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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/28/2004 Environmental Board MinutesENVIRONMENTAL BOARD MEETING APRIL 28, 2004 CITY OF LINO LAKES DRAFT MINUTES DATE : April 28, 2004 TIME STARTED : 6:35 P.M. TIME ENDED : 8:10 P.M. MEMBERS PRESENT : Barbara Bor, Barbara Bauman, Rod Kukonen, Teresa O’Connell (arrived at 6:38 p.m.), Mary Jo O’Dea, and Dennis Smith MEMBERS ABSENT : Constance Grundhofer STAFF PRESENT : Environmental Coordinator Marty Asleson 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Kukonen called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES March 31, 2004 Page 3, ninth paragraph: “O’Connell made a motion to recommend approval contingent on staff and Board recommendations. Bauman seconded the motion.” Page 5, second paragraph: “Bor made a motion to table the plan. Mr. Carlson agreed that it would be best. O’Connell seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously.” Page 6, seventh paragraph: “Chair Kukonen questioned if a P.U.D. Conservation Development was more desirable than a R-EC District.” Page 6, eleventh paragraph: “Grundhofer inquired if the elm trees were a concern. Asleson answered that since there was no control for the vector of the disease for the elm, they would soon be lost regardless.” Page 7, third paragraph: “Mr. Schlichting indicated that the ponds hold water two ways. They held water by lining them with clay, or because the groundwater was there.” Page 7, last paragraph: “This item was tabled to the April 28, 2004 meeting.” O’Dea made a motion to approve the March 31, 2004 meeting minutes. O’Connell seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. 3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA • Discuss letter of support for partnership with Soil Conservation District under 6F. • Discuss Rice Creek Watershed District- Dawn Dubatz under 6F. The Board approved the agenda as amended. 4. OPEN MIKE 1 APPROVED MINUTES ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD MEETING APRIL 28, 2004 No citizen comments were made. 5. ACTION ITEMS 6. DISCUSSION ITEMS A. Comprehensive Water Plan Asleson stated that the plan was a good idea. He indicated he was asked to bring the plan to the Board, but recently found it had already been approved. Chair Kukonen mentioned that he did not realize that the City was getting fined by the DNR. Asleson discussed soil problems and how it can affect water use. Chair Kukonen responded that it might be good for the Board to emphasize deep-tilling the soil to decrease compaction and soil layering. O’Connell inquired if the plan only affected people on city water. She questioned if it would be better to enforce it throughout the City. O’Connell believed that the fine should be more than $25.00. Chair Kukonen inquired about the reason the water use was high in the fourth quarter. The Board speculated reasons could range from skating rinks, to watering heavily for newly sodded lawns, to new plantings into October. Bor stated that the City should circulate literature concerning the new plan. O’Dea added that the fine should be mentioned. Smith inquired if staff knew the locations at risk for turf failure. Asleson responded that turf problems would begin after 6-7 years. O’Dea mentioned that barley hay was being used in some areas to treat ponds instead of chemicals. Asleson answered that it was a lot of work. Bauman stated that Pheasant Hills had barley hay sacks in all their ponds. Smith inquired about the frequency that they required changing. Bauman responded she was unsure. Smith inquired if the ban was only effective in the second and third quarters. Asleson answered that the DNR was not discriminating by the use. O’Connell inquired if there were several new homeowners putting in sod before winter. Asleson responded that residents were putting in sod until Thanksgiving. 2 APPROVED MINUTES ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD MEETING APRIL 28, 2004 Smith stated that they needed to identify the use in the fourth quarter. Asleson indicated that he would look into the matter. Chair Kukonen mentioned that they should recommend that residents were cautioned not to water impervious surfaces. Asleson added that fertilizer also inadvertently landed on impervious surfaces. The fertilizer 10-0-10 should be promoted, because the amount running off one street was significant. Bor recommended that the City contact businesses informing them not to sell fertilizer containing phosphorus. Bauman added that the seller needed to know that there was enough phosphorus in the soil already. She recommended that a flyer could be put in the water utility bills. The Board discussed spray radiuses of sprinklers and spreaders. They then reiterated the recommendations from the Board: • Prevent water waste by avoiding impervious surfaces when sprinkling. Watering in early morning hours is most efficient because it does not evaporate. • Earth-friendly fertilizer (i.e., no phosphorus) and contain product to lawn or garden. If spilling on impervious surfaces should happen, broom or brush it back as you should with clippings. • Most Anoka County has high phosphorus levels in the soils. O’Dea made a motion to pass on the recommendations of the Board to Council. Bor seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. B. Other Environmental Boards Asleson noted the recent NEMO meeting was held and he suggested that the Board open a meeting with NEMO and invite other boards. The cities could pay fees that could defray the costs for the speakers. O’Dea stated that the list might not be accurate, but it was a beginning. Asleson stated that it would be a good forum to interact with each other. He indicated that NEMO was brainstorming ways to get people together. The Board members chose cities with analogous boards to contact directly. O’Dea chose Champlin, O’Connell chose Minneapolis, Chair Kukonen chose Afton, Bauman chose to contact Shoreview, Bor chose Woodbury, and Smith chose Hugo, Stillwater, and White Bear Lake. O’Dea stated that she obtained the listings off the cities’ websites. She noted she was surprised to find there was no such board for the cities around Lake Minnetonka. 