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Record of Proceedings

Sustainable Eagan Advisory Commission Meeting - April 8, 2025

City Council — Tuesday, April 8, 2025
BodyEagan, Minnesota
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, April 8, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:09:31

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it
5:54

Hello everyone.

5:55

Welcome to the April 8th, 2025 meeting of the sustainable Egan Advisory Commission.

6:00

First item of business is roll call.

6:02

I believe everyone is here other than Commissioner Robach.

6:07

Second item.

6:07

The approval of the agenda.

6:10

Are there any changes to the agenda?

6:13

All right.

6:13

Can I have a motion to approve?

6:15

So moved.

6:16

And a second.

6:18

All in favor?

6:20

Aye.

6:21

Opposed.

6:23

Oh, and we should do the Pledge of Allegiance as well.

6:26

Apologies.

6:27

Let's take care of that.

6:33

Allez to the flag of the United States of America.

6:37

And to the Republic for which is lower nation.

6:48

All right, back on track.

6:50

Uh so approval of last meetings minutes.

6:53

Have those been reviewed?

6:55

Yeah.

6:56

Okay.

6:57

And uh do I have a motion to approve?

7:00

Salute.

7:02

And a second.

7:03

Okay.

7:04

All in favor?

7:05

Aye.

7:05

Aye.

7:06

Opposed.

7:08

All right.

7:08

Next up, visitors to be heard.

7:12

We have a visitor who's busy reading.

7:14

Um doesn't look like anyone wants to talk to them, so that's all right.

7:19

Next up uh presentation, I will kick this over to Coordinator Catano.

7:23

Thank you.

7:25

Good evening, uh commissioners.

7:27

Tonight we are joined by uh the Egan Ingvergrove Heights uh watershed management organization, board administrator Victoria Renow, who is going to be giving an update on the city's or the watershed management organization's watershed management plan update.

7:47

Um this is a process that takes place every ten years and um staff have determined that the sustainable Egan Advisory Commission would be the most appropriate body to provide feedback.

8:00

Um and so uh board administrator Renow has um an update and significantly more background on this process to present to the commission tonight.

8:10

All right, thank you, Jillian.

8:12

So I have a PowerPoint presentation if oh or do I advance it.

8:19

Just hold just hold it.

8:21

Okay.

8:47

And so part of the process is to get some citizen input.

8:50

And so um this Egan Invergrove um watershed management organization um is mostly in the city of Egan and a little bit in the city of Indi Invergrove Heights, and we have chosen to um approach like here you're the sustainable um the sustainability commission.

9:07

So we're gonna get input from you and we're gonna get um input from a similar entity in the city of um Infragrove Heights.

9:14

And so you're gonna be providing that citizen um input part of the process, but the whole public once we have drafts, the whole public will be able to do it.

9:21

But as we're developing it, we want that you know, those involved citizens to get some input on how we develop the plan.

9:28

So what is a watershed?

9:30

So there's two kinds of watersheds, there's hydrological watersheds and then there's political watersheds.

9:36

So um you guys all live in a watershed, whether you know it or not.

9:40

And so in the state of Minnesota, our water goes to three different directions.

9:45

Some of it goes up to Hudson Bay, some of it flows to the Atlantic Ocean, some flows down to the um uh Gulf of Mexico, um or the Gulf of America.

10:00

And so most of uh and a little bit in the Minnesota River Basin, but you guys are kind of at this like top part of the that watershed, and it's you know, the stuff is going to flow um southwards.

10:12

Um, and so you're kind of our like our really upstream neighbors.

10:15

So what you do upstream affects people downstream.

10:19

Um, and you guys actually don't have any streams um within your watershed.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Water And Wastewater Management██████████████████████████████████████38%
Sustainability Initiatives████████████████████████████████32%
Community Engagement███████████████15%
Public Engagement██████6%
Procedural█████5%
Public Safety██2%
Youth Programs██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Sustainable Eagan Advisory Commission Meeting – April 8, 2025

The Sustainable Eagan Advisory Commission (SEAC) met on April 8, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. at the Eagan Municipal Center. The meeting included a presentation on the Eagan-Inver Grove Heights Watershed Management Organization’s (EIGHWMO) 10-year watershed plan update, discussion of the final Eagan Climate Action Plan, and staff reports.

Presentation: EIGHWMO 10-Year Watershed Management Plan Update

Victoria Ranua, Board Administrator for the EIGHWMO, presented the ongoing update of the watershed management plan, which is conducted every ten years. She explained that the WMO focuses on education and individual landowner actions, noting that Eagan has over 1,000 water bodies within its watershed and is uniquely positioned as a single-entity watershed that has made significant progress—delisting seven impaired water bodies for nutrients. Commissioners were asked to provide input on water-related priorities for the next plan.

