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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/24/2010 Environmental Board MinutesENVIRONMENTAL BOARD MEETING FEBRUARY 24, 2009 DRAFT MINUTES 1 CITY OF LINO LAKES MINUTES DATE : February 24, 2010 TIME STARTED : 6:31 P.M. TIME ENDED : 8:05 P.M. MEMBERS PRESENT : Mary Jo O’Dea Barbara Bor, Paula Andrzejewski, Peter Brown, Martha DeHaven and Steve Heiskary MEMBERS ABSENT : None STAFF PRESENT : Environmental Coordinator Marty Asleson 1. CALL TO ORDER Ms. O’Dea called the meeting to order at 6:31p.m. 2. Swearing in of Board Members – Postponed at this time. 1. Barbara Bor – Reappointed Member 2. Peter Brown – Reappointed Member 3. Stephen Heiskary – Newly Appointed Member 3. ELECT CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR Mr. Brown made a motion to re-elect Mary Jo O’Dea as Chair and Barbara Bor as Vice-Chair. Ms. DeHaven seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES None at this time. 5. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Postpone swearing in of board members. Mayor not present Move Garden Club to Item 8 A Move Heron Rookery to Item 8 B Add: Blue Heron Day Shirts/Recycle Day/Arbor Day to discussion items. Mr. Brown made a motion to approve the agenda. Ms. Andrzejewski seconded the motion to approve the agenda. Motion carried unanimously ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD MEETING FEBRUARY 24, 2009 DRAFT MINUTES 2 6. OPEN MIKE Open mike closed at 6:34 p.m. 7. ACTION ITEMS None. 8. DISCUSSION ITEMS A. Gardening Club Mr. John Mordlund was in attendance to present information to board members regarding the garden club in the City of Columbia Heights where he is employed. He stated the City has roughly 60 garden plots that are 10 x 15 feet in size. The plots have water available on site. He stated it is helpful to have a designated person to manage the water. He stated there is an administrative fee of $10.00 per plot and interested persons sign up through their Parks and Recreation Department. Ms. Bor questioned if the City enhances the soil and/or tills it. He sated yes, the City does this once in the spring and once in the fall. Ms. DeHaven questioned if there have been problems with people stealing from gardens. He stated yes, occasionally. Ms. Bor questioned if their City has guidelines for use of the garden plots. He stated none that he knows of. Ms. O’Dea stated there should be rules as to what is allowed on the garden plots pertaining to fences, etc. Ms. O’Dea asked if our City was to start a garden club would he be interested in helping us get started. He stated yes. He is a master gardener and needs volunteer hours. Ms. DeHaven questioned if they have parking problems. He stated no. They have roughly 3 to 6 spots. B. Blue Heron Rookery Update Mr. Wayne LeBlanc was in attendance to present information to board members regarding the Blue Heron Rookery. He stated one of his goals was to continue monitoring the heron rookery and maintain or improve the habitat. Ms. Bor stated she is hoping something can be done to reduce the raccoon population. Mr. Asleson stated the reduction of raccoons may not be an efficient technique to save the birds. The date the birds are expected to return to the island is March 17. He stated the island has roughly 1/3 basswood trees, 1/3 ash trees and 1/3 hickory trees. He stated he spoke with a Girl Scout troop about planting bare root trees in August. He will need to check and see if this is possible with the county, etc. Ms. Bor stated the National Honor Society also looks for community projects as well. Mr. LeBlanc stated the flashing is getting tight around tree trunks and some of the flashing is torn and falling apart. He stated the birds tend to move around a little from tree to tree. At the end of this year they will reevaluate to see where the herons are and think a little more comprehensively as to where they move. There ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD MEETING FEBRUARY 24, 2009 DRAFT MINUTES 3 is a meeting scheduled at Eagle Brook Church pertaining to Peltier Island and the herons. Ms. Bor stated she will email out the meeting information. He stated the nests count is higher now than in 2004, we are on our way back up. Ms. Bor questioned the cost to install new flashing around the trees. Mr. Asleson stated the cost would need to be assessed. Ms. Bor stated the city council specifically asked about this project. She would like to know how much the flashing would cost to fix and replace and assess if it would be worth presenting the information to the council. Mr. LeBlanc stated there are no signs that say keep out or off the island at this time. Mr. Brown questioned if there could be signs put up on the island that say keep out. He stated this is an opportunity to educate citizen’s and make clear when not to be on the island and what no wake means. Mr. Asleson stated he will speak to someone at Anoka County regarding signage. C. Emerald Ash Borer Cost Assessment and Discussion Mr. Asleson stated he ran a cost estimate with a Purdue analysis to determine what the cost will be to treat Ash trees infected with Emerald Ash Borer. He stated his best estimates are already out dated. City cost for treatment is roughly $2.34 per tree at this time. If the work is done by a contractor the cost would be roughly $28.00 per tree. Ms. O’Dea stated it would be helpful if Mr. Asleson added a cost per tree column to his Purdue graph. Mr. Asleson stated at this time the City is looking at developing a preparedness plan. He stated a plan is to develop an ordinance and a purpose. He stated we need to let the public know not to haul ash wood. This has contributed to a big part of spreading emerald ash borer. Mr. Asleson stated we have over 90 million ash trees in Minnesota. Minnesota has more Ash trees that any other state. He stated it is the homeowner’s responsibility to care for the ash trees on their property. Mr. Asleson stated the City will try and come up with a place for homeowners to dispose of ash wood correctly. We are still in a learning phase and it is really hard to predict what is going to happen. Ms. Bor stated a plan still has to be proactive with what our options are today. Mr. Brown stated it sounds like we are making progress. Ms. O’Dea stated we need to be ready to submit a proposal for a grant if in fact we are eligible. D. Rice Lake Subwatershed Storm Retrofit Update Mr. Asleson stated he will send out current retrofit information to members. The Conservation District north of Sunrise Park and north of Rice Lake Elementary are going to meet on March 2. ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD MEETING FEBRUARY 24, 2009 DRAFT MINUTES 4 E. Earth Day – April 24, 2010 It was discussed if board members would like to go with the same shirts as last year for our upcoming environmental events. Anyone wishing to order additional shirts may contact Lisa Hogstad-Osterhues at City Hall. F. Recycling Day – May 1, 2010 If board members are able to help on Recycle Day, it will be at 1189 Main Street from 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. G. Arbor Day – May 7, 2010 There will be an Arbor Day celebration held at Rice Lake Elementary on May 7, 2010. Trish and The Toons will be giving a show on recycling to students. H. Woolan’s Park Wetland Bank Progress Update Mr. Asleson stated he received a notice from BOUSER that the wetland banking has been approved. Council members are interested in this project and stated they are very impressed with the Environmental Board Goals. He stated there are thousands of rare plants on this site. I. Stormwater Ordinance Update. Mr. Asleson stated there will be a Stormwater Ordinance Update at a future meeting. 9. ADJOURN It was noted that the next meeting of the Environmental Board will be on Wednesday, March 30, 2010 at 6:30 p.m. There being no further business, Mr. Steve Heiskary moved to adjourn at 8:05 p.m. Ms. Andrzejewski seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. Transcribed by: Lisa Hogstad Community Development Secretary