Nat'l Resources Conservation Board

10801 Town Square Drive 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, May 19, 2015 7:00 PM Council Chambers 1. Call To Order 1. The meeting was called to order at 7:12 p.m. 2. Roll Call 2. Roll Call - Chairman McKinley called the roll call. Those present include: Boardmembers Anderson, Gunter, Perkins, Rafferty, Ruth, Truchon, and Chair McKinley Absent - Boardmembers Castillo and Villella Others Present: Recording Secretary, Debbie Wolfe. Present: 7 - Chair McKinley, Rafferty, Ruth, Perkins, Truchon, Gunter, and Comissioner Anderson Absent: 2 - Villella, and Castillo 3. Approval of Minutes MOVED by Boardmember Truchon, seconded by Boardmember Perkins to approve the minutes of the April 21, 2015 Board Meeting as presented. Motion carried unanimously. Aye: 7 - Chair McKinley, Rafferty, Ruth, Perkins, Truchon, Gunter, and Comissioner Anderson 4. Approval of Agenda City of Blaine Page 1 Nat'l Resources Conservation Minutes - Final May 19, 2015 Board Chair McKinley would like to add the Blaine Festival to Other Items. MOVED by Boardmember Rafferty, seconded by Boardmember Gunter, to approve the May 19, 2015 Board Agenda as revised. Motion carried unanimously. Aye: 7 - Chair McKinley, Rafferty, Ruth, Perkins, Truchon, Gunter, and Comissioner Anderson 5. Open Forum for Citizen Input There was none. 6. New Business 6.a Report on Green Expo and Earth Day events Chair McKinley reviewed the event held on April 25, 2015 was awesome. She thanked the other Boardmembers for their participation. Boardmember Truchon stated she was impressed with Coon Rapids groups that are formed and suggested a partnership be investigated between Coon Rapids and Blaine. The May 2, 2015 Earth Day was a great event. A tree planting was done. Chair McKinley thanked Boardmember Ruth for his help in the Earth Day event. Chair McKinley made up a packet of the plantings done. She was made aware of the black locust problem and provided information to the residents who are concerned about the problem. Boardmember Truchon asked about the picnic tables in the shelter and Chair McKinley stated they were brought in for the event and hopefully will be kept at Laddie Lake in the shelter. Discussed 6.b July NRCB Meeting - Tour of Wetlands The NRCB will meet at East Lake Park at 6:30 p.m. on July 21, 2015 for a tour of the wetlands. Jason Husveth was approached and is willing to give a tour to the NRCB. The Park Board has been invited to the tour. Discussed 6.c Distribute Comments from BWS Open House Chair McKinley reviewed the report prepared by Stantec Consulting Services and MSR Architects. City of Blaine Page 2 Nat'l Resources Conservation Minutes - Final May 19, 2015 Board On March 26, 2015 a public meeting was held. The attendance was strong, with nearly 50 members of the community and neighborhood spending time to learn more about the project. Most of the attendees were actively engaged in discussions about the trails, wetlands, and nature center, and excited about providing their input. One of the opportunities for public input centered around one question; “What would you like to do at the Blaine Wetland Sanctuary?” By engaging the public on a conversation, Stantec and MSR guided the conversations to reveal broad interests in activities that will continue to inform the project development and programming. Public responses covered a wide range of possibilities. In review, many of the comments/suggestions fall into one of the following main categories: 1. The projection of the environment & the wildlife it supports. 2. Active lifestyle 3. Education opportunities 4. Social space with amenities to support activities In total, the comments and ideas from the community show overwhelming support for this project. The report contained the specific comments provided by the open house participants. The public were also asked to fill out a comment form to provide the City and its consultants with additional feedback. The comments were included in the report. Chair McKinley stated it was a nice summary of the comments received. She suggested Boardmembers review and it can be discussed at the next meeting. Discussed 6.d Finalize Plans for BWS Kick-off Chair McKinley stated the event is scheduled for Saturday, May 30, 2015 at Lakeside Commons Pavilion. The NRCB met at the Pavilion prior to tonight’s meeting to look