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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/27/2002 Environmental Board MinutesENVIRONMENTAL BOARD MEETING te 4s -. c.imeit5t-44, -c, Ate ' INS 1 ' WiVilTgPtIAN,„aaR.43,AraiVSS'W r CALL TO ORDER _17 CITY OF LINO LAKES DRAFT MINUTES s o ,„A-- Gnu 4,anulmil a VagMtair1171516'ff61A'4F"' mmenai g-tr • Lica A A. „rOraMa ^ tfigto , Chair Kukonen called the meeting to order at 6:36 p.m. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. September 26, 2001 tiEBRUARY 27, 2002 -47 :yo A -k OP' 7-0 015c-ri , 6. kik7 r; Donlin moved to approve the September 26, 'ZO.P1 megVmg minutes. O'Connell seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously% 4r6,, B. November 28, 2001 Grundhofer moved to seconded the motion. C. approve thel ov apr 28, 2001 meeting minutes. Donlin am VA Motion caned unanimously. January 30, 200; o o*vm corrections were requested: Page 4, fifth pgagraph: Lakes up throtg Grundhofer mot* O'Dea seconded its showed there were five general areas: the Chain of Pas& ak pass..." ojapprove the January 30, 2002 meeting minutes as amended above. emotion. Motion carried unanimously. 3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA The agenda was approved unanimously. 4. OPEN MIKE No citizen comments were made. APPROVED MINUTES ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD MEETING FEBRUARY 27, 2002 5. ACTION ITEMS None. 6. DISCUSSION ITEMS A. Development Regulations Task Force Update Chair Kukonen recapped the meeting for the Board. He stated that the task force ATA reviewed the background including by-laws and policies, and tried torax swer the question, "What constitutes a premature subdivision?" A plat could be denied. ift vas considered premature. He explained they had not seen the final draft of the document, bt roads could be moved to a lower class if development occurred in some areas, Other factors were water supply and waste disposal. Final plat growth would h confrol..ed by MUSA allocation. Asleson stated that people were working together, and the ;meeting was productive. Donlin agreed. She was encouraged that the issues were manageable parts, and that there would be no leapfrogging of MUSA. Asleson indicated that Grochala had done a gd B. Goals/2003 Asleson distributed copies of the goals fo which were in the packets. Since thew recommended the Board work or many had grown more detailed;: some of the recommendations; Chair Kukonen stated thag next month. He indicate into goals. 8, and referred to the goals from 2002 fidget had been fixed, Grochala 03 goals. Reviewing the previous goals, eady been accomplished. He explained that ad put forth had set the stage for activities. e Board members should bring in ideas for the 2003 goals several of the duties in the job description could be made Asleson pointed out that a website had been established with a link to the Bell Museum, and could be addeto m the future. O'Connell noted that Earth Day would be an opportunity to let resielents know about the website. Donlin suggested some of the new information resulting from the Urban Interface could be identified. Asleson mentioned that some interesting activities had begun in some neighborhoods. Chair Kukonen continued to review the 2002 goals, and commented that for #5 the Board had been weak on collaborating with other similar boards. APPROVED MINUTES 2 ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD MEETING FEBRUARY 27, 2002 O'Dea asked for a listing of analogous bodies in the Twin Cities area. Asleson indicated he would raise the issue at a conference he would soon be attending. Concerning getting help, Asleson recently went to a job fair, and stated there might be a possibility for sharing an intern. Chair Kukonen stated the first joint meeting with Council took place in October. The Board acknowledged Councilperson Carlson's presence. Chair Kukonen noted that #9 had been accomplished. An environmental landscaping packet was developed. Asleson 'indicated that some of the informaticould be put on the link with the Bell Museum. Donlin inquired about the webmaster. Asleson answered the webnidS C. Earth Day/Arbor Day er wo) an Tesch. Asleson sent out a letter concerning Earth Day. He reportcd 111a1;! -,received a response from Ray Herman, the osprey person, and there is an individual who has carrier pigeon. Wargo now had the food permit, and would be gettingjtlo OConnell. In the past, Ms. Bowman had been organizing the volunteers. J4n9LuntiWi.i.;Willing to do it this year, but did not have good means of communicatigelii5'‘Intact for volunteers would need to take names, send out information, and org:inize logktics. Anyone with ideas should contact him. Chair Kukonen asked about waiver Uornis. .Asleson responded if the volunteers got hurt, the City wouldn't be liable. Acti *ping were the City looking cleaner, and that someone had donated wood duck houses and would be putting them up. In addition, kids from a nearby school wer. putting 06d packets together with native grasses that would cover a 3 -foot square area. The;Ivironmental Board could promote it and Anoka County was puttingtogetler-a-ton9 an .Cfepl exhibit. Donlin stated that a follow-up7contest in the upcoming years could give impetus for cultivating t49qq:s7p,..0.9pCliiagi.p.g sound management. Grundhofer suggested people receiving a seed packet cou1dsign a guest book. O'Dea inquired atVq't the location and time of the celebration. Asleson responded it started at 8 a.m. at Wargo. He added that Scott Mars was planning to come. O'Connell asked about the critters, if they were to be at the celebration. Asleson answered that he left a message, but would be following-up on