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EQEA 08/13/2019 ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AND ENERGY COMMISSION Fridley Municipal Center, 7071 University Ave Ne AGENDA August 13, 2019 Location: Fridley Civic Campus, Banfill Room, 7:00 PM Call to Order Approve Environmental Quality and Energy Commission Minutes 1) Review July 8 Minutes New Business 1) Presentation by Britta Dornfeld, Coon Creek Watershed District 2) Presentation by Heidi Ferris, examples from Europe 3) Mississippi St Old Business 1) EAB plan update 2) Energy Action Plan update Other 1) Stevenson raingarden meeting (date TBD) 2) Recycling Dropoff- September 14 3) Mississippi St Meeting #1- September 24th th Next meeting September 10 at 7:00 PM at Fridley Civic Campus Adjourn ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AND ENERGY COMMISSION Fridley Municipal Center, 7071 University Ave Ne MINUTES WǒƌǤ ВͲ ЋЉЊВ Location: City of Fridley Civic Campus, Banfill Room Call to Order Vice Chair Olberding called the Environmental Quality and Energy Commission to order at 7:06 Members present Amy Dritz, Nick Olberding, Heidi Ferris, Paul Westby, Sam Stoxen Absent: Mark Hanson, Justin Foell Staff: Rachel Workin, Environmental Planner, Jim Kosluchar, Director of Public Works and Engineering. Other: Linda (last name not collected). Approval of Minutes Vice Chair Olberding called for a motion to adopt the minutes from the June 3, 2019 Environmental Quality and Energy Commission minutes. Commissioner Dritz noted a misspelling under Section 3 of new business. Commissioner Westby made a motion and Commissioner Dritz seconded the motion to approve the minutes pending the revision of the spelling error noted above. MOTION PASSED unanimously New Business 1) Active Transportation Plan that guides the installation of sidewalks and trails and gives staff the authority to pursue funding and design options. She reviewed two important maps in the Active Transportation: 1) Streets designated for trails and sidewalks, which provides an overall framework/long range. It is redevelopment occurs. 2) Priority trail, which serves as the action plan for that cycle. Ms. Workin reviewed the Priority Trail map from the original plan that was developed in 2013. All the trails, except for the Riverview Terrace trail, identified as priorities in that map had been constructed, were under way, or were funded. Since most of the items have been completed and the City has written a new comprehensive plan, the ATP is due to be updated. At a previous meeting, the EQEC decided to guide the update of the plan versus forming a new Active Plan committee. Mr.Kosluchar gave a presentation that went over the process of developing trails, including funding mechanisms. He shared that the goal of the plans included: Promote biking and walking for recreation and health Promote biking and walking for alternative transportation mode By improving and maintain a system of trails and walks Trails are paid out of the general fund, which is about 20 to 22 million annually; of that, funding for trails and walks receives about 100,000 to 200,000 annually. However, the City has been able to leverage outside sources and grants which has brought the value up to an average $250,000. Mr. Kosluchar shared examples of previous projects and costs. thst Commissioner Westby asked 57 to 61 Ave where does cost come from, materials or labors. Mr. Kosluchar said that it depends on the project, gave examples from Main St. He also stated that they have been seeing measured cost increases as well. He stated that while the street budget is largely funded by special assessment and transportation dollars rdth Mr. Kosluchar shared upcoming projects including 53 Avenue in partnership with Columbia Heights and 7 thrd Street/57 avenue. He also shared that options were being developed for the 43 avenue bridge, which is currently unfunded, but a more attractive project for federal dollars since its in partnership with the county. He addressed the issue of maintenance, commenting that dollars allocated for maintenance have had to be used for grant matches for time sensitive projects. While the program has received an influx in $100,000 per year for ADA upgrades, this money has been allocated toward ADA. Mr. Kosluchar said, this plan will address whether goals are being met as is, or if funding needs to be readjusted. Ms. Ferris shared that there is gap by where the tails come out by Locke Lake. She also shard difficulties crossing at Hayes Elementary and Mississippi St. Mr. Kosluchar said that Anoka County was working on a redesign for Osborne Rd that included trying to improve the crossings with beacons and bump outs within the medians. Ms. Workin shared that the County has also started working on redesigning Mississippi St and that there will be public open houses. Ms. Ferris shared discussed the importance of looking at the SRTS plans and mentioned that there is the Anoka Alternative High School \[Metro Heights Academy\] where students are there all hours and they are using public transit in night. It was discussed whether lighting should be included as part of the plan. Ms. Ferris stated that there are cheap but valuable way to celebrate pathways that she observed or a recent trip. Examples include arts pathways or tree plantings or a focus on different languages, which create a sense of place and more community buy- Native American heritage due to its importance and the proximity of Manomin park. Mr. Westby asked if we plan on doing anything on Riverview Terrace as he saw some stakes out. Mr. Westby Mr Kosluchar said the ATP shows a trail on the westsideknow if a loop is in the cards. He said there was interest in designing a trail that could also be used as flood protection. Ms. Ferris asked if there are anywhere in Fridley that roads have been narrowed. Ms. Workin and Mr. rdth Kosluchar gave examples of 3 St, Moore Lake, and 69 Ave. thth Ms. Dritz said that the map shows 79 crossing the railroad; however, 79 does not cross the railroad. It is an industrial area without much foot traffic. Ms. Workin said that they are not asking the EQEC to represent their neighborhoods but to look at the full network to identify gaps. She said staff would also bring their recommendations. Ms. Workin said that additional background information was in the packet, including the feedback from Social Pinpoint, the SRTS plans, and the University Ave corridor study. The group broke into zones to evaluate: What are the priority locations? Where do you find barriers? Accessing trails o Moving east/west; north/south o Accessing priority locations o Where do you find people exhibiting unsafe behavior (walking in the road, cow paths, jaywalking) Old Business 1) Finding Your Fun in Fridley update Ms. Workin shared information on these meetings. She said the next meeting would be on Thursday and encouraged commissioners to attend. 2) Energy Action Plan update Ms. Workin said the information was in the packet. She thanked Ms. Dritz for being featured in the last version. Other 1) Recycling Drop off- July 13 2) Finding Your Fun in Fridley Workshop 2- July 11 3) Fridley Historic Home Tour- July 21 4) Finding Your Fun in Fridley Workshop 3- July 25 5) Finding Your Fun in Fridley Workshop 4- August 8 Adjournment Commissioner Westby moved to adjourn the meeting and Commissioner Stoxen seconded the motion. The meeting Environmental Quality and Energy Commission adjourned at 815. Memorandum Planning Division _____________________________________________________________________ DATE: August 8, 2019 TO: Environmental Quality and Energy Commission members FROM: Rachel Workin, Environmental Planner Energy Action Plan SUBJECT: th On November 26 the City Council approved an Energy Action Plan for the City of Fridley. In order to achieve the goals of the plan, an implementation plan was drafted. The below is a monthly update to the EQEC on progress toward completing the implementation plan: July 2019 3 social media posts Newsletter item on EVs Direct email to apartment complexes Home Energy Squad signup event at Pak Plaza N2U Block Party Handouts to block captains for N2U Email to clergy in the Cops and Clergy group Handouts to July dropoff people Parks purchase of solar LED light Upcoming Events August 27 presentation to Cops and Clergy