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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/26/2020 Env Board Packet CITY OF LINO LAKES ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD MEETING Wednesday, February 26, 2020 6:30 PM Please be courteous and turn off all electronic devices during the meeting. AGENDA 1. CALL TO ORDER 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: January 29, 2020 5. OPEN MIKE 6. DISCUSSION ITEMS A. Ash removals B. Heron Colony Work and February 28th Meeting C. Earth Day Preparations D. Recycling Updates E. Other Updates 7. ADJOURN DRAFT MINUTES CITY OF LINO LAKES ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD MEETING I. CALL TO ORDER: Mr. Sullivan called the Lino Lakes Environmental Board meeting to order at 6:31 p.m. on January 29, 2020. II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA V. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: November 20, 2019 Mr. Schwartz made a MOTION to approve the November 20, 2019 meeting minutes. Ms. Andrzejewski supported motion. Motion carried 4 - 0. VI. OPEN MIKE Mr. Sullivan declared Open Mike at 6:34 p.m. Mr. Sullivan closed Open Mike at 6:35 p.m. DATE : January 29, 2020 TIME STARTED : 06:31 P.M. TIME ENDED : 07:33 P.M. MEMBERS PRESENT : John Sullivan, Paula Andrzejewski, Eric Flower, Alex Schwartz MEMBERS ABSENT : Shawn Holmes, Liz Kaufenberg, Wendy Nelson STAFF PRESENT : Andy Nelson, Connor Kvendru, Michael Grochala Environmental Board January 29, 2020 Page 2 DRAFT MINUTES VII. ACTION ITEMS – A. Preliminary Plat for Nadeau Acres A preliminary plat land use application for Nadeau Acres. The proposed residential development is a 69 single-family lot subdivision located north of CSAH 34 (Birch St) and west of CSAH 54 (20th Ave). It contains two parcels totaling approximately 33 acres. The applicant is proposing an R-1, single-family residential development on standard 80 foot wide lots. The site is bounded by single-family homes on the north, east, south, and agricultural land to the west. The majority of the site is hayfield composed of alfalfa and other grasses. Potential for rare species is low due to site condition. An overhead electric utility corridor runs from the southwest to the northeast. The City Engineer is reviewing the submitted Stormwater management plan. The following general review is adapted from the December 6, 2019 Stormwater Management Plan. The stormwater on the site currently flows to three locations: the majority drains to a private ditch/wetland to the north of the site, the western part of the site drains to a private ditch to the northwest, and a small southern portion of the site drains to an existing culvert that runs along Birch Street. The proposed conditions will include three new ponds. Pond 100 in the northwest will collect water from the majority of the site and discharge to the private ditch to the west. Pond 200 will collect water from the south portion of the site and direct it to Pond 100. Pond 400 in the northeast will discharge to the existing ditch to the north. Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan has been submitted and will be reviewed with final construction plans. The site does not fall within the flood management zone. Wetland 1 is 0.05 acre of wet meadow. This wetland is proposed to be filled. Wetland 2 is 1.32 acres of partially drained wet meadow and scrub wetland. Southeast and southwest portion of this wetland totaling approximately 0.65 acre is proposed to be filled. Environmental Board January 29, 2020 Page 3 DRAFT MINUTES The development will involve permanent impact to a total of 0.7076 acre (30,826 sq.ft.) of wetland. These wetland impacts will be mitigated through the purchase of wetland bank credits coming from Wollan’s Park. New homes will be connected to City water. Existing private wells should be sealed and abandoned per Department of Health requirements. No stormwater infiltration is proposed on the site. It is imperative that the Tree Protection Zone be established and fence erected PRIOR to any construction activities taking place on site. Of the approximately 750 trees on site 497 are slated for removal and 253 are to be saved. Mr. Nelson stated that the standards for open area landscape calls for 1 large tree and 3 large shrubs per 2000 sq. ft. It is proposed that there should be within-block tree diversity in the development. The preliminary landscape plan calls for trees and shrubs planted on two separate berms. Staff would like to leave the existing plants in place. Mr. Schwartz inquired if there is a maintenance program for the plantings on the berms. Mr. Nelson read his recommendations to the proposed plan. Mr. Schwartz wanted to know if the berms will be on private property or in the right of way. Mr. Sullivan wanted to know about the drainage. Mr. Nelson mentioned that a Stormwater drainage system will be put in to handle the drainage. The storm water system will be put in public easement in the back of the lots. Mr. Schwartz wanted to know if the grass is going to be the kind that is more tolerant of dry conditions. Mr. Nelson we can mention that in the comments Ms. Andrzejewski made the MOTION to forward this plan with the board’s recommendations and comments. Mr. Flower supported the motion. Motion carried 4 - 0 VIII. DISCUSSION ITEMS A. EAB Discussion – Environmental Board January 