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Conservation Commission - 12/11/2007 APPROVED MINUTES CONSERVATION COMMISSION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2007 7:00 PM, CITY CENTER Prairie Room 8080 Mitchell Road COMMISSION MEMBERS: Eapen Chacko (Chair), Ray Daniels, Laura Jester, Sean Katof, Rita Krocak, Geneva MacMillan, Jan Mo sman STUDENT MEMBERS: Marie Loeffelholz, James (JP) Maslyn, Ann Wachutka STAFF: Leslie A. Stovring, Staff Liaison Jan Curielli, Recording Secretary I. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Vice Chair Jester called the meeting to order at 7:02 PM. Chair Chacko and Commissioner Krocak were absent. Commissioner Mosman arrived late. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Stovring added Item IV.B. Goose Management Summary, Item VIII.A. Chair's Report on Interim Activities, Item IX.A Presentation of Commendation of Conservation by City Council and Item IX.B Pax Christi Environmental Expo. Daniels added Items V.A. Beyond Oil: The View from Hubbert's Peak and V.B. Letter to Editor on Global Warming in Star Tribune. MacMillan added Item V.C. Rain Barrels. MOTION: Jester moved, seconded by Katof, to approve the agenda as amended. Motion carried 4-0. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. November 13, 2007 MOTION: Daniels moved, seconded by Macmillan, to approve the minutes of the November 13, 2007 meeting as published. Motion carried 3-1-0 with Katof abstaining. IV. REPORTS FROM STAFF A. Yard & Garden Expo/Chamber of Commerce Stovring said we can have two speakers and five or six booths at the 2008 Yard & Garden Expo. One of the booths would be for the Conservation Commission. She has made arrangements for a booth for Art Start,but that would not count against our Conservation Commission Minutes December 11, 2007 Page 2 allocation. She is thinking about having a speaker on Rain Gardens and will order the "Blue Thumb Guide to Rain Gardens" book to hand out. Jester asked if the books would be given away free. Stovring said she has not decided because the cost of each is $10.50. Daniels asked if we could discount the price. Stovring said if we decide to charge it would be at cost. Stovring said she was not sure about the second speaker, possibly someone in home landscape, home design or energy savings during remodeling. Jester thought the energy savings during remodeling was a great idea and suggested we contact Fresh Energy. Daniels suggested contacting the State Commerce Commission since they develop standards for building residential buildings. Stovring said that would be okay as long as we are looking at remodeling, not new homes. Stovring thought the Commerce Department would be a good one to have a booth and asked Daniels to mention that when he calls about the speaker. Daniels suggested contacting the DNR and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Stovring said she has several contacts there and she could also call the Watershed Districts. She noted we need to get the word out about the expo. Jester asked if she will continue getting the booths nailed down. Stovring said she will. Jester asked the time allotted for the speakers. Stovring said it will be 40 minutes, and the show goes from 9:00 to 3:00 on March 8. Daniels asked the size of the booths. Stovring said it is an 8X10 foot space. Jester asked if it comes with a table. Stovring said it does as far as she knows. Jester asked if there is any kind of backdrop. Stovring said she would have to check. Jester asked if the City has any of the folding displays. Stovring said we have one. Jester asked if Ms Stovring had anything in mind for the Commission's table. Stovring replied we have handouts and brochures that could be used. Last year the Commission did put something together, but she didn't know what was still available. Daniels said he has things to add. MacMillan suggested we get together and see what we have. Jester asked if there is anything we should avoid. Stovring said it should fit with the theme of the Commission. Jester suggested that everyone bring their materials to the next meeting and we can go through them. MacMillan asked about the rubber ducky DVD. Stovring said we have a DVD and could run that at the booth. Katof asked if the CFL light bulbs could be part of the home remodeling theme. Jester thought they definitely could. Jester suggested having a sign up sheet to man the booth at the next meeting. Daniels asked if the event is on a Saturday. Stovring said it is. Katof noted Xcel has home energy audits and we could have that as a backup for the other speaker. Jester noted she recently had an energy audit from Xcel, and the person who did the audit was very knowledgeable. She will see if she has the Conservation Commission Minutes December 11, 2007 Page 3 information from that so we could contact him. Stovring noted we might be able to provide a small stipend for the speakers. B. Goose Management Plan and Tally Stovring distributed a summary of the tally for this year's goose roundup. She noted it was pretty much the same as last year, with slightly over 500 geese rounded up. She said they added a couple of new spots including Starkey Labs and the pond at Crosstown Circle. Jester asked how the roundup is done. Stovring said it is done in June when the geese are molting. The geese are herded into nets, collected in a humane way and taken to the food shelves. She noted the cost went up slightly this year because they had more juveniles and are typically farmed until adult size. She said she has the final draft of the Goose Management Plan, including a technical version and a mini version. She stated that Dr. Cooper asked that we not place his name on the shorter version if that is used. Jester asked if we have been operating the program without a Goose Management Plan. Stovring said no we have not and that the report will formalize our plan and set out new educational initiatives. It will help reduce the need for some of the management. Jester asked if this will be part of the Lake and Pond Workshop. Stovring said it will. C. Commendation for Conservation Stovring said the two awards will be given out at next Tuesday's City Council meeting. Jester asked who the recipients are. Stovring said they are Dave Jellison from Liberty Property Trust and Jim Nehl from the Mitchell Lake Association. Jester asked what type of award it is. Stovring showed the plaques that will be given to the recipients. She said both recipients have been invited to the Council meeting. Jester asked if the awards will be given every year. Stovring said this is the first year and she hopes we will get