NRCB Item - Megan Hedstrom, Stormwater Coordinator
Title
Title
Pioneer Park Update
end
Background
History and Status
On August 2, 2018, staff brought the opportunity of conducting a similar wetland restoration project in Pioneer Park to a Council Workshop and received direction to move forward with a consultant to assemble a draft plan for a wetland restoration project, including information on a potential wetland bank. This draft plan was presented at the November 8, 2018 Council Workshop, and council consensus directed staff to pursue a wetland bank at Pioneer Park. At the February 7, 2019 meeting, council approved an agreement between the city and the watershed district to move the project forward, and at the February 21, 2019 meeting a contract with a consultant was approved authorizing the consultant to conduct a wetland delineation and complete a Prospectus report. A Prospectus is one of the first steps to begin a wetland bank. Work on the Prospectus was conducted over 2019 and 2020. The Prospectus report identified a preliminary extent of tree removal.
At the April 6, 2020 Council Meeting, council indicated that the tree removals in the wetland and upland area were a primary concern, and directed staff to reduce tree impacts wherever possible. The Prospectus was approved with the recommendation that neighborhood meetings be held and tree removals be re-examined. A comprehensive tree survey was performed by the consultant. The first step of the potential wetland bank is to remove the dead and non-native invasive trees from the wetland in Pioneer Park. This project was presented to the NRCB in October of 2021 during the budget process, and the NRCB recommended moving forward. The potential project was brought back to Council on January 3rd for further discussion. Specifics on tree removals were discussed. More details, including cost, were brought to the August 8 Council Workshop for further discussion. Council recommended that in the winter of 2022/2023 that the dangerous trees along the trails are removed. The topic will be revisited in 2023 to review the response from park users and neighbors on the tree removals, and to discuss the potential to remove dead/diseased trees from other areas of the park.