at the site. Chair McKinley distributed t-shirts and nametags with lanyards to the Boardmembers. The lanyards will need to be returned to City Staff. Equipment needed can be borrowed from Parks and Recreation City of Blaine Page 3 Nat'l Resources Conservation Minutes - Final May 19, 2015 Board Department. Cold drink dispensers and a coffee maker are available. Boardmembers Gunter and Ruth will bring crockpots. Boardmember Ruth will bring coolers with ice. Chair McKinley will pick up the drink dispensers and coffee maker. Set-up 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. Displays from Stantec on easels - Staff Liaison Hafner will provide. Banners - Chair McKinley will bring Flag streamers & balloons - Chair McKinley will bring Sign In sheet - Chair McKinley will bring Extra tables for serving - Boardmember Anderson Disposable gloves - Boardmember Anderson Extension cords - Boardmember Anderson Note pad & pens for comments/suggestions/questions Boardmember Rafferty received donations from 3 Cubs for $120. A sign is needed to thank them for the donation. Excess food will be donated to the food shelf. Staff Liaison Hafner suggested planning for 200 people. Hot dogs & buns - 200 - Boardmember Rafferty will purchase food items. Chips - Chair McKinley will donate a box of bbq chips (35 bags) Condiments - ketchup, mustard and relish Donut holes Fruit - Boardmember Gunter will try to get a donation of bananas and apples from Kwik Trip. She will let Boardmember Rafferty know if she is successful. Cookies - if money is left. Ice Water and Lemonade served from dispensers - Chair McKinley will bring lemonade mix to make 5 gallons. Boardmember Rafferty will purchase more mix. Plates - Napkins - Cups - Boardmember Rafferty will get compostable paper products. Compost bin will be available. Charcoal - Chair McKinley has 2 - 18 ½ pound bags and lighter fluid. City of Blaine Page 4 Nat'l Resources Conservation Minutes - Final May 19, 2015 Board Coffee - Boardmember Truchon will donate coffee grounds. Creamer and sugar - Chair McKinley will provide. Ice - Boardmember Rafferty Grillers - Boardmembers Ruth and Anderson Tour Guides - Station at East Lake Park with some Stantec displays. Boardmembers Gunter and Truchon. Boardmember Truchon will also ask Dan to help. Entertainment - Jenny & friends. They will bring their own tip jar and sound System Speakers - Mayor Tom Ryan has agreed to speak. Staff Liaison Hafner will speak about the wetland at 11:30 a.m. The Park Board has been invited. Chair McKinley invited the Council and past NRCB members. Games - No Games - playground available. Photographer - Grace will take photos Coverage - Boardmember Gunter will contact Eric Hagen from newspaper. Volunteers - Boardmembers will take t-shirts for the volunteers they recruited. Transportation - The City van will be available to transport people unable to walk to East Lake Park. Signs - Boardmember Truchon will check with City Staff to see if signs can be made. Chair McKinley will check on parking without a permit is allowed for the event. Clean-up between 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. A recycling bin and garbage can will be City of Blaine Page 5 Nat'l Resources Conservation Minutes - Final May 19, 2015 Board Provided. Boardmember Truchon will make a sign to thank Cub for their donation. It will also be mentioned by Mayor Ryan. Boardmember Truchon stated small buckthorn is coming up along the trails in East Lake Park. Boardmember Perkins noted residents are mowing into the Open Space area. Chair McKinley will mention that to Staff Liaison Hafner. Some of the pink delineation signs have been mowed down. Notices need to be sent to residents not to dump grass clippings in the wetland area. Handouts will be available on various topics at the BWS Kick-off. Discussed 7. Other Business Blaine Festival - Chair McKinley stated the event is June 26-28, 2015. The NRCB will have a table in the civic tent. Chair McKinley will be there on Friday. Boardmember Perkins will be out of town. This will be discussed at the June meeting. Infomational; no action required. 8. Adjournment MOVED by Boardmember Gunter, seconded by Boardmember Ruth, to adjourn the meeting at 8:20 p.m. The motion carried unanimously. Aye: 7 - Chair McKinley, Rafferty, Ruth, Perkins, Truchon, Gunter, and Comissioner Anderson City of Blaine Page 6