11-12-2014
Chanhassen Environmental Commission (EC)
Regular Meeting
Nov. 12, 2014
Members Present: Glenn Kaufmann, Katie Mahannah, Keith Anderson, Amy Wenner, Bret Borth, Amy Omann
Members Absent: Matthew Myers
Staff Present: Jill Sinclair, Environmental Resources Specialist
Minutes: October minutes were approved.
Recycling during the holidays: Bret and Amy W have drafted an article for the Villager about waste and
recycling during the holiday season. The commission decided it would be best to run the article in the Villager
during the week of Thanksgiving. Amy W said she would have a final draft in to Jill by Monday, Nov. 24. The
article will include information on recycling holiday items such as Styrofoam, wrapping paper, boxes, etc as well
as facts about waste generation during the holidays and environmentally friendly options. Commissioners
wondered what type of wrapping paper might be recyclable. Perhaps a hauler could be contacted. A
commissioner shared that the Environmental Center accepts the Styrofoam blocks for recycling. In his research,
Bret found that the easiest change to make to help the environmental is switching to LED Christmas lights. All
Ace hardware stores accept the old Christmas lights for recycling. Jill asked Amy W and Bret to also prepare info
that could be posted on the city’s website.
Habitat restoration in Chanhassen: Jill presented to the commission an overview of the public property that is
currently being managed for native habitat. There are six sites that include woodland and prairie restorations.
They are located at Bluff Creek Preserve, Lake Ann Park, Hazeltine Woods east and west open space, Fox Woods
open space, and Riley Ridge Park. Next year, a restored prairie area near The Preserve will also be added to the
list. Buckthorn control comprises the majority of the management work. Jill would like to add other parks to the
management list, but the cost of the initial clearing is high and therefore it’s difficult to take on additional sites.
She also mentioned additional invasive species to watch for besides buckthorn and garlic mustard. Japanese
knotweed, creeping bellflower, and black locust trees are all present in the city and should be kept in check.
Currently the infested sites are all on private property and the city isn’t able to work on eradication at those sites.
2015 Work Plan: The commission discussed the 2015 work plan and decided to keep all of the current items
each month with a few additions: Jan – add as goal education on new watershed district rules and work on
onboarding packet; Feb. – delete CAC, but keep Terry as a guest speaker and add onboarding packet; April – add
new member orientation; June – keep guest speaker as Madeleine or ‘bee-friendly’ expert; Nov – add guest
speaker Marcus Zbinden on recycling. The commission discussed possibly finding a new volunteer project to
replace the fen day since much of the work is able to be done by contractors. The commission will think about it.
Fen Day Review: Volunteer turnout was considerably smaller than in the previous two years. About 5 non-
city/DNR related volunteers showed up compared to 30-40 in previous years. Possible reasons included cold
weather and Halloween the night before. The commission wondered if perhaps the project had run its course. As
stated during the work plan discussion, the commission will think about an alternative project for next year.
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General Discussion:
Jill shared information from the Arboretum’s session on Pollinators: Plants and People. The commission
would like to know more about the subject. Perhaps it could be the theme for the EC table at the July 3
business expo.
Jill informed the commission that a new EAB site in Bloomington was discovered. The tree is on the east
side of the city along the Minnesota River. It appears to be about the same distance from Chanhassen as
the site at Lakewood Cemetery.
Meeting adjourned at approximately 7:50 PM.
Minutes prepared by Jill Sinclair
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