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, June 19, 2018 7:00 PM Council Chambers 1. Call To Order 1. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. 2. Roll Call Others Present: Recreation Manager Shari Kunza and Rebecca Haug, Co-Liaison, Water Resource Manager. Present: 6 - Chair McKinley, Perkins, Truchon, Varian, Vedi, and Panning Absent: 4 - Villella, Rafferty, Genet, and Theisen 3. Approval of the Agenda Approval of Agenda MOVED by Boardmember Perkins, seconded by Boardmember Vedi, to approve the agenda as presented. Motion carried unanimously. Aye: 6 - Chair McKinley, Perkins, Truchon, Varian, Vedi, and Panning 4. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM APRIL 17, 2018 Attachments: 04-17-18nrcb.doc Boardmember Truchon noted on page 3, first paragraph the sentence should read “Boardmember Truchon stated previously the NRCB worked very hard to get one park cleaned during Earth Day and with Ms. Kunza’s City of Blaine Page 1 Nat'l Resources Conservation Board Minutes June 19, 2018 assistance many more parks were included this year.” MOVED by Boardmember Truchon, seconded by Boardmember Varian to approve the April 17, 2018 Minutes as presented. Motion carried unanimously. Aye: 6 - Chair McKinley, Perkins, Truchon, Varian, Vedi, and Panning 5. Open Forum for Citizen Input No one appeared to address the Board. None. 6. PROGRAMMING UPDATE Ms. Kunza reviewed the completed programs: Blaine Wetland Sanctuary Springs Alive - April 21 (26 participants) Welcome Hike and Belly Biology - May 12 (12 participants) Introduction to Birding - May 16 (11 participants) Superheroes and Systems in the BWS - June 13 (23 participants) The future programs are: Wetland Habitat Hike - June 20 (9 registered) Insect Hunt - July 18 (14 registered) Wetland Ecosystem Diversity - August 15 Photographs were shown of some of the participants. Ms. Kunza also provided an update on Field Trips stating a field trip will be done at Centennial Square. Ms. Haug provided an update on Training. Earlier today she worked with the MN Institute for Talented Youth with 57 students attending. This partnership will continue every summer. Boardmember Perkins gave kudos to staff for all of these programs. Boardmember Truchon asked if this was the same group as the Summer Academy and Ms. Haug stated this is a different group. Chair McKinley also thanked staff for all their work on these programs. Boardmember Varian asked why some of the children are hanging over the boardwalk on the pictures. Ms. Haug stated that is referred to as Belly Biology. Safety is discussed and the Belly Biology is very popular. Boardmember Varian asked about programming for adults and Ms. Kunza stated the programming is for all ages. Staff is trying to focus on family programming. City of Blaine Page 2 Nat'l Resources Conservation Board Minutes June 19, 2018 Discussed. 7. SIGN UPDATE Ms. Haug reviewed the interpretive signs are in the final design phase. An intern is working on making final edits on the signs. Staff will budget for them to be printed and installed in 2019. Staff is also budgeting for a monument sign to mark the entrance to the parking lot off of Lexington Avenue. Chair McKinley stated she heard about Emerald Ash Borer in the BWS and asked if the location of the trees affected is known and Ms. Haug stated they are not at this time. Boardmember Perkins stated this is a sensitive subject and communication is key. Discussed. 8. COMMUNICATIONS Attachments: North Metro TV story Ms. Kunza reviewed North Metro Cable aired a news story about the Blaine Wetland Sanctuary on May 31, 2018. The news story was played for the Board. Chair McKinley stated Ms. Haug did a great job explaining the BWS. Ms. Kunza stated the link to the video is on the website. Boardmember Perkins commended staff on this excellent example of communication. Chair McKinley reported World Fest was a great event. Boardmember Truchon and she manned the booth. There was one request for a bench between the parking lot and the boardwalk. Boardmember Varian stated while she was on the Park Board she was the bench person. She would support the addition of benches. Chair McKinley stated there was a storm that went through Blaine and a number of trees were taken out. She showed a picture of a huge maple that went down in Pioneer Park. Chair McKinley thanked Staff for the workbooks that were put together for the Board. Ms. Kunza stated Lucy Gray in the Engineering Department put the books together. Ms. Kunza stated an Eagle Scout and others did some painting at Pioneer Park and Jefferson Park. Chair McKinley stated it looks very good. City of Blaine Page 3 Nat'l Resources Conservation Board Minutes June 19, 2018 Boardmember Truchon suggested notices of programs could be put in the kiosks. Ms. Haug also suggested putting information on identification of evasive weeds in the kiosks. Ms. Haug has the keys for the kiosks. Ms. Haug stated earlier this year a mini grant was applied for from the Rice Creek Watershed ($500) to go towards educational materials. The City has been awarded the $500. Ms. Haug will have a thank-you drafted and available at the next meeting. Boardmember Truchon stated money’s coming to Anoka County as a whole will include monies for an educator and that resource is available for Blaine. Discussed. 9. MOTION TO CANCEL JULY 17 MEETING Chair McKinley stated due to a lack of business and busy summer schedules, staff recommends cancelling the July 17, 2018 NRCB Meeting. Boardmember Varian asked if the Park Board Master Plan would come before the NRCB. Ms. Kunza stated she does not know the schedule. MOVED by Boardmember Varian, seconded by Boardmember Truchon, to cancel the July 17, 2018 NRCB Meeting. The motion carried unanimously. Aye: 6 - Chair McKinley, Perkins, Truchon, Varian, Vedi, and Panning 10. Adjournment MOVED by Boardmember Perkins, seconded by Boardmember Truchon, to adjourn the meeting at 7:35 p.m. The motion carried unanimously. Aye: 6 - Chair McKinley, Perkins, Truchon, Varian, Vedi, and Panning City of Blaine Page 4