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Houlton Farm Planning Committee Meeting 2015-01-28F1 NU Regular Meeting Houlton Farm Planning Committee CALL MEETING TO ORDER CONSIDER AGENDA DISCUSSION 3..1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 AGENDA Wednesday, January:28, 2015 5:30 p.m. Elk River City Hall Meering Protocol ■ No sidebartiiseussions • No interruptions • State your concern • Ensure you understand • Don't take thingspersonally • Adhere to time limits • Come prepared • Ensure all are heard Introduction of Committee Members Standing Meeting Dates Elk River Conservation Are Description TPL Handouts Planning Timeline Needs and Objectives (Handouts) Citizen Involvement ADJOURNMENT Ti►is agenda is available in ahemate.fbrmts upon -a.73 hour advanced notice. Auxiliary aids and services are also availablet pon a 72 hour` advanced notice Please contact the City Clerk at 763.635. IOOD to nuke a request. Examples of alternate formats may include; large print. Braille, audiotape, etc Examples of auxiliary aids may include a sign language interpreter assistive listening device, etc I1 1 g E A E 1 1 1 NAR? 1.0 £ 44 0 q � 4-4 $ E � - t? "s- In q _ « � � % 0 b � t A m k & C3 _ & q � � ƒ�$ � _ 0 9 1.0 £ $ 0 q f $ E f - t? "s- In q _ « 2 � k m k � U o f- $ cn % q f $ k f q en t? m r In q _ « k q k r4 m & e _ & q m ¥ g'q � _ 0 9 � d re) 9 on 4 n r- 1.0 w � U o _ .o ? f lu k / U 2 7 \ k / 7 k $ m m « 44 U !el E ƒ io Magor and Ciro Council Agenda Section Meeting Date General Business january 20, 2015 Item Descriotion Houlton Farm Property Planning Committee Action Requested Request for Action Item Number 8.1 Prepared by Michael Hecker, Parks and Recreation Director Reviewed by Cal Portner, Ciry Administrator by Approve, by motion, eight representatives for the Houlton Farm Planning Committee as follows: 1. City Council Member Jerry Olsen 2. Parks and Recreation Commission Member Dave Anderson 3. Resident Member Sue Seeger 4. Resident Member (Chairman) Stewart Wilson 5. Local high school student Nate Benkofstke 6. Parks and Recreation Director Michael Hecker 7. Community Operations Development Deputy Director Jeremy Barnhart 8. One ad hoc position as needed which will rotate between the Parks Supervisor and the City Engineer. Background/Discussion A planning committee is recommended to develop a master plan and prioritize the future improvements for the Houlton farm property. The planning process is expected to occur over the next two years before the property is open to the public in the fall of 2016. Council Member Jerry Olsen was approved by City Council on January 5. The proposed Student Representative, Nate Benkofstze, from Elk River High School attended the November Commission meeting and expressed interest in the planning of the Houlton property. If a student representative vacancy becomes available, staff recommends that this position be appointed by the Planning Committee. Staff recommends Stewart Wilson as Chair of committee based on his experience as the HRA Chair and running public meetings. As a councilmember he was a strong supporter of the property acquisition. Financial Impact Much of the planning effort will be the need to complete a restoration/natural resource management plan. The cost of developing the plans will be shared between the city and interested partners such as the Friends of the Mississippi River. Attachments ■ Houlton Property Planning Timeline I�I rFNA Template Updated 4/14 I�� r .ezr: �,b� �. - n Int je OL is) tsI ti JA PN a2A� Jo lee U� > 1. ver 13065 Orono Parkway Elk River, MN 55330 August 4, 2014 Bill Becker Executive Director Lessard -Sams Outdoor Heritage Council 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. State Office Building, Room 95 St. Paul, MN 55155 Re: Elk River Conservation Area Dear Mr. Becker. I write this letter to express the City of Elk River's enthusiastic support for becoming the permanent steward of the Houlton property at the confluence of the Mississippi and Elk Rivers. Protection of this land has been a priority for the city for many years given its high natural resource value and sensitive shoreline. Bob McGillivray of The Trust for Public Land has informed us of the potential opportunity to