it. Grundhofer stated she called Data Resources with the DNR endangered and threatened species, but she needed detailed information. Asleson stated he could get the needed information, and added that a map could be made. APPROVED MINUTES 3 ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD MEETING LBRUARY 27, 2002 Donlin stated she was going to clean her 3 miles of ditches, in the past she had not asked for help because the roads were busy and the work was dangerous. Asleson indicated that Ace had said that they would help clean up ditches along the roads on certain days. O'Dea inquired about homeowner projects. She suggested contacting the crime watch groups to open up possibilities right outside their doors. Asleson mentioned one year, with the Adopt -A -Highway program, it was sleeting and people had done a great job. The group included Margaret LangfelOnd they were standing by the fire station on Civic and Lake Drive, when a truck 'WtOtky releasing papers all the way down Lake Drive. He noted that May 5, 2002 is:44004y and there would again be a celebration at the Elementary School. It was imp;,' ant forih9 next generation and to keep the Tree City USA status. Chair Kukonen called for ideas for Earth Day, and stated the ter1qts should be s, 8: included. Asleson stated he would check with the crimetchr7uW Chair Kukonen indicated he would contact the Nati qnal Wildlife Federation, and the Quad on the backyard wildlife infoimation. Donlin inquired about the heron exhibit, and itii:§hogId include the remains of the chicks that were abandoned. She stated that Mr. 1.49 n haci iilem. Asleson noted he was going to call Mr. Lanyon concerning an Egret mound. O'Connell stated she would be in Intema opal Falls on March 12, 2002. - City News Letter — Chair Kukonen suggested the Board become a regular contributor, and thanked staff for providiniA*sched.W of deadlines for submission in the packet. Donlin suggested the be Asleson responded that they needed to promote their programs.s: Chair Kukonen stateUiat he had'information on septic system care and recycling which might be of interest Donlin indicated k: AFkground on the heron colony rookery could raise public awareness. Asleson mentioned astatement, like washing the car on a grassy area instead of the driveway would reduce pollution, could make an impact. D. Environmental Board Ordinance and Job Description Asleson stated he wanted to meet with the new members and give them background information. APPROVED MINUTES 4 ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD MEETING FEBRUARY 27, 2002 7. DEPARTMENT REPORTS A. Forestry Asleson stated that forestry was a separate section from environmental because they had separate budgets. Ms. Smith with the Trade -A -Tree program had submitted a news release to the Quad. In addition, Xcel Energy was already beginning to top the trees, but Ms. Smith had contacted Xcel Energy and stopped them until the program could contact the affected homeowners. Some of the extra trees could be used to spruce up the elementary school. The program was entirely volunteer. The oak wilt contracts budget had come in. They did not get the pt6 in he fall so it would be done in the spring. B. Solid Waste Recycling Asleson distributed the final SCORE recycling report, W#9 inple'd. the oil and filter recycling at the maintenance building. He indicatedthat t costs increased, and the only funding came from tonnages, and not for the ac costs. The goal was to break even, and to reduce the overhead to reduct:4necessLySCORE funding. The issue of battery recycling was mentioned. Fina) -st4g,stated that the County -wide tonnage requirements were exceeded. Asleson suggested a program called Tizisti.stn children using puppets. He suggested ihatti elementary schools. 'O'rriu—ies which is a recycling program for qTrogram could be presented for one of the Donlin stated that if peo. ple ave.`a lace to put their waste it would go in the ditches. Asleson.el:fiadifiat much of the waste in the ditches comes from outside.the City:May 44tyearcid4ipRecycling Day. On the last Recycling Day, the City and residents psters with steel. The electronics industry was beginning to offer re'ey'vpgAvices. They would probably add to the cost of the products, ancL iffthe,-recycling for free. Asleson stated he e mterested in bringing the recycling program Trish and the Tunes to Rice La0:i'lementary because one of the teachers was environmentally aware, and even won the Ndtional Teacher of the Year. O'Connell indicated teachers who might not be environmentally conscious might benefit from having the program in their school. Donlin responded it depended on the teachers, since some use a program and springboard off of it, while others use the time for other pursuits and do not even hold a follow-up discussion about the presentation. She suggested Lino Lakes Elementary as a possibility. Grundhofer stated that they have an Arbor Day celebration. APPROVED MINUTES 5 ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD MEETING FEBRUARY 27, 2002 C. Environmental Asleson began with an update on Clearwater Creek and referred to the map, pointing out the goal for what was once called Wetland Q was to restore it to what was natural in the early 1900's. Box elder trees have entered the area since it had been cleared. Staff infoiuied the engineers working for the developer that the box elder trees would die, and that the residents would lament the removal of the trees unless the developer explained the plan. The homeowners did not receive a notice before the trees were removed, and were angry. There were some invasive species in the developmentl;0.