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2017-06-26 EC Minutes GOLDEN VALLEY ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION Regular Meeting, Minutes June 26, 2017 Commissioners Present: Tracy Anderson, Tonia Galonska, Lynn Gitelis, Dawn Hill, Larry Johnson, Jim Stremel and Debra Yahle Staff Present: Marc Nevinski, Physical Development Director, RJ Kakach, Utility Engineer, Hannah Garry, GreenCorps Member and Claire Huisman, Administrative Assistant Also Present: Council Member Larry Fonnest Absent: None Call to Order Chair Hill called the meeting to order at 6:30 pm. Approval of Reqular Meetinq Minutes MOVED by Gitelis, SECONDED by Galonska, and the motion carried unanimously to approve the minutes of the May 22, 2017 regular meeting. Marc Nevinski presented the GreenStep Cities Step 2 award to the Environmental Commission. Council member Fonnest and Nevinski were present at the GreenStep Cities Awards breakfast held on June 15t" during the League of Minnesota Cities Annual Conference where they accepted the Step 2 City award for the City of Golden Valley. Nevinski stated that the City is now moving toward becoming a Step 3 City and he thanked the Environmental Commission and Hannah Garry for their hard work in helping the city to achieve these goals. Comprehensive Plan-Water Resources Kakach reviewed the Goals and Objectives from the Water Resources chapter of the Comprehensive Plan with the Commission. They will be integrating the three water chapters that are currently in the Comprehensive Plan into one chapter. Comments from the Commissioners included the following: • Gitelis suggested a glossary should be included in this section of the Comprehensive Plan for the technical terms being used. • Goal #1 — Stremel felt there should be a reference to all watersheds in the City of Golden Valley, Minnehaha, Medicine Lake, and Bassett Creek and noted a typo on the initials BCWMC • Goal #1 — Johnson suggested that bullet point 5 needs further clarification for better understanding • Goal #1 —Johnson suggested an incentive for residents to use less chemicals on their property • Goal #3 — Gitelis felt it should be mentioned to minimize risk of flooding "in other areas" not just along Bassett Creek and a reference made to the current FEMA Maps when discussing flood areas • Goal #4 — Hill felt there should be a reference as to who will pay if the City water system goes bad. G:\Environmental Commission\Minutes\2017�6-June\06-26-17 EC Minutes.doc Minutes of the Environmental Commission June 26, 2017 Page 2 of 3 • Goal #6 — everyone agreed with Galonska to replace the word "limit" with the word "reduce" in the four objectives. • Goal #6 - Gitelis suggested to offer more incentives for residents to use less water. • Goal #7 — Gitelis suggested to offer monthly classes at Brookview to educate the public in Water Resource Management. There was further discussion on maintaining the City's aging infrastructure (pipes from the late 50's and early 60's) and what is being done to bring it up to date. Replacing and/or lining pipes is being integrated into the PMP's. Council member Fonnest stated that the City (with the cooperation of cities Crystal and New Hope) has four wells secured to handle a water emergency. It was questioned whether the lining used to repair the old city pipes can withstand the various chemicals that may come in contact with the lining. Nevinski stated that the City of Golden Valley does periodic testing on the wells and all water sources to ensure their safety. GreenStep Cities Inventorv Garry presented the Best Practices to be considered for entry onto the GreenStep Cities website. Revision suggestions were as follows: BP#6.1 — reference the adoption date of the 2040 Comp Plan; include the word "multimodal" which is broader than "bike-ped" . BP#6.3 — reference the adoption date of the 2040 Comp Plan; mention the cities backup wells; spell out the word "saint"; give definite date when "shared equipment" began BP#6.4 — reference the adoption date of the 2040 Comp Plan BP#7.1 — clarify "R-2, R-3, etc" and add reference to a zoning map BP#13.2 — vote taken for entry to the website — passed BP#13.3 — make note to the fact that the police are looking into a new system which will allow their car computers to power up quickly after turning the engine off. At this time, the police are exempt from the "no idling" policy. BP#13.4 — rearrange the sentences in the paragraph — lead with the last sentence; would be good if there were more statistics on the Annual Bike-Along BP#19.5 — reference the adoption date of the 2040 Comp Plan; add the total number of miles of stream banks in the city BP#23.3 —table this one, need more information on the car idling ordinance BP#25.4 — vote taken for entry on the website — passed MOVED by Gitelis, SECONDED by Johnson and the motion carried unanimously to approve Best Practice #6, Action 1, 2, 3 and 4; #7, Actions 1 and 2; #13, Actions 2, 3, and 4; #15, Actions 1 and 4; #19, Actions 4, 5 and 6; #23, Action 2; #25, Action 4 - as amended for entry into the GreenStep Cities website. Best Practice #23, Action 3 was tabled for further review. ProqramlProiect Updates G:\Environmental Commission\Minutes�2017�6-June\06-26-17 EC Minutes.doc Minutes of the Environmental Commission June 26, 2017 Page 3 of 3 The complete program/project update is on file. Kakach spoke briefly on the MPCA Audit on portions of the City's Storm Water Pollution Prevention Program (SWPPP). Other Business Larry Johnson gave a brief overview of his visit to the Midwest Renewable Energy Fair in Custer, WI. The next fair will be Sept. 8, 9 & 10 in St. Paul, MN. Treats were passed as the Commission said "goodbye" to Hannah Garry and expressed their gratitude for her hard work on behalf of the City in the GreenStep Cities Program. Adiourn MOVED by Anderson, SECONDED by Stremel, and the motion carried to adjourn the meeting at 8:34 pm. �..����-c.��' %�C.��'J/,1��'� Claire Huisman Administrative Assistant G:\Environmental Commission\Minutes\2017�6-June\06-26-17 EC Minutes.doc