24-025 Approving the Updated Freeman Park Maintenance PlanCITY OF SHOREWOOD
COUNTY OF HENNEPIN
STATE OF MINNESOTA
RESOLUTION 24-025
A RESOLUTION APPROVING THE UPDATED FREEMAN PARK MAINTENANCE PLAN
WHEREAS, the City received a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Conservation
Partners Legacy Grant in 2021 for buckthorn removal in Freeman Park that included treatments
to inhibit the regrowth of buckthorn; and
WHEREAS, the City's contractor performed buckthorn removal in January and February of 2024
and was directed by the City to not utilize treatments in the removal process, thus changing the
terms of the grant; and
WHEREAS, the City worked with DNR to provide an acceptable follow-up process to inhibit
buckthorn regrowth utilizing continual manual removal and seeding and planting of new trees
in the removal areas.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SHOREWOOD,
MINNESOTA AS FOLLOWS:
1. That the City will adopt the plan as shown on the attached Exhibit A
2. The plan will be reviewed annually and changes made as appropriate.
Adopted by the City Council of Shorewood, Minnesota this 81h day of April 2024.
1 nife Labadie, Mayor
est:
Sandie Thone, City Clerk
Exhibit A
1. Following removal of buckthorn by Prairie Restorations, volunteers will collect, and city
staff will remove and chip up in place excess dead tree debris in the removal areas.
These removal efforts will provide easier access in the future for equipment and staff to
efficiently maintain the area, seed the area and remove buckthorn. Currently, city staff
has completed approximately 25% of Area 3. Staff will continue to work in area 3 before
moving on to Area 2. A volunteer event to remove and staff debris in Area 1 was
originally scheduled for March 23, 2024, but was postponed due to winter weather. City
staff will chip up material as time and conditions allow in the weeks following.
2. Following removal of debris in Areas 1 through 3, DNR and City staff recommend
applying native seed that is appropriate for re-establishing all applicable forested areas.
Staff have solicited quotes for native seed from multiple companies. Costs range from
$479.25/acre to $650/acre. City staff recommend utilizing native seed mix from all three
companies in following breakdown to understand the effectiveness of the native seed
mixes for potential future applications.
• Minnesota Native Landscape: $65/lb. 6 acres at 10 Ibs/acre. $3,900
• Prairie Restoration: $62.67/lb. 7 acres at 8 Ibs/acre. $3,509.52
• Ramy Turf: $13.50/pls. 7 acres at 35.5 pls/acre. $3,354.75
• ESTIMATED TOTAL: $10,764.27
Application of seed to approximately 17-20 acres of buckthorn removal area will be
completed by city staff.
3. In addition to seeding the forested areas, staff purchased approximately 200 smaller
bareroot trees through Hennepin County's tree sale. The recommended use for the
smaller trees is reforestation. The cost of the trees was $259 and was funded through
the Parks Maintenance budget. Staff is coordinating a volunteer tree planting event in
late April following the delivery of the trees.
4. City staff and park volunteers will manually and mechanically remove emerging
buckthorn in the Freeman Park areas during multiple removal operations in 2024. Dates
of removal efforts will be set at a later date. Any mechanical removal with equipment
will be completed by city staff utilizing rental or purchased equipment.
5. Based on the effectiveness of removal and seeding efforts in 2024, city staff will bring to
council future removal recommendations, which could include additional volunteer
removal events, contracted removal, or other means of removal. If all other
maintenance efforts prove ineffective in adequately controlling reemerging buckthorn,
the Council may need to consider other proven and typical treatment methods that may
include chemical applications.