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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1979 04-19 CONCMMINUTES OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE CONSERVATION COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER IN THE COUNTY OF HENNEPIN AND THE STATE OF MINNESOTA REGULAR SESSION APRIL 19, 1979 CITY HALL CALL TO ORDER The Brooklyn Center Conservation Commission met in regular session and was called to order at 7:40 p.m. ROLL CALL Chairman Vetter, Commissioners Jensen, Albright, Dorff and Lutenegger. Also pre- sent was Administrative Assistant Mary Harty and Councilmember Celia Scott. Chair- man Vetter notedCommissioner Price was unable to attend and was excused. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - 3-15-79 There was a motion by Commissioner Jensen and seconded by Commissioner Albright to approve the minutes of the March 15, 1979, Conservation Commission meeting. The motion passed unanimously. Regarding the minutes, Commissioner Jensen suggested she did not feel is was nec- essary to pass out corrected minutes to all the Commission members, but rather correct the minutes for the master records. It was the consensus of the Commission that corrections would be handled in this manner in the future. Before proceeding with the agenda as scheduled, Administrative Assistant Mary Harty distributed to the Commission, as per their request at an earlier Conservation Com- mission meeting, a list of surrounding municipalities which had conservation com- . missions or energy awareness commissions or environmental commissions. Commissioner Dorff suggested it might be helpful to exchange minutes and newsletters with the various other active conservation related commissions. A joint meeting of all of the active commissions in the surrounding area was also discussed as a possibility for the fall. At this time a handout entitled "The National Energy Act Will Save Minnesotans Energy, Money" was also distributed for discussion at the May Conservation Commis- sion meeting. KALEIDOSCOPE Commissioner Albright informed the Conservation Commission that the physical arrange- ment for the energy wing had been changed and the energy wing is to be located within the main gymnasium on the south wall. In response to questions from the Commission, Commissioner Jensen explained Dick's Recycling was not registered for Kaleidoscope and Commissioner Jensen had been informed that Dick's Recycling will be involved in a major cleanup effort within the City of Columbia Heights during that weekend. Commissioner Jensen questioned the Commission as to whether or not they wished to .hand out literature from Dick's Recycling or whether the Commission felt this would be endorsing a particular business. Commissioner Jensen stated she felt the Com- mission should consider that if the literature is on the Conservation Commission table, people could assume sponsorship by the Conservation Commission. A brief dis- cussion ensued as to whether or not the literature should be distributed. No dec- ision was reached at this time. 4-19-79 _1_ Chairman Vetter stated the Commission might wish to consider showing a slide tape show which had been put together by the League of Women Voters with a grant from the Minnesota Energy Agency in order to promote energy awareness. The slide tape show centers on utilizing Minnesota's renewable resources. The Commission decided they did wish to show the slide tape show at the Conservation Commission table if the necessary equipment could be found. Commissioner Jensen briefly explained the car pooling information she had put to - gether and the procedure for matching riders and drivers. She stated she hoped the task was not impossible, although she had been informed that it was difficult to make a car pooling situation workable when the parameters of the project included unknown origins, unknown destinations and unknown times. Commissioner Jensen stated the Star and Tribune was presently running free want ads to promote car pooling. Commissioner Jensen reviewed the handout with the Commission. In discussion of phone numbers to be used for people to call for information, it was decided Com- missioner Jensen's number should be placed on the.handout as well as the City Hall number. Commissioner Dorff suggested the Commission should look into the possibility of park and ride areas within the City. A brief discussion ensued as to the feasibil- ity of park and ride areas within the City of Brooklyn Center. Conmissioner Jensen, in response to questions from the Commission, stated people could actually fill out car pooling cards at Kaleidoscope. In a brief discussion of the film "Featherfoot"_ it was decided the film would be shown at 12:00, 1c3u, and 3:00 p.m. 1 0 In response to questions, the loop film used at Sun Day on solar energy had been misplaced and was not available for use. Chairman Vetter asked that a schedule for the Commission members for the Conservation Commission booth be designated. It was decided that Commissioner Jensen and Commissioner Dorff would attend the booth from approximately 11:00 until 1:00, Commissioner Lutenegger and Commissioner Wesloh would attend the booth from approximately 1:00 to 3:00, Commissioner Albright and Commissioner Price. would attend the booth from approximately 3:00 to 5:00, and Councilmember Scott would attend the booth from approximately 2:00 to 4:00. TWIN LAKE REPORT Administrative Assistant Mary Harty called the Commission's attention to a report which had been distributed as part of the Commission's agenda packet. The report is a preliminary report entitled "A Water Surface Use Study of Twin Lake, Hennepin County, Minnesota, May 12 to September 24, 1978" and was prepared by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Division of Fish and Wildlife, Section of Fisheries. A lengthy discussion ensued concerning the information included in the report as to reliability and validity. The Commission felt the report as a whole contained misleading if not erroneous statistics. It was stated the basis of the statistics is less than accurate. Several Commissioners commented the conclusions drawn on page lb of the report "County officials should note that more than 50% of Twin Lake launch use is by County residents living outside these communities. Adequate launching and parking facilities, with proper supervision of their use, would prob- ably alleviate many of the congestion problems in the area of the lake" were con- clusions that had been made.years ago, making the study next to worthless. The Commission also