City Council - 02/07/2023 - Workshop
APPROVED MINUTES
CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP & OPEN PODIUM
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 07, 2023 CITY CENTER
5:00 – 6:25 PM, HERITAGE ROOMS
6:30 – 7:00 PM, COUNCIL CHAMBER
CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Ron Case, Council Members Kathy Nelson, Mark Freiberg, PG
Narayanan, and Lisa Toomey
CITY STAFF: City Manager Rick Getschow, Police Chief Matt Sackett, Fire Chief Scott Gerber,
Public Works Director Robert Ellis, Community Development Director Julie Klima, Parks and
Recreation Director Jay Lotthammer, Administrative Services/HR Director Alecia Rose,
Communications Manager Joyce Lorenz, City Attorney Maggie Neuville, and Recorder Kelsey
Engelen
Workshop - Heritage Rooms I and II (5:30)
I. COMMISSION WORK PLANS
A. FLYING CLOUD AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION
Scott Gerber, Fire Chief for City of Eden Prairie and Staff Liaison for Flying Cloud Airport
Advisory Commission (FCAAC) began by introducing the commission members in
attendance; Vice Chair, Andy Kleinfehn; and Dan Dorson, Commission Chair and presenter
for the evening.
Dorson went through the current FCAAC Commissioners, including five citizen
representatives and two business representatives: one from the Metropolitan Airports
Commission (MAC) and another from Premier which operates out of Flying Cloud Airport
(FCM). Dorson also mentioned the six Student Commissioners who they keep engaged in
commission work.
A graphic created by MAC for Flying Cloud Airport was displayed which provided various
numerical datapoints that would be referenced throughout the presentation. Dorson
specifically pointed out the airport’s 131,593 annual flight operations which includes takeoffs
and landings. Dorson noted the historical and forecasted operations of FCM, pointing out that
while operations are trending gradually upward since 2014, it remains much lower than
annual aircraft operations in the early 2000s.
Mayor Case inquired what percent of the annual flight operations are completed by various
types of aircraft. Not in possession of those statistics at the time, City Manager Getschow
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February 7, 2023
Page 2
said that he would follow up with those numbers after the meeting. Discussion ensued about
types and times of operations that frequently prompt complaints from residents.
According to recent trends there has been a significant increase in operations in 2021 and
2022. While numbers have not increased to that of the early 2000s, this recent increase in
flight operations does validate the perceptions from FCM-neighboring residents who are
critical of airport noise.
In 2020, FCM noise complaints took a large leap, along with increased flight operations,
however the number of complaints has since dropped greatly while operations continue to
increase. Dorson showed a map that depicts the location and density of complaints localized
to the east and west of the airport, which lines up with the airport runways’ takeoff and
landing points.
Councilmember Nelson asked about the flight trainings which may drive complaints
primarily to the north of the airport. Dorson shared that the commission has talked to Flight
Training Operations to discuss not where they would perform their operations, but perhaps
moving where the do touch-and-go landings to areas like Glencoe or Buffalo, MN.
Narayanan inquired if the amount of carbon emissions is tracked, to which Dorson responded
that it is not. Discussion ensued regarding future use of electric planes and possibilities for
sustainable energy applications relating to FCM.
Dorson discussed the Long-Term Plan (LTP) for Flying Cloud Airport (FCM), which focuses
on a 20-year horizon, with intermediate goals at 5- and10-years. One goal of the LTP is to
enhance airport safety by adopting current federal and local airport safety regulations.
Another LTP objective of FCM is to preserve and improve operational capabilities for the
current family of aircraft using the airport by accounting for existing and future based aircraft
and operations. Lastly, FTM intends to promote financial sustainability of the MAC Reliever
Airport system by exploring revenue opportunities for aeronautical and non-aeronautical
development.
Dorson moved on to discuss the commission’s continued focus on night flights, being the
biggest issue for residents around the airport. In 2022, nighttime flights only accounted for
4% of all flights, and 20% of those were medical or public service. Dorson discussed the
volume of night operations by hour, noting the peak times of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.; and broke
down the top five aircraft receiving complaints, noting that each type is a twin-engine turbo-
prop, and four out of the top five are medical operators.
FCAAC Commissioners toured several airports in 2022 with plans for a 2023 airport tour in
the spring. Mayor Case expressed interest in himself and the rest of City Council attending
the 2023 airport tour.
