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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03.11.20 meeting packetC I T Y O F, NDOVE, 1685 CROSSTOWN BOULEVARD N.W.. ANDOVER, MINNESOTA 55304 • (763) 755-5100 FAX (763) 755-8923 • WWW.ANDOVERMN.GOV Andover Open Space Advisory Commission Meeting Agenda March 11, 2020 Andover City Hall Conference Room A&B 6:00 p.m. 1. Call to Order 2. Resident Forum 3. Approval of Minutes: November 13, 2019 Regular Meeting 4. Discuss Maple View Grant (Partnership with Great River Greening) 5. Discuss Status of Dalske Woodlands Boardwalk 6. Discuss list of ideas from Commissioner Vedadi 7. Discuss Logistics for Nature Preserve Tour with QCTV 8. Discuss Items for Joint Meeting with City Council 9. Discuss Purpose/Mission of Open Space Advisory Commission (OSAC) 10. Other Business a. Next meeting? 11. Adjournment I T Y O F C NDOVE 1685 CROSSTOWN BOULEVARD N.W. • ANDOVER, MINNESOTA 55304 • (763) 755-5100 FAX (763) 755-8923 • WWW.ANDOVERMN.GOV TO: Andover Open Space Advisory Commission FROM: Kameron Kytonen, Natural Resources Technician SUBJECT: Approval of Minutes — November 13, 2019 Regular Meeting DATE: March 11, 2020 INTRODUCTION The Open Space Advisory Commission is asked to review and approve the minutes from the November 13, 2019 regular meeting. DISCUSSION Please share any changes to the minutes at the meeting. ACTION REQUESTED A motion, second, and vote are necessary to approve the minutes. Respectfully submitted, Kameron Kytonen Attachment November 13, 2019 meeting minutes REGULAR ANDOVER OPENSPACEADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING NOVEMBER 13, 2019 MINUTES The Regular Meeting of the Andover Open Space Advisory Commission was called to order by Acting Chairperson Kim Kovich at 6:10 p.m., at the Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard NW, Andover, Minnesota. Commissioners present: Anna Dirkswager (arrived at 6:37 p.m.), Joy Faherty, Ryan Ingebritson, Jim Olson, and Gretchen Sabel (arrived at 6:29 p.m.) Commissioners absent: Brian Perra Also present: Kameron Kytonen, Natural Resources Technician RESIDENT FORUM No one wished to address the Commission. APPROVAL OF MINUTES — September 4, 2019 Motion by Commissioner Faherty, Second by Commissioner Olson, to approve the minutes of September 4, 2019. Motion passed 4-0. DISCUSS MAPLE VIEW GRANT (PARTNERSHIP WITH GREAT RIVER GREENING) Mr. Kytonen stated that Great River Greening completed some spraying of the understory recently in attempt to remove unwanted invasive vegetation. He stated that they will go back in the spring to remove some additional invasive vegetation and enhance the applicable areas with native vegetation. He noted that the grant runs for a two-year period and therefore there will be continued treatments and activities. DISCUSS STATUS OFDALSKE WOODLANDS BOARDWALK Mr. Kytonen reported that the City Engineer stands behind the need for a boardwalk design similar to the boardwalk on Crosstown Boulevard for safety and maintenance needs. He provided an estimated cost of $100,000. Commissioner Olson commented that cost is more than what was paid for the land. Mr. Kytonen stated that there could be a discussion between the Commission and Council to determine if there would be support from the Council for a lower grade boardwalk. Acting Chairperson Kovich commented that the boardwalk would not receive a large amount of foot traffic. Commissioner Faherty stated that it appears that if there was a bridge to access that southern portion that would add about one third more area to the preserve. Regular Open Space Advisory Commission Meeting Minutes —November 13, 2019 Page 2 Commissioner Olson asked if the City has reviewed the possibility of purchasing another property to provide access as that most likely would have a lesser cost. Acting Chairperson Kovich commented that attempting to purchase the property to the south has been previously mentioned by the Commission. He noted that would most likely be a better option as it would provide additional land as well. Commissioner Olson commented that the boardwalk would provide zero value to open space. He stated that perhaps the City could approach the property owner to determine if there would be interest. Acting Chairperson Kovich agreed that is something that should be discussed with the Council as that would provide additional land and an access from 177th at a portion of the cost that a boardwalk would have. He confirmed the consensus of the Commission to discuss that option with the City Council at a joint meeting. He noted that the City also has wetland credits therefore perhaps a little filling could be done to make the crossing much easier. Commissioner Olson agreed that there are a lot of ideas that have perhaps not been discussed with the Council. It was confirmed that the Commission would like to discuss the following options with the Council: a less expensive boardwalk; purchasing land to the