Nature Preserve Commission

REGULAR ANDOVER OPEN SPACE ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING NOVEMBER 13, 2019 MINUTES The Regular Meeting of the Andover Open Space Advisory Commission was called to order by Acting Chairperson Kim Kovich at 6:10 p.m., at the Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard NW, Andover, Minnesota. Commissioners present: Anna Dirkswager (arrived at 6:37 p.m.), Joy Faherty, Ryan Ingebritson, Jim Olson, and Gretchen Sabel (arrived at 6:29 p.m.) Commissioners absent: Brian Perra Also present: Kameron Kytonen, Natural Resources Technician RESIDENT FORUM No one wished to address the Commission. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – September 4, 2019 Motion by Commissioner Faherty, Second by Commissioner Olson, to approve the minutes of September 4, 2019. Motion passed 4-0. DISCUSS MAPLE VIEW GRANT (PARTNERSHIP WITH GREAT RIVER GREENING) Mr. Kytonen stated that Great River Greening completed some spraying of the understory recently in attempt to remove unwanted invasive vegetation. He stated that they will go back in the spring to remove some additional invasive vegetation and enhance the applicable areas with native vegetation. He noted that the grant runs for a two-year period and therefore there will be continued treatments and activities. DISCUSS STATUS OF DALSKE WOODLANDS BOARDWALK Mr. Kytonen reported that the City Engineer stands behind the need for a boardwalk design similar to the boardwalk on Crosstown Boulevard for safety and maintenance needs. He provided an estimated cost of $100,000. Commissioner Olson commented that cost is more than what was paid for the land. Mr. Kytonen stated that there could be a discussion between the Commission and Council to determine if there would be support from the Council for a lower grade boardwalk. Acting Chairperson Kovich commented that the boardwalk would not receive a large amount of foot traffic. Commissioner Faherty stated that it appears that if there was a bridge to access that southern portion that would add about one third more area to the preserve. Regular Open Space Advisory Commission Meeting Minutes – November 13, 2019 Page 2 Commissioner Olson asked if the City has reviewed the possibility of purchasing another property to provide access as that most likely would have a lesser cost. Acting Chairperson Kovich commented that attempting to purchase the property to the south has been previously mentioned by the Commission. He noted that would most likely be a better option as it would provide additional land as well. Commissioner Olson commented that the boardwalk would provide zero value to open space. He stated that perhaps the City could approach the property owner to determine if there would be interest. Acting Chairperson Kovich agreed that is something that should be discussed with the Council as that would provide additional land and an access from 177th at a portion of the cost that a boardwalk would have. He confirmed the consensus of the Commission to discuss that option with the City Council at a joint meeting. He noted that the City also has wetland credits therefore perhaps a little filling could be done to make the crossing much easier. Commissioner Olson agreed that there are a lot of ideas that have perhaps not been discussed with the Council. It was confirmed that the Commission would like to discuss the following options with the Council: a less expensive boardwalk; purchasing land to the south to provide access and additional area in the preserve; and potentially using City owned wetland credits to fill portions of the wetland to reduce the size of the crossing. Chairperson Sabel arrived. DISCUSS LOGISTICS FOR NATURE PRESERVE TOUR WITH QCTV Mr. Kytonen stated that he spoke with QCTV staff and they would be open to participating in a spring tour. Chairperson Sabel stated that she would be willing to go skiing or snowshoeing on one of the tours. She noted that QCTV would also like someone from the Commission to participate in the Live and Local program on December 11th at 11 a.m. She volunteered to attend. Mr. Kytonen confirmed that he could provide Chairperson Sabel with talking points for the Live and Local program. He noted that planning for the spring tours can wait. Commissioner Kovich noted that he would be interested in doing Martin’s Meadows again for the spring tours. Commissioner Dirkswager arrived. It was the consensus of the Commission to participate in spring tours with QCTV. Chairperson Sabel noted that she would also be willing to do a winter tour. Regular Open Space Advisory Commission Meeting Minutes – November 13, 2019 Page 3 DISCUSS ITEMS FOR JOINT MEETING WITH CITY COUNCIL Commissioner Kovich reviewed the list of items discussed at the last meeting as possible topics for the joint meeting: the Dalske boardwalk, specifically the options discussed earlier tonight; clarification on the east access for Martins Meadows, the desire would be to formalize that; a set schedule for the Commission to meet every three months, four times per year; requesting open space to be included in developments, similar to park dedication; and the mission of the Commission. Commissioner Dirkswager stated that it would be helpful to prioritize the list of items to ensure that the most important items receive sufficient time for discussion. She asked if funding would be discussed. She stated that she would like to know if the desire of the Council would be to rely solely on grants for maintenance and other activities. Mr. Kytonen stated that there are open grant funds being used at this time. Commissioner Olson stated that perhaps that should be asked, if there could be an annual budget for open space that would not be used to buy land but would be used to manage the land. Commissioner Kovich stated that currently the City does a great job of maintaining the open space areas and he would be hesitant to ask for more. He explained the Commission would need more concrete information to request general funding. He stated that funding could be a point of discussion during the Dalske boardwalk discussion. He suggested that the Commission meet in March, June, September and December continuing to meet the second Wednesday of the month. Mr. Kytonen reviewed the options for meeting with the City Council at either a workshop or prior to an EDA meeting. He noted that Council workshops can be a challenge with the number of agenda items and therefore perhaps meeting prior to an EDA meeting would be the better choice. Commissioner Kovich stated that the Commission would meet next in March and could then meet with the City Council as soon as possible after that meeting. He noted that the proposed agenda would be finalized at the March Commission meeting. Mr. Kytonen stated that the grant application for the boardwalk is due at the end of February, which is prior to the joint Council meeting. He noted that it would be helpful to have information on the structure of the boardwalk for the grant application. It was the consensus of the Commission that the grant application should be submit with the current information known for the proposed boardwalk. Commissioner Kovich stated that if Mr. Kytonen believes it would be helpful to meet in January, he could call a Commission meeting prior to that time. Mayor Trude stopped in and thanked Chairperson Sabel for the excellent work and for her dedication to the Commission. Regular Open Space Advisory Commission Meeting Minutes – November 13, 2019 Page 4 DISCUSS PURPOSE/MISSION OF OPEN SPACE ADVISORY COMMISSION (OSAC) Mr. Kytonen provided an update on the process that was used to gather input from the Commissioners and develop the bullet points created by Commissioner Faherty. Commissioner Perra started the discussion after the last OSAC meeting and comments followed from there. The Commission supported the mission as presented. It was confirmed that this would be shared with City Council and would be posted on the City website. Chairperson Sabel confirmed that the mission could be shared on the Live and Local program segment. She noted that she can also announce the openings on the Commission in attempt to gain additional applicants. The Commission provided some slight grammatical changes to the mission. Motion by Commissioner Kovich, Second by Commissioner Dirkswager, to adopt the mission with the grammatical changes mentioned. Motion passed 6-0. COMMENTS FROM THE OUTGOING CHAIR Chairperson Sabel stated that she will be moving on as her term is expiring. Commissioner Dirkswager echoed the thanks provided by Mayor Trude and thanked Chairperson Sabel for her contributions to the Commission. Mr. Kytonen thanked Chairperson Sabel on behalf of City staff. OTHER BUSINESS a. Next Meeting: March 11, 2020 Noted. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 7:20 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Kameron Kytonen Natural Resources Technician Drafted by: Amanda Staple, Recording Secretary