3 APPROVED MINUTES ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD MEETING APRIL 28, 2004 C. Peltier Lake Ordinance/Heron Update Asleson informed the Board that the first reading of the Ordinance was going to Council on May 10, 2004. He noted that Kittleson counted 350 nesting birds, and was going to send some fly over pictures. He also received a letter from the Audubon Society in support of the No Wake Zone, and they requested the removal of the Sunset Clause. The Minnesota Lake Association also sent a letter of support. In addition, Joan Galli and Jeff Perry had written for a grant to hire a graduate student to place video cameras mounted in trees. Last year there was a partial abandonment, and they want to find out what happened. O’Dea inquired about the other graduate student, did she lay the groundwork. Asleson indicated that she had provided the history. Bor stated that they were starting to get signatures, and others were writing letters. Asleson indicated that the batteries in the video cameras for the herons needed to be changed every 3.5 days. The egrets were not present as they were in the past. A similar thing happened at Pig’s Eye. There was a new colony of thirty nests at Boot Lake in a Red Pine stand surrounded by a marsh adjacent to Carlos Avery. D. Earth Day Recap O’Connell stated that there would be no more peanut butter sandwiches for Earth Day. Asleson assured O’Connell that the excess peanut butter sandwiches had been distributed. He noted that the speaker was a science teacher from Coon Rapids. He gave a speech that was interesting for adults, but too long for the children, and it might have been too political. O’Dea stated the individually wrapped items were somewhat inappropriate for Earth Day. O’Connell responded that it was necessary to minimize food contamination. Asleson noted that there were donations from local businesses, and that he considered it a successful Earth Day. E. Recycling Day Asleson mentioned that the next Recycling Day would be on May 1, 2004 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and invited all to participate. Chair Kukonen stated that the Living Green Expo was coming and there was a seminar on incorporating native plants into your yard. 4 APPROVED MINUTES ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD MEETING APRIL 28, 2004 O’Connell inquired if Asleson wanted the volunteers to arrive before 9 a.m. Asleson responded that they could arrive early. Chair Kukonen would handle the tires, while Asleson would be in charge of the dumpster for junk. F. Other Discussion Items Letter of Support for Partnership with the Soil Conservation District Asleson mentioned he received a letter from Chris Lord a couple of weeks ago for a county-wide open space. The letter was asking for a partnership in a program from July 2005 to June 2007. Asleson sent a letter appreciating the work in the past and reaffirming continued desire to work together. They were also limited in funds and needed outside help. If they received funding, then a letter to Council to recommend a collaboration would be appropriate. RCWD-Dawn Dubatz Asleson distributed a copy of a letter from Dawn Dubatz of Rice Creek Watershed District for a meeting in Hugo. The topic would be on Natural Resource-Based Planning (similar to Conservation District) for a workshop by NEMO and the Watershed District. The process began in 2002. A significant part is the water resources and how land could be developed to not negatively impact the wildlife. A goal would be to show how to save money for the developer while creating environmentally sound developments that is good for everyone. He gave the example of Mr. Quigley where those goals were met with 50% open space, dedicated park land and other amenities, and he was not finished. He also unknowingly restored a fen area. Asleson stated they wanted to develop a close relationship with developers. Bor stated that HOM Furniture wanted to build a warehouse. Asleson added that it would be one million square feet, and inquired about green rooftops. He briefly discussed the required plant characteristics for green rooftops. He gave the example of the Ford Plant in Michigan that was two times the size of the Metrodome and had a rooftop garden. Bor recommended that the HOM Furniture representatives were invited to the meeting. Chair Kukonen inquired about the meeting the following day. Asleson stated there was no agenda yet. They were going to look at it holistically from the standpoint of water. He did not know how it would be run, but believed it would be a long meeting. O’Connell inquired when the next County Road 14 meeting would be, because it would affect the site discussed at the meeting the following day. She recommended the Economic Development group be invited to the meeting as well. The free lunch should be mentioned as an incentive. 5 APPROVED MINUTES ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD MEETING APRIL 28, 2004 Information Rack Asleson stated there was not enough room for a rack similar to those present already, so it would have to be free standing. He assured the Board they were working on the project. R-EC Zoning Chair Kukonen explained that R-1 was a single family district. R-1X was single family executive district with lots 12,820 square feet. R-EC was single family estate conservation with no fewer than 30% of the lots 15,000 square feet, and the remaining lots at 10,800 square feet. It worked out to be about 20% open space. Asleson added that it was not enough if you wanted to do something. Chair Kukonen stated that a P.U.D. was preferred because it allowed up to 50% open space or mixed use. Conceptually you could get more. Asleson responded that some cities had zoned certain areas P.U.D. 7. OTHER DEPARTMENT REPORTS A. Forestry This item was tabled to the May 26, 2004 meeting. B. Solid Waste Recycling/Recycling Day This item was tabled to the May 26, 2004 meeting. C. Environmental This item was tabled to the May 26, 2004 meeting. 8. ADJOURN It was noted that the next meeting of the Environmental Board will be on May 26, 2004. There being no further business, O’Dea moved to adjourn at 8:10 p.m. O’Connell seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. Transcribed by: Brigette Blesi TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc. 6 APPROVED MINUTES