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Conservation Commission - 02/09/2010 APPROVED MINUTES CONSERVATION COMMISSION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2010 7:00 PM, CITY CENTER Prairie Room 8080 Mitchell Road COMMISSION MEMBERS: Laura Jester(Chair), Sue Brown, Ray Daniels, Ravi Jaiswal, Geneva MacMillan, Greg Olson STAFF: Regina Herron, Staff Liaison Jan Curielli, Recording Secretary STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES: Gretchen Askew, Julia Wang, Michele Wu I. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Chair Jester called the meeting to order at 7:05 PM. Jaiswal, Askew, Wang and Wu were absent. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Jester added Item IV.B. Distribution of 2009 Annual Report and 2010 Work Plan. Daniels added Item XII.C. February 28, 2010—EcoFair at Pax Christi. Olson added Item VI.A. Speaker on Rains!ardens. MOTION: Olson moved, seconded by MacMillan, to approve the agenda as amended. Motion carried 4-0. III. MINUTES Jester asked if the Commission's motion at the last meeting to approve the November minutes was okay with Kitty Porta. Herron said it was. A. Minutes for the January 12, 2010 meeting MOTION: Olson moved, seconded by Daniels, to approve the minutes of the January 12, 2010 meeting as published. Motion carried 5-0. IV. REPORTS FROM STAFF A. Commercial Recycling Initiative Code Amendment—Update Herron said Vice Chair Trebil resigned from the Commission. Herron said this item is at the City Attorney's office but they will have their version of the ordinance ready in the next couple of days so it can be brought back to the Conservation Commission in March. That would mean it would be available for the Conservation Commission February 9, 2010 Page 2 Planning Commission at their March 22 meeting. Ms Stovring and she are scheduled to give a 5-10 minute presentation about the ordinance amendment to the Business Development Committee for the Chamber of Commerce on March 16 at 7:30 AM. Jester asked what will happen at the March 22 Planning Commission meeting. Herron said they are the recommending body to the City Council and will make a recommendation to approve, modify, or deny the ordinance change. She said if they recommend approval it would be ready to go to the City Council at their April 20 meeting. B. Distribution of 2009 Annual Report and 2010 Work Plan Herron said the documents can be included in the Friday report the City Manager distributes to Department Directors and the City Council, or the Commission could make a formal submittal to the City Council. She said the ordinance is posted on the Conservation Commission's page on the website. The Commission discussed whether to make a formal submittal to the Council or to include it in the weekly packet. The consensus was to include it in the weekly report. Brown noted there was a typo in the first item for March on the 2010 Goals-Work Plan. It should be "Receive a report ...." V. REPORTS FROM CHAIR Jester noted there are a few things remaining from the last meeting, including checking with Ms Stovring on the Environmental Times and also the Lake Monitoring Report. VI. REPORTS FROM COMMISSION MEMBERS A. Speaker on Rains!ardens--Olson Olson said he had a conversation with an individual who works for the City of Plymouth who said they have a fairly well developed program for installing raingardens in their city. They install them as they redo residential and commercial streets, and they like to get one every five miles or so. They approach various property owners and tell them the benefits of raingardens. They will put in the raingardens for the property owners and maintain them for the first two years. After that time they have the right to charge if the city continues to do the maintenance. The individual he talked to would be available to attend our March or April meeting to tell us more about their program. He thought it would be good to have someone come in and tell us how they got it going so we can get things moving in Eden Prairie. Jester noted the name of the individual may be in the January Commission minutes. She asked if Eden Prairie is starting to move towards this. Herron said raingardens are one of the infiltration items for development and redevelopment; however, we Conservation Commission February 9, 2010 Page 3 have not worked with private owners, and she did not know if that is something that is being looked at. She said it would be up to Gene Dietz and Leslie Stovring, and she was not sure what our resources are. Jester said a few years ago when the streets were redone in her neighborhood she advocated for raingardens,but she thought the concept was too new at the time so it wasn't considered. She said they were assessed when the street was redone, and neighborhoods get redone all the time. Olson said the City has a capital fund that is added to each year. Jester suggested we might get the speaker from Plymouth and Gene Dietz to attend the same meeting. Herron noted we are scheduled for our joint Planning Commission meeting in April, so that might be a good time. Jester asked if the joint meeting will be on the Planning Commission meeting night or on ours. Herron said she was not sure,but the Planning Commission meets on April 12 and 26 and we meet on April 13. She said right now there are no items planned for the Planning Commission's April meeting so she will talk to the City Planner about dates. Jester suggested the meeting include discussion of raingardens and porous pavers. Olson said he would need to know the date before getting back to the individual from Plymouth. Herron said she will get back to him when she gets the information. Jester said raingardens are working well in a lot of places, and a study found they perform very well in the winter if they are installed correctly. Daniels asked how far they are placed from the driveway. Jester said they are put where the water would seep into the ground. There is a lot of design that goes into them. Olson said he also had a conversation with people at the MPCA regarding the landfill. He said the big question he had was how often they monitor the Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). The individual at the MPCA reiterated their 2006 report that said the VOCs are declining because they are flaring off the methane. They take readings every three to four months, and anyone can call the MPCA to get the most recent reading. They feel it is a problem that is going away. He said they want to put a new cap over the surface of the