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EQEM 02/12/2019 ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AND ENERGY COMMISSION Fridley Municipal Center, 7071 University Ave Ne MINUTES CĻĬƩǒğƩǤ ЊЋͲ ЋЉЊВ Location: City of Fridley Civic Campus, Banfill Room Call to Order Vice Chair Olberding called the meeting to order at 7:02 PM Members present: Nick Olberding, Justin Foell, Sam Stoxen, , Heidi Ferris Absent: Mark Hansen, Paul Westby Staff: Rachel Workin, Environmental Planner Other: Steve Eggert, Council Member; Amy Dritz, Resident Approval of Minutes Commissioner Stoxen moved approval of the January 8, 2019 meeting minutes. Commissioner Foell seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED unanimously New Business 1) Southern Anoka Cities Master Recycler Presentation Commissioner Foell presented on the Southern Anoka Cities Master Recycler Course and accompanying field trips to a recycling facility, industrial compost facility, and the HERC waste-to-energy plant. He shared the waste hierarchy which lists different waste strategies from most to least desirable. Mr. Foell discussed - recycling facilities as well as dangerous situations for works. Mr. Foell shared that some of his main take aways from the course are that 1) people want to recycle; 2) wish cycling is a significant disruption to the recycling process; 3) composting is important to meet waste reduction goals; 4) education needs to be ongoing; 5) in a perfect world, everything would be recyclable or compostable; however waste-to-energy is is usually recyclable at drop-off locations if it 2) Living Streets Policy Ms. Workin shared that the City was developing a Living Streets policy as part of the Activing Living Plan update. Ms. Workin defined Living Streets are similar to Complete Streets, which emphasize the importance of multi-modal transportation and transit equity, while also trying to mitigate the environmental impacts of roads and impervious surface. She said that a Living Streets policy was required to be a Step 3 Green Step City and is important for providing a framework for when the City incorporates Living Streets principles. Ms. Working shared that the intent of the policy document that outlined what a Living Street was and the different components of Living Streets, what the triggers are for retrofitting a street, what the exceptions would be for incorporating Living Streets principles, and how the City would interact with other jurisdictions. She also shared a draft Living Streets Worksheet that would be included as part of the feasibility study. Vice Chair Olberding expressed support for the document. Commissioner Foell recommended modifying the descriptors of road design to emphasize use-balance and environment ahead of efficiency. Commissioner Ferris recommended highlighting that Living Streets can increase property values The Commissioners made the following recommendations regarding components of Living Streets: Include minimization of light-pollution alongside adequate and effective lighting Adding soil health to decrease soil compaction Consideration tree ecology alongside tree diversity Adding smart salt design and technologies Landscape design that minimizes need for weed maintenance; chemical control Consideration of habitat corridors/migratory pathways The Commissioners made the following recommendations to the Living Streets Policy Add discussion of roundabout and round about design related to impervious surface, vegetation, and artistic consideration. Ms. Workin stated that the need for truck aprons often guided round about design, but agreed that this was an important category since there will be an increase in roundabouts in the City. Vice Chair Olberding commented that there may be the potential for underground stormwater storage. The Commissioners made the following recommendation to the worksheet: Add questions related to existing road widths Add questions related to on-street parking/nearby parking needs Commissioner Ferris asked how often the document would be updated, and if it considered changing road use related to autonomous vehicles. Ms. Workin said the document would be updated every 5 years, and does not address autonomous vehicles. Ms. Workin said that these changes would be incorporated into the Active Living Plan which would be brought back for review. She said that they are trying to sync up the Active Living Plan and Parks Master Plan documents. 3) University Ave and Central Avenue /CDI workshops Ms. Workin shared that CDI, the group that did the Civic Campus master plan, will be guiding a series of workshops related to University Avenue and Central Avenue and encouraged the EQEC Commissioners to attend. Commissioner Stoxen asked if landscaping would be considered and what the constraints would be for planting in the medians i.e. trees. Ms. Workin stated that she was not sure, but expected that this would be addressed through the workshops. Commissioner Ferris stated that the road redesign is an environmental justice issue as these corridors create a lot of air pollution that settles in the low-lying areas of the City, and that in Fridley these low-lying areas are often more vulnerable populations and may be disproportionately impacted. She recommended trees and prairie plants which could act as sinks for air pollution. Meetings will be every other Thursday starting February 21. Old Business 1) Energy Action Plan update Ms. Workin shared that updates on the EAP were included in the memo. Other 1) March 9- Recycling Drop-off Ms. Workin shared that over 80 more people came to the January 2019 event than the January 2018 event. 2) Heidi Ferris- Park and Rec Commission Ms. Workin stated that Commissioner Ferris gave her presentation on Natural Playgrounds to the Parks and Rec Commission and that it was well received. 3) Tree Sale Ms. Workin stated that the City will be hosting a tree sale in March. Since the City received grant funding for EAB activities, there was budget available to better support the tree sale. The trees sold will help the City meet its goal of replacing all ash trees at a ratio of 1:1.3. The tree sale will go live in March. th 4) May 4 Environmental Fun Fair th Ms. Workin requested that the Commissioners put May 4 on their calendar. Adjournment Commissioner Ferris moved to adjourn the meeting and Commissioner Stoxen seconded the motion. The meeting adjourned at 8:13pm.