Nat'l Resources Conservation Board

Blaine City Hall City of Blaine 10801 Town Sq Dr NE Blaine MN 55449 Anoka County, Minnesota Minutes 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, April 17, 2018 7:00 PM Council Chambers 1. Call To Order 1. The meeting was called to order at 7:03 p.m. 2. Roll Call Others Present: Recreation Manager Shari Kunza and Rebecca Haug, Co-Liaison, Water Resource Manager. Present: 8 - Chair McKinley, Villella, Rafferty, Truchon, Genet, Theisen, Vedi, and Panning Absent: 1 - Perkins 3. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM MARCH 20, 2018 Attachments: 03-20-18nrcb.pdf Boardmember Genet noted she was present at the meeting. MOVED by Boardmember Rafferty, seconded by Boardmember Truchon to approve the March 20, 2018 Minutes as amended. Motion carried unanimously. Aye: 8 - Chair McKinley, Villella, Rafferty, Truchon, Genet, Theisen, Vedi, and Panning 4. NATURAL RESOURCE BOARD ADJOURNS SINE DIE Chair McKinley adjourned the meeting Sine Die. 5. ADMINISTRATION OF OATH OF OFFICE City of Blaine Page 1 Nat'l Resources Conservation Board Minutes April 17, 2018 City Clerk Sorensen administered the Oath of Office to Gene Rafferty, Carolyn Panning, Karen Varian, and Puneet Vedi. 6. MEETING RESUMES: ROLL CALL OF NRCB Others Present: Recreation Manager Shari Kunza and Rebecca Haug, Co-Liaison, Water Resource Manager. 7. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA Boardmember Truchon added under Communications an oral report of the meeting of the neighborhood group. MOVED by Boardmember Genet, seconded by Boardmember Villella, to approve the agenda as amended. Motion carried unanimously. Aye: 8 - Chair McKinley, Villella, Rafferty, Truchon, Genet, Theisen, Vedi, and Panning 8. Open Forum for Citizen Input No one appeared to address the Board. All of the NRCB members introduced themselves. Chair McKinley welcomed the new members. None. 9. HISTORY OF THE NRCB Boardmember Truchon provided a written timeline of the open space movement in Blaine for Board review and noted the timeline is a draft. She asked if there are changes to let her know. Boardmember Rafferty assisted Boardmember Truchon on preparing the history. Boardmember Truchon summarized the report. Chair McKinley asked that the purchases of the open space parcels be added to the report. Boardmember Truchon will also add the grant information to the report. Chair McKinley noted she has been working on the NRCB History since 2005 and she distributed the report to the new Boardmembers. Discussed. 10. REVIEW OF 2018 GOALS Chair McKinley distributed copies of the 2018 goals for the NRCB that were set at the January meeting. She encouraged each Boardmember to choose a project to pursue this year and provide a report. City of Blaine Page 2 Nat'l Resources Conservation Board Minutes April 17, 2018 Discussed. 11. COMMUNICATIONS Ms. Kunza provided an update on the following: Environmental Education Update - Eight different programs will be offered at the BWS this year. The first one will be Saturday. All of the programs have enrollment. There is still room in all of the programs. Boardmember Genet noted the boardwalk may not be cleared by this Saturday. Earth Day Update - There are 12 sites selected and the first one is rescheduled for Saturday. There is a website for registering to help with the cleanup. The City provides supplies for the clean-up. Boardmember Truchon stated previously the NRCB worked hard to get one park cleaned during Earth Day, now with Ms. Kunza’s assistance many areas are included. World Fest - May 19, 2018. The NRCB will have a table and tent and volunteers are needed to man the booth. There will be food trucks, entertainment, arts and crafts, etc. There will be materials available for the NRCB tent/table. Open Space Tour Tuesday, May 15, 2018 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. This will occur during the next NRCB Meeting. The City van will visit all open space areas. The Open Space Management Plan will be handed out during the tour. Chair McKinley asked if orientation can be added to the tour. Chair McKinley asked how the passport idea is coming along and Ms. Kunza stated it will be completed by May 1, 2018. Boardmember Truchon provided an oral report on the neighborhood group meeting and a reporter from the Star Tribune. She stated there are many lessons to be learned on the controversy related to the BWS restoration. There are members of the neighborhood that still feel there is not communication and they were told by their realtors when purchasing their homes that nothing would be done in the area behind their homes. Boardmember Truchon stated the restoration will continue and all permits are in hand. Boardmember Genet stated she spoke with the reporter earlier today. The reporter had several questions which Boardmember Genet attempted to answer. Ms. Haug stated she also spoke with the reporter Hanna Covington prior to the meeting. The City has discovered Emerald Ash Borer in the BWS City of Blaine Page 3 Nat'l Resources Conservation Board Minutes April 17, 2018 and trees will need to be removed quicker than planned. Boardmember Genet asked for the location of the affected trees. Ms. Haug stated a contractor will be making a report. Boardmember Varian asked if there was a plan on communicating that fact to the neighbors. Ms. Haug stated Councilmember Jepson sent out an email to all the neighbors informing them of the next steps. The Council will bring this back to an upcoming workshop to discuss next steps. Boardmember Varian noted she was referring to the emerald ash borer and Ms. Haug stated she will need to get back to the NRCB regarding next steps. Boardmember Villella suggested the new Boardmembers be provided with the information regarding the ordeal with the neighbors and the trees. Boardmember Vedi asked if this can be included in the tour in May. Chair McKinley stated she will write up the history of the BWS to current time. Boardmember Varian noted Boardmember Genet had distributed an article to the Board and suggested that be put on the website. Ms. Haug stated the article was from the DNR regarding tree removal. Boardmember Theisen asked if certified mail could be sent to the residents to communicate information related to tree removal. Boardmember Villella stated the problem with that is cost. Chair McKinley noted there was a huge event held at City Hall regarding the BWS. There was also a kick-off event for the BWS held at Lakeside Commons Park. Boardmember Truchon suggested residents utilize the Blaine website for updates on the BWS restoration. Boardmember Theisen suggested communication be offered on weekends as residents may not be available during the week. Boardmember Genet stated meetings have been during the day, evenings, and on weekends. Boardmember Truchon stated she watched the last Council meeting where the development on Lever Street was discussed. There was interest expressed on the Lever Street open space parcel. Discussed. 12. Adjournment MOVED by Boardmember Genet, seconded by Boardmember Villella, to adjourn the meeting at 7:50 p.m. The motion carried unanimously. Aye: 8 - Chair McKinley, Villella, Rafferty, Truchon, Genet, Theisen, Vedi, and Panning City of Blaine Page 4