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NRC meeting minutes 07132022 CITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION Wednesday, July 13, 2022- 6:00 P.M. Mendota Heights City Hall-Council Chambers AGENDA 1. Call to Order–Coordinator Spreiter called the meeting to order at 6:00pm 2. Roll Call–Commissioners Swank, Tupper, Stein, Fahnhorst, McCaslin, Quick. Absent: Husbands. Staff present: Natural Resources Coordinator Krista Spreiter and Assistant City Administrator Kelly Torkelson. 3. Approval of the Agenda–Commissioner Swank moved to approve the agenda, Commissioner Quick seconded. Motion passed 7-0. 4. Approval of the Minutes– Commissioner Quick moved to approve the minutes from the July 13, 2022 Natural Resources Commission meeting. Commissioner Stein seconded the motion. Motion passed 7-0. 5. Old Business a. Communication Workshop Presentation Notes Assistant City Administrator Torkelson presented the Commission Report Overview from the communications workshop that the commission had done at the June 8, 2022 Natural Resources Commission meeting. 6. New Business a. Natural Resources Commission Bylaws Assistant City Administrator Torkelson introduced draft bylaws for the commission. Commissioner Swank asked for clarification regarding if commission meetings were public as the bylaws stated that the commission would not hold public hearings. Assistant City Administrator clarified that a public hearing was distinct from a meeting being open to the public, that a public hearing was a particular process in and of itself that the Natural Resources Commission did not need to do. Commissioner Husbands joined the commission at 6:06pm. Commissioner Stein asked for clarification on commissioner terms and chair and vice chair terms. Assistant City Administrator clarified that chair and vice chair would be elected each year at the annual meeting. When a commissioner’s chair was up they would reapply to the city council for appointment to the commission. Commissioner Husband proposed some language for the bylaws. Assistant City Administrator clarified the purpose of the bylaws and recommended that the proposed language be explored further within a conversation regarding goals for the commission or as a part of a mission statement for the commission. Commissioner Quick recommended looking holistically at the purposes for the Natural Resources Commission represented in different documents throughout the city. Commissioner Tupper moved to approve the Natural Resources Commission Bylaws. Commissioner Fahnhorst seconded the motion. Motion passed 7-0. b. Commission Elections Natural Resources Coordinator Spreiter introduced the process for the commission election. Commissioner Swank expressed interest in the position of chair. Commissioner Husbands expressed interest in nominating commissioner swank for the position of chair. Commissioner Fahnhorst nominated Commisisoner Tupper for chair or vice chair, commissioner Tupper expressed interest in the vice chair position at this point. Commissioner Husbands moved to approve Commissioner Swank for the position of chair for the Natural Resources Commission. Commissioner Stein seconded the motion. Motion passed 7-0. Commissioner Fahnhorst moved to approve Commissioner Tupper for the position of Vice Chair for the Natural Resources Commission. Commissioner Quick seconded the motion. Motion passed 7-0. c. Approve Meeting Calendar Assistant City Administrator Torkelson presented commission meeting dates for 2022. Commissioner Quick noted a correction to the dates for the January meeting should be January 11, 2023. Commissioner Swank noted that commissioners should notify staff in the case that they will not be present. The commission clarified that an unexcused absence was just if a commission member did not notify staff that they were not going to be attending a meeting. Chair Swank moved to approve the 2022 Natural Resources Commission meeting calendar as amended. Commissioner McCaslin seconded the motion. Motion passed 7- 0. d. Work Planning Process Assistant City Administrator Torkelson introduced the work planning process for the commission. Natural Resources Coordinator Spreiter presented some potential items that the commission could explore in their 2022 work plan based on the recommendations from the Natural Resources Management Plan. Commissioner Tupper asked clarification on the timeline of the city budget calendar. Staff clarified that it was January – December. Commissioner Tupper expressed interest in including equity in the goals of the commission. Commissioner Husbands asked if it would be possible for the commission to work on ordinances including potential week ordinance or landscaping ordinance. Commissioner Spreiter clarified that the city’s definition of noxious weeks comes from the state’s definition. Commissioner Quick and Stein expressed interest in prioritizing education. Assistant City Administrator discussed how the commission’s workplan can progress overtime. Chair Swank expressed interest in prioritizing resources, education, and engagement at the beginning of the work of the commission. Commissioner Stein thought that there was a lot of opportunity to explore with the natural plantings budget. Assistant City Administrator shared that the commission was invited to attend and table at the upcoming Parks Celebration. The Commission then discussed options for what could be offered at the Parks Celebration. 7. Staff Announcements Natural Resources Coordinator Spreiter shared that there will be a Natural Resources Commission Student Representative joining the commission in September. Student representatives do not have voting powers but provide perspective for the commission. She will serve one year. The Natural Resources Management Plan will be presented to the City Council at the next City Council Meeting. 8. Commission Comments Commissioner Stein shared that there was a Victoria Douglas Native Planting meeting the next day. 9. Adjourn Commissioner Quick moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:15pm. Commissioner Husbands seconded the motion. Motion Passed 7-0. Auxiliary aids for persons with disabilities are available at least 120 hours in advance. If a notice of less than 120 hours is received, the City of Mendota Heights will make every attempt to provide the aids. This may not, however, be possible on short notice. Please contact City Administration at 651-452-1850.