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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-02-19 PACKET 04.A.i.REQUEST OF CITY COUNCIL ACTION COUNCIL AGENDA MEETING ITEM # � DATE 2/19/14 ! � � PREPARED BY Engineering Jennifer Levitt ORIGINATING DEPARTMENT STAFF AUTHOR *************�*****�*�************************** COUNCIL ACTION REQUEST Receive and place on file the approved minutes for the Environmental Commission's meetings on November 13, 2013, and January 9, 2014. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Receive and place on file the approved minutes for the Environmental Commission's meetings on November 13, 2013, and January 8, 2014. BUDGET IMPLICATION: $N/A BUDGETED AMOUNT ADVISORY COMMISSION ACTION ❑ PLANNING ❑ PUBLIC SAFETY ❑ PUBLIC WORKS ❑ PARKS AND RECREATION ❑ HUMAN SERVICES/RIGHTS ❑ ECONOMIC DEV. AUTHORITY � ENVIRONMENTAL SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS �_ 2/12/14 $N/A N/A ACTUAL AMOUNT FUNDING SOURCE REVIEWED ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ � ❑ APPROVED ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ � DENIED ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ MEMO/LETTER: ❑ RESOLUTION: ❑ ORDINANCE: ❑ ENGINEERING RECOMMENDATION: ❑ LEGAL RECOMMENDATION: � OTHER: Approved minutes of Environmental Commission meetings on 11/13/13 and 1 /8/14 ADMINISTRATORS COMMENTS � �. Date *********************�**�*****************�*�*** COUNCIL ACTION TAKEN: ❑ APPROVED ❑ DENIED ❑ OTHER City of Cottage Grove Environmental Commission November 13, 2013 A meeting of the Environmental Commission was held at Cottage Grove City Hall, 12800 Ravine Parkway South, Cottage Grove, Minnesota, on Wednesday, November 13, 2013, in the Council Chambers and telecast on Local Government Cable Channel 16. Call to Order Acting Chair Olson called the Environmental Commission meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. Attendees Members Present: Members Absent Others Present: Ryan Fleming, Shauna Klug, David Olson, Rosemary Palmer Karla Bigham, Thaddeus Owen Jennifer Levitt, City Engineer Olson stated that four in attendance constitutes a forum. Approval of Agenda Palmer made a motion to approve the agenda. Fleming seconded. The motion was ap- proved unanimously (4-to-0 vote), Open Forum Olson stated as no one was in the audience they would pass on the open forum. New Business 5.1 Air Monitorinq Results Tom Henning provided a report on the second year's round of seven air-ambient monitoring tests near the 3M Cottage Grove facility. The monitoring started in June. There were preliminary results from the first seven samples. One of those samples was pretty high; however, he re- ceived information from the laboratory today that said those results should be considered invalid and should not be used. Without that unusual data point, the results were very similar to the re- sults from the previous year. The plan was to continue to operate the monitor into May or June 2014, and evaluate if there was any difference from this year's results to the first year's results. Olson asked if they had any data on the amount of waste outside of the 3M system that was running through that plant. Henning replied that they had not requested that data. He stated they had delayed the start time somewhat until 3M started processing outside waste. Olson re- quested looking at data points for that next May or June. Levitt stated she'd would make a request on that to 3M. Environmental Commission Minutes November 13, 2013 Page 2 of 4 5.2 Washinqton Countv Groundwater Plan 60-Dav Review — Provide Comments Levitt stated that the Washington County Groundwater Plan takes all groundwater-related activ- ity and puts it into one document, including work plans and accomplishments. Updates are made annually. Olson explained for the new members that groundwater was actually subsurFace water. Levitt stated that the ultimate goal of this plan is to manage the quality and quantity of groundwater in Washington County to protect health and ensure sufficient supplies of clean water to support human uses and natural ecosystems, which was the main focus of the ten-year plan. Each year the County would update or provide a report on the accomplishments on each one of the sections of this report (Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR), Washington County Conservation District, Metropolitan Council, Minnesota Geological Survey, Department of Agriculture, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Department of Natural Resources, and local units of government). Contaminants that were identified include nitrates, pharmaceuticals, and road salt, Septic systems are present in Cottage Grove and we have to be aware of those. Emerging contaminants were also identified. The two sections of the Plan are groundwater quantity and quality; the quality section would primarily fall back on the cities because cities were the agencies held responsible for that. The interaction between groundwater and surFace water is important. The Washington County Tech- nical Review Committee discussed this Plan, and a lot of the topics listed were missing from the previous ten-year plan. Olson asked if the City was up to date on our responsibilities respective to this Plan or if there was something the City should be doing to be consistent with the Plan. Levitt stated Cottage Grove was probably one of the leaders in the County, especially regarding education in envi- ronmental components facing the communities. Klug asked about the timeline being ten years, noting that it is the Washington County 2030 Comprehensive Plan. Levitt stated the City and the County both had comprehensive plans that went out to 2030; this specific plan was 2014 through 2024, so there might be references back and forth where they refer to the comprehensive plan and the two might be intermixed, making it confusing at times, but the Groundwater Plan was until 2024. Palmer had a question regarding the emerging