said the City code definition for"native" species includes the use of naturalized species but specifically excludes planting of anything that is invasive under State Rules and Statutes. It was her opinion that it would be redundant to add an exclusion for native species to the resolution. Stovring noted we are planning to review and update the native plant code this year. Olson asked what the City can control in terms of the use of insecticides on private property. Stovring said the City is not allowed to restrict the use of fertilizer,pesticides or insecticides. In the past the City has restricted the sale of phosphorus-containing fertilizer but she was unsure if this could be done with pesticides or herbicides. Olson thought it would be a point of interest to learn to what degree the City can control the sale of these kinds of chemicals. Tritz stated that she believed the City can control its own behavior but not that of the public. She suggested the key is public awareness and active public engagement, and she thought we need to think about how we can get people actively involved as we enact the policy. We need to make it easy for the public to learn about the issues that result from the use of such products. Olson asked what she thought would be the best way to do that. Tritz replied one of the things she learned from an online seminar about monarch butterflies was that cities having the most success were those that were engaging citizens through such things as posting their photos of monarch gardens. Olson said he was not sure how that would fit into the resolution. Anderson asked what kind of financial resources would come with the approved resolution and if there would be funding to create some educational pieces on the website. It would also be important to partner with our businesses. She wondered if the City could implement some kind of use tax for chemicals in order to encourage the use of more pollinator-friendly products. Jester said Items 6 and 7 speak to communicating to City residents and private developers, so she thought the education piece is already in the resolution. Anderson noted the proposed resolution uses the terms "pollinator-safe" and "pollinator-friendly," and she suggested the two terms are very different. She thought"pollinator-friendly" implies promoting happy bees while "pollinator- safe" implies we are not killing them. A discussion followed regarding the two terms. Jester said "pollinator-safe" may be better in terms of the use of neonicotinoids. Anderson noted Item 1 does not address the maintenance of the plantings. Stovring said the term management would include maintenance. Anderson saw an CONSERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES February 9, 2016 Page 4 opportunity in the future to take this to the next level and add a plan to create special areas that are truly designed to allow pollinators to flourish. Jester believed the resolution is a great step for the City to take,but there is a lot left to do. She asked if the resolution could be communicated at the Expo. Stovring said she has been writing down the Commission Member's ideas. She has ordered flyers about pollinator friendly plantings, and the resolution will be published in the newspapers. Mahtani said we can bring this back at future Commission meetings to get ideas about communicating it. Anderson asked if we will have listings of pollinator friendly material on the City website. Stovring said there are plans to do that. MOTION: Jester moved, seconded by Anderson, to approve the revised resolution and to recommend City Council approval. Motion carried 4-0. C. Water Conservation Graphic Update Mahtani displayed the final version of the water conservation graphic which is ready to go to print. Tritz noted all of the Commission's comments on the draft versions have been incorporated, and they will work to have it available for the Expo. Tritz asked if it would make sense to turn our attention to the pollinator friendly message rather than proceeding with the new water quality graphic. Jester said there are many additional water quality messages we want to get across and suggested we may want to concentrate on water quality as planned. She asked when the Council will make a decision on the 20-40-15 successor program. Mahtani said the Council will be reviewing that at the workshop next week. Anderson asked if the Commission's booth at the Expo will be positioned next to the City's booth. Stovring said she requested that the booths be together,but she wasn't sure if that will be the case. Tritz asked when the next event would be held. Stovring replied the Green Fair is on May 7, and the City-wide Open House is in October. Tritz suggested it would be good to develop a plan to launch the education efforts. Jester said the West Metro Water Alliance is about to launch a similar campaign to promote pollinator friendly plantings and water quality. They have hired Blue Thumb to put together the campaign. They plan to set a goal for the number of pollinator friendly sites and will try to get people engaged in that effort. We might be able to use what they are doing for their campaign. Tritz noted she would love to see more collaboration among all the groups. Stovring said there could be more than one theme for the Expo event. Jester cautioned we don't want to get too busy; however, they do have two tri-folds available. A discussion followed regarding which exhibits to display at the Expo and what themes could be developed for future displays. CONSERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES February 9, 2016 Page 5 D. Chamber of Commerce Home and Garden Expo Planning (handouts and promotions) Mahtani said this item was included on the agenda so we can plan for the displays and handouts at the Expo. Stovring distributed copies of the brochures and rebate offerings she will have available for the event. She showed samples of the giveaway bags that will be available. Commission members discussed ways to get people to engage at the booths, including a quiz for visitors to take in order to receive a prize giveaway. The Commission members reviewed the questions submitted for the quiz and made suggestions and revisions. Tritz suggested we have two questions each on water quality, water conservation and recycling. Stovring said they are working on a handout with questions and lists of resources, and that could also include information that refers to the questions in the quiz. Anderson asked if the quiz could be given electronically in order not to waste paper. Jester suggested Survey Monkey could be used if the quiz is ten questions or less. Stovring said she has some mini-iPads that could be used. Anderson said we need to be sure there is Wi-Fi available. Stovring said she would ask the Chamber of Commerce about availability. Stovring said she has a button maker available to use for the event and that Lori was working on some button designs for the kids to color. Jester suggested displaying the cube of crushed cans and a rain barrel. Stovring said she also has a few doggie waste bags and water bottles left to give away. Anderson suggested recruiting Commission member's children to help with the activities such as the button maker and also to set up two-hour shifts for volunteers at the event. Corpuz and Horner volunteered to help with the button maker activity. Mahtani said there will be one more Commission meeting before the Expo event. She will send around an email to Commission members to sign up for work at the