Arbor Committee

MAPLE GROVE ARBOR COMMITTEE REGULAR MEETING OCTOBER 8, 2020 VIRTUAL ONLINE MEETING 7:00 PM Call to Order The regular meeting of the Arbor Committee was called to order by Chair Parenteau at 7:04 p.m. Members Present Chair Mary Parenteau, Vice-Chair Frank Kampel, Sarah Piket, Steve Courtney, Cody Lensing, Bob Henke Members Absent Dan Sanford, Ed Reichow, Julie Gamber, Don Varney, Marilyn Arnlund Also Present Judy Hanson, Council Liaison Jesse Corrow, Staff Liaison Approval of Agenda Chair Parenteau asked if there were any additions or revisions to the agenda. Hearing no additions, revisions or removals Committee Member Courtney made a motion to approve the agenda, seconded by Committee Member Henke and passed unanimously on a voice vote. 6/0 Approval of Minutes Chair Parenteau asked if there were any additions or revisions to the minutes. Vice-Chair Kampel noted the misspelling of a name (Kristine Maurer and Kristina Geiger) and a grammatical error. Vice -Chair Kampel made a motion to approve the minutes and seconded by Committee Member Courtney and passed unanimously on a voice vote. 6/0. Old Business Tree Policy / Grant Follow- Committee Member Henke expressed disappointment up in the response from the city regarding the suggestion of purchasing bare root replacement trees, growing them in the gravel bed, and making them available for residents to purchase as replacement trees for the ash trees being removed. Chair Parenteau inquired about the EAB Management Plan. The current version was amended in February of 2017. Chair Parenteau requested an overview of what Arbor Committee Meeting Minutes October 8, 2020 Page 2 the changes were to the plan after the original version approved by the Arbor Committee. City Staff Liaison Corrow will follow-up on this. Forest Preservation Area Chair Parenteau has been contacting members of the Conservation Easement City Council to socialize the idea of the conservation easement. She recently spoke with Councilmember Jaeger and previously spoke with Councilmember Hanson and Councilmember Barnett. She has not been able to connect with Councilmember Leith or Mayor Steffenson yet. Chair Parenteau still has not heard about a date for joining a city council work session to discuss the easement. Councilmember Hanson indicated that she’s been working with Joe Hogeboom, director of community and economic development, to suggest that this topic be in a separate work session from the T-Zone ordinance review. There was discussion regarding the fact that Mayor Steffenson has previously indicated he is not supportive of a permanent easement (there is concern about tying the hands of future councils). It was pointed out that emergency escape clauses can be built into the easement (in the case of a natural disaster, etc.) to provide options in extreme circumstances for future councils. Vice-Chair Kampel noted that verbiage on the literature distributed to the public during the bond referendum (which was approved by the voters for the purchase of the land) said “land trust would be completed as needed to protect forests from future development”. The committee feels a conservation easement would be in-line with expectations of the voters. Chair Parenteau relayed information from Committee Member Varney regarding a park in St. Paul (Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary) that had a pretty strict conservation easement. The easement was modified after collaboration between multiple stakeholders to Arbor Committee Meeting Minutes October 8, 2020 Page 3 allow a foot bridge to enter 3 feet into the park. This exemplifies that future councils would have options for certain scenarios in the future. New Business Buckthorn Abatement – YTS will once again perform buckthorn abatement in Forest Preservation Area the South Forest Preservation Area. Specifically applying herbicide applications to minimize re- sprouting and keep the buckthorn under control. The contract would allow up to 130 hours of abatement for $14,300. This plan will be presented for council approval at the October 19, 2020 meeting. The specific parts of the preservation area to be treated were reviewed by the committee. There are 3 priority areas. YTS will start with the first priority area and keep going until their time runs out. The Arbor Committee is supportive of this plan. Area Reports Follow-up from September Area Reports City email account for Chair Parenteau city staff indicated that only members of committees and commissions that have public hearings are provided with city email addresses. City Staff Liaison Corrow however will pursue the possibility of getting a generic Arbor Committee email set-up. He would monitor it and forward any emails to Chair Parenteau when they come in. There was discussion regarding grading that has been done at The Ridge of Elm Creek development. PUD approval was not needed but a grading permit was given for land adjacent to the development on the east. This was requested by the developer and owner of the adjacent land. Arbor Committee buckthorn removal event the city will provide round-up for the event. The downed tree on the Maple Meadows trail has been removed. Arbor Committee Meeting Minutes October 8, 2020 Page 4 New Reports Vice-Chair Kampel inquired if any future maintenance is planned for the wood chip trails in the forest preservation area. They have not been maintained in quite a while and are now difficult to find. A group sponsored by the city previously identified the best area for the trails. The Arbor Committee recommended the city not expand or create new trails but rather keep the same trails. Chair Parenteau also noted that it appeared the city has been cutting a wide swath of grass within the forest preservation area. She inquired as to why this was being done. Chair Parenteau received a phone call today from someone with CCX Media about doing an onsite interview regarding the Fall Tree Festival on Friday, October 9, 2020. Committee Member Piket volunteered to work with CCX Media. Adjournment Committee Member Courtney made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:09 p.m. The motion was seconded by Committee Member Henke and passed unanimously on a voice vote. 6/0 Respectfully submitted, Jesse Corrow, Staff Representative City of Maple Grove Arbor Committee