West Mississippi River and Crow River Regional Trail Master Plans

Hoisington Koegler Group Inc. Creative Solutions for Land Planning and Design

Meeting Notes 03.18.2015

Agency Stakeholder Meeting March 18th, 2015 1:30 - 3:30 PM Three Rivers Park District | Admin Office

Attendees: Lil Leatham (HKGi), Sarah Evenson (HKGi), Ginger Cannon (Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board), Carol Zoff (MnDOT), Liz Walton (MnDOT), Gina Mitteco (MnDOT Metro), Karen Blaska (Anoka County), Jan Youngquist (Metropolitan Council), Ed Matthieson (West Mississippi Watershed Management Commission), Marc Mattice (Wright County), Kelley Yemen (Hennepin County Transportation), Ann Rexine (TRPD), Kelly Grissman (TRPD)

Project Overview Lil introduced project. It’s noted that the schedule will likely be pushed back about 2 months. Schedule  Organize Effort: February: March 2015  Understand what exists: March- April (June)  Explore Alternatives: April- May (June-August) o Community Outreach (on line, focus groups, events)  Draft Master Plans: May – June (Aug - Sept)  Final Master Plans and Approvals: June- September (Sept - Nov) o Community Outreach (on line, focus groups, events)

Discussion Topics: Opportunities and Partnerships Meeting participants discussed issues and opportunities related to the questions below.

What opportunities are there to coordinate with current trail, bikeway, and recreation plans and CIP projects? Metropolitan Council  Master Plans will have to meet the community engagement requirements for Met Council’s recently adopted 2040 Parks Policy Plan. Wright County  Opportunity exists to connect south from Lake Rebecca to the Luce Line State Trail (MnDNR facility) in Delano (Wright County). Hennepin County  Opportunity to coordinate with currently ongoing Brooklyn Park Bike-Ped Plan and the Bottineau LRT Bike Plan.

West Mississippi Watershed Management Commission

1 Draft Meeting Summary – Agency Stakeholder Meeting – March 18, 2015 West Mississippi River and Crow River Regional Trail Master Plans

 West Mississippi River Watershed Management Commission is most concerned with tying opportunities for water quality improvements to construction of the trail. o Looking especially at Mattson Brook, Edinburgh Channel, or any other ravines or small brook crossings in Champlin, Brooklyn Park, or Dayton o Ed Mattheison will send a map of all ravines to Ann Rexine o Treating bacteria is also a concern (supports use of sand filters along waterways) Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB)  Ginger Cannon doesn’t know of any Capital Improvement Projects at North Mississippi Regional Park/Kroening (Minneapolis side) at this time, but there will likely be some in the >5 year range o Ginger will send engagement suggestions  Consider the existing connection to Kroening Interpretive Center- is it in the right place? MnDOT (MRT and Great River Road)  MRT (Mississippi River Trail) alignment is ongoing- as new trails get built, MnDOT distributes signage to put up. About 25% of the route is off-road now.  MRT inaugural “Headwaters to Hills” ride is August 26th-September 2nd. Opportunity to coordinate at a stop?  Mississippi River Parkway Commission is having their semi-annual meeting April 23rd-24th in St. Cloud- Riverfront Planning is the theme  Opportunity exists to cross promote the trail to attract other users- paddle-ride-camp, etc. Ben Rassmussen & Susan Overson are working on the Mississippi National Water Trail Plan (bike/canoe loops)  Consider multi-modal options as future possibilities. Fly in, take LRT or car share, hop on expanded bikeshare, use canoe share… these options will expand trail users, recreation/tourism availability in the future  Carol Zoff discussed the Great River Road Corridor Management Plan  Randy Thorson is working on the confluence of the St. Croix and Mississippi Rivers- could consult for information on handling this confluence  Opportunity to connect to Otsego and Ramsey across Highway 101  Ramsey-Dayton bridge still being debated  MnDOT will be doing counts for the northern portion of Hennepin County next year. May help with project prioritization.  Trail counts through North Mississippi River Regional Park should be available  When do I-94, 101, 169, & I-694 have MnDOT repairs scheduled? Anoka County  Looping opportunities exist to further connect and market Anoka/Hennepin Counties at TH169 (Anoka/Champlin), Coon Rapids Dam and 694 (Brooklyn Center/Fridley).  MRT (east side of Mississippi) is complete – request for alignment from Anoka County/MnDOT.