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February 7, 2023
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Dorson outlined FCAAC’s goals for 2023, beginning with their plan to continue engaging
with constituent groups, including local pilots, airport businesses, and EP residents. The
commission plans to receive noise and environmental briefings from MAC, and receive
updates on apparent violations of the Ordinance No. 97 weight limit, and on the MAC efforts
to reduce noncompliant operations. Dorson also mentioned their plan to encourage airport
appearance improvement efforts, with a plan to continue to bring ideas to both MAC and the
City. Additionally, Dorson expressed the commission’s goal to monitor progress of the
MAC’s Long-Term Plan which experiences updates every five years, with a new planning
cycle underway.
Narayanan asked about building with noise-cancelling materials near the airport and the
options for noise-cancelling doors and windows for existing buildings in proximity to the
airport. Community Development Director Julie Klima explained that the City’s
development agreement states that any new development projects requires that appropriate
noise mitigation be part of the initial construction. Klima also clarified that there are products
on the market, like windows and insulation, that would help with noise mitigation for those
existing homes that may not have been part of that development agreement when they were
built.
Mayor Case concluded by pointing out that, while there is certainly a business perspective
that the City would represent, City Council appreciates FCAAC’s emphasis on representing
and advocating for the many residents who are impacted by the sound generated by the
airport.
B. SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION
Public Works Director Robert Ellis introduced Jennifer Fierce, Sustainability Coordinator for
the City and Staff Liaison for the Sustainability Commission (SC), and Aaron Poock, the
Commission Chair who would be presenting on behalf of the commission.
Poock began by going through the eleven commissioners, and specifically calling out the
student representatives for their enthusiastic involvement in the commission and their
excitement regarding sustainable initiatives.
Poock discussed the commission’s accomplishments in 2022 beginning with the highly
successful EV Ride and Drive. SC also participated in two drop off and one curbside
electronics recycling events to help residents properly recycle hard to recycle items.
Hennepin County hosted a Fix It Clinic at the Eden Prairie Community Center where 420
pounds of potential trash was diverted from the waste stream. The SC tabled at the first-ever
Eco Expo organized by the Ede Prairie Rotary Club and held at the Eden Prairie Community
Center. Poock also pointed to the Sustainable EP Awards for 2022; two energy awards, one
landscape and one waste.
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February 7, 2023
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The SC also initiated a variety of programs and learning opportunities including receiving
recognition for Steps 4 and 5 as a GreenStep City in 2022. The commission reviewed the
proposed Sustainable Building Standard and recommended adoption to the City Council, and
launched the ReACT program to help residents understand the solar potential of their homes
and additional sustainability steps they could take. Poock discussed SC’s continued
promotion of organics recycling and water conservation through rebate programs, and their
promotion of county-wide recycling programs like the zero waste challenge and plastic-fee
challenge.
A major goal of 2023 is to improve awareness and knowledge around residential building
electrification with the Electrify Everything MN Program Launch, in partnership with Edina,
St. Louis Park, and Minneapolis. Poock explained that this means helping residents leverage
the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) tax credits and rebates. The program consists of
educational workshops at each city; energy advisor service for residents; contractor training
and vetting; event tabling, social media, and other communications.
Another SC goal of 2023 revolves around Congressionally Directed Spending, for which a
joint request for federal earmark funds was made in partnership with Edina and St. Louis
Park, resulting in $1 Million being awarded to the cities for the project. The funding supports
comprehensive weatherization and electrification retrofits of six to ten existing income-
qualified homes across the three cities.
Poock discussed the plan to hold specific topic-based learning sessions for residents to share
knowledge on area of interest to them around sustainability, like energy efficiency, solar,
recycling and organics, and pollinator-friendly plantings. The goals of the sessions are to
encourage residents to take steps to reduce emissions, build community connections, and
engage and support a diverse resident base.
Poock explained while the green power purchase programs are one of the cheapest and
easiest ways for households to participate in wind source or renewable contract, only 6% of
households participated in 2021. Poock discussed the goal to initiate an awareness campaign
to challenge residents to participate, and inform residents of the relatively low cost of
participation.
Also in 2023, the commission will host their first garden tool swap in combination with the
garden compost promotion at Round Lake Park for Arbor Day.
Poock wrapped up the SC presentation mentioning the numerous ongoing programs and
promotions that will take place again in 2023, including implementation of the Climate
Action Plan.
City Council Workshop Minutes
February 7, 2023
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Open Podium - Council Chamber (6:30)
II. OPEN PODIUM
III. ADJOURNMENT