11-16-2020-WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—NOVEMBER 16, 2020 12 F. TCAAP RAB Council Participation City Administrator Perrault stated the City was recently made aware of renewed efforts on the part of the Army to re-engage citizen volunteers to serve on the TCAAP RAB. The Council then requested a discussion on whether or not they should have a Councilmember as a representative on the board. According to the website for the RAB, their job is to: Review documents prepared by the Army about the environmental restoration process taking place at the former TCAAP and provides an opportunity for local citizen input into the cleanup process. The status of each of the sites undergoing cleanup is available on their website. Community input is critical to ensure understanding and acceptance of the decisions made by the U.S. Army, the MPCA, and the U.S. EPA. City Administrator Perrault reported no RAB meetings are currently scheduled. The Army had hoped to hold a meeting to talk to and encourage community members to serve on the RAB, but due to COVID-19 social distancing requirements, they were unable to hold an in-person meeting. The Army plans to hold a virtual public meeting related the Round Lake Proposed Plan before December 2020 and the details will be available on their website. Councilmember Holden commented she did not believe any City Councilmembers should be representing the City on the RAB. She stated if any Councilmembers wanted to attend these meetings, they could represent themselves, but not the Arden Hills City Council. She suggested RAB representatives be invited to attend a future City Council meeting. Councilmember Holmes stated she had mixed feelings on this because she feared if a resident were to serve on the RAB, the information from this group may not be fully relayed to the City Council. She noted in the past, Lois Rem served on the RAB as a resident even while she was a City Councilmember. Mayor Grant recalled Lois serving as a resident on the RAB. He reported he served on the Arden Hills Foundation and he happened to be the Mayor. Councilmember Holden discussed the Round Lake issue and noted the City was observing this issue. Mayor Grant reported this was the case and noted Betty McCollum's office has been good about keeping the City apprised on this issue. City Administrator Perrault stated the City does reach out to the MPCA three or four times each year regarding Round Lake. He explained he requested Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom attend the previous RAB meeting, and would request the director attend future, applicable meetings Councilmember Holmes supported the City having a staff member at these meetings. She indicated these meetings appear to be rather technical in nature. She stated this staff member could then provide the Council with feedback on the meeting.