29, 2020 Page 4 DRAFT MINUTES Mr. Nelson –Did not receive grant, which we would have used in the - Clearwater Creek area to remove 127 ash trees. Therefore, we would like to focus in that area to remove and replace as many as the budget allows. Feedback from the board to see what the cost of injection for the resident for their own trees. When Mr. Nelson goes out to inspect a tree on private property if he could give the resident information on companies that provide injections that would provide a service to residents. Ms. Andrzejewski believes this would be a good thing and help it become regulated. Mr. Flower wonders if the City would not become liable for the health of the tree if the injection were to fail. Mr. Nelson will look into the liability issues when he researches the companies. B. Recycling Updates Mr. Kvendru mentioned that in the second half of 2019: 1264 tons of that was 60 tons from Recycling Saturday 292 tons organic 2308 tons for the whole year did exceed our goal of 2240 tons. Fix It Clinic held this Saturday, February 1st at 1189 Main St from 10 – 1pm. Ms. Andrzejewski wanted to know if the event is well attended. Mr. Kvendru replied that Anoka County sponsors the event, they send out the postcards on the event to 10,000 households from to the surrounding area. C. Other Updates Wetland Bank - Our second wetland bank is the Otter Lake wetland Bank. It is 1.4 acres and state certified in 2012. It is on the east side of Otter Lake. Newsletter - Mr. Sullivan asked about the articles in the upcoming Newsletter Spring/Summer. Mr. Nelson mentioned there is a limit to the number of pages we can use and already there are articles on Arbor Day, Emerald Ash Borer, and a Stormwater article that is required. Mr. Sullivan said if there is room to put in “if in doubt throw it out” also the Anoka County apps. Environmental Board January 29, 2020 Page 5 DRAFT MINUTES Mr. Nelson stated if there is room, he would reach out to Sue Dahl to see if she has any ideas also. Mr. Schwartz mentioned if there was room, add to not put lawn clippings on the streets and keep them out of the storm water drains. Mr. Sullivan will try to get to the Earth Day meeting at Wargo. Herons - Mr. Nelson went out today and there are about 250 heron nests. Looking at either February 8 or 15 to go to the island with the volunteer group. Does not look like any chain saw work will be happening at this time. City Water - Mr. Flower wanted to know if our board should get involved with the manganese in the city water. Mr. Grochala suggested that the board should look at water conservation education. Right now, the city is using 450 million gallons of water out of the aquifers every year and 30 % is for irrigation. If we could conserve water, we could eliminate a well at the cost of 1.2 million dollars. Also, have a grant from the watershed district to convert all park irrigation to a smart app on phone. We believe we could save 4.5 million gallons a year. Ms. Andrzejewski would also like to educate residents with wells for they feel that the City cannot tell me what to do. The water all comes out of the same aquifers. Mr. Flower would like to add an article informing the residents about well cost, water treatment plant, and water conservation best tips. VIIII. ADJOURNMENT Ms. Andrzejewski made a MOTION to adjourn the meeting at 7:33 p.m. Mr. Flower supported motion. Motion carried 4 - 0. Respectfully submitted, Mary Fogarty City of Lino Lakes ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD AGENDA ITEM 6A STAFF ORIGINATOR: Andy Nelson MEETING DATE: February 26th, 2020 REQUEST: Discussion Only. TOPIC: EAB/Ash Removals Update BACKGROUND: The city response to EAB includes removals of boulevard ash trees, replacement of these trees with a diverse mix of species, and insecticide injections that will allow us to stagger removals over time. In keeping with this strategy, removals of 21 boulevard ash trees on Clearwater Creek Drive have begun. The removals are being completed by a contractor and a Public Works crew to maximize the number of trees that we can remove and replace. Replacement trees will be planted either this spring or fall, depending on plant availability. We are still in the process of reviewing options for private ash injections. ENVIRONMENTAL DIRECTION: None Required. Discussion only. ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD AGENDA ITEM 6B STAFF ORIGINATOR: Andy Nelson MEETING DATE: February 26th, 2020 REQUEST: Discussion Only. TOPIC: Peltier Herons BACKGROUND: On February 8th, six volunteers headed out to Peltier Island to assist the great blue herons. The work consisted of repairing and replacing the metal flashing that is used to limit raccoon access to young herons. An inventory of the rookery counted 352 nests, which is very close to numbers from 2017-2018. We are having a meeting for heron volunteers at Lino Lakes City Hall, meeting room #2 on February 28th, 2020 from 2-3 PM. At this meeting we’ll discuss future strategies for aiding the rookery which may include tree plantings to replace ash, and potentially modifying the use of flashing. Wayne LeBlanc has been preparing excellent reports on the Peltier herons for many years. His report for this year’s work is included in tonight’s packet. The ongoing recovery of this colony has been due to the dedication of many committed, long- term