Nat'l Resources Conservation Board

10801 Town Square Dr. City of Blaine Blaine MN 55449 Anoka County, Minnesota Minutes - Final Nat'l Resources Conservation Board The Natural Resource Conservation Board is an advisory body to the City Council. The Board is charged with recommending acquisition of lands for open space and developing a Natural Resource Plan which includes environmental policy and guidelines for the maintenance and preservation of Blaine’s existing and future opens spaces and trail corridors. One of the Board’s functions is to hold public meetings and make recommendations to the City Council. For each item, the Board will receive reports prepared by City staff, provide the opportunity for public response, conduct Board discussions and make recommendations. The City Council, however, makes all final decisions on these matters. Tuesday, June 18, 2013 7:30 PM Council Chambers The Board will meet for a field tour at 6:30PM (see agenda) and return to city hall at 8:00PM The NRCB members will meet at 6:30PM at 117th Lane and Naples Circle to tour the wetland restoration site in the Open Space adjacent to Branch 3 of ACD 53-62. They will return to City Hall and convene a meeting in the Council Chamber at 8:00PM. 1. Call To Order The meeting was called to order at 8:00 p.m. 2. Roll Call Also present: Kathy Altman, Recording Secretary Absent: Staff Liaison , Jim Hafner Present: 6 - Chair McKinley, Rafferty, Schrunk, Truchon, Villella, and Perkins Absent: 2 - Castillo, and Gunter 3. Approval of Minutes Chair McKinley requested under the Roll Call to delete that the staff called the roll and insert that Chair McKinley called the roll. Chair McKinley requested under item 3, there to delete “as amended” and insert “as written”. MOVED by Boardmember Truchon, seconded by Boardmember Rafferty to City of Blaine Page 1 Nat'l Resources Conservation Minutes - Final June 18, 2013 Board approve the minutes of the May 21, 2013 Board Meeting as written. The motion carried unanimously 4. Approval of Agenda Board consensus was reached to approve the agenda. 5. Open Forum for Citizen Input There was none. 6. New Business 6.a Eagle Scout Project - Kiosks Chair McKinley stated staff had met with Mr. Bostrum and his grandfather to determine the locations for the kiosks in Pioneer Park and Laddie Lake Park. She noted the kiosks would be done in the next month in order for Mr. Bostrum to receiving his Eagle Scout credit. Boardmember Truchon stated she was glad this was going to get done. Boardmember Perkins asked if there was anything else the Board needed to do to assist Mr. Bostrum. Chair McKinley responded there was nothing further that needed to be done. However, if Mr. Bostrum had not received sufficient donations to cover the cost of the kiosks, the Board would cover additional cost. 6.b Trillium Recovery - update Chair McKinley stated the trillium recovery had been accomplished. She stated on May 23 the trillium had been moved back into the woods. She noted over 70 clumps had been transplanted. Chair McKinley stated she had written a thank you note from the Board to the Garden Club for their assistance. She thanked Boardmember Rafferty for his assistance also. 6.c NRCB Booth at Blaine Blazin' Festival Chair McKinley stated the NRCB booth would be at the Blaine Blazin’ Festival from June 28 through the 30th. She noted the booth needed to be City of Blaine Page 2 Nat'l Resources Conservation Minutes - Final June 18, 2013 Board manned the entire day on Saturday and asked the Boardmembers if they could help out at the booth. Boardmember Perkins stated he was out of town on Saturday, but would be available to help with the set-up if needed. 6.d Information Boxes - update Chair McKinley presented an example of a proposed brochure. Boardmember Truchon recommended a photograph be taken when the brochures where placed in the boxes, so the picture could be submitted to the newspaper in order for people to know what to look for when they are on the trails. Chair McKinley stated she was thinking of the possibility of turning this into kind of a game, but she would need to talk to staff about it first. Boardmember Truchon recommended the photographs be given a number. Chair McKinley noted Boardmember Castillo had also put together a tri-fold brochure as an example for Hidden Ponds Open Space. 6.e Trails Discussion Boardmember Perkins stated he had sent an email to the staff liaison regarding the cost for trail construction. He stated the staff liaison had responded to him with additional questions. Boardmember Perkins asked if the trails he was referring to would be a trail or a sidewalk and would they be asphalt or gravel/wood chips. He believed the trail on Xylite was a safety issue. He stated there was a lot of foot traffic from the Medtronic facility to that park as well as neighborhood children who walked to the park. He stated for the trail on Rodeo Drive on Radisson Road north of 109th, this was a neighborhood that did not have any sidewalk or trails. He stated this trail was also a public safety issue as there was a lot of traffic on those roads and you could not see around corners. He believed last year there was a police trap set up and even though there was no other outlet, there was 40 plus tickets issued. He stated because of the open area and the wooded area, there was a lot of foot traffic in that area. He stated from the people he had spoken with, they did want a trail/sidewalk depending on the cost. He indicated City of Blaine Page 3 Nat'l Resources Conservation Minutes - Final June 18, 2013 Board besides the safety issue there was an access issue. He stated the entire area was proposed to have walkways and this would be an entrance system to the park as well as the existing trail at the Lakes area. Boardmember Truchon noted as it stood now, everyone walked on the street. She indicated she lived on the northwest quadrants between 125th and 65 and their streets, with very few exceptions, had no sidewalks or trails. She noted the trails went through the park, but did not connect the park. She stated the kids walking to school on Taylor walked on either side of the street. Boardmember Perkins stated they should get costs for this area also. He stated it might not be something the City would be able to do, but he would like to know the cost. Boardmember Schrunk stated she did not know if everyone would want a trail or sidewalk. Boardmember McKinley explained they had to consider how much revenue the Board received. Boardmember Perkins stated that was why he wanted to see the numbers to see if it was even feasible. Boardmember Truchon believed if an area wanted a sidewalk, they could petition the city for one, but the neighborhood would have to pay for it. Boardmember Perkins stated he would like to know the difference between a sidewalk and trail and the particular cost of each. Boardmember Perkins stated he would follow up with staff liaison regarding this. Chair McKinley stated she would add this for a discussion to the agenda for next month. 7. Other Business Chair McKinley stated Boardmember Truchon had wanted a discussion on groundwater and the digging of three wells in Blaine at this meeting. She noted she had spoken with the staff liaison and he requested this discussion be continued to next month so he could be present for the discussion. Councilmember Shrunk stated she had information as to how Laddie Lake Park came to be. She noted a woman at her church had said an apartment building was originally proposed on the north end of the lake, but someone had bought the acreage and put in a park instead. She stated the park was not originally a city owned park, but rather a private citizen had put in the park. City of Blaine Page 4 Nat'l Resources Conservation Minutes - Final June 18, 2013 Board Chair McKinley asked if the Boardmembers wanted copies of Jason’s and Matt’s reports from the tour this evening. The Boardmembers present requested copies. Chair McKinley asked if the Boardmembers wanted a tour of the open spaces in July. She stated staff liaison would be at the 7:30 p.m. meeting in July, but he would not be available for the tour. She stated they could put this off until the August meeting or have it on a different night. BOARD CONSENSUS was reached to have the open spaces tour in August. 8. Adjournment Moved by Truchon, seconded by Villella, that this meeting be Adjourned. The Motion was adopted unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 9:10 p.m. City of Blaine Page 5