Agenda - Council - 11/13/2007 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Case #1: Natural Resources Inventory Environmental Coordinator Anderson stated that the status of the Natural Resources Inventory (NRI) was discussed at the last meeting. The Board had the opportunity to review the draft report and provide comments to Staff.. Subsequently, Staff met with Bonestroo to discuss and review appropriate revisions. Ultimately, the Board directed Staff to forward the completed NRI to Council for acceptance and recognition as an official planning tool. Environmental Coordinator Anderson explained that it was Staff's intent to present the NRI to City Council at the September 25 work session and regular meeting. The QA/QC review and the report edits were unfortunately not completed in time for ,that meeting date. So, rather than rushing through these final important, steps, Staff postponed the presentation to a later date. Staff is continuing to work with the consultant to ensure a quality product is produced that the City can and should utilize to guide more ecologically sound growth. Environmental Coordinator Anderson explained that while the Board has already directed Staff to forward the completed NRI to Council, there was also a request to review the final report after the edits had been made. Staff has distributed an electronic copy of the revised report (excluding the appendices and map, which still require some edits) to the EPB for final review. Staff has asked the consultant not to print the final documents yet, in case there was any last minute .input from the Board. Board Member Max questioned at what point the Board would be done with revisions. Environmental Coordinator Anderson stated that they are at that point. He explained that usually there is a rough draft done and one chance for revisions. He stated that tonight was a chance for the EPB to review the final draft before it prints. Board Member Max explained that addendums could always be added at a later date. Environmental Coordinator Anderson reported that a few sections of the document had been updated, including: updating and sharing of information with the DNR and the Conservation District, and some added language about a possible recommendation for a study of the effects of annually lowering the water pool in the Rum River on the aquatic ecosystem. He explained that a lot of the updates were based off feedback received from the EPB and there were also some grammatical corrections. Chairperson McDilda questioned if Staff and/or the Consultant would present the NRI to Council. Environmental Coordinator Anderson stated-that the intent would be to present this as a work session item for the Council. He explained that this will allow more of a back and forth discussion between Staff, Council, and the consultant. He reported that this is tentatively scheduled for October 23, 2007. He stated that this is also scheduled for a regular Council meeting the same night. He explained that Staff will introduce the topic, and then the consultant will present the issue, similar to the August presentation that was given to the EPB. Environmental Policy Board /October 1, 2007 Page 2 of 7