south to provide access and additional area in the preserve; and potentially using City owned wetland credits to fill portions of the wetland to reduce the size of the crossing. Chairperson Sabel arrived. DISCUSS LOGISTICS FOR NATURE PRESERVE TOUR WITH QCTV Mr. Kytonen stated that he spoke with QCTV staff and they would be open to participating in a spring tour. Chairperson Sabel stated that she would be willing to go skiing or snowshoeing on one of the tours. She noted that QCTV would also like someone from the Commission to participate in the Live and Local program on December 1 lth at 11 a.m. She volunteered to attend. Mr. Kytonen confirmed that he could provide Chairperson Sabel with talking points for the Live and Local program. He noted that planning for the spring tours can wait. Commissioner Kovich noted that he would be interested in doing Martin's Meadows again for the spring tours. Commissioner Dirkswager arrived. It was the consensus of the Commission to participate in spring tours with QCTV. Chairperson Sabel noted that she would also be willing to do a winter tour. Regular Open Space Advisory Commission Meeting Minutes — November 13, 2019 Page 3 DISCUSS ITEMS FOR JOINT MEETING WITH CITY COUNCIL Commissioner Kovich reviewed the list of items discussed at the last meeting as possible topics for the joint meeting: the Dalske boardwalk, specifically the options discussed earlier tonight; clarification on the east access for Martins Meadows, the desire would be to formalize that; a set schedule for the Commission to meet every three months, four times per year; requesting open space to be included in developments, similar to park dedication; and the mission of the Commission. Commissioner Dirkswager stated that it would be helpful to prioritize the list of items to ensure that the most important items receive sufficient time for discussion. She asked if funding would be discussed. She stated that she would like to know if the desire of the Council would be to rely solely on grants for maintenance and other activities. Mr. Kytonen stated that there are open grant funds being used at this time. Commissioner Olson stated that perhaps that should be asked, if there could be an annual budget for open space that would not be used to buy land but would be used to manage the land. Commissioner Kovich stated that currently the City does a great job of maintaining the open space areas and he would be hesitant to ask for more. He explained the Commission would need more concrete information to request general funding. He stated that funding could be a point of discussion during the Dalske boardwalk discussion. He suggested that the Commission meet in March, June, September and December continuing to meet the second Wednesday of the month. Mr. Kytonen reviewed the options for meeting with the City Council at either a workshop or prior to an EDA meeting. He noted that Council workshops can be a challenge with the number of agenda items and therefore perhaps meeting prior to an EDA meeting would be the better choice. Commissioner Kovich stated that the Commission would meet next in March and could then meet with the City Council as soon as possible after that meeting. He noted that the proposed agenda would be finalized at the March Commission meeting. Mr. Kytonen stated that the grant application for the boardwalk is due at the end of February, which is prior to the joint Council meeting. He noted that it would be helpful to have information on the structure of the boardwalk for the grant application. It was the consensus of the Commission that the grant application should be submit with the current information known for the proposed boardwalk. Commissioner Kovich stated that if Mr. Kytonen believes it would be helpful to meet in January, he could call a Commission meeting prior to that time. Mayor Trude stopped in and thanked Chairperson Sabel for the excellent work and for her dedication to the Commission. Regular Open Space Advisory Commission Meeting Minutes — November 13, 2019 Page 4 DISCUSS PURPOSEIMISSION OF OPEN SPACE ADVISORY COMMISSION (OSAQ Mr. Kytonen provided an update on the process that was used to gather input from the Commissioners and develop the bullet points created by Commissioner Faherty. Commissioner Perra started the discussion after the last OSAC meeting and comments followed from there. The Commission supported the mission as presented. It was confirmed that this would be shared with City Council and would be posted on the City website. Chairperson Sabel confirmed that the mission could be shared on the Live and Local program segment. She noted that she can also announce the openings on the Commission in attempt to gain additional applicants. The Commission provided some slight grammatical changes to the mission. Motion by Commissioner Kovich, Second by Commissioner Dirkswager, to adopt the mission with the grammatical changes mentioned. Motion passed 6-0. COMMENTS FROM THE OUTGOING CHAIR Chairperson Sabel stated that she will be moving on as her term is expiring. Commissioner Dirkswager echoed the thanks provided by Mayor Trude and thanked Chairperson Sabel for her contributions to the Commission. Mr. Kytonen thanked Chairperson Sabel on behalf of City staff. OTHER BUSINESS a. Next Meeting: March 11, 2020 Noted. