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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/26/2022 Environmental Board Minutes APPROVED MINUTES CITY OF LINO LAKES ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD MEETING I. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL: Mr. Sullivan called the Lino Lakes Environmental Board meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. on January 26, 2022. II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE III. SWEARING IN OF BOARD MEMBERS Mayor Rafferty swore in Mr. Parsons and Ms. Buchmeier. IV. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Mr. Sullivan stated to approve the Agenda as it stands. V. ELECTION OF CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR After voting the Chair and Vice Chair will remain the same. Chair will remain Mr. Sullivan. Ms. McNulty MOTIONED and Mr. Parsons seconded. Motioned passed 7 – 0. Vice Chair will remain Mr. Schwartz. Mr. Parsons MOTIONED and Ms. Holmes seconded. Motioned passed 7 – 0. DATE : January 26, 2022 TIME STARTED : 6:30 P.M. TIME ENDED : 7:27 P.M. MEMBERS PRESENT : John Sullivan, Lindsay Buchmeier, Cassie Cavegn, Shawn Holmes, Ella McNulty, Jonathan Parsons, Alex Schwartz MEMBERS ABSENT : None STAFF PRESENT : Andy Nelson, Phillip Davis Enivornmental Board January 26, 2022 Page 2 APPROVED MINUTES VI. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: January 4, 2022 Mr. Sullivan asked for approval of the January 4, 2022 minutes. Ms. Buchmeier MOTIONED to approve the minutes. Mr. Schwartz seconded the motion. Motion passed 7 – 0. VII. OPEN MIKE Mr. Sullivan declared Open Mike at 6:37 p.m. Open Mike declared closed at 6:37 p.m. VIII. DISCUSSION ITEMS A. Aquatic Invasive Species Program Overview – Jessica Leverty, Anoka County Mr. Nelson introduced Jessica Leverty from Anoka County. Ms. Leverty presented an overview of the Aquatic Invasive Species program with Anoka County. In the 2014 Session Law Chapter 308 enacted by the Legislature provides Minnesota counties a County Program Aid grant for Aquatic Invasive Species prevention. The amount designated for each county is based on the number of watercraft trailer launches as well as the number of watercraft trailer parking spaces within each county. The Anoka County aid allocation for 2022 was $134,400. This budget is used to pay for the inspectors and the coordinator. Main categories of the Anoka County AIS Prevention Aid Program include education and outreach events, watercraft inspection, prevention grant, monitoring and early detection. In 2021, there were 6 outreach events. Educational materials are given to bait stores, restaurants, bars, and pet stores. In 2019, there were 15 events. There were questions about how a violation is handled. Ms. Leverty stated that a violation is handled with a warning and education. The license plate number is also taken. They can be denied launch and if they launch anyway they can get a ticket. Questions on how inspections are done such as do they prioritize certain lakes or certain times for the inspectors and if violations are becoming more frequent. Ms. Leverty stated that the inspectors are usually an internship job and they work approximately 10 hours a day, including weekends and holidays. The lakes are ranked based on the violations from the previous year. Enivornmental Board January 26, 2022 Page 3 APPROVED MINUTES Ms. Leverty mentioned that there are a lot of new boaters, so there is a lot of education that is being provided. Zebra mussel spotting is done by volunteers. Aqua weed stick stations were installed at 5 boat launches in Anoka County. They were used over 1731 times, so the County is looking at expanding because they were used so often. Early weed detection and monitoring is also done by volunteers who are checking the lakes and beaches for weeds that are invasive. IX. UPDATES A. Recycling and SCORE Grant Updates Mr. Davis presented that at the last Saturday, January 15th, recycling day there were 120 participants recycling and 44 participants with paper shredding. The Recycling Ambassador Class will be held March to early April. Check out the Anoka County Recycling page for more information. There will not be a Fix-It Clinic, there were not enough volunteers. Score reimbursement for 2021 was $68,721.13 and this past July through December we are being reimbursed $37,889.39. Mr. Sullivan wanted to know what expenses are for the Saturday recycling event. Mr. Davis stated that the expenses for Saturday recycling cover the cost of All Appliance Disposal which runs the event and also 1st Choice Document Destruction that provides the paper shredding service. Also what the residents pay on Saturday goes to All Appliance Disposal which they use for the disposal of mattresses, etc. All Appliances accepts some materials that other vendors can’t process. Each Municipality has a recycling goal established by the County based on population. The tonnage goal for 2021 was 2,334 tons. We reached 95.47% of that goal which was 2,228.41 tons. Mr. Schwartz asked if there is data on COVID impacting tonnage numbers. Mr. Nelson will be reaching out to Anoka County for data on past goals and if we had meet them or not, and to learn what resources are available for increasing tonnage diverted from landfills. Enivornmental Board January 26, 2022 Page 4 APPROVED MINUTES Mr. Schwartz asked if data is collected on tonnage that goes to landfills. If so, it would be interesting to look at the ratio of diverted waste and waste that goes to landfills to determine if our numbers for tonnage are lower because waste is increasing, or if people are simply using less single-use products. Mr. Nelson stated that the license agreements with haulers require tonnage data be provided to the City for recycling, but not for solid waste. He stated that staff may look into waste numbers in the future if this data is accessible. Mr. Sullivan would like a copy of Mr. Davis’s presentation and maybe send them to the board as well. Mr. Parsons wanted to know if we get credit or another incentive for reaching tonnage goals. Mr. Nelson stated that there are neither incentives nor penalties tied to the goals. If a city is not reaching tonnage goals, the County will meet with the city to see how to improve their recycling program. Mr. Parsons wanted to know if market prices for recyclable good are ever published so that residents can make economically informed decisions about their recycling habits. He was curious if targeted economical marketing has been used in recycling outreach. Mr. Nelson responded that the City prints outreach material sent by Anoka County in all of the newsletters. More recycling and solid waste outreach content may be posted in the future. X. ADJOURNMENT Ms. Holmes made a MOTION to adjourn the meeting at 7:27p.m. Motion was seconded by Mr. Schwartz. Motion carried 7 - 0.