Conservation Commission -Minutes-20110509
Approved 10/18/11
Conservation Commission (Commission)
City of Muskego
Minutes of Meeting Held on Monday, May 9, 2011
Chairman Pilak called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM and led those in attendance in the Pledge
of Allegiance.
Roll Call - Commissioners: Ms. Karen Hartwell, Ms. Julie Holubowicz, Mr. Bill Miller,
Mr. Leonard Pilak, Ms. Sharon Roy, Ald. Soltysiak, Mr. Howard Schneider and
Conservation Coordinator Tom Zagar.
Guests: Muskego Patch Reporter Denise Konkel
The meeting was posted in accordance with the open meeting law.
APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS MEETING MINUTES – A motion was made by Commissioner
Miller to approve the minutes of the meeting held April 19, 2010. Seconded by Commissioner
Hartwell; motion carried.
PROJECT UPDATES
Conservation Coordinator Zagar updated the commissioners on the following projects:
Engel Conservation Area—It is developing real nicely. Nothing new this year. This coming
Saturday, there will be an International Migratory Bird Day celebration at 8:00 a.m. Muskego is
“Bird City Wisconsin” now. The bird day of celebration for most communities is the second
Saturday in May. Bob Tamm who runs bluebird trail will take people to see the nests and they
should have some eggs in them. John Winze is a photographer who will take people around and
show them some birds. Ald. Soltysiak shared that he had received an email from a gentleman
who loved the Engel area.
Restoration of City-owned Lands in Bass Bay Tributary—This project is pretty much
completed. They dormant seeded it after killing the existing vegetation. It’s a 25-acre area just
south of the skateboard park. It’s a big contiguous area with a stream that runs through it which
is called Sandy Beach tributary. It was seeded with a diverse prairie mix last year and Eagle
Scout Alex Booton just did a tree planting project there this past Saturday, an Arbor Day
celebration, He was assisted by Sam Theis, Tom’s assistant. There were 150 seedling trees, about
20 mid-size trees and 5-6 larger 1-1/2” Swamp White Oak trees. All the plants there are tolerant
of wet conditions as it is a wetland/flood plain area.
Conversion of Park Turf to Prairie—Project was completed last year. This is the first year
that it should actually begin to flower. Last year was the first year of those plants growing.
Prairies were established in several parks to cut down on mowing costs and make them look like
a nature site within each park.
Erosion Control Project on Holz Island—Little Muskego Lake—This project was completed
within the last year. Last summer contractors were doing riprap on the western shore. Previous
year, they had done some coconut-fiber logs for erosion control on the eastern side.
Conservation Commission Meeting – May 9, 2011 – Page 2
Commissioner Schneider worked with that and volunteered a lot of time. They planted the
western slope with grasses that would keep erosion down. He will be submitting reimbursement
from the grant. The total cost was about $50,000 with the biggest expense the stone work. With
a $30,000 DNR grant, as well as lake association & lake district funds and in-kind labor from
staff & volunteers, no net city dollars were expended.
NEW BUSINESS
Acquisition of 108.5 Acres of Borst Property—Coordinator Zagar stated that the commission
had previously discussed purchase of development rights (conservation easement) to conserve
portions of the Borst property. Last fall she offered to outright sell this area to the city as
conservation land. The matter went before the Common Council in January to see if the city
wants to buy it. At that time, the city passed a resolution of necessity which basically means the
city is serious about pursuing acquisition of the property. An appraisal was recently completed.
Earlier, there was actually a shorter appraisal done to give the Common Council and idea of the
cost. It was consistent with the appraisal came out in the last month, March 30; approximately
1.25 million for 108.5 acres. He provided a map of the area which was similar to the area
previously discussed for the conservation easement. Mrs. Borst would retain ownership of the
farm buildings and some land surrounding them. He pointed out on the map that the 108.5 acre
area is contiguous with the 26-acre ridges site, a landlocked conservancy site. It would also
preserve more of the watershed that is important to Little Muskego Lake. With the Common
Council resolution, there was attached a memorandum of understanding that they would not sell
to others while negotiating with the city during a period of time. He mentioned that the WDNR
would also be acquiring an appraisal on the property for the Stewardship grant assistance. There
are some changes in the criteria for applying for stewardship money, but apparently the program
is still largely funded by the new State budget. There is also a letter of understanding between the
city, the Little Muskego Lake District, the Little Muskego Lake Association, and the Muskego
Lakes Conservancy that they support the project and will do what is in their power for funding.
The lake association has already committed $50,000 to the acquisition. The lake district will
continue to ask $10,000 a year at each annual meeting. He felt the project should score very well
in competing for the DNR grant.
Conservation Plan Update—Coordinator Zagar shared that the Parks & Conservation plan is
good for 5 years and the current plan expires in 2011. They have been working on an update to
the inventory, mapping, and various planning issues. He would like the commissioners to think
of items that aren’t in the existing plan, how their recommendations may be updated. The next
time the Commission meets, he asked the commissioners to come up with their suggestions.
MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS AS AUTHORIZED BY LAW
Nothing offered.
ADJOURNMENT—Commissioner Miller moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:31 PM.
Stella Dunahee, CPS
Recording Secretary