stated earlier reports which made recommendations based on the acreage size of the lake were more meaningful. Earlier studies had stated X number of acres were needed to support one Totorized craft and in light of the minimal size of Twin Lake and the fact that it is divided into three distinct parts nearly 4-19-79 -2- preclude the use of motorized watercraft on Twin Lake. Councilmember Scott stated she felt it was important to reinforce the original request to the County to ban motorized watercraft on Twin Lake. Councilmember Scott stated the present situation on Twin Lake deprives great numbers of people of recreational use because a very limited number of people use motorized watercraft on the lake and oftentimes reck- lessly, considering the size of the lake. The Commission also briefly discussed the feasibility of closing the access at Twin Lake. Commission members commented in order to close the access, it might take action by the County because the lake is located in three communities. Additionally, public hearings may have to be held. TWIN LAKE RESOLUTION The Commission reviewed a resolution requesting the Hennepin County Board of Com- missioners to approve an ordinance establishing water surface use regulations on Twin Lake. The resolution requests that the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners expedite the approval and submission of an ordinance establishing water surface use regulations on Twin Lake as requested by the City of Brooklyn Center. RESOLUTION NO.. 79-1 Member Barbara Jensen introduced the following resolution and moved its adoption: RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE HENNEPIN COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS TO APPROVE AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING WATER SURFACE USE REGULATIONS ON TWIN LAKE The motion for the adoption of the foregoing resolution was duly seconded by member Henry Dorff, and upon vote being taken thereon, the following voted in favor thereof: Mary Ellen Vetter, Henry Dorff, William Price, Barbara Jensen, Bernard Wesloh, Fred Albright, and Dan Lutenegger; and the following voted against the same: none; whereupon said resolution was declared duly passed and adopted. TE£.uI1 T E+ TAT A mTO~ . Eh l LL` v 1i7Ltii 1Lrt1 The Commission briefly reviewed energy bills which were presently before the Legis- lature. Chairman Vetter stated, in her opinion, it was not a good year for environ- mental bills. In discussion with various environmental lobbyists and others inter- ested in environmental bills, the approach seems to be an attempt to hang on to what presently exists without much hope of gaining new environmental legislation. Chairman Vetter stated she still hoped to have Senator Humphrey attend a Conservation Commission meeting to inform the Commission of what has been happening in the energy committee of the Senate. She noted she had been in contact with his office and the present time was not a good time to attend a Conservation Commission meeting because of his many committee meetings and an inflexible schedule. Commissioner Jensen commented statements have been made from the Governor's office that the Governor is re-evaluating nuclear siting and considering a three year time frame to provide adequate disposal of wastes or it is likely the two present sites in the State of Minnesota may be closed. Chairman Vetter stated there was presently a bill in the energy committee to regu- late the exploration of uranium in Minnesota for fear of contamination of ground water. PRIORITY RANKING OF ACTIVITIES FOR 1979 It was the consensus of the Commission that each Commissioner should do a priority ranking of the activities suggested for 1979 and that priority ranking will be re- viewed at the May meeting. The Commission concurred that the priority ranking will not be a limiting list and in some cases one member of the Commission or a subcom- mittee of the Commission might choose to work on a project which the entire Commis- sion has not chosen to work on. 4-19-79 -3- OTHER BUSINESS There was no other business brought up at the Conservation Commission meeting. ADJOURNMENT There was a motion by Commissioner Dorff adjourn the meeting. The motion passed at 10:45 p.m. and seconded by Commissioner Albright to unanimously. The meeting was adjourned Chairman • • 4-19-79 -4- Member Barbara Jensen introduced the following resolution and moved its adoption- RESOLUTION NO. 79-1 RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE HENNEPIN COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS TO APPROVE AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING WATER SURFACE USE REGULATIONS ON TWIN LAKE WHEREAS, power boating on Twin Lake tends to endanger the safety of lake users; and WHEREAS, a study by the Metropolitan Council for the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation recommends that Twin Lake is suitable for sailing, canoeing, fishing and swimming only; and WHEREAS, Section 378.32 of the Minnesota State Statutes authorizes counties to regulate water surface use, by ordinance, of lakes located in two or more municipalities upon the recommendation of those municipalities and upon approval of the ordinance by the Commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources; and WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Brooklyn Center passed a resolu- tion on July 11, 1977, requesting the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners to approve an ordinance prohibiting watercraft propelled in any respect by machinery from being operated at any time on the waters of Twin Lake (DNR #2742) in Hennepin County, Minnesota, and to submit said ordinance to the Commissioner of the Depart- ment of Natural Resources for his approval as required by Section 378.32, Subdivision 1 of the Minnesota State Statutes: NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Conservation Commission of the City of Brooklyn Center requests that the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners expedite the approval and submission of said ordinance as requested by the City Council of the City of Brooklyn Center. April 19, 1979 Date Chairman ATTEST: C Secretary The motion for the adoption of the foregoing resolution was duly seconded by member Henry Dorff , and upon vote being taken thereon, the fol- lowing voted in favor thereof: Mary Ellen Vetter, Henry Dorff, William Price, Barbara Jensen, Bernard Wesloh, Fred Albright and Dan Lutenegger; and the following voted against the same: none, whereupon said resolution was declared duly passed and adopted.