Arbor Committee

MAPLE GROVE ARBOR COMMITTEE REGULAR MEETING MINUTES NOVEMBER 12, 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 7:02 p.m. Members Present Chair Mary Parenteau, Vice-Chair Frank Kampel, Sarah Piket, Steve Courtney, Julie Gamber, Cody Lensing, Don Varney and Marilyn Arnlund Members Absent Dan Sanford, Ed Reichow and Bob Henke 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. Chair Parenteau requested the addition of 3C. Forest Preservation Area Conservation Easement. Hearing 3C addition, no removals and revisions Vice-Chair Kampel made a motion to approve the agenda, seconded by Committee Member Varney and passed unanimously on a voice vote. 8/0 Approval of Minutes Chair Parenteau asked if there were any additions or revisions to the minutes. No Revisions or additions. Vice-Chair Kampel made a motion to approve the minutes and seconded by Committee Member Arnlund and passed unanimously on a voice vote. 8/0 Old Business EAB Management Plan A redlined version of the plan that was modified by the City Revisions Council in 2017 was provided to the committee for review. Vice-Chair Kampel inquired if residents have been notified that they have the option to treat boulevard trees (as is referenced in the plan). City Staff Liaison Corrow was not sure. Chair Parenteau requested that in the future residents be notified. Committee Member Arnlund pointed out the plan indicates that boulevard trees are considered public trees. City staff had previously indicated that they could not apply for grants to help with the treatment and replacement of boulevard trees because they are private property trees. This is confusing. Arbor Committee Meeting Minutes November 12, 2020 Page 2 She was also looking for a more precise definition of what “partially in the city right of way” means (i.e. any part of the tree including branches hanging over, just the trunk, etc.)? Council Liaison Hanson indicated in her experience it only applies to the trunk of the tree or what is in the ground, not what is hanging over. Fall Tree Festival Recap Chair Parenteau thanked everyone who worked on the event. City Staff Liaison Corrow indicated that the city staff received a lot of inquiries about the event. It was also noted that the gift card prizes were purchased from Lynde Nursery and Fair’s Nursery. Forest Preservation Area Chair Parenteau has now spoken with all councilmembers to Conservation Easement socialize the idea, most recently with Councilmember Leith and Mayor Steffenson. The mayor indicated he was ok with the topic of the easement being discussed at a future council working session. A specific session date has not yet been determined. The mayor would also like the City Attorney to research all parcels of land that are in the preservation area to determine how they were obtained (donated, purchased with grant money, etc.). Chair Parenteau sent 20 PIDs to City Administrator, Heidi Nelson to pass along to the attorney. All of the parcels of land being considered for the conservation easement are owned by the city. It was noted that some of the adjacent land is owned by Three Rivers Park District. Chair Parenteau will contact the Hennepin County Land Trust representatives next week to give them an update on the status of our efforts. New Business MN Health Village – Vice-Chair Kampel noted that the developer did a good job Landscape Plan with the landscape plan. There is a nice variety of trees, shrubbery and perennials. Bottineau Ridge III – Chair Parenteau noted that there are a lot of dead trees on the Landscape Plan grounds of previous phases. City Staff Liaison Corrow noted that the 2-year landscape inspection, as part of the Site Performance Agreement, which will address the dead trees. Arbor Committee Meeting Minutes November 12, 2020 Page 3 Chair Parenteau pointed out when the Phase 2 and 3 plans are reviewed together, there are too many spruce trees (a max of 12 total allowed but 17 are planned for). Also, in Phase 2 there were no understory trees and in Phase 3 there is only one. The ordinance requires a “full complement” of understory trees, which is somewhat ambiguous, but likely meant to be more than 0 or 1. Chair Parenteau identified some open area in Phase 3 where the developer could plant the additional trees. Area Reports Follow-up from the October 8, 2020 meeting: Email - There is now a generic Arbor Committee city email. City Staff Liaison Corrow will publish it to the website tomorrow. Any emails that come to the new mailbox will be forwarded to Chair Parenteau by City Staff Liaison Corrow Forest Preservation Area B – Street Supervisor, Joe Bennet, indicated that the city maintains the wood chip trails in the forest preservation area once a year in the fall. Chair Parenteau inquired if it had been done this year and City Staff Liaison Corrow was not sure. Vice-Chair Kampel also expressed that it probably needs more maintenance than once a year, otherwise people will not be able to find the trails to use. Chair Parenteau had previously inquired about how much of the forest preservation area is being mowed. When she had been there earlier in the year she noticed a wide swath had been mowed. Street Supervisor, Joe Bennet, indicated only the trail area is mowed. Per a prior request, City Staff Liaison Corrow also tried to determine where the map at the main parking area came from but thus far no one in the city has a record of it. Chair Parenteau explained that when the forest preservation area was established, a small committee used a Westwood study to identify where the trails should be placed (which was likely the input to the map). Vice-Chair Kampel was on the small committee and emphasized that the map is where trails should be and they should be maintained as such. He offered to work with the city next year to re-establish the trails. City Staff Liaison Corrow noted that the Tree City USA application has been submitted again for this year. TBD if the requirements for 2021 will be modified due to COVID. Arbor Committee Meeting Minutes November 12, 2020 Page 4 New Area Reports Project near 99th Ave and Elm Road area which is in a T- Zone – Chair Parenteau inquired if new signs had been ordered. City Staff Liaison Corrow confirmed they had the initial approval to order more signs. Adjournment Vice-Chair Kampel made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:57 p.m. The motion was seconded by Committee Member Arnlund and passed unanimously on a voice vote. 8/0 Respectfully submitted, Jesse Corrow, Staff Representative City of Maple Grove Arbor Committee