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7.0. PRSR 02-13-2013 Item: 7 ElkMEMORANDUM River TO: Parks and Recreation Commission FROM: Michael Hecker, Parks and Recreation Director DATE: February 13, 2013 SUBJECT: Director's Report This report is a monthly highlight of our Department's activities informing the Commission on items related to collaborations, strategic planning, staff changes/ development, and park operations. Staff Resignation Recreation Coordinator Stephanie Albin has resigned her position after six years of service to the city. She cited the challenges of a full-time work schedule and the competition with the needs of her family. Her last day is February 13,which is the same day that a farewell party is planned. We expect to replace the position as soon as possible. This position is responsible for coordinating numerous programs such as the summer concert series, adult softball leagues,youth leagues, and Hillside Park events that require a lot of early preparation as well as ongoing winter leagues. Orono Park Playground Chris Leeseberg and I made a presentation to over 120 fifth graders at Otsego Elementary School on January 30. We made the same presentation that was given at the January 9 work session. We provided a card for each student to vote and explain their preferred design. The general consensus was for the same playground that is being recommended from the January 9 work session. Olympic Rink Ice Plant Arena staff has had a number of new issues with the Olympic Rink ice plant. The contractor found a valve leaking refrigeration,which will need replacement. The replacement is expected to cost $7,400,which will be done in the spring. Because we can't shut it down now,we will need to replace 1,000 - 1,500 pounds of refrigerant at$15 per pound at that time. Two other malfunctions due to age and deterioration will cost in excess of$27,000 to repair. The challenge is not necessarily the costs, rather the time spent repairing and frequency of the malfunctions. We do have insurance to cover lost revenue if the ice plant fails, however customers will need to find other available ice. Bailey Point The Heritage Preservation Commission (HPC) proposes hosting a History Day Celebration on June 15, 2013, in conjunction with ArtSoup and the Archaeological Dig at Bailey Point. The event is intended to be a fun and interactive educational opportunity for adults and youth to learn more about the history of the Elk River area. Potential events include a Civil War Reenactment. Emerald Ash Borer Preparedness Sherburne Soil and Water Conservation District Resource Conservationist Gina Hugo made a presentation to City Council on February 4 on the need for an Emerald Ash Borer(EAB) preparedness plan for Sherbume County and Elk River. Some of the requirements for the plan are attached to this report along with the memo to City Council. Field & Facility Use Allocation Policy The Field&Facility Use Allocation Policy has been reviewed by City Attorney Peter Beck. The background screening portion of the policy is still being reviewed by Attorney Mark Matheson. Once this review is completed we should meet with the Committee and all of the youth sports organizations before making recommendations to the Commission and City Council. Riverfront Concert Series Schedule The lineup for the 2013 Riverfront Concert Series is complete. The concert series will be a quality lineup of 10 consecutive Thursdays (except for July 4`h) beginning June 6. These are bands that we are familiar with bringing in excellent attendance and two new bands that have been recommended as crowd pleasers. Date Band Genre/Description June 6 Arch Allies Tribute of Journey, REO,Styx June 13 The Jimmys Chicago Blues/New Orleans Funk - NEW June 20 Deuces Wild! Dueling Pianos June 27 WhiteSideWalls Rock' N Roll from 50's, 60's,70's July 11 Rubber Soul Beatles Tribute July 18 Bend In The River Big Band July 25 Chris Olson Memories of Elvis August 1 Rockin' Hollywoods Rock'N Roll from 50's, 60's, 70's August 8 Killer Hayseeds Country August 15 Ladies of the 80's Tribute to the females of the awesome 80's- NEW Establishing Priorities in Parks and Recreation Steve Benoit and I attended an MRPA full-day session on establishing priorities for parks and recreation. On a national standard,and recommended for MN,the top three areas of focus/ responsibility for parks and recreation agencies should be: 1) Park and facility maintenance - take care of what we currently maintain; 2) Preservation of open space; and,3) take care of our youth and teens with parks and programming. Parks and recreation is a place based brand in which citizens relate personal experiences and values. I hope to have more to present on this at our meeting. Sherburne Soil and Water Conservation District 14855 Highway 10 •-,, • - Elk River, MN 55330 Ph. (763)241-1170 ext. 3 Fax (763)241-1161 Website: www.sherburneswcd.org SHERBURNE S O I L & W A T E R CONSERV.TON DISTRICT '7µ944m` To: Elk River City Council From: Gina Hugo, Resource Conservationist CC: Rebecca