Group Discussion  Naming discussion inconclusive: MRT E (East) and MRT W (West) an option, also East Mississippi River Trail and West Mississippi River Trail. All concur that having so many different MRTs and on both sides of the river is confusing. Anoka County has decided to take off all County signage and revert to MnDOT’s MRT signage for ease.

What are the destinations for regional trail users? How do we route people there?  Great River Road is not able to reach all desired attractions along the corridor, so its planners make efforts to connect GRR to bypasses in order to provide access. In the same way, our planning efforts may not always result in an ideal route, but we can still provide access to desired locations through “touch points.”  North Miss Regional Park | Crow-Hassan | Lake Rebecca | Elm Creek  Kroening Interpretive Center  Mill Pond in Champlin  Anoka (City/Downtown)  Coon Rapids Dam (both TRPD and Anoka County facilities)  Luce Line State Trail  Other regional trails (planned and existing)

What important cultural and natural resources should we be aware of?  None were discussed specifically, but connecting to larger corridors like the MRT and Great River Road provide access to many.  The discussion of multi-modal transportation options (canoe-share, etc) and riverside camping would allow users to experience the Mississippi & Crow River corridors in multiple ways.

Are there partnership opportunities for funding, implementation, and/or maintenance?  Wright County owns some property in Rockford and Hanover- Marc Mattice will get Ann ownership shapefiles.  Project could get funding from the Greater MN Regional Parks and Trails Commission if it crosses over into Wright County. o Would have to meet requirements for both the Met Council and GMRPTC o Funding for each county’s portion would come from each entity separately  The Crow and Mississippi River trails may be eligible for Legacy Funding  Look to public health for funding  Mentioned Federal Lands Access Plan and Area Transportation Partnerships (ATPs) for possible funding/ coordination  Great River Road Corridor Management Plan will release its final report in October/November o Get Crow & Miss River RTs on their list of planned or unfunded projects ASAP . It will be in the appendix to the Corridor Mgmt. Plan o Can be used in the future for grant funding (is in and helps to fulfill an existing plan)

What public engagement techniques have worked well in recent county/regional planning efforts? Is there any recent input that is relevant for this planning effort?  Piggybacking off of existing events and incorporating an online/social media presence were the two most recommended methods.  Employ a stakeholder/engagement mapping tool (Ginger mentioned Nokomis-Hiawatha) to help manage comments and ensure you’re reaching as many groups as possible  Extend outreach past the immediate project borders and to other users (it is a regional trail- look at least 3 miles out). Kelly Grissman says she knows each city will want their own meeting/event.  Target active groups for feedback:

o Bike Clubs . Twin Cities bicycling club . Twin Cities bicycling meetup . Major Taylor bicycling club (African-american bicycling club- hosting the National Brotherhood of Cyclists conference in MPLS July 15-18) Seitu Jones is a member . Midwest sports council . Ramsey Cycling Club (Kickoff meeting from 6-8 April 18th) . Rim Riders of St. Michael (763-497-8900) . More here: http://havefunbiking.com/clubs-shops/minnesota-bike-clubs/ o Twin Cities Paddlers Club o Advocacy groups o River Organizations  Connect to community leaders and larger organizations who can spread the word  MRT outreach took place in a lot of libraries and open houses, but they would use online surveys and presence to supplement now  Where route was disputed, they developed an evaluation matrix to select the preferred route o Liz will send Ann the route evaluation matrix they used, along with their stakeholder contact list  MetroQuest was used for the Great River Road National Scenic Byway engagement process- but Carol suggests calling it something different in outstate areas so not to alienate potential input  Most outreach events are outside by the river, or piggyback off of existing, related events  MNRRA made a visual resource protection plan and solicited input about people’s favorite views o Used Instagram and hashtags to promote feedback & interaction o Contact Susan Overson to acquire MNRRA data on views, etc.  Remember to seek input on multiple elements (even if you’re not sure they will be a part of the plan) at the same time- like signage in addition to routes. Otherwise people get inundated or you have to go back again.

General Notes  Emphasize quality of life and public health