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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-09-14 PACKET 07City of Cottage Grove Environmental Commission Workshop May 11, 2016 A meeting of the Environmental Commission was held at Cottage Grove City Hall, 12800 Ravine Parkway South, Cottage Grove, Minnesota, on Wednesday, May 11, 2016, in the Training Room at Cottage Grove City Hall, 12800 Ravine Parkway South. Call to Order Vice Chair Klug called the Environmental Commission meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Attendees Members Present: Ryan Fleming, Rita Isker, Shauna Klug Members Absent: Mark Bender, Joseph Johnston, Brandon Smith Others Present: Ryan Burfeind, Project Engineer John McCool, Senior Planner Rebecca Ahlvin, Management Assistant — Administration Dave Thiede, City Council Liaison Phil Carlson, Stantec Christina Brekke, Future Commission Member Approval of Agenda Burfeind added "5.3 Strawberry Fest Booth" to the agenda. Fleming made a motion to approve the agenda with the amendment. Isker seconded. Motion passed unanimously (3 -to -0 vote). Open Forum/Additional Agenda Items Burfeind reported that there will be two new members on the Environmental Commission. Christina Brekke will be appointed to the Commission at the May 18 Council meeting; she is in attendance tonight to be part of the Comprehensive Plan Resilience discussion. Mark Bender was appointed to the Commission on May 4. Unfinished/New Business 5.1 Comprehensive Plan Update — Resilience McCool reported that the City has hired Stantec for consulting services for the Comprehensive Plan Update. He introduced Phil Carlson, Senior Planner with Stantec, who will be the Project Manager for the comprehensive plan update process. McCool explained that there is an element that the Metropolitan Council is looking to add to cities' comprehensive plans called "Resilience," and Carlson is here to talk about that. Environmental Commission Minutes May 11, 2016 Page 2 of 3 Carlson gave a presentation to provide background information on comprehensive plans and the Resilience element. He stated the City wants to develop a resiliency plan to work on, and he asked what topics the Environmental Commission has worked on or identified as key issues, programs, policies, and focus for the community. The Commission discussed issues that they have worked in the past and other topics they would like. He provided the comp plan update schedule, noting that the goals should be ready for review by October 2016. Burfeind noted that there will not be a June Environmental Commission meeting, but at the July meeting more infor- mation can be provided on those topics. Carlson summarized his list to include the 3M incinerator, air quality, water quality 3M, water quality agricultural areas, recycling program, water conservation, water quality lead or other issues in schools, transportation of trains hazardous substances through town, wellhead protec- tion, air and water quality baseline and goals, solar energy systems, energy usage total city, track city buildings for energy use, bus rapid transit to reduce automobile trips, electric cars charging stations, GreenStep Cities, stormwater management site plans; food waste Food to Hogs pro- gram, garden plots, CSA, urban agriculture, climate change assessment, and new flood stand- ards. There was a question regarding air quality testing for the 3M incinerator. Burfeind responded that 3M has to meet certain requirements under their permit through the MPCA. A comment was made that there really was not anything more the City could do regarding the 3M water quality issues. A question was asked about water re -use on redevelopment projects. Burfeind stated that is not required yet but does tie into the water conservation topic. There was a question if there were more sustainable processes for treatment of drinking water. Burfeind noted that the City's drinking water comes from groundwater. There was a general discussion about water re -usage and treatment. A question was asked about testing stormwater runoff. Burfeind stated that the Watershed District tests for phosphorous in city ponds, and the City tests our ponds when remov- ing sediment build-up. Concern was raised about illegal dumping into storm sewers and if that was traced to the source. Burfeind stated that could be done, but there is no active monitoring. He explained the City's process for testing ponds. Carlson asked the Commission to prioritize the list of topics for inclusion in the comp plan. The Commission selected their individual priorities from the list. Carlson reported that the number one priority, with four votes, was climate change assessment. There were three topics with three votes each: GreenStep Cities, stormwater management site plans, and air and water quality. Topics receiving two votes include solar energy systems, energy use total city, electric cars, water reuse for irrigation, water quality agricultural areas, and recycling programs. Thiede noted that several of the topics are related to each other. Carlson noted that he would not attend all Environmental Commission meetings and asked that the Commission, through staff, put together an outline and develop goals and information by September for submittal to the Comprehensive Plan Update Steering Committee, which is working on the overall comprehensive plan update. McCool stated that staff will provide periodic updates on the comprehensive plan update process to the Commission. He asked who the Environmental Commission's liaison to the steering committee was. Thiede stated that the Commission does not have a liaison to the steering committee and asked for a volunteer. Brekke volunteered to serve on the Comprehensive Plan Update Steering Committee. It was asked if the comp plan update would be discussed at the City's all commission meeting. McCool responded that it could be one of the agenda items at the next all commission meeting. Environmental Commission Minutes May 11, 2016 Page 3 of 3 There was discussion on the information provided by Carlson that were not on the Commission's list. Carlson explained that this is a brainstorm list to help jumpstart the discussion, and the Com- mission can add to it. There was a question if there was an environmental component as part of the Housing section in the comp plan. Carlson responded that the Commission could suggest that goals related to housing could be added to the plan. 5.2 Receive Information: East Metro Water Resource Education Burfeind provided the spring 2016 education update from the East Metro Water Resource. He stated that on June 22 there will be a ponding dipping event, where they look at stormwater ponds, at Meadow Grass Park. 5.3 Strawberry Festival Burfeind reported that there will be an Environmental Commission booth at Strawberry Festival on Saturday, June 18. He passed out a sign-up sheet looking for volunteers to work the booth. Fleming suggested providing flyers on well sealing. Other suggestions included a bean bag toss game, information on joining commissions, giveaways, reduced cost rain barrels, and information on water reclamation. Reports 7.1 City Council Update Thiede summarized the agendas from the April 20 and May 4, 2016, City Council meetings. There was discussion about ongoing and upcoming developments and projects. 7.2 Response to Commission Inquiries None 7.3 Environmental Commission Comments and Requests None Adjournment Isker made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Fleming seconded. Motion passed unani- mously (3 -to -0 vote), and the meeting adjourned at 8:32 p.m.