landfill so the rain water can't go into the lower areas. MacMillan asked how the gas is flared off. Olson said there are conduits for the gas to come up, and they have devices to flare it off. Daniels asked if they have ruled out capturing the methane for commercial use. Olson said he did not inquire about using the gas for other purposes. Jester noted she will be attending the Lower Minnesota Watershed District meeting next week. VII. REPORTS FROM STUDENTS VIII. CONTINUING BUSINESS Conservation Commission February 9, 2010 Page 4 A. Eden Prairie Home, Landscape and Garden Expo Jester asked if there are any final plans. Herron said she didn't have any additional information. Jester said she thought we were to have the speakers finalized by now. Herron said there is a list available through the Chamber. Jester asked if we got any of our speakers on the list. Herron said there was a lawn care specialist,but not the one we suggested. Brown said she noticed there was a commercial firm that does green lawn care on the list. Jester noted it seems like this year we recommended a list of speakers and they chose others instead. Herron said it could be based on the speakers' availability. Daniels said it would be nice to have a more professional looking exhibit and asked if there was any money for that. Herron said she could check with Ms Stovring to see if she has anything in the educational fund. Jester asked Mr. Daniels what he was thinking about if there were funding available. Daniels said it would be good to have different backgrounds. We are going to Pax Christi and other places with our exhibit, and he thought we should upgrade it to look more professional. Jester said she could borrow one from her workplace for recycling. She asked Ms Herron to check with Ms Stovring about funds for an upgrade to the exhibit. Jester noted we still have two booths for the Commission at the Expo on March 20. We can discuss it more at our March meeting. Brown said she can help all day if needed. Jester noted we sometimes set up the evening before. IX. NEW BUSINESS A. Website Discussion Herron said at the last meeting Joyce Lorenz gave a presentation on what the Communications Division does. Ms Lorenz' focus was on the website, and they made some minor changes to the website after the meeting. She said they updated some items and added the 2009 report and the 2010 goals. She asked if the Commission members had anything else to add or change on the website. Olson asked what files we reference on the commission's page. Herron displayed the Commission's page with the list of files. Daniels asked if we could have more than one page. Herron said there are separate documents with links within the document. We could list the different links on the Conservation Commission page and have files or links that branch off the page. MacMillan asked where our approved minutes are kept on the website. Herron said they are listed under City Documents. Olson thought it would be worthwhile for Commission members to contribute to what is on the website, and that is something we should work towards. He thought Conservation Commission February 9, 2010 Page 5 we need to get more familiar with what is out there and see what we can add to that since part of our function is outreach to the community. Jester was not sure it would be worth spending a lot of time on the Commission's page. If we have workshops or things going on, there is someplace else on the website that has calendars. Herron said the home page gets current upcoming events, and if you subscribe to the Conservation Commission page you would get notice of changes to that page. Jester noted if there is an issue we are working on and find a document that may be of interest, it could go on there. Overall, she thought the website is underutilized. Daniels asked if we could put up PowerPoint presentations because of the audio capabilities. Jester said she didn't know if that was possible. Brown asked if the Communications Division could create graphics for the display Ms Jester has. Herron said she would have to check on that. Brown said if Mr. Daniels thinks we need to upgrade the look of the exhibit and their job is to do that type of work for the City, it would make sense to have them create nice backgrounds for us. Herron thought we would need to have a specific idea they could work with. Jester said we represent the City when we are using the exhibit at an event. She thought it is hard for anyone to identify our exhibit with the City since we don't even have the City logo on it. Herron said she will bring that up with Scott Neal. Brown thought we could have some photographs laminated. It should reflect how the Commission wants to be presented. She didn't think there was any reason why we should have to put together our own materials. She said we could supply the specific material and tell them what we wanted. Jester said she thought this is a really good idea,but the City does not necessarily tell us to go out and do these events. Brown said our charter says we are to do education in the community. We want nice graphics, and we want to represent why we are there whether for recycling, raingardens or other reasons. Jester said she agreed, but she didn't know how much of the City resources we will be able to use. Brown said stock photos are cheap these days, and we could ask them to use their time to put together a design. Jester thought it is something to discuss but we didn't talk about that when Ms Lorenz was here. Herron noted Ms Lorenz said to come to her with ideas, so we need to put something on paper and they will work with it. Jester said she will get together with Ms Brown and discuss ideas, and Ms Herron can discuss it with Mr. Neal. Brown asked if we would have to have articles approved if we put them on the website. Herron said the Communications Division would filter anything. Brown said we have the links page and could have current news links to refer to things like articles in the National Geographic and other publications. She thought we should be able to give people articles that come from reliable resources. Conservation Commission February 9, 2010 Page 6 Olson said he thought we may need to take a more active role in what goes out on the Commission's page. MacMillan asked if we would have to get approval from National Geographic if we did that. Brown said we wouldn't if we just link to their website. Olson thought we need an overall philosophy of what kinds of articles we want out there. Brown thought it would be what we are