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 7:20 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Kameron Kytonen Natural Resources Technician Drafted by: Amanda Staple, Recording Secretary -qkC I T Y O F ,ND0VE 1685 CROSSTOWN BOULEVARD N.W. • ANDOVER, MINNESOTA 55304 • (763) 755-5100 FAX (763) 755-8923 • WWW.ANDOVERMN.GOV TO: Andover Open Space Advisory Commission FROM: Kameron Kytonen, Natural Resources Technician SUBJECT: Discuss Maple View Grant (Partnership with Great River Greening) DATE: March 11, 2020 REQUEST The City is partnering with Great River Greening (GRG) and has secured a grant for restoration activities in Maple View Nature Preserve. The grant will cover activities in the wetland and upland areas (total of 17 acres). This grant is provided by the Outdoor Heritage Fund as recommended by the Lessard - Sams Outdoor Heritage Council through GRG's membership in the Metro Big Rivers Partnership. There was some control work done on buckthorn and other invasives on October 29, 2019. Staff will discuss other proposed activities planned in the preserve in 2020 with the OSAC. Respectfully submitted, 0-- Kameron Kytonen C I T Y O F NDOVE 1685 CROSSTOWN BOULEVARD N.W. • ANDOVER, MINNESOTA 55304 • (763) 755-5100 FAX (763) 755-8923 • WWW.ANDOVERMN.GOV TO: Andover Open Space Advisory Commission FROM: Kameron Kytonen, Natural Resources Technician SUBJECT: Discuss Status of Dalske Woodlands Boardwalk DATE: March 11, 2020 INTRODUCTION Dalske Woodlands Preserve is currently separated by a wetland area that encompasses a county ditch. This prevents users from being able to safely cross into the other upland area, which is situated on the southern half. DISCUSSION The City applied for a grant under the DNR Federal Recreational Trail Program with hopes of getting funding to build the boardwalk in 2018 and 2019. Unfortunately, the City didn't get the grant on either occasion. Staff considered applying again in 2020, but decided to hold off for now. Due to current high standards the boardwalk is expected to be built, finding the funding to make this happen is a challenge. The boardwalk has been inserted into the 2023 CIP. Thus, there are plans to hopefully build a boardwalk in the future, regardless of being awarded a grant. ACTION REQUESTED The Commission is requested to discuss the future boardwalk at Dalske Woodlands Preserve. Respectfully submitted, rameron ytonen C I T Y O F' NDOVE 1685 CROSSTOWN BOULEVARD N.W.. ANDOVER, MINNESOTA 55304 • (763) 755-5100 FAX (763) 755-8923 • WWW.ANDOVERMN.GOV TO: Andover Open Space Advisory Commission FROM: Kameron Kytonen, Natural Resources Technician SUBJECT: Discuss List of Ideas from Commissioner Vedadi DATE: March 11, 2020 INTRODUCTION Our newest member of the OSAC, Jennifer Vedadi, has supplied a list of some ideas for promoting and using the nature preserves. DISCUSSION The four nature preserves have a lot to offer. Despite this, it's relatively unknown how much use from the public they are getting. Thus, maybe there are some additional promotion and publicity mechanisms to generate more usage and community involvement. ACTION REQUESTED The Commission is requested to discuss the list that was assembled by Commissioner Vedadi and brainstorm how some of these ideas could potentially be acted upon. Respectfully submitted, �L Kameron Kytonen Attachment "Ideas to Increase Community Connectedness and Use of Andover Open Spaces" Ideas to increase community connectedness and use of Andover open spaces: • Partnership with Andover elementary, middle, high schools to offer field based studies within the open spaces. Consider inviting colleges to help develop curriculum and / or guest teach. • Partnership with local pre-schools, the YMCA, community ed, and/or the Community Center to offer Forest Pre -School within our open spaces. This is a new trend emerging that would be fun for Andover children to sample. We could partner with MN based Forest Schools for consultation or curriculum help. Consider offering it after work so more kids could attend and add a family component for part or one of the sessions. (note: these types of classes are now being offered in the twin cities, including in Ham Lake) • Consultation with Spingbrook Nature Center on ways to engage the community based on their years of experience. E.g., can we design activities that promote family use or enhanced enjoyment of a visit. Ideas on structuring community events that involve the open spaces (for example they have a pumpkin trail in the woods at halloween). • Partnership with someone like Urban Forage Winery and Cider House for an