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Houlton Farm Planning Committee Meeting 2015-12-21CALL MEETING TO ORDER 2. CONSIDER AGENDA Regular Meeting Houlton Farm Planning Committee Monday, December 21, 2015 4:00 p.m. Elk River City Hall AGENDA CONSIDER NOVEMBER 30, 2015 MINUTES 4. DISCUSSION ITEMS No action to be taken now. Action may be taken in the future. 4.1 Friends of the Mississippi River (FMR) Update 4.2 Hunting Plan Status and Update 4.3 Utilities 4.4 Fishing Plan 4.5 Property Rules and Signage Committee Report 4.6 Surveyor Monuments at Property Meeting Protocol • No sidebar discussions • No interruptions • State your concern ■ Ensure you understand ■ Don't take things personally • Adhere to time limits ■ Come prepared • Ensure all are heard 4.7 Signage at Property Separate from City's Wayfinding Standard S. ACTION ITEMS 5.1 New Student Representative 5.2 Meeting Dates for 2016 6. ADJOURNMENT i nis agenaa is avananie in alternate tormats upon a 72 hour advanced notice. Auxiliary aids and services are also available upon a 72 hour advanced notice. Please contact the City Clerk at 763. 635. 1000 to make a request. Examples of alternate formats may include: large print, Braille, audio tape, etc. Examples of auxiliary aids may include a sign language interpreter, assistive listening device, etc. p011REo Bt ISA t�JRE Meeting of the Houlton Farm Planning Committee Held at the City of Elk River Monday, November 30, 2015 Members Present: Chairman Stewart Wilson; Dave Anderson, Michael Hecker, Councilman Jerry Olsen, Sue Seeger and Michael Schroeder Members Absent: Kristin Mroz Partner Agencies: Bob McGillivray, Trust for Public Land Staff Present: Tim Sevcik — City of Elk River Park Superintendent Guests: Alan Johnson, The Rustic Way 2. 3. 4. Call Meeting to Order Chairman Wilson called the meeting to order at 5:35 p.m. Consider 11/30/15 Agenda Mr. Anderson suggested an update on the Cedar Creek Tour be added to the agenda in Discussion Items as Item 4.5. With that modification, the agenda was accepted. Consider 10/25/2015 Minutes There were no changes recommended; the minutes were accepted as presented. Discussion Items 4.1 Hunting Plan Status and Update Mr. Hecker reported the hunting plan is still under review at the DNR. Mr. McGillivray stated that DNR recently asked him for a legal description of the property, which he provided. He is pretty sure the plan will be approved in early December and the time it has taken is typical of DNR and not a reflection of DNR having problems with the plan. Mr. Hecker will forward anything he receives to the Committee. 4.2 Friends of the Mississippi River (FMR) Update Mr. Hecker advised FMR representatives plan to be at the December meeting to discuss the Natural Resource Management Plan for the property. Houlton Farm Planning Committee Page 2 November 30, 2015 ----------------------------- 4.3 Utilities Mr. Sevcik met with Elk River Municipal Utilities at the property to discuss abandoning all existing service locations except for the Quonset but and burying that power line in conduit along the edge of the driveway — about 702 feet. Municipal Utilities agreed to provide the labor at no cost and estimate a materials cost of $5,000 plus $200 for a new meter. This cost would come out of the Houlton Farm budget. If the group agrees with this plan, the City will proceed. All members were in favor of moving forward with this plan. Mr. Anderson suggested a security light at the Quonset hut. Mr. McGillivray noted there are no written rules, but he hasn't typically seen security lights added. Mr. Hecker will check into the possibility of a security motion light rather than a fixed light at the Quonset hut. 4.4 Fishing Plan Mr. Anderson reported the subcommittee walked the property shoreline and identified several areas of potentially sensitive shoreline along the Mississippi due to erosion and safety issues. They think there might be more sensitive areas visible once the buckthorn is removed along both rivers. They feel these identified areas should be off-limits to fishing, but don't feel these potential restrictions would detract from fishing opportunities. Mr. McGillivray stated he has never heard of fishing restrictions on this type of property, but he doesn't think it should be a problem with the DNR. He suggested that it probably should have been identified in the original hunting plan and fishing restrictions should be included in any future updates to the hunting plan. 4.5 Cedar Creek Conservation Area Tour The Cedar Creek Conservation Area is 550 acres total, 193 acres is grassland, the remainder is forested and wetland area. Of the tour, Councilman Olsen noted the property was expansive - beautiful grassland we don't see anymore. Ms. Seeger said she was impressed with the prominence and clarity of signs. 