acquire this land using funding from the Outdoor Heritage Fund that was previously granted to his organization through the Metro Big Rivers Partnership. Mr. McGillivray has indicated that the acquisition is contingent on the Council approving the addition of this land to TPL's parcel list on August 5. We will have two city representatives at the meeting to answer any questions the Council may have, but we also wanted to assure you of a few things in writing. Mr. McGillivray has explained the restrictions and provided us with a copy of the Notice of Funding Restrictions that come with this funding and we are comfortable with them. This land will be open to public hunting and fishing and will be managed as natural area promoting habitat for fish and wildlife. We intend to manage it like Anoka County has managed its two OHF -funded conservation areas. Our plan is to basically leave this land natural. Specifically, we do not plan to have any paved trails or roads, or to construct any buildings. We thank the Lessard Council for considering TPL's requested amendment. If we become the stewards of this land, rest assured, we will take good care of it. Sincerely, John Dietz Mayor Phone: 763.635moo Fax: 763.635.1090 www.EJkRlverMN.gov [IF14ATUREI Draft 9-3-14 PLANNING FOR HOULTON PROPERTY There are a number of ways that planning for the Houlton Property could be done, but here are some suggestions. There are a number of planning needs for this property: • A restoration/natural resource management plan • A hunting plan • A plan for other recreational activities (e.g., fishing, hiking, wildlife observation, canoeing/boating, etc.) • An improvement plan • A funding plan • A general management plan (signage, hours open, trash, rules and enforcement, etc.) These components could all be put together in one master plan, or it might make sense to have some of them be separate and be incorporated into an overarching master plan. For example, Friends of the Mississippi intends to prepare a detailed natural resource management plan that will be a stand-alone document. The hunting plan to be approved by DNR also may make sense to be a separate document. Note that the overall plan does not need to be long or complicated. See the Anoka County Conservation Stewardship Plan for Cedar Creek Conservation Area. The appointment of a small committee to develop this plan will likely make the process more manageable and proceed more quickly. At an appropriate time, some public input would also be advisable. All of this planning should be able to be completed in less than a year. Given all of the things that need to happen in connection with the acquisition of the property, it probably makes sense to really start the planning after closing in October or November. Given the public resources invested in this land, it should probably be open to the public by the spring of 2016 and open for hunting the fall of 2016. Restoration activities on buckthorn removal should start by the summer/fall of 2015. A rough timeline of how this could proceed in on the following page. Draft 9-3-14 DRAFT TIMELINE FOR PLANNING AND OPENING OF HOULTON PROPERTY 2014 -- — — Oct/Nov • Closing on acquisition of property Fall • Appointment of planning committee • Initial meetings with FMR • Initial meeting with DNR • Meeting with Anoka County to get their advice on managem 2015 - Winter • Planning activities continue Spring • Planning activities continue Summer • Planning activities continue • Initial improvement activities commence (removal of Fall • Planning completed • First phase of restoration begins (buckthorn removal) • Initial improvement activities continue 2016 Winter • Initial improvement activities continue Spring • Initial improvements completed (parking, signage, etc.) • Land open to the public for hiking, etc. Summer • Second phase of restoration begins (prairie, if funding available) Fall • Land open to public hunting. � a FF G `TAT" •• s _ 1 r - t w I I _ I QL i- wL �'-4'`^ �, il• `A-_ - "��`�]�'� T - � � �, T :1'• ^.A it ; .1 �, ;r • �•�.;�� . - �4' re ail —'~ - :,t' = fir. • a y'� h w,.t I�. v.. - •��-• - ' ••' .iii .Y .��:� r _ .y• • � ,fir - - - �' - Ear - �• .. 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