  • Commissioner concerns and suggestions:
    • Donald Patrick noted that Thomas Lake turns green in the summer (algae).
    • Sarah Anderson raised drought concerns and extreme rainfall events.
    • Ian Hook highlighted extreme rainfall and runoff.
    • Emma Patrick mentioned trash in lakes and shoreline degradation.
    • Anna Anderson noted the need for education on salt use for ice.
    • Kathleen (commissioner) emphasized responsible irrigation and hardscaping impacts.
    • Sarah (commissioner) brought up PFAS in drinking water.
    • Donald Patrick asked about pollution from the oil refinery and pipelines.
    • Emma Patrick suggested education on fats, oils, and grease and on wastewater treatment processes.
    • Commissioners also inquired about commercial users and salt reduction incentives, fish consumption safety, and mercury advisories.

Ranua indicated that these comments will help shape the plan and that a draft will be available for public comment later.

Discussion: Final Eagan Climate Action Plan Update

Gillian Catano, Sustainability Coordinator, provided an update on the final Climate Action Plan (CAP). The plan includes 75 actions across eight sectors with goals to reduce community-wide greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2035 and achieve net zero by 2050. A public comment period (February 11–March 10, 2025) received approximately 90 pieces of engagement. The final plan has been prepared and staff recommends presenting it to the city council for adoption on April 15, 2025 (consent agenda). The SEAC expressed support for this recommendation.

Catano then outlined the implementation framework:

  • 2025 mobilization period: Establish internal staff team, seek SEAC input at a May 13 workshop, and present a first two-year work plan to the city council in June.
  • Phased implementation: Five two-year phases (Phase 1: 2026–2027, focusing on foundational actions and internal capacity; Phase 2: community engagement and incentives; Phase 3: infrastructure and policy; Phase 4: complex actions; Phase 5: sustain and scale).
  • 2025 pre-planned projects: Fleet study, EV charging installations, facility energy audits.

Commissioner feedback:

  • Sarah Anderson asked about leadership (Catano will lead), and suggested prioritizing the southwest region of Egan (community center point desert).
  • Donald Patrick asked about youth involvement and SEAC flexibility—Catano agreed to consider a youth voice.
  • Ian Hook asked about aligning with the planning commission—Catano noted the need for cross-commission education.
  • Emma Patrick asked about federal policy impacts—Catano stated no significant impact to date due to local support and dedicated sustainability fund.
  • Anna Anderson noted the importance of engaging harder-to-reach utility customers.
  • The commission also discussed the May workshop to align SEAC’s work plan with CAP actions.

Staff Reports & Commissioner Acknowledgment

Gillian Catano thanked Commissioner Anderson for her two-year term, noting her co-chair of the website/communications subcommittee and contributions to the CAP.

Catano announced Earth Week celebrations (April 19–26, 2025) including a kickoff event at Trat Farm Park (April 19, 1–4 p.m., with vendors and plant-based food truck) and the Green Up Egan cleanup service opportunity.

The next SEAC workshop is scheduled for May 13, 2025, to set the 2025–2026 work plan.

Key Outcomes

  • SEAC unanimously expressed support for the final Climate Action Plan to be adopted by the city council on April 15, 2025.
  • The commission directed staff to consider youth engagement and southwest Egan as priorities in CAP implementation.
  • Staff will present a two-year work plan to the city council in June 2025.
  • The May 13 workshop will be used to define SEAC’s role in supporting CAP implementation.
  • Commissioner Anderson’s term concluded; the commission thanked her for her service.

Meeting Transcript

Hello everyone. Welcome to the April 8th, 2025 meeting of the sustainable Egan Advisory Commission. First item of business is roll call. I believe everyone is here other than Commissioner Robach. Second item. The approval of the agenda. Are there any changes to the agenda? All right. Can I have a motion to approve? So moved. And a second. All in favor? Aye. Opposed. Oh, and we should do the Pledge of Allegiance as well. Apologies. Let's take care of that. Allez to the flag of the United States of America. And to the Republic for which is lower nation. All right, back on track. Uh so approval of last meetings minutes. Have those been reviewed? Yeah. Okay. And uh do I have a motion to approve? Salute. And a second. Okay. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Opposed. All right. Next up, visitors to be heard. We have a visitor who's busy reading. Um doesn't look like anyone wants to talk to them, so that's all right. Next up uh presentation, I will kick this over to Coordinator Catano. Thank you. Good evening, uh commissioners. Tonight we are joined by uh the Egan Ingvergrove Heights uh watershed management organization, board administrator Victoria Renow, who is going to be giving an update on the city's or the watershed management organization's watershed management plan update. Um this is a process that takes place every ten years and um staff have determined that the sustainable Egan Advisory Commission would be the most appropriate body to provide feedback. Um and so uh board administrator Renow has um an update and significantly more background on this process to present to the commission tonight. All right, thank you, Jillian. So I have a PowerPoint presentation if oh or do I advance it. Just hold just hold it. Okay. And so part of the process is to get some citizen input. And so um this Egan Invergrove um watershed management organization um is mostly in the city of Egan and a little bit in the city of Indi Invergrove Heights, and we have chosen to um approach like here you're the sustainable um the sustainability commission. So we're gonna get input from you and we're gonna get um input from a similar entity in the city of um Infragrove Heights. And so you're gonna be providing that citizen um input part of the process, but the whole public once we have drafts, the whole public will be able to do it.

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