02-05-09 Council Workshop Minutes

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MINUTES CITY COUNCIL FEBRUARY 5, 2009 Planner has discussed the Met Council's estimates with them and they are in agreement with reducing their numbers. He explained that the Met Council had projected a 30% increase in population, where in reality it is closer to a projected 5% increase as the city is currently 97% populated. Sanders indicated he would use the new population numbers to be supplied by the City Planner. The City Administrator suggested that under the Collaboration with Other Entities section, we should include the St. Paul Regional Water System and the Litfle Canada Historical Society. Ramsey County and Xcel Energy have provided land for park and/or trail usage. Sanders went on to explain that the city is divided by major freeways. Most of the major parks are located on the east side of 35E. The city has added additional parks in recent years to the west side of the freeway. These include Nadeau Wildlife Area, Rondeau Park, and Round Lake Park. Sanders stated one of the major focus issues is to continue to build trails to connect all sections of the city and adjoining cities. The City Administrator suggested including on page 2-6 under #3 with Opportunities that it include a reference to the City's recent adoption of zoning and subdivision regulations that have strengthened our environmental standards. Sanders read and stressed the six point vision for the park system. Under Chapter 3 the City Administrator recommended the wording for Goal 1 be corrected to read as follows: The Little Canada park system will reasonably provide services, programs, and facilities for all residents. Under Goal 2, the City Administrator recommended referencing the Little Canada Historical Society in preserving the history of Litfle Canada. On Goa13, Policy 3.b, the City Administrator expressed concern with the intent and definition of the wording. As this policy references the reduced consumption of fossil fuels and chemicals, he was concerned how we could measure success. He also noted that we do use chemicals in our parks to eliminate weeds and cost effectiveness of treatment should be a factor. The wording should be revised to say we will strive to reduce fossil fuel and chemical usage and seek to purchase more "green" products after evaluating costs. He also recommended removing the word "most" on Goa16 and adding "when appropriate" to the end of Policy 6.b. The Ramsey-Washington County Metro Watershed District should be included in Goal 7 as the educational provider as suggested by McGraw. In reference to the collaboration with other cities, Mayor Blesener reported that he will be meeting with the Little Canada Elementary School Principal Scott Allen to talk about future goals. The City Administrator recommended adding "reasonably" in front of accommodate to Goal 9.a. and McGraw recommended the same for Goa19.b. Sanders continued with Chapter 3 by illustrating the many park and recreational areas on the city map display. He stated that the map includes the schools and county parks. He said there are 108 acres of land dedicated to the parks system within the city with 50 acres of park usage associated with the schools..