01/13/2011 - Advisory Parks & Recreation CommissionApproved March 14, 2011
There were no visitors to be heard.
ADVISORY PARKS COMMISSION
EAGAN. MINNESOTA
1IINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF JANUARY 13, 2013
A regular meeting of the Advisory Parks Commission was called to order at 7:00 p.m. on January 13, 2011.
Commission Members present: Michael Palmer, Jennifer Dahlquist and Laurie Halverson. Members Aaning and Belfiori
were absent. Staff members present included Director Juli Seydell Johnson; Paul Olson, Superintendent of Parks; Steve
Taylor, Parks Maintenance and Gregg Hove, City Forester.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Member Halverson moved, Member Dahlquist seconded, with all members present voting in favor to approve the
agenda as presented.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF OC
El
Member Halvorsen moved, Member Dahlquist seconded, with all present members voting in favor to approve the
minutes of October 18, 2010.
VISITORS TO BE HEARD
DIRECTOR'S DEPARTMENT UPDATE
Director Johnson stated that the Civic Arena is putting the finishing touches on the new dry land training center.
The City has been partnering with the EHA to build this space for dry land training. Director Johnson mentioned that the
outdoor rinks as well as Trapp Farm Tubing Hill has been very busy this winter. She also discussed the fitness membership
incentive during the month of January with the initiation fee is $11 for this promotion. Two events coming up in the future
are the Free Ice Fishing Clinic in January and the Sweetheart Daddy- Daughter Dance on February 11. An additional event
scheduled for March is the 12 Annual Home and Leisure Show at the Civic Arena.
C ONSENT AGENDA
Member Dahlquist moved, Member Palmer seconded with all members present voting to recommend that the City
Council approve the Oakbrooke 8 Addition as follows:
• This development shall be responsible for a cash parks dedication for the two (2) newly created lots.
• This development shall be responsible for a cash trails dedication for the two (2) newly created lots.
• This development shall be responsible for a cash water quality dedication.
DEVELOPMENT PROPOSALS
There were no Development Proposals for the Commission to review.
OLD BUSINESS
There were no Old Business Items for the Commission to review.
1 8,.2010
Advisory Parks Commission
January 13, 2011
Page 2
NEW BUSINESS
There were no Business Items for the Commission to review.
OTIIER BUSINESS AND REPORTS
Parks Maintenance
Director Johnson introduced Steve Taylor, Parks Maintenance; Gregg Hove, Forester and Paul Olson,
Superintendent of Parks. Steve Taylor began his presentation with pictures of the maintenance facility, an Eagan map
showing all the trails in the city that are plowed and mowed during the year. He also showed an overview and pictures of the
various parks throughout the year. He went on to highlight the summer and winter projects that Parks Maintenance does. He
presented a slide show of the various projects such as the parks buildings upkeep, construction of the Central Park Pavilion
and pergola and other projects during the summer. After his presentation, Member Halvorson asked if there was an estimate
of the reduced cost of construction that park maintenance employees performed in comparison to contract work. She stated
that she appreciated the efforts of Parks Maintenance to reduce the cost and the efficient use of resources.
Forestry
Paul Olson, Superintendent of Parks, introduced Gregg Hove, the City's Forester. Gregg Hove gave a quick
overview of the tree diseases that the Forestry Division deals with; in particular Oak Wilt and Dutch Elm Disease. He stated
the answers to controlling Dutch Elm Disease lies in effective management to control the diseases, replacement of diseased
trees with non -elm trees, identify resistant American Elm trees to clone; protect high value elms by injecting pesticides into
the tree and public education. He went on to discuss the insect issues facing the City such as the Chestnut Borer, Emerald
Ash Borer, Bur Oak Blight and the buckthorn invasion. He presented an overview presentation of facts and figures on these
insects. Member Palmer questioned Gregg Hove regarding the number of elm trees we have in Eagan and he replied that we
don't have a large number of elms on City property; they are mostly on private property. Member Halvorson asked how the
City deals with these kinds of budget issues regarding the trees and Paul Olson stated that the issues are dealt with through
the State — the State sets aside money for these types of issues. Member Dahlquist questioned whether we had the authority
to have the resident comply and treat diseased trees and Gregg Hove stated that it's not only a City issue but a State issue and
they must comply. Paul Olson went on to state that they have had a pretty good response from residents when facts are
presented to them regarding the tree disease and they do comply.
Gregg Hove continued to discuss the Emerald Ash Borer and what has been done in the last year to curtail its
progression. He presented an overview of the insect and described how it infests the trees. He showed slides of the actual
insect and a map of the devastation the insect has caused in the Midwest. He gave a brief overview of the progression of the
insect and showed by year how far the insect has spread, showing up in Minneapolis /St. Paul in 2009. Gregg Hove stated
that about 20 percent of the City's boulevard trees are ash trees while only 10 percent of trees in the park are ash trees. Eagan
was awarded an $89,000 grant to fight the insect in 2010. He discussed the City's attempts to identify susceptible trees,
remove those trees and replace them with different varieties of trees and in some cases or to inject high - dollar, high -value ash
trees with insecticides. A contractor was hired to remove the trees and the Logs were then recycled into wood panels and
some of these panels are being utilized in the construction of the new Fire Safety Building.
CO
There were no Communications Items for the Commission to review.
ROUND TABLE
There were no Round Table Items for the Commission to review.
Advisory Parks Commission
January 13, 2011
Page 3
ADJOURNMENT
With no further business to conduct, Member Halverson motioned to adjourn, Member Dahlquist seconded with
Member Palmer agreeing and the meeting was adjourned at 7:14 p.m.