event. For example, they lead a session at an open space on how to food forage in the woods (and at home) then hand out recipes or have an outdoor cooking class on how to incorporate foraged foods. They could offer their wine/cider for sale during the event to make it more fun for Andover and promotional for them. • Partner with parks and rec to gamify park and open space use. E.g., earn virtual badges / rewards for visiting main Andover parks and open spaces. • Work with local healthcare providers (e.g., fairview, health partners, med express) to develop a health promotion that highlights options for being active in Andover, including open spaces, the big bike trail, parks with walking trails, etc. • Put a live feed animal cam in one of the open spaces and stream to the website. Have people leave comments on animals they saw • Get the open spaces on the `things to do' section for andover on trip advisor (with good ratings) • Leverage neighborhood networks to promote the above (e.g., my neighborhood has a facebook page) __1171 • Interview people using popular open spaces in the twin cities and find out why they use them to assess opportunities (maybe another intern project?) 1685 CROSSTOWN BOULEVARD N.W.. ANDOVER, MINNESOTA 55304 • (763) 755-5100 FAX (763) 755-8923 • WWW.ANDOVE RMN.GOV TO: Andover Open Space Advisory Commission FROM: Kameron Kytonen, Natural Resources Technician SUBJECT: Discuss Logistics for Nature Preserve Tour with QCTV DATE: March 11, 2020 INTRODUCTION In the Fall of 2017, select members of the OSAC did a walking tour of the four nature preserves with the local cable channel, QCTV. DISCUSSION Since that time, all the preserves have had improvements and/or have changed a bit. Thus, it would be interesting to show these features to residents by conducting the tour in conjunction with QCTV. Further, it was thought doing the tour during the spring would be unique. Participating in this potential opportunity would be a great opportunity to showcase the preserves to residents and expand our services. Once again, the idea is to have QCTV visit each site to take footage while interested commissioner(s) talk about them. Staff contacted a representative from QCTV and there was interest in doing an encore. ACTION REQUESTED The Commission is requested to discuss this program in more detail, including defining roles of participating commissioners, its appropriate format and deciding on potential dates that may work this spring. Respectfully submitted, Kameron Kytonen I T Y O F, [DOVE" 1685 CROSSTOWN BOULEVARD N.W. • ANDOVER, MINNESOTA 55304 • (763) 755-5100 FAX (763) 755-8923 • WWW.ANDOVERMN.GOV TO: Andover Open Space Advisory Commission FROM: Kameron Kytonen, Natural Resources Technician SUBJECT: Discuss Items for Joint Meeting with City Council DATE: March 11, 2020 REQUEST The OSAC has met a couple times over the years with the City Council to discuss pertinent items related to present and future activities in the four nature preserves and to discuss the future of the OSAC in general. In addition, future land acquisition and funding options have been discussed. The Commission is requested to brainstorm ideas for discussion items for another potential joint meeting with the City Council. Respectfully submitted, I/- Kameron Kytonen VC I T Y O F NDOVE 1685 CROSSTOWN BOULEVARD N.W. • ANDOVER, MINNESOTA 55304 . (763) 755-5100 FAX (763) 755-8923 • WWW.ANDOVERMN.GOV TO: Andover Open Space Advisory Commission FROM: Kameron Kytonen, Natural Resources Technician SUBJECT: Discuss Purpose/Mission of Open Space Advisory Commission (OSAC) DATE: March 11, 2020 REQUEST The OSAC has accomplished a lot over the last several years. Now that the funds have been utilized and the nature preserves are for the most part well managed, the commission's role may be different. There have been some emails sent out by various Commissioners listing mission statements and goals for future activities of the Commission and to help it establish its new identity. The Commission is requested to continue this discussion to help it continue to accomplish future initiatives for the betterment of the nature preserves and the community as a whole. Respectfully submitted, ?ameron Kytonen Attachment Open Space Advisory Commission (Nature Preserves) Mission Statement - City of Andover Open Space Advisory Commission (Nature Preserves) Mission Statement - City of Andover Communicate to The City of Andover residents about the values and needs of the Nature Preserves. Build awareness of the Nature Preserves and promote appropriate usage. Provide recommendations for changes or enhancements to Nature Preserves, monitoring maintenance activities. ® Investigate opportunities for potential preserve expansion and acquisitions and provide recommendations to the Andover City Council. Serve as a liaison to the City of Andover residents, responding to questions or concerns about the Nature Preserves and the Open Space Advisory Commission.