contaminants. She noted there has been a good start on prescription drugs, but there were ingredients affecting the environment in antibacterial products. She asked how we could identify which products were the culprits and if those com- panies were required to label their products with ingredient information, and what the Environ- mental Commission could do to educate the Cottage Grove community about those issues. Levitt stated she didn't have specific answers to those questions and proposed adding that topic to the 2014 work plan discussion at the January meeting. Fleming thought Washington County should be commended on the effort they put forth on the Groundwater Plan. However, he thought one thing that was missing was an implementation schedule for the identified strategies and perhaps they could identify strategic partners for those strategies. Levitt said they could pass that along to the County. Olson agreed it would be inter- esting to know more about what would be necessary for Cottage Grove to do as an LGU and if they had a work plan in place underneath the ten-year plan. Environmental Commission Minutes November 13, 2013 Page 3 of 4 Klug asked if Cottage Grove switched to surface water from the Mississippi how that would af- fect other states south of Minnesota. Levitt stated they could seek information on that from the Metropolitan Council and would also address that with Washington County. 5.3 Enerqv Analvsis for Cottaqe Grove PSCH: Verification Report—Receive Information Levitt reported that the City received the third and final report of the energy "audit" for the Public Safety/City Hall building. Xcel Energy provided the City with a check for $52,590 as part of the energy incentive earlier this year; right now, they were projecting annual energy savings of $59,645. The end result was it was a job well done and very successful. Fleming asked if all of the energy efficiencies had been equated to any type of greenhouse gas reduction. Levitt responded they had not done that but it might be an interesting thing to look at as we talk about our work plan and our strategy going forward. � Old Business None Approval of Environmental Commission Minutes 7.1 Mav 8, 2013 Fleming had a couple of revisions to the minutes. On Page 3, the third paragraph down, it re- ferred to "MPDES" and "SWPPD" and he believed those should be "NPDES" and "SWPPP." Palmer made a motion to approve the minutes, with the above amendments, from the May 8, 2013, Environmental Commission meeting. Fleming seconded. Motion passed unanimously (4-to-0 vote). 7.2 September 16, 2013 Fleming made a motion to approve the minutes from the September 16, 2013, Environ- mental Commission meeting. Klug seconded. Motion passed unanimously (4-to-0 vote). Reports 8.1 Citv Council Update There was no City Councilmember present; Levitt stated she'd be happy to answer any ques- tions but she did not have any formal presentation or City Council updates to provide. 8.2 Response to Commission Inquiries Levitt stated there was a February 1 deadline for submissions to our Green Award Program that we initiated last year; that deadline was fast approaching and we would work with our Commu- nications Coordinator to get the word out. So far, there have been no nominations made so they needed to get the word out. Levitt stated there have been some inquiries regarding textile recycling so that was something they would probably revisit, to see if it was something the Commission would want to consider in the work plan or something we could provide education or information about. There were differ- Environmental Commission Minutes November 13, 2013 Page 4 of 4 ent awards and programs that certain Council members had been notified existed so that might be something to review and discuss pursuing. Perhaps pursuing the Green Step Cities Step 3 might be the best system versus other programs, depending on how much effort they took, and what we got out of those. Levitt stated right now she'd be leaning toward sticking with the Green Step Cities program and making progress toward our Step 3. 8.3 Environmental Commission Comments and Requests Olson suggested having a discussion about upcoming meetings. Levitt stated Commissioners Bigham and Owen cannot attend the December meeting due to other obligations; she proposed canceling the December meeting and meet in January to prepare a work plan for the Commis- sion, including objectives the Commission would like to achieve in 2014. She suggested that meeting be a non-televised workshop format to brainstorm some ideas regarding the direction of the Commission. Olson added that he'd like to include in that agenda a review of 2013's work plan and the progress they'd made on various issues, as well as items that the Commission may not have made progress on. Klug stated that would be helpful to know what had been done in the past and what steps had been previously taken. Olson asked Levitt to ensure that the 2013 work plan be sent to each of the members in their packet for that meeting. Adjournment Palmer made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Kluq seconded. Motion passed unanim- ously (3-to-0 vote). The meeting adjourned at 7:35 p,m. City of Cottage Grove Environmental Commission Workshop January 8, 2014 A workshop meeting of the Environmental Commission was held at Cottage Grove City Hall, 12800 Ravine Parkway South, Cottage Grove, Minnesota, on Wednesday, January 8, 2014, in the Council Chambers and telecast on Local Government Cable Channel 16. Call to Order Vice Chair Bigham called the Environmental Commission meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. Attendees Members Present Members Absent Karla Bigham, Ryan Fleming, Shauna Klug, Rosemary Palmer Rita Isker, David Olson, Thaddeus Owen Others Present: Jennifer Levitt, City Engineer Ryan BurFeind, Graduate Engineer Emily Schmitz, Code Enforcement Officer Derrick Lehrke, City Council Liaison Brandon Smith (appointment to