EC SUM 2013 11 13
Chanhassen Environmental Commission (EC)
Regular Meeting
November 13, 2013
Members Present: Glenn Kaufmann, Matthew Myers, Amy Wenner, Katie Mahannah, Amy Omann
Members Absent: Bret Borth, Keith Anderson
Staff Present: Jill Sinclair, Environmental Resource Specialist
Minutes: October minutes were approved.
Fen Day event review: It was an outstanding day, according to the commissioners who attended the event.
There was a great turnout with more volunteers than last year. The tour given after the buckthorn work was well
attended, almost too well since it was impossible for everyone to hear what was being said by the leader, Sam
Wetterlin. It would’ve been nice to have smaller groups. Perhaps Master Naturalists could help lead groups next
year if the same format is used or the tours could be done in shifts with a limited number in the group each time.
After the event, Katie, Glenn, Jill, Sam and Larissa had a short discussion about future plans for the fen including
signage and other site improvements. Larissa said she has a grant to do some management work and is going to
try to get as much done as possible with the money. If she’s able to clear a substantial amount of buckthorn then
the volunteers may do something different next year. Glenn thought that if the proposed project isn’t in
accordance with the EC mission then the EC should skip the event. Katie said that the EC shouldn’t abandon the
fen when the EC has done such a good job of fostering public interest in the site. All agreed to wait and see what
happens at the fen over the next year. One thing that needs improvement if an event is held again next year is
parking. The commission will ask the DNR to make temporary improvements so that parking is easier and more
efficient next year.
SWMP update planning: The commission brainstormed ideas of how public input might be gathered for the
update. A list of ideas:
Take a map of the city, divide into sections and hold neighborhood meetings for each section.
Organize World Café online discussion groups
Send out mailed or online surveys. Maybe different areas of the city can be targeted.
First page of survey could be multi-choice questions or ranked answers so that some good data could be
extrapolated in addition to open-ended questions where the answers may be very broad ranging. From the
st
1 page could get a list of top 3 concerns.
An online survey could be developed for Survey Monkey. Public notice of the survey could be made in
the paper, mentioned on the city website and facebook page.
An outline could be available with the survey or the meetings that includes Q and A such as “What’s your
role”, ‘why is this being done’, ‘what are your concerns’, ‘what do you see in your neighborhood’, etc
If surveys are sent, information about the neighborhood meetings could be included
There could be rewards for turning in a survey. Chinook books?
Could hold a meeting at the Senior Center for seniors.
Maybe do 1 meeting specifically for lakeshore owners
Could send survey to all households and include the option/address for taking it online.
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2014 Work Plan: An initial sweep of the calendar year items for 2014 was made, deleting items or issues no
longer relevant or of interest and adding ideas for future programming. A couple of guest speakers may be
invited next year after April so that if there are new commissioners they can be educated along with the existing
commission.
Holiday Waste article discussion: The commission decided that this topic will be covered by other
organizations and not needed by the commission at this time.
General Discussion:
None
Meeting adjourned at approximately 7:40 PM.
Minutes prepared by Jill Sinclair
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