Haug, Environmental Division Michael Hecker, Parks Department Mark Thompson, Public Works Rodney Schreifels, Parks Department Date: January 25, 2013 Re: Emerald Ash Borer Preparedness The Soil &Water Conservation District is facilitating an Urban Forestry Program and is seeking participation from each of the cities within the County; including: Elk River, Becker,Zimmerman, Princeton, St. Cloud and Big Lake. The goal of the program is to initiate focused efforts to actively assess, manage and plan for urban forest resources in Sherburne County. The first two tangible objectives will address the threat of Emerald Ash Borer(EAB). The SWCD will host a series of working meetings for key city staff, in which we will develop preparedness plans specific to each individual community. In addition,the SWCD is working with the U of M,SCSU,the MN DNR,the MN Department of Agriculture and ENT "` ``t'� volunteers to complete tree inventories for each community. -1- - EAB is in Minnesota. It is and will I n n, *firm nal9 , o _ „ h Borer Detect., continue to move. EAB attacks and - 6a kills all species of ash trees—a very ° ,,.o dT-«. significant urban tree in our area .. ' ,„,,,_,«,_,«<,T.,„ During your meeting I would like to 1:4!' " ,= present a brief overview of EAB,the R.p t �urae�a threat it poses and the methods we J e o plan to implement in order to prepare for it thus protecting the UAi O urban forest in your community and { reducing budgetary impacts. Page 1 of 1 Ash Management Management techniques are based on the latest available information and recommendations from leading state agencies (MDA and MN DNR) and the U of M. Techniques may be altered as EAB situation evolves and new technologies are made available. 1. Tree Survey A tree survey will be conducted during the leaf-on season of 2013. The survey will be a stratified random sampling that will include both public and private property. This will enable the city to define the scope of the problem. The SWCD is coordinating with the U of M Urban and Community Forestry Department and the SCSU Spatial Analysis & Research Center to: • Create maps • Conduct the pre-sample • Design the survey • Train &support the volunteers • Manage & process the data • Compile inventory report The city may support the inventory process by recruiting and providing volunteer contacts to the SWCD. 2. Removals Staff(identify who) may begin proactively removing ash based on the results of the survey and other inventory/monitoring efforts, that are, but not limited to: in poor condition or improperly placed (such as under utility lines). In doing so we will be contributing to a landscape wide effort known as SLAM —SLow Ash Mortality by putting into practice one of the primary strategies known as "ash phloem reduction". Tree removals are a normal component of urban forest management, as poor condition and dead trees need to be removed for reasons of aesthetics and liability. Post EAB detection the number of removals per year could easily overwhelm existing staff and resources. Removals EAB infested trees on public property will be prioritized highest to lowest as follows: • Hazard Trees • Dead • Dying • Improperly placed • Trees with poor structure (visible internal rot, included bark, stems cracks, cambium loss) • All other trees When the random tree survey is complete, data will be run through Purdue University's • EAB cost calculator http://extension.entm.purdue.edu/treecomputer/to generate a cost projection for the city. You can enter your cost information here (this is something I pulled from someone else's plan) Cost for existing staff to do tree removals: a. $30 per stump (contract) with park employees cleaning and seeding b. 7 worker hours per tree for removal and disposal c. $150 per tree to replace Total Cost per removal: $180 plus 7 staff hours Difficult removals justify hiring Contractors for removal operations which on average can cost: a. $450 per tree removed + $75 per stump b. $325 per tree to replace and guarantee for one year Total Cost per removal: $850 Post EAB detection, removals will be critical to control the size of the beetle population. Removals will be executed by existing city/county (define who) staff, unless extraordinarily precarious removals require the expertise of a certified arborist or number of removals overwhelms staff and funds are sufficient to contract with a private certified tree service. Removals may be done between September 1 and April to reduce the spread of EAB. This recommended timing for removal will reduce the strain on staff during the busy summer season when many other priorities are competing for limited time. Tree removal on private property will be the responsibility of the landowner. Ash trees that are infested with EAB will be subject to the nuisance tree ordinance. In cooperation with the Sherburne County Urban Forestry Committee, the City will co- host an EAB Awareness and Best Management Practices workshop for the local green industry. By attending they will earn an endorsement by the committee and