Commission on 1/15/14 Council agenda) Approval of Agenda It was suggested that the agenda be modified to add "Introductions" following "Open Forum." Palmer made a motion to approve the amended agenda. Klug seconded, The motion was approved unanimously (4-to-0 vote). Open Forum None Introductions Levitt introduced Brandon Smith, whose appointment to the Environmental Commission will be on the agenda for the City Council meeting on January 15; and Ryan BurFeind, Graduate Engineer, and Emily Schmitz, Code Enforcement Officer, who will be staff liaisons to the Commission. Workshop Items 6.1 MS4 Application BurFeind provided an overview of the MS4 permit and reviewed the BMP's and changes in the permit. He conducted an overview on the MCM of the permit and what changes will be taking place. Bigham asked when ordinance changes would take place. BurFeind responded that it would take a year to implement the ordinance changes. Fleming asked about MCM5 and if it is Environmental Commission Minutes January 8, 2014 Page 2 of 3 long-term on privately owned property. Burfeind stated that the City won't construct or do maintenance. Levitt outlined the CO process for businesses and pond maintenance. Klug asked about evaluation 1998, why we don't do it every year, and if is a cost-related item. Levitt responded reviewed non-degradation plan. 6.2 Green Step Cities Inventorv Schmitz provided an update on the GreenStep Cities inventory and reported that at the end of the summer the City had achieved Step 2. Klug stated that the Mixed Uses section shows commuter rail for Red Rock and asked if it is now bus rapid transit. Levitt stated that is correct, noting that BRT should meet the mixed-use definition so the information just needs to be updated. Klug asked if the gardens at each of the schools meet best practices. Schmitz explained that completion is constituted if there are gardens. Fleming asked when the City's SWMP was last updated. Levitt stated it was updated with the comprehensive plan three years ago and there have been no been major changes in policy since then. Bigham asked if there could be incentives for green businesses, such as reduced costs, to encourage green business developments. 6.3 Sustainable Citv Award Nomination Levitt gave an overview of the Sustainable City Award nomination program. Palmer asked why people are not responding to this program. Levitt stated that getting nominations can be a challenge even for more established award programs. Bigham suggested working with the Chamber of Commerce. Levitt responded that staff would follow up with the Chamber. Lehrke noted that the Chamber covers more than just Cottage Grove. Bigham also suggested that the City contact Barb Brown from the school district to work with the high schools. She proposed that the awards should be environmentally friendly and could include gift certificates to local businesses. Palmer stated the winrier should be featured in the City's newsletter. Fleming suggested that a local artist work on the plaque. It was decided to extend the application deadline to March. 6.4 2014 Work Plan Schmitz gave an overview of the GreenStep program and asked the Commission what changes could be made to meet Step 3. She broke down the Best Practices that the City is close to meeting. Levitt asked if the City needs to meet all of the Best Practices that were outlined. Schmitz responded yes. Klug asked which ones are easy to reach and which are more challenging. Schmitz stated that efficient buildings and green streets are more challenging. Levitt noted that green purchasing can have large costs. She then stated that the City already does green streets; it just needs to be made into a policy. Palmer noted the application for green streets is generic for all cities so the City probably cannot encourage bicycling and pedestrian traffic as much as more metropolitan cities. Levitt stated that we could construct narrower streets, reduce runoff, and install sidewalks. Bigham stated that the first three Best Practices are harder and the second three are easier. She thought people in the community are interested in getting involved, based on what she heard at the Strawberry Festival. Fleming asked if BP#1 involves just entering energy data. Schmitz answered that the City has to track energy usage. Klug asked for more information on the GreenStep program. She suggested providing recognition about the Environmental Commission at the Strawberry Festival. Bigham proposed a Facebook page for the Environmental Commission. Palmer asked if the Environmental Commission should have a booth at the Spring Business Fair to provide education. Bigham suggested holding an environmental fair. Levitt stated that three years ago the City worked with Environmental Commission Minutes January 8, 2014 Page 3 of 3 the Chamber on a luncheon that was environmentally based but there was not good attendance. Smith asked about Habitat for Humanity. He suggested creating a list of vendors for residents to utilize for disposal of miscellaneous homeowner items. Tour opportunities that were suggested included: Friends of the Mississippi, National Park Service outreach, South Washington Watershed District, and Waste Water Treatment Center. Bigham suggested featuring the compost site as part of the Commission's education outreach to the public. Staff stated that they will follow up on the work plan and email a reminder to members. Reports 7.1 Citv Council Update Lehrke reported that Famous Dave's will open on January 13. He then stated that several other City commissions have two youth seats and asked if the Environmental Commission should add two youth seats also. Levitt stated that the ordinance would need to be amended. 7.2 Response to Commission Inquiries None 7.3 Environmental Commission Comments and Requests None Adjournment Fleming made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Palmer seconded. Motion passed unanimously (4-to-0 vote), The meeting adjourned at 8:20 p,m,