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, November 20, 2018 7:00 PM Council Chambers 1. Call To Order The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. 2. Roll Call Ms. Haug called the roll call. Others Present: Rebecca Haug, Co-Liaison, Water Resource Manager. Present: 9 - Chair McKinley, Villella, Rafferty, Perkins, Truchon, Genet, Theisen, Varian, and Panning Absent: 1 - Vedi 3. Approval of Minutes 3.-1 APPROVAL OF THE OCTOBER 16, 2018 NRCB MEETING Attachments: 10-16-18nrcb Due to the fact that the audio did not work until after item #4 on the video, mover and seconder were left blank. There was no approval of the agenda made so item #3 should be deleted. Chair McKinley noted on item #4 the minutes were as amended. Motion was made by Boardmember Rafferty and seconded by Boardmember City of Blaine Page 1 Nat'l Resources Conservation Board Minutes November 20, 2018 Varian. The following corrections were also noted: Page 2 paragraph 2 - Block Party (rather than Black Party). On Sentence 5 should read “She also thanked . . . “ Page 2 paragraph 3 - . . . document with the Army Corp of Engineers last week . . Page 2 paragraph 4 . . . Any work in the southern portion will be pushed out to late 2019 . . . Page 2 paragraph 5 . . . regulatory agencies to see if Pioneer Park is a viable . . . Page 2 paragraph 6 . . . soon as possible with the help of Work Service Crew . . . Page 4 the last sentence and the first sentence on page 5 should be moved prior to the motion. Motion carried 8-1 vote. Page 2 the spelling of the Eagle Scout’s first name is Jared. There were additional inaudible comments. Page 3 Ms. Kunza should replace Ms. Genet in two cases in the paragraph. Page 3 item 7 2nd sentence should read, The sidewalk to the north . . . Page 4 the last sentence in the first partial paragraph should be deleted. Page 4 3rd paragraph - should read . . . open space budget. Page 4 6th paragraph remove the word shortly in the last sentence. MOVED by Boardmember Genet, seconded by Boardmember Truchon, to approve the October 16, 2018 Minutes as amended. Motion carried unanimously. Aye: 9 - Chair McKinley, Villella, Rafferty, Perkins, Truchon, Genet, Theisen, Varian, and Panning Approval of Agenda City of Blaine Page 2 Nat'l Resources Conservation Board Minutes November 20, 2018 MOVED by Boardmember Perkins, seconded by Boardmember Genet, to approve the agenda as presented. Motion carried unanimously. Aye: 9 - Chair McKinley, Villella, Rafferty, Perkins, Truchon, Genet, Theisen, Varian, and Panning 4. Open Forum for Citizen Input No one appeared to address the Board. None. 5. New Business 5.-1 RECOGNITION OF JARED WIK FOR THE PICTURE POSTS AT THE BWS Ms. Haug introduced Jared Wik, the Eagle Scout who built the photo posts and installed them in the Blaine Wetland Sanctuary. Mr. Jared Wik, Troop 509, did this as his Eagle Scout Project. He described the photo posts and how they were installed. He received help from Larry Sable and Jared’s father. A website has been established where photos can be uploaded. Chair McKinley stated she saw the posts but is confused about the “N”. Jared stated the arrows point in different directions where the best photographs could be taken. Chair McKinley stated it was a good job. Boardmember Perkins stated Jared did a great job and asked how much time it took for the complete project from planning to installation. Jared stated there was a lot of planning that went into it but he does not know how long. Boardmember Rafferty asked how the funding was received and Jared stated Lowe’s donated the materials. Chair McKinley noted Larry Sable was instrumental in getting the plaques made. Jared stated he would like to thank Larry for helping with the project and for the NRCB in allowing him to do the project. Chair McKinley congratulated Jared on becoming an Eagle Scout. City of Blaine Page 3 Nat'l Resources Conservation Board Minutes November 20, 2018 Boardmember Truchon asked if Jared would be recognized by sending an article to the newspaper about the project or whether that had already been done. Chair McKinley stated she does not know. Boardmember Truchon suggested it would be a good idea to let residents know how the posts are to be used. Ms. Haug stated her plan was to get a picture of Jared and combine it with the posts at the BWS and post on the website, social media and a future newsletter. Boardmember Genet asked when the Eagle Scout Ceremony would be and Jared responded it needs to be planned. Boardmember Varian asked if the website where the pictures would be posted is the City of Blaine website. Ms. Haug stated it is the City of Blaine’s website and the Blaine Wetland Sanctuary has its own webpage. It is not fully developed and is a work in progress. Mr. Larry Sable, 10806 Buchanan St., stated the website still does need to be developed and hopefully in the future there will be some signage that will provide explanation of how to use the posts. Mr. Sable noted the plates are brass with etching. The color of the brass will change over time but the writing should remain legible. Mr. Sable noted Jared is not yet an Eagle Scout. He still has the Board of Review. Discussed. 