volunteers, as well as continued support from Marty Asleson and Anoka County staff. ENVIRONMENTAL DIRECTION: None Required. Discussion only. Peltier Lake Heron/Egret Report, Feb 8, 2020 At about 5f, cold temps, 6 volunteers worked, Feb 8, 2020, on Peltier Island to help protect Great Blue Heron and Great Egret nests from possible predators. The birds appear to have had a good year in summer 2019. Andy Nelson, the new Lino Lakes Environmental Coordinator, organized the effort and has replaced retiring Marty Asleson. Thanks, Marty, for all your service over the years! MANY THANKS to the Lino Lakes Environmental team, Anoka Parks, and all the volunteers! Feb 8: Wayne LeBlanc, Marty Asleson, Tere O'Connell, Andy Nelson, Paula Andrzejewski, Tom Andrzejewski The Feb 8 picture (left) in the middle of the colony shows the density of the heron and great egret nests. Metal flashing on about 8 trees was repaired. Many trees are not flashed as the birds have expanded their range. Those unflashed trees seem to be productive for the birds and perhaps the tree trunk metal flashing effort can be reduced as the birds work toward previous numbers. A concern is that the cylindrical shaped metal flashing around the trunks of the trees may be trapping moisture and dirt and rotting the bark which might be girdling the tree. A picture later shows 2 huge trunks and trees down which looks suspicious. Perhaps some of the flashing needs to be moved up or down or a conical shape protection might avoid that side effect. The ash trees may be doomed to EAB anyway so those probabaly don’t matter. For 2 years, new trees were planted to replace ash. On Jan 20, 2018, an accurate time consuming nest count with a new tree tag convention found 342 nests. A nest count for Feb 10, 2019 was estimated at 350+ nests. On Feb 8, 2020,a line of 6 people walked north to south and counted 352 nests. These are all good numbers and the colony looks healthy. The chart below shows an encouraging trend! Three protections need to continue to encourage continued improvement: 1) The No-Wake Zone established by Anoka Parks, the city of Lino Lakes, the city of Centerville, the DNR and others is doing its job keeping disturbing high speed boat traffic away from the nesting birds. This zone not only protects birds, it also protects sensitive aquatic plants and shallow sediments in the north part of the lake. Even if the herons left, this No-Wake Zone is required! In 1998, a heavily used slalom waterski course was installed right next to the heron colony on the north side of the island where nobody ever did boating and where nests were concentrated. The nest count immediately plummeted from 1,149 to 550, more than half gone in 1 season. The black-crowned night herons totally vanished the same year the ski course was installed. The black-crowned night herons have never returned (1998 to 2019). With great concern, an informal agreement was supposed to keep the high speed ski traffic away (note the nest count recovered from 550 to 700) until 2000, when the heavily used, loud and disturbing slalom waterski course returned and this time, removal was blatantly refused. Hundreds of thousands of square feet of native aquatic plants were destroyed. Formal and final protection was finally established after 4 years of gut wrenching work, in 2004 with a No-Wake Zone, but the heron colony was so reduced in numbers that predators became the dominant force. (Nest counts went from 700 to 36.) If this heron colony and sensitive environment is to be safeguarded, high speed boating must not occur near the island. This lesson must be remembered. All the black-crowned night herons abandoned the island in one year, and 21 years later, not one has returned. Native aquatic plants in the area took 15 years to partially recover. The 4 no-wake zone buoys are damaged and should probably be replaced. 2) In 2004, in a University study, Andy Von Duyke found raccoons to be a cause of predation. He recommended metal flashing on nesting trees to reduce predation from raccoons and possibly opossum. For many years, a team of people has maintained metal tree flashing on nesting trees as needed. 3) Signs posted around the island help keep people off the island so nesting birds of all kinds are free of human disturbance. Great blue herons are finicky & spooked when people are around. People must keep their distance. Because Emerald Ash Borer may kill the ash, 12 new trees were planted Sep 15, 2018, 5 more Sep 14, 2019. Perhaps someday, the metal tree flashing could be phased out. Unprotected trees seem viable. Let’s hope the Herons and Egrets and other birds and wildlife have better and better years on Peltier Island. Wayne LeBlanc, wayneleblanc@comcast.com. Also see www.PeltierLake.Org “Rookery Blues,” Minnesota Conservation Volunteer: https://webapps8.dnr.state.mn.us/volunteer_index/past_issues/article_pdf?id=2111 11495506207005503003101863641425863471252532032292243063423503520 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 199619971998 199920002001 2002 200320042005 2006 200720082009 2010 201120122013 201420152016 2017 20182019Number of NestsGreat Blue Heron/Egret Nest Count, Feb 8, 2020 Tom, Andy repairing metal flashing. Paula viewing tree trunk bark of concern. Multiple trees down. Andy with multiple trees down. Multiple trees down. Tree trunk bark concern on tree #1843