City Council Workshop

Blaine City Hall City of Blaine 10801 Town Sq Dr NE Blaine MN 55449 Anoka County, Minnesota Minutes City Council Workshop Monday, June 3, 2019 7:15 PM Cloverleaf Farm Room A NOTICE OF WORKSHOP MEETING 1 Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Mayor Ryan at 6:55 p.m. 2 Roll Call Quorum Present. ALSO PRESENT: City Manager Clark Arneson; Planning and Community Development Director Bryan Schafer; Public Works Director Jon Haukaas; Finance Director Joe Huss; Public Services Manager/Assistant City Manager Bob Therres; City Engineer Dan Schluender; City Attorney Patrick Sweeney; Senior Engineering Technician Al Thorp; Communications Technician Roark Haver; Communications Coordinator Ben Hayle; Water Resources Manager Rebecca Haug; and City Clerk Catherine Sorensen. Present: 7 - Councilmember Garvais, Councilmember Jeppson, Mayor Ryan, Councilmember Swanson, Councilmember Robertson, Councilmember Paul, and Councilmember Hovland 3 New Business 3-1 WETLAND CREDIT SALE TO STATE OF MINNESOTA Attachments: State wetland sale JPA.pdf Water Resources Manager Rebecca Haug stated the Minnesota Department of Transportation is proposing various road projects throughout the metro area which will result in wetland impacts that need to be mitigated with offsite staging and can be done through purchased credits from a wetland bank. The Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources on behalf of the Minnesota Department of Transportation approached the City inquiring about available credits from the City’s wetland bank. The Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resource is interested in purchasing 10 acres of wetland credits from the city’s wetland bank at a price of $2 per square foot. This would equate to a total purchase price of $871,200. Ms. Haug noted that when this wetland bank concept was originally created, the proforma was based on the sale of wetland credits at a unit cost of $1.75-$2.00 per square foot. The city’s wetland bank currently has about 11.5 acres of credits City of Blaine Page 1 City Council Workshop Minutes June 3, 2019 available with an additional 12 acres slated to be approved in the next few months. Discussion ensued regarding the restoration work being conducted at the Blaine Wetland Sanctuary. Mayor Ryan stated he believed the proposed sale was for a fair price. Councilmember Garvais questioned the driving factor for wetland credit prices. Ms. Haug explained the wetland credit sale price was market driven. Council consensus was to direct staff to bring forward the proposed sale as presented. Other Business Councilmember Robertson requested an update on any proposed Blaine Wetland Sanctuary restoration. Ms. Haug updated the Council on the Aspen tree removal that would occur within the wetland sanctuary this summer. Councilmember Garvais requested an update on the Bebeau property drainage correction. Public Works Director Haukaas discussed the correction that would occur in the Bebeau property in order to address the drainage concerns. Councilmember Swanson requested an update on the 3M Open. City Manager Arneson reported tent structures were being set up at this time. He understood the golf course improvements that were made last year took and the course had wintered well. He indicated corporate tent sales were sold out. He explained the City had a great contractor that was moving along on Tournament Players Parkway. Staff provided further comment on the roadway improvements that were being made for the tournament along with the plantings that were being completed in the Radisson Road median. Councilmember Swanson asked if it was possible for the City to ask MnDOT to screen Centennial Square mobile home park from I-35W. Public Works Director Haukaas stated it was his understanding no plantings would be put on MnDOT property but that plantings could be installed on the Centennial Square property. Councilmember Jeppson requested Council consider adopting an ordinance/building code amendment that encouraged developers to offer more affordable housing options. Councilmember Paul stated there was a growing need for affordable housing in the community. Mayor Ryan questioned the water outage at Park of the Four Seasons. Public City of Blaine Page 2 City Council Workshop Minutes June 3, 2019 Works Director Haukaas discussed the situation with the Council. Discussed. ADJOURN The Workshop was adjourned at 7:34 p.m. Adjourned City of Blaine Page 3