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, December 18, 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: 10 - Chair McKinley, Villella, Rafferty, Perkins, Truchon, Genet, Theisen, Varian, Vedi, and Panning 3. Approval of Minutes 3.-1 APPROVAL OF THE NOVEMBER 20, 2018 NRCB MINUTES Attachments: 11-20-18nrcb MOVED by Boardmember Rafferty, seconded by Boardmember Villella, to approve the November 20, 2018 Minutes as presented. Motion carried unanimously. Approval of Agenda City of Blaine Page 1 Nat'l Resources Conservation Board Minutes December 18, 2018 MOVED by Boardmember Truchon, seconded by Boardmember Perkins, to approve the agenda as presented. Motion carried unanimously. Aye: 10 - Chair McKinley, Villella, Rafferty, Perkins, Truchon, Genet, Theisen, Varian, Vedi, and Panning 4. Open Forum for Citizen Input No one appeared to address the Board. None. 5. New Business 5.-1 PRESENTATIONS BY ANOKA RAMSEY COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS Ms. Emily Hanson, student at Anoka Ramsey Community College was introduced by Boardmember Genet. Ms. Mary Yocum was not able to be at the meeting this evening was also mentioned. Ms. Genet provided a summary of their projects. Ms. Hanson reviewed her project in detail for the Board. Chair McKinley asked if the data she provided could be available on the website and also sent to entire board. Boardmember Villella asked what the graph was indicating and Ms. Hanson stated it was the species area curve graph. Boardmember Varian asked what can be done with this information now. Ms. Hanson stated continued sampling to develop trends on water quality. Chair McKinley asked if the water quality in the lake is still adequate for fish and Boardmember Genet stated the fish community seems to be fine. Boardmember Truchon asked if Lochness Lake has a fish advisory and Boardmember Genet stated there are no predatory fish in this lake. Boardmember Truchon asked if the wetland area is restorable at this point. Boardmember Genet stated it would be a good step to look at the species identified. There is not a student working on it currently for future study. Ms. Hanson is currently attending U of M Duluth. City of Blaine Page 2 Nat'l Resources Conservation Board Minutes December 18, 2018 The Board appreciated Ms. Hanson’s work on this project. Boardmember Genet will distribute the information to the Board and post it on the City’s website. Discussed. 5.-2 POLICY FOR DONATIONS FOR SIGNAGE AT THE BWS Ms. Haug stated the City has been asked about resident’s giving donations for signage at the BWS. She has done some research on how donations are received by the City. If the Board would like to request donations they can. The estimates for signs are $730 for interpretative signs (per sign) with $600 for installation (per sign), the entrance sign estimate would be $50,000 - $70,000. Maintenance costs on signs can be very expensive and should be considered by the Board in sign selection. Boardmember Genet asked if the Board would want to consider having a Friends of the BWS. Ms. Haug stated at one time a Friends of the Open Space was considered. Chair McKinley stated no member of the board could be a member of this organization. Boardmember Varian asked if donations can be designated to a certain cause and Ms. Haug stated donations can be designated. Ms. Haug stated there are already line items in the fund. Chair McKinley asked how many interpretative signs will be needed and Ms. Haug stated seven signs have been created but there are not funds to have them installed. There is money in the budget for 2019 for sign installation. Boardmember Truchon stated she would like to see those that gave donations recognized somehow. Boardmember Villella asked about material choices for the signs and would a composite requiring less maintenance be considered. Ms. Haug stated that will be discussed during the meeting with the sign company. She will provide ideas and options for the Board to review and make a decision. Discussed. 5.-3 COMMUNICATIONS Ms. Haug provided an update to the Site 7 meeting which Boardmembers Panning, Truchon, Genet and Chair McKinley and Staff attended. A number of residents also attended. There was push back on the tree City of Blaine Page 3 Nat'l Resources Conservation Board Minutes December 18, 2018 removal on the site. Boardmember Genet asked if answers were provided to all the questions and Ms. Haug stated some responses are still being gathered. Boardmember Truchon stated the purpose of the meeting was to get residents on-board with the project. She asked if the information on online and Ms. Haug stated there is some information available and she will check and update if necessary. Chair McKinley stated she attended the meeting and controlled burn was not mentioned. Ms. Haug stated the controlled burn will be done next spring. Boardmember Genet stated the meeting did not start out well and the community members had unanswered questions and they were not happy. They did not understand the boundaries of Site 7 and the wetland bank. The residents were interested in saving as many trees as necessary. It was noted Mayor Ryan and incoming Councilmember _____ were in attendance. Boardmember Varian asked now what and will information be provided as a follow-up. Ms. Haug stated information has been provided to the residents. The plan is still to remove trees in February depending on the weather. This work will only be done in Site 7. Pioneer Park Wetland Bank Proposal - Ms. Haug stated this is still moving forward. The Army Corp of Engineers sent a letter stating they are in favor of proceeding with the wetland bank application for the site. The Coon Creek Watershed sent a letter they are also in favor. The City Council agreed to proceed in moving forward with the formal application process. Boundaries have not been completely set. Jason Husveth will be preparing the application. 5.-4 BECOMING A CLEAN ENERGY CITY Boardmember Panning stated she is a member of the Sierra Club. She is requesting a recommendation from the Board to the City Council to commit to being a clean energy city. Boardmember Villella asked what the difference is between this and being a Green Step City. Chair McKinley asked if there are details on this and Boardmember Panning stated it is a pledge that is signed by the City. The leadership of the City of Blaine Page 4 Nat'l Resources Conservation Board Minutes December 18, 2018 City would need to say they wish to pursue this. Boardmember Perkins asked if this could be included in the Comprehensive Plan and Ms. Haug stated the Comprehensive Plan has already been approved. Boardmember Theisen stated there needs to be a line item in the budget for the energy program. Ms. Haug stated she would like to do a little more research on this and will report back to the Board. She is familiar with Green Step Cities also. Boardmember Villella stated he forwarded a link to the Board. Boardmember Varian asked what the steps are to be taken to be 100% renewable. Chair McKinley stated the Board needs to be aware of the steps and where we are at now. Boardmember Truchon requested a presentation to the Board be done on the process. Boardmember Panning sent a link that should be forwarded to the City Council as a resident of the City, to the entire Board. Boardmember Vedi stated it would be nice to know which other Cities in MN are in the program. Discussed. 5.-5 END OF THE YEAR REPORT Ms. Haug provided a power point summary of what was accomplished in 2018. She reviewed goals, programming by Growing Green Hearts, programming by Wargo Nature Center, other programming, work completed, events, and a map of the Open Spaces within the City of Blaine. She reviewed some of the plans for 2019. Chair McKinley thanked Ms. Haug on behalf of the Board for all her work in 2018. She thanked the Boardmembers for their contributions this year. Informational; no action requried. Adjournment MOVED by Boardmember Perkins, seconded by Boardmember Genet, to City of Blaine Page 5 Nat'l Resources Conservation Board Minutes December 18, 2018 adjourn the meeting at 7:55 p.m. The motion carried unanimously. Aye: 10 - Chair McKinley, Villella, Rafferty, Perkins, Truchon, Genet, Theisen, Varian, Vedi, and Panning City of Blaine Page 6