4.6 Property Rules and Signage Committee Report Mr. Anderson handed out a document listing proposed signage and pictures of signs from Cedar Creek Conservation Area that the subcommittee would like to use as a template for the Houlton property. Items listed in red were added following the tour of Cedar Creek. Potential locations of signs were discussed but nothing was finalized. It was noted that the kiosk should have the Clean Water Land Legacy sign, the Partners sign, the Trust for Public Land sign and perhaps the Friends of the Mississippi River sign. rp1IFAII I1 NATURE Houlton Farm Planning Committee November 30, 2015 Page 3 It was suggested that the Committee not designate a specific canoe/kayak launch area immediately; rather, see if any issues arise before considering a designated launch area. 4.7 Review of Building Removal Proposals Mr. Hecker provided an Excel document summarizing the bid submissions. Mr. Sevcik noted there were 13 bidders in total and after staff reviewed all the information, they recommended Veit and Company. Veit will only do the work if they remove all the buildings and they will recycle what they can. Several people have asked if they could purchase some of the materials and have been advised they need to contact Veit directly. Mr. Wilson noted that Mr. Johnson from The Rustic Way attended for this portion of the meeting and asked what the Committee could do for him. Mr. Johnson stated his company was interested in repurposing wood from the barn and crib and now understands his company would need to contact Veit directly. He thanked the Committee for their time and left the meeting. It was noted there is some sentiment in the community to keep the barn. Mr. McGillivray pointed out the grant terms, signed by the Mayor, state that the City will remove all but one building for equipment storage. Mr. Wilson noted that it would be a great expense to maintain a dairy barn and does not think it is structurally sound for public use. Mr. McGillivray also pointed out that the Lassard Council grant's purpose is to protect and preserve habitat and buildings detract from habitat. He feels that the City would risk their ability to get future restoration grants for this and other properties if they did not honor the terms of this grant. Councilman Olsen said he received a couple phone calls and one email from citizens suggesting the barn could be used by the public for post -hunt activities. Mr. Sevcik pointed out that while the barn is in excellent shape from a homestead/farm perspective, it is a liability issue from a public entity perspective. The Board agreed with the proposal submitted by Veit and Company for removal of buildings and foundations and restoration of the land as noted in the bid. 4.8 Meeting Dates for 2016 Mr. Hecker provided a handout with suggested meeting dates for 2016. After discussion, tentative dates were selected for 2016 and will be voted on at the next meeting. Mr. Anderson asked if the December 2015 meeting date could be moved as he will be out of town. Mr. Hecker advised that FMR was planning to attend on the already scheduled date, but he will call them to see if they can meet on another date. 1IIEII1 I1 NATME Houlton Farm Planning Committee Page 4 November 30, 2015 5. Action Items 5.1 New Student Representative Mr. Hecker asked this be continued to the December meeting. 6. Adjournment There being no further business, Chairman Wilson adjourned the meeting of the Houlton Farm Planning Committee at 7:15 p.m. IFNATURE �r Houlton Farm Planning Committee Purpose: To discuss the Houlton Form Meetings, with the noted exceptions, are scheduled for the last Monday of every month at 5:30p.m. at the City of Elk River: February 2, 2016 February 29, 2016 March 28, 2016 April 25, 2016 May 23, 2016* May 30`h is Memorial Day June 27, 2016 July 25, 2016 August 29, 2016 September 26, 2016 October 24, 2016* Oct 31` is Halloween November 28, 2016 Tuesday December 20, 2016* *December 26 is an observed City holiday 1IIIIII Ir NATURE