talking about in our work plan. Jester said she could see us putting up current news with a new article each month. Brown said she didn't know that there is a specific number to put out every month but there are a lot of things going on. MacMillan said she has sent items of interest to Ms Herron and she decides how those will be distributed. Her aim was to get the Commission members involved,but that is the kind of thing we could use the website for. Daniels said he would like to have the website displayed at each Commission meeting. The Commission took a break at 8:05 PM and returned at 8:10 PM. Jester suggested Ms Herron asked Ms Stovring or Mr. Neal about getting a small operating fund or possibly raising our own funds. Olson asked what other commissions do. Jester thought the Historical Preservation Commission or the Arts & Culture Commission may have their own funds. Daniels noted the Human Rights & Diversity Commission puts on a couple of events. Regarding the website, Jester thought it would be good to remove the list of commissions on the Conservation Commission page, similar to what is done for the Planning Commission's page. We could then move the list of files up or even add a current news article in that space. It would be up to the Commission Members to determine what the article would be. She thought the articles should be more related to our areas. Olson thought it would be worthwhile to have a philosophical discussion around the idea of what we want to put out there. Brown thought it fits with the idea we are to educate people, and we might want to send out a list of possibilities each month. Jester thought we should keep it relatively short and not cluttered and suggested we discuss this at another meeting. She asked Ms Brown to look into what commissions in other cities are doing. Brown thought if we concentrate on a specific area, then it becomes more governmental. Daniels thought there is room for issues regarding Eden Prairie and also for broader issues. People are getting all kinds of information, and he thought they should have some place to come where topics are researched. Herron thought it is important to stay along the lines of the mission and focus of the Commission. Olson thought we don't want to duplicate what some other entity is doing and we could direct people to those entities. Brown said she was not saying we should cut and paste information,but rather just direct people to other websites. She Conservation Commission February 9, 2010 Page 7 was also concerned about giving the impression that we are promoting global warming. Jester thought this is a topic to discuss further in March and April. B. Create a Strate2y to Begin Porous Paver Research Jester said Ms Herron forwarded information that showed the Planning Commission's discussion about porous pavers. She thought their action was to direct staff to do research on porous pavers in order to go back and amend the ordinance. Herron said the research has not yet been done because the resources and time have not been available. Herron said the City code states you can have concrete or blacktop for driveways, and the question came up from residents regarding the use of pavers instead of concrete. She said we have allowed it but have been getting more questions and complaints, so it came to the point where we thought we needed to structure the ordinance to include pavers as an option. It was brought to the Planning Commission as a proposed ordinance change, and the question came up regarding the use of porous pavers. Staff was directed to look at including porous pavers on the list of approved materials. Brown asked why this is a Conservation Commission issue. Jester said they allow infiltration. Daniels asked what the pavers are made of. Jester said they are brick. Jester asked about the motion made by the Planning Commission to recommend approval of the code amendment. Herron said it has been tabled for now because staff has not started the research. She said they would like the Conservation Commission to research it to see if this is something we want to add to the ordinance. The City of Excelsior is making changes to their code to allow use of pavers. Olson thought it would have to be a joint effort by the Commission members because no one has all the time required for the research. Daniels thought we could find information on some websites. MacMillan said we might find some local communities that are thinking about it. Jester noted there are permeable pavers and permeable grass pavers. She said permeable grass pavers have been put in parking areas that are not used very often. She has done some research on this and has some contacts that could provide information. Olson said he would be happy to help with this. Brown was not sure what the Planning Commission needs in order to know enough about it. Jester thought we would need to know how porous pavers work and how other cities in Minnesota are using them. She suggested Mr. Olson contact Excelsior, Chanhassen, Chaska or Carver County as to their use of pavers and what their codes say regarding surfacing of driveways. Daniels noted the Arboretum uses porous pavers. He said he will check with the arboretum about their use and also do some research in their library. Conservation Commission February 9, 2010 Page 8 C. Create a Strategy to Begin Best Practices Review: Conservation Practices of Commercial-Industrial Properties in Eden Prairie Jester thought this is too much to bite off right now, and she would like to table this issue. It is a huge topic, and she thought we have enough to do without it. D. Finalize Plans for Home, Landscape & Garden Expo (speaker and booth) Jester noted this was already discussed under Item VIII.A. E. Upcoming City Projects and Development—Project Profile Herron said there are no new items on the Project Profile this month, but she did include a copy in the packet. She said she will be more conscious of not using the most current version of Microsoft Word since several of the Commission members were not able to open the document. X. UPCOMING EVENTS A. March 9, 2010—City Council Joint Meeting with Lower Minnesota Watershed District: Riverbank Erosion B. March 20, 2010—Eden Prairie Home, Landscape and Garden Expo C. February 28, 2010—EcoFair at Pax Christi XI. NEXT MEETING A. Tuesday, February 9, 2010 XII. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Daniels moved, seconded by MacMillan, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 5-0. Chair Jester adjourned the meeting at 8:45 PM.