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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWK - August 5, 2015ANLb Y © 1685 CROSSTOWN BOULEVARD N.W. • ANDOVER, MINNESOTA 55304 • (763) 755 -5100 FAX (763) 755 -8923 • WWW.ANDOVERMN.GOV City Council Workshop Wednesday, August 5, 2015 Conference Rooms A & B 1. Call to Order — 6:00 p.m. 2. Presentation/Resident Reporting Tool/Flat Rock Geographics - Engineering 3. Discuss Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) Management/15 -28 —Engineering 4. Other Business 5. Adjournment �: J 11D1 ANDOVER CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING — AUGUST 5, 2015 MINUTES The Workshop Meeting of the Andover City Council was called to order by Mayor Julie Trude, August 5, 2015, 6:00 p.m., at the Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard NW, Andover, Minnesota. Councilmembers present: Mike Knight, and James Goodrich Councilmember absent: Valerie Holthus and Sheri Bukkila Also present: City Administrator, Jim Dickinson Public Works Director /City Engineer, David Berkowitz Flat Rock Geographies, Blaine Hackett Natural Resources Technician, Kameron Kytonen Others PRESENTATION /RESIDENT REPORTING TOOL/FLAT ROCK GEOGRAPHICS Mr. Dickinson indicated going through goal setting with the Council enhancing communication with residents and keeping current with technology were two items the Council felt strongly about. Before Council are two potential options. PublicStuff is a New York based company and currently provides this service for the cities of Edina and St. Louis Park. The other option is through Flat Rock Geographies who the City has had a long term relationship with. Mr. Dickinson introduced Blaine Hackett from Flat Rock Geographies. Mr. Hackett will be providing a presentation on a resident reporting tool that can be used by the public to report CK6711*00-9! Mr. Hackett explained the resident reporting tool is a web application used thru a web browser. There would be a link on the city website. Mr. Hackett presented a Power Point presentation. Mr. Hackett explained how the tool would work. While out in the City, the resident comes across a broken park bench they could access the web link, and submit a picture with information regarding the park bench. The request would be sent to the current work order data base and a work order would be sent to the correct department to repair the bench. Once the bench is repaired an email response can be sent to the reporting resident that the repair is complete. Councilmember Goodrich stated he likes the concept and would like to see an app for smart phones. Mr. Hackett reviewed the process used now internally by staff. He indicated the resident © Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes —August 5, 2015 Page 2 reporting tool would be an extension of what is already being used by staff. Councilmember Knight asked who monitors the information. Mr. Berkowitz answered the Public Works Administrative Assistant monitors the service requests at this time. The City Council agreed to move forward with the resident reporting tool with Flat Rock Geographics. DISCUSS EMERALD ASH BORER (EAB) MANAGEMENT /I5 -28 Mr. Kytonen explained Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) could be threatening Andover soon. The EAB was found in Ham Lake in March 2015. Since first being found in Michigan in 2002, the EAB has killed millions of ash trees and cost cities millions of dollars. The City has had an EAB Management Plan in place for the last few years. Now that the EAB has been found in Ham Lake, it is necessary to plan for the eventual appearance in Andover. Mr. Kytonen reviewed the points of discussion from the staff report with Council. Mr. Kytonen indicated the City will need to decide if the City will provide a site for the diseased wood. Mr. Berkowitz stated there is substantial cost to have a site. Mayor Trude asked if there is a remedy to save the trees. Mr. Kytonen answered there are chemical treatments that can be done. There is a soil treatment the resident can administer themselves every year and there are also chemical injections that are done by a Tree Specialist. Mayor Trude asked about the inventory of ash trees in the City. Mr. Kytonen answered approximately 5 — 10% of the trees in the City are ash trees. He indicated a lot of the city parks have green ash trees. Mr. Berkowitz stated that brings up the question about planting trees in the parks before the ash trees may need to be taken down. Councilmember Goodrich asked what other cities are doing relative to treating the trees. Mr. Kytonen stated he got responses back from the cities of Blaine, Coon Rapids and Minnetonka. Minnetonka has a 50/50 payment plan with the resident for chemical injections. Mayor Trude suggested keeping the residents informed about the EAB. Mr. Dickinson reviewed Council direction to staff: • continue educational process • start to put money aside © • monitor trees • evaluate public land — possibly removing trees and planning different species • investigate what is known about the Black Wasp • bring back diseased tree policy to Council for updating Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes — August 5, 2015 Page 3 ADJOURNMENT Motion by Knight, Seconded by Goodrich, to adjourn. Motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 7:01 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Michelle Hartner, Recording Secretary X