Minutes - Council Work Session - 02/28/2017

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Board Member Valentine noted that the EPB has evolved over the past few years and is excited to be at the point of creating a work plan. He stated that he attended the Steering Committee meeting the previous night and it appeared that the majority would like to keep the rural feeling of the community and reserve the trend of lawn irrigation to better conserve water. Chairperson Stodola noted that in the past year the Board has been involved in reviewed aspects of certain applications and welcomed any input the Council had on that process. Councilmember Kuzma stated that it seems that the Council is not receiving a lot of feedback directly but noted that the feedback from staff has been good. Mayor Strommen noted that although the information is passed to the Planning Commission, the Council does receive the input as well and also receives draft minutes from the EPB meetings. Councilmember Johns stated that she has enjoyed the involvement of the EPB and has appreciated that additional viewpoint. City Planner Anderson noted that the recommendation of the EPB is forwarded in the case to the Planning Commission and advised that the Commission has appreciated having that additional input when reviewing the case. Councilmember LeTourneau stated that he was not in attendance at the last meeting when the brainstorming occurred. He stated that the statement of purpose was developed last year and asked if that changed at all through the discussion. It was confirmed that the statement of purpose has not changed and this would simply be in addition to that work. He stated that as the group matures he appreciates that they are self-directed. He stated that he is in agreement with the items proposed for a work plan, noting that he is excited to see how some of the vaguer items evolve. He suggested that some of the items become measurable. Board Member Valentine stated that the Board struggled with being able to balance the typical work of the Board, such as reviewing the applications, and wanted to ensure that the workload can be balanced. Councilmember LeTourneau stated that he appreciated that the Board was more cautious and recognized the need to balance with the typical workload. Councilmember Kuzma noted that there were grant funds received by the Lower Rum River Water Management Organization the previous year through the Anoka Conservation District (ACD) and advised that perhaps additional funds would be available this year. Mayor Strommen stated that she likes that the group is looking to be more aspirational. She stated that she has appreciated the involvement of the EPB when reviewing applications as that provides yet another viewpoint and helps the Council to reach the best answer. City Planner Anderson stated that the funds from the ACD prompted the work on the shoreline inventory, noting that the ACD felt more confident that with that shoreline inventory the City City Council Work Session /February 28,2017 Page 2 of 7