event. Stovring noted she will be at the event. Tritz asked if there will be a handout about the information available on the website. Stovring said the Communications department is working on two more handouts, including the one on information resources available. Tritz requested that the brochure with the water conservation graphic and handouts will be available at the next meeting. E. Local Water Management Plan (LWMP) Update Stovring said they are in the process of revising the LWMP and plan to send it back to the Watershed Districts for final review and comment soon. She noted the Metropolitan Council will not give the city any additional grant funding until the LWMP is approved. CONSERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES February 9, 2016 Page 6 F. Watershed District Water Management Plan (WMP) Update Stovring distributed copies of a draft letter to the Riley-Purgatory-Bluff Creek Watershed District responding to their request for comments on the current plan. She said Nine Mile Creek Watershed District is also starting their WMP update. Some comments received from Council Members at the last City Council workshop have been incorporated into the letter. She asked that any suggestions or ideas for the letter be sent to her before the middle of next week. She noted there will be other opportunities to look at what they are planning as they continue to work on the updates. The Watershed Districts anticipate it will take up to two years to finish the plans. Jester asked what kind of City engagement they are doing. Stovring replied they are required to have a comment period as part of the update process. Jester thought the City should help them with the survey they are planning. Anderson suggested that Item 7 might be phrased as an offer to participate in the process to help make the update process go more smoothly. G. Water Efficiency Grant Update Stovring distributed information regarding an agreement with the Metropolitan Council for a Water Efficiency Grant. The intent is to use the grant program to target businesses, multi-family residential and charitable organizations that aren't currently served with the residential rebate program. The attached spreadsheet gave a history of water conservation rebates given. She anticipates that the agreements will be signed this month which would allow the grant to start March 1st. She said the goal is to maintain a city match between $12,500 and $30,000 with the rest(up to $37,500) coming from the grant program. She said the third page of the memo lists some of her ideas for the amounts of the various rebates and asked Commission members for their suggestions on those amounts. She noted if the amount of the rebate is increased, fewer rebates can be given. Her suggestion was that for the new rebates that the city provides up to 50% with a maximum of$200 for washing machines; up to 50% with a maximum of$50 for toilets; and up to 100% of the irrigation system audit and controller replacement that includes a system upgrade. If there isn't a system upgrade it would be the typical 50% up to $200 as per the regular rebate program. The typical cost of an irrigation system upgrade is $7,000 or more and this would only provide a small portion of the reimbursement. The grant funds must be distributed prior to June 30, 2017. Anderson asked if there is a good tool that could be used to see how much a resident could save on their water bill with the various items. Stovring stated that the WaterSense website offers information on traditional versus WaterSmart products and how much could be saved. Jester thought the issue will be getting word out to commercial and multi-family property owners. Stovring said her goal is to start by handing out brochures at the Expo and then proceeding with articles and other outreach through the local papers, sales representatives, Chamber of CONSERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES February 9, 2016 Page 7 Commerce, stores, etc. Olson suggested reaching out to the local realtor community also. H. Finalize Work Plan for City Website Mahtani said she included a copy of the final draft with the meeting packet. She will be posting it on the website and asked Commission members to email any changes as soon as possible. VI. REPORTS FROM CHAIR VII. REPORTS FROM COMMISSION VIII. REPORTS FROM STUDENTS Corpuz distributed flyers about an Earth Day event to be held on April 23 at Pax Christi with the theme, "On Care for Our Common Home." She suggested the Commission might like to have a booth at the event. A representative for each booth will give a summary of their group's purpose and activities. She thought we might be able to distribute some of the material discussed tonight. Jester thought it was a great idea, and there shouldn't be a problem to borrow the exhibit even if no Commission member were able to attend the event. Olson suggested we keep this on the agenda for March. IX. CONTINUING BUSINESS A. 2016 Education Plan Stovring distributed copies of the 2016 Education Plan and reviewed the items coming up in the next few months. The plan is for stormwater, water conservation and recycling programs. Tritz noted the Master Recycler/Composter program will be going on in March and April. She suggested that the city promote this as part of the education program. Olson suggested she send this out as an attachment for subsequent meetings. Stovring said she will put in an article about pollinators and information on the new rebates on the City website as a Living Green News item. Facebook posts will also be done. Tritz asked what the lead time is for articles. Stovring said it is at least one month in advance for the Living Green newsletter(mailed edition), one week in advance for the Living Green News (web site), and Facebook ideas should be submitted the first week of the month. She is always looking for ideas for workshops if the Commission has a specific topic they would like to promote in this manner. That would take more time. X. UPCOMING EVENTS CONSERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES February 9, 2016 Page 8 Chamber of Commerce Home and Garden Expo —March 19, 2016, 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Urban Waters Forum—April 23, 2016, 8:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m. (MN Landscape Arboretum) Green Fair/Arbor Day Walk—May 7, 2016 from 9:00 a.m.—noon. (Round Lake Park) Urban Waters Forum—April 23, 2016, 8:30 am to noon. Stovring distributed copies of a flyer about the Urban Waters Forum to be held Saturday, April 23 at the Arboretum. The focus is on what residents can do on the water, on the land and in their community to help improve or protect water quality. This would include volunteer opportunities to monitor water quality. Green Fair/Arbor Day Walk—May 7, 2016, 9 a.m. to noon. Stovring encouraged the Commission members to attend the Green Fair/Arbor Day event and asked for ideas about who they would like to invite. Jester suggested having someone there to talk about identifying and controlling buckthorn. Stovring noted Jeff Cordes will be there, and she could make sure he brings information on buckthorn. Anderson suggested this be put on next month's agenda. XI. NEXT MEETING Monday, March 7, 2016 - Joint Meeting with Parks and Natural Resources Commission at City Center Heritage Rooms XII. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Anderson moved, seconded by Tritz, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 4-0. Chair Olson adjourned the meeting at 8:55 p.m.