(4,:he suggested that some of the money for restoration could be shifted. One species tha.t4W,§irvive was the woody white swamp oak. A meeting was scheduled that could fund a%Older. The neighborhood meeting needed to be in the spring. Asleson stated 100beeiVencouraged that the developer has had burns and seedlings. Asleson statedfljey.,Niaollowed through with the plan, and this was an area where good thin' eteOhappening. Donlin pointed out that in another area of the site, there was no: u - a between the were encouraging, but take a while to become estahhi e mentioned that he was development and the industrial park. Asleson statedsomelli.i,ngs were taking place that now seeing songbirds returning to City Hall. Asleson noted the greenway grant, which was plied" by the City and the Watershed District, had been approved in the Minnesa .CIAgsification System. Asleson addressed the blue heron popu ratiori,, and stated that the process was called by some as misguided, unsubstantiatedr secretive The one piece that had not been observed was the direct effect of elt,;tgena.course and its effects. The timeline for the joint ordinance was fast. ThAtate an&hCounty had tried to meet with the skiers, but the skiers had cancellekond gOWilineeting could not be scheduled. Any factor could have caused the hefiiiiitieavelidifficult to prove causal effect in biology, so professional judgrnentted tolma Phosphorus testing could take place if the skiers did not ski no :*#d during nesting season, and if they indicated when they were going: affkKing could be done before and after. Many had tried to find out the r.asonfor the eiron4-%departure. Donlin pointed oit t1at the DNR had invited the skiers to every meeting, and tried to make sure they weii,-,ot excluded. It cannot be proven that it was the course, and so there would probablY be threats. Asleson explained that with an increase in population, there is an increase in use. There were State laws on fairness of use, but it was left to the governing bodies to decide what was fair. Asleson stated that he had lived in the City for about 20 years and had never observed anyone skiing north of the island, which was a change that had taken place in the last 2 years. It appeared to staff that there was no more peaceful co -existence with the APPROVED MINUTES 6 ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD MEETING FEBRUARY 27, 2002 birds or between the people. He urged that the debate needed to be from an environmental standpoint, and not an emotional one. Grundhofer stated the birds chose to live on islands, and not on the shorelines which had been their traditional habitats. Asleson indicated that there was the cultural aspect of the issue which was the idea the person had in their mind when they moved to the area. Donlin stated she was afraid for her father's safety. He was to begin monitoring the area in conjunction with the DNR, and she believed there was risk. Chair Kukonen indicated that Centerville was still supporting a joint ior M4rice. Asleson concurred, and continued that the City of Centerville was going to send Otittilfgunation to all the people in the City. ,41:".7.31 f Donlin mentioned that the new elementary school was to beA#iiit Ale Heron Elementary, and we do not want to lose the resource so that \itf,#10rild* the Late Great Blue Heron Elementary. The Blue Heron was the City'‘iAne'IdOlik Asleson agreed, and pointed out that Mr. Lanyon had stated that we have one or two more chances to save the habitat. Donlin stated that the area should not be distur Asleson noted that lakes were all unique, ancl inmostrcAses a model is developed through time. In order to develop a model, the4:44rclub would need to cooperate. This item would be on the work session next Wednesday. Donlin asked if it would be a wpfle sessiqr0r a public hearing. Grundhofer answered the work session for Lino Lakes AAGOritb::11.Varch 6, 2002, with the first public hearing on March 1 1 , 2002, and the March 25, 2002. Centerville would be having their first public hearing on Marc' 4557, Asleson noted all that coil ne was to get the correct information out to the public. „ O'Connell inquireevbfoper trying to develop the island. Asleson responded that there was a meting of the Environmental Quality Board where a petition was received. They likvOddressed all the recommendations from the Environmental Board. Staff had met with1A/atershed District and now they were in the public education process. dthe second public hearing on March 27, 2002. O'Connell asked if there were the same number of homes. Ms. Carlson answered that there was an eighth house on the cul-de-sac. Asleson explained that they have complied with owner's covenants and the recommended non -disturbance areas. APPROVED MINUTES 7 ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD MEETING rEBRUARY 27, 2002 Grundhofer inquired if people would show up for the two meetings about the blue heron rookery. Ms. Carlson responded that they would. 8. ADJOURN It was noted that the next meeting of the Environmental Board will be on March 27, 2002. There being no further business, Donlin moved to adjourn at 8:30 pm. O'Connell seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously. Transcribed by: Brigette Blesi TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc. APPROVED MINUTES 8 City of Lino Lakes Environmental Board Meeting February 27, 2002 6:30 p.m. AGENDA 1. CALL TO ORDER 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA 4. OPEN MIKE 5. ACTION ITEMS 6. DISCUSSION ITEMS A. Development Regulations Task Force Update B. Goals/2003 C. Earth Day/Arbor Day D. City News Letter E. Environmental Board Ordinance and Job Description 7. DEPARTMENT REPORTS A. Forestry B. Solid Waste Recycling C. Environmental 8. ADJOURN