be listed on the list of recommended contractors that can be used county-wide. 3. Tree Replacement a. Annual tree replacement will be accomplished through the shared resource of the Gravel Tree Bed Nursery. The SWCD will be available to work with city staff (identify who)to determine priority planting locations. The City and SWCD will train, supervise and work with volunteers to plant gravel bed grown trees in late September through early November. b. Species grown in the gravel bed will be selected from the list of"Recommended trees for Southeast Minnesota: An Ecosystem Approach" by Gary R. Johnson, University of Minnesota Extension Service — Urban and Community Forestry & Katie M. Himanga, Heartwood Forestry. c. Bare root stock will meet the MnDOT 3861 Plant Stock Specification available at http://www.dot.state.mn.us/pre-letting/spec/2000/sp3861.pdf d. All trees will be planted according to MnDOT 2571 Plant Installation Specification available at http://www.dot.state.mn.us/pre-letting/prov/order/2571.pdf e. After planting, up to the time of killing frost the SWCD will establish communication with staff(identify who) and volunteers to ensure adequate watering of new trees. f. The SWCD may annually request sufficient funds to purchase bare root stock for spring gravel bed installation. 4. Insecticide Treatment of Trees Insecticide may be considered for ash trees in good condition that are providing ecological services when EAB has been detected within 15 miles. This will be useful to stagger removals and reduce EAB populations—not to save trees in perpetuity. a. Large (>8" dbh) ash on public property that are a significant component of the urban infrastructure will be considered for treatment with Emamectin benzoate. Bids will be solicited to certified arborist for application to selected trees. b. Small (<8" dbh) ash on public property that are providing ecological services and are in good condition may be treated with imidacloprid by city/county staff that are licensed as chemical applicators. Treatment will be considered for high priority trees and will not be used on hazard trees, those planted in poor locations, those that have a poor condition rating or are causing damage to infrastructure. As of 2013, the average cost for treatment: Emamectin Benzoate (TREE-age) $7 - $16/diameter inch at breast height Imidacloprid (Merit) $5 - $8/diameter inch at breast height 5. Wood Utilization Currently (name of city) manages a compost site that is open for public use. There are also similar compost sites in the cities of Zimmerman, Big Lake, Becker and Elk River. Wood waste collected at these sites is contracted to be ground by a private company on an as needed basis during the summer. Ground material is taken off site; then processed into various grades of mulch. In the face of EAB, (city staff/department) will investigate the process necessary to acquire permit/license needed to store wood infected with EAB. The Urban Forestry Committee will contact GRE in Elk River to discuss the potential for them to accept ash material when volumes overwhelm the capacity of the compost sites. Creative, innovate ideas will be considered for utilizing large diameter ash logs. Through collaborative efforts of the Urban Forestry Committee the city will pursue contracts with sawmills that are within the county or in other quarantined counties that share a boundary with Sherburne. The list for the Metro and surrounding areas will be referred to: http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/forestry/um/twincities sawmill drykiln listing.pdf Monitoring & Reporting The Sherburne County Urban Forestry Committee will coordinate an annual volunteer monitoring survey with volunteers. 1. Visual Scouting of public trees can be conducted by public works and parks staff when their daily work accommodates close proximity to ash trees. 2. The city will participate in and support public outreach through current media. 3. Priority areas to monitor include parks (provide names) and golf course (provide name)- around compost sites. 4. Through the media homeowners will be encouraged to visually survey their trees for signs associated with EAB. 5. All suspect trees will be reported to MDAs Arrest the Pest Program @ 1-888-545-6684 (voicemail) or Arrest.The.Pest @state.mn.us—so that a First Detector can be dispatched. Update Ordinances & Policies 1. The (name of city) currently references oak wilt and Dutch elm disease in a Nuisance Tree Ordinance. This ordinance will be updated to include EAB and all tree threatening pests. 2. The (staff) will work towards a tree preservation ordinance that addresses proper sanitation measures for diseased and insect infested wood. 3. The (name of city) has stopped accepting ash (Fraxinus spp) in landscape plans submitted for public/private infrastructure. Does anyone have a policy? Is it articulated in RFPs? 4. Private landowners will be encouraged to avoid planting ash through local newspaper articles,the city website and city cable channel and other means of communication.