some press on it so it can continue. V. REPORTS FROM COMMISSION MEMBERS A. Daniels -Beyond Oil: The View from Hubbert's Peak Daniels said he recently read the book, Beyond Oil, by Kenneth Deffeyes. He said the book includes a lot of detail about Hubbert's Peak and a lot of information about all the different fossil fuels and the use of hydrogen as fuel. He noted it is an excellent background book. B. Daniels—Letter to Editor on Global Warming in Star Tribune Daniels said there was a letter to the editor in the West Metro section of the Star Tribune recently opposed to the idea of global warming because carbon dioxide is only a tiny fraction of the atmosphere so there is no need to worry about increased Conservation Commission Minutes December 11, 2007 Page 4 levels. Daniels noted that idea is incorrect because carbon dioxide is the component that holds heat right now and any increase in carbon dioxide would result in retaining more heat. C. MacMillan—Rain Barrels MacMillan said she has been contacted by someone who makes rain barrels for use by homeowners for irrigation supplementation. She thought this would be a very easy way for homeowners to conserve water. She suggested the person who contacted her come and talk to the Commission about it, and we could see what we thought we might be able to do to spread the word. She said he uses a 55 gallon food-grade barrel with a spigot on the bottom of the barrel. The rain barrels help reduce runoff, are great for watering gardens and for washing cars, and are relevant to what we are concerned about. Jester said she uses one and it helps lessen the amount of storm water that goes down the drain. Dakota County is currently trying to promote the use of rain barrels. She asked if we know of other cities that promote them. Stovring said there is a restriction in that we can't promote a particular brand of rain barrel and would have to set up a bidding process if it is promoted by the City. There are some cities that have an educational program on how to make one but they don't sponsor a brand. She thought we could have a workshop on how to build one and we might want to talk to Hennepin County to see if they have any suggestions. Jester asked if that would be Mary Karius at Hennepin County, and Stovring agreed that it probably is. Stovring thought the use of rain barrels in general might be something the commission could promote at the Yard & Garden Expo. MacMillan asked if we would want them to have a booth. Stovring said they could but would have to register and pay for the space through the Chamber of Commerce. Daniels asked if we could put information out about someone who sells them. Stovring said the commission could provide a list of those who sell them. Daniels then asked if we could have a link to a private website. Stovring said it would depend on who owns the website and how it is managed, for example if Hennepin County has a link we could provide that. MacMillan said her contact told her the EPA has a fact sheet on rain barrels and we could refer to that. Jester asked about contacting Hennepin County. MacMillan said she will do that. MacMillan asked if she should invite her contact to come and speak to the commission. Stovring said January or February would likely work and asked Ms MacMillan to check on his availability. VI. OLD BUSINESS A. Work Plan for 2008 Stovring asked if there were any comments on the work plan. She said it will be sent to the City Council at their second meeting in January, which should also probably Conservation Commission Minutes December 11, 2007 Page 5 be the meeting where we have our presentation. This would be the last chance to comment on the work plan. Jester said she has no further comments and asked about the deadline for comments. Stovring said she would need to have any comments by the end of the month. VII. NEW BUSINESS VIII. INFORMATIONAL MATERIALS /HANDOUTS/COMMUNICATIONS A. Chair's Report on Interim Activities Jester asked about Chacko's suggestion that Lakewinds Natural Foods have a booth at the Yard & Garden Expo. Stovring said it is intended for agencies and other groups, not for private business,but we could get them the information. MacMillan asked how the energy pledge information is coming. Katof said it was in the low 20's when he checked recently. He thought people may just not be pledging through the dedicated web site and are just changing bulbs. MacMillan recommended the book The Better World Shopping Guide as a handbook. It can be ordered thought Barnes & Noble. Jester recommended Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. She thought a farmers market would be a way to promote the concepts expressed in the book. Daniels said his church decided to do a business energy audit and found out that the fireplace flue was locked open. They also looked at using CFL bulbs wherever they could. MacMillan thought there are many lights in parking garages and that would be a good place to replace bulbs. Stovring said the City is switching their traffic lights to LED and that is a good example for others. IX. UPCOMING EVENTS A. Presentation of Commendation of Conservation by City Council—December 18, 2007 Stovring reminded Commissioners of the Commendation for Conservation awards at the Council meeting next Tuesday, December 18, 2007. B. Pax Christi Environmental Expo—Sunday,January 20, 2008 Stovring said Chacko has agreed to staff the booth at Pax Christi's Expo on Sunday, January 20, along with other Commissioners who might want to help. She thought we should review materials for the booth when we bring the other materials next month. Conservation Commission Minutes December 11, 2007 Page 6 C. Presentation at City Council—January 22, 2007 (potential) Stovring said Chacko will present the update and other Commissioners are welcome to attend the meeting. Mosman arrived at 7:55 PM. D. Yard & Garden Expo—March 8, 2008 Jester asked when the Living Green Expo will be held. Stovring said it will be April or May of 2008. Jester asked if there will be information about the expo on the City website. Stovring said she could put it up as we get closer to the event. MacMillan said we have an excellent opportunity to help our student members learn about conservation, ecology and the environment and she would like to hear what they are learning and how they have used what they learned. Jester thought that would be a good topic for a future meeting. X. NEXT MEETING A. January 8, 2008 X. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: MacMillan moved, seconded by Daniels, to adjourn. Motion carried 5-0. Vice Chair Jester adjourned the meeting at 8:05 PM.