5.-2 BWS SITE 7 UPDATES Ms. Haug reviewed the final mitigation banking instrument was approved last Thursday. The Deposit for Credits Transaction Form is in process of being signed by all the regulatory agencies. It will then be submitted to the Army Corps of Engineers and the State. The City of Blaine will then have the first 15% or approx. 12 acres of credits ready to be sold on the open market. The Council met and decided to charge $2.50 per square foot. There are people anxious for the credits to be on the market for sale. Ms. Haug stated there will be an Open House on November 27 at 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. in the Cloverleaf Room A, to meet with the neighborhood adjacent to the Wetland Sanctuary to discuss the upcoming tree removals and the prescribed burn. A letter will be mailed to the neighborhood. Boardmember Genet asked which neighborhood and Ms. Haug stated near the boardwalk. Boardmember Genet stated neither she nor Boardmember Truchon received the email about the Open House. Ms. Haug stated the email was sent to the Committee members (Truchon and Genet) and the City Council last Friday. Chair McKinley encouraged the Boardmembers to attend. Ms. Haug stated if there is a quorum present of the NRCB then a City of Blaine Page 4 Nat'l Resources Conservation Board Minutes November 20, 2018 notice would need to be posted and inform the public. Chair McKinley stated she would like to attend. Boardmembers Genet and Truchon will also attend. The southern part of the BWS was discussed with the Council and they are in favor of hiring a consultant to put together a plan as to how that project will unfold. Ms. Haug will provide an update at the next meeting. Discussed. 5.-3 PIONEER PARK WETLAND BANK PROPOSAL Last Thursday, Ms. Haug provided an update to the City Council on the status of creating a wetland bank at Pioneer Park. The regulatory agencies look at it as a viable wetland bank and are in favor the City moving forward with the creation of a bank at this site. The Council is in favor of completing the wetland bank application. Jason Husveth will do the work and the Coon Creek Watershed District has agreed to do the modeling for the City to determine the elevation for the weirs and the ditches. Chair McKinley stated Jason Husveth has done some wetland restoration work years ago at Pioneer Park. Ms. Haug stated that was invasive species control. Diiscussed. 5.-4 COMMUNICATIONS Chair McKinley stated there are a lot of things coming up that she would like to have reports on. She would like to see the Board have a meeting in December. Boardmember Genet stated if there is a meeting in December one or two students would be available to attend and report on their work at Lochness Lake this summer. The meeting would be December 18. Ms. Haug presented an update on the programs including a Star Gazing Event, Wargo Nature Center events, snowshoeing, animal tracking, winter ecology, fat tire biking and a bird hike. This information will be included in the recreation program brochure. The dragonfly program will be held later in the summer. Boardmember Perkins asked more about the fat tire biking as there were previous concerns about not letting mountain biking in the BWS and asked what the plan was. Ms. Haug stated she told Wargo Nature Center the biking could only be done on the trails and there is some discussion about possibly going to a different park, possibly Lochness Park. Boardmember Truchon commented about vehicles in the wetland and noted there was a costumed young person on a motor scooter did the whole route on the City of Blaine Page 5 Nat'l Resources Conservation Board Minutes November 20, 2018 trails and boardwalk. Ms. Haug suggested if that is witnessed in the future the police should be called as no motorized vehicles are allowed. Boardmember Truchon stated there are sometimes poles that don’t allow motorized vehicles to pass but walkers can pass through. She does not recall if the BWS has the poles. Chair McKinley stated there are poles at both ends of the boardwalk. Discussed. 5.-5 PARTNERSHIP UPDATES Ms. Haug provided an update on the partnership with Spring Lake Park High school and one of the AP Science classes. Last Thursday, Jason Husveth and Ms. Haug visited the class and Jason provided a history of the BWS and the Anoka Sand Plain. Possible research opportunities were discussed with the students for this spring. Last Weds, the Metro Storm Water Coalition took a tour of the BWS to learn about how mapping is used in restoration work. Boardmember Truchon stated she is very impressed with Ms. Haug’s work to include the scientific and technical community in the Site. Discussed. Adjournment MOVED by Boardmember Perkins, seconded by Boardmember Truchon, to adjourn the meeting at 7:40 p.m. The motion carried unanimously. Aye: 9 - Chair McKinley, Villella, Rafferty, Perkins, Truchon, Genet, Theisen, Varian, and Panning City of Blaine Page 6