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NRC meeting minutes 01112023 CITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION Wednesday, January 11, 2023- 6:00 P.M. Mendota Heights City Hall-Council Chambers The regular meeting of the Mendota Heights Natural Resources Commission was held on Wednesday, January 11, 2023, at Mendota Heights City Hall; 1101 Victoria Curve. 1. Call to Order Chair Swank called the meeting to order at 6:00pm. 2. Roll Call Coordinator Spreiter called the roll. Commissioners present: Fahnhorst, McCaslin, Husbands, Swank, Stein and Student Commissioner Byrnes. Commissioners Absent: Commissioners Husbands and Quick. Staff present: Natural Resources Coordinator Krista Spreiter and Assistant City Administrator Kelly Torkelson. 3. Approval of the Agenda Motion to approve the agenda by Stein, second by Fahnhorst. Motion passed 5-0. 4. Approval of the Minutes a. Approve meeting minutes from the January 11, 2023 Natural Resources Commission Meeting. Motion to approved the minutes by Tupper, seconded by McCaslin Motion passed 5-0 5. New Business a. 2023 Natural Resources Commission Meeting Schedule Assistant City Administrator Torkelson introduced a proposed meeting schedule for the Natural Resources Commission. Motion to approved the the 2023 Natural Resources Commission Meeting Schedule by McCaslin, seconded by Fahnhorst Motion passed 5-0 b. Frozen Fun Fest Update Natural Resources Coordinator Spreiter provided an update on the Frozen Fun Fest and opportunities for volunteering during the event. Commissioner McCaslin offered that there could be some interested material to introduce ecology education. Commissioner Stein stated that the commission would not need to attend each event that the city held and that the commission should prioritize which events they wanted to attend. Commissioner Fahnhorst volunteered to attend the Frozen Fun Fest event. Chair Swank shared additional events that there may be interest in for the commission. The Commission agreed that all the commissioners would not need to attend all the events. Commissioner Tupper shared that she thought that the tie to water ecology was a unique angel and asked staff about logistics at the event for sharing materials. Coordinator Spreiter shared that there would likely be an opportunity to put up a table for materials. Chair Swank asked if there were other groups that would be present at the event. Assistant City Administrator clarified that the fire department would be on scene at the event as well. Commissioners McCaslin and Fahnhorst would plan to attend the event. c. Staffing Update d. Assistant City Administrator Torkelson updated the Commission that the City has hired Courtney Selstad as the city’s new recycling coordinator. 6. Old Business a. 2023 Workplan Draft Review Coordinator Spreiter introduced a draft work plan for the Natural Resources Commission based off of the work from the December Natural Resources Work Session. Commissioner Tupper asked about timing for the tree planting event. Coordinator Spreiter explained that a tree planting event would be separate from the city’s tree sale. The Commission expressed interest in developing committees for each of the goals. Commissioners Stein, Fahnhorst and McCaslin expressed interest in being on the committee for goal 1. Commissioners Burns, Tupper and Swank expressed interest in goal 2. Commissioners McCaslin expressed interest in goal 3. Goal 4 commissioners Tupper and Swank, goal 5 Stein and Burns. Coordinator Spreiter clarified that staff would be involved in all of the subcommittees to provide support and resources. Staff would follow up with missing commission members in order to identify which committees they would be interested in. Motion to approve the 2023 workplan by Commissioner stein, second by McCaslin Motion passed 5-0 7. Commission Comments Chair Swank shared that she is very excited about the 2023 workplan and the committees dig into the work of the commission. Commissioner Tupper thanked staff for their work. 8. Adjourn Motion to adjourn the meeting by Tupper, second by Fahnhorst. Motion passes 5-0. Chair Swank adjourned the meeting at 6:35pm. 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.