City Council - Regular Meeting

Welcome to Agenda Edina, a program summarizing the actions taken at city hall that affect you most. I'm your host, Dorothia Marty. The city council has updated Edina's tree protection ordinance designed to preserve the community's tree canopy and ensure trees removed during development are replaced. The ordinance, first adopted in 2023, previously applied only to residential construction projects. New amendments approved earlier this month, expand it to apply to all zoning districts, including commercial properties. The changes also move the ordinance to the city's vegetation chapter, and clarify several definitions and procedures to make the rules easier to administer and understand. Additional updates allow more flexibility in how replacement trees are planted. For example, up to 20% of replacement trees could be a different tree type, and developers could meet planting requirements offsite if a property cannot reasonably accommodate new trees. Uh the new updates in the ordinance um are to allow uh applicants more flexibility in uh both the the species that they're planting and and the the locations that they're planting those uh species back on site. Um and you know sometimes uh it'd be nice to have uh you know more conifers on your property for that that year round natural buffer uh as opposed to just all deciduous trees. So now um you know applicants have that flexibility to to you know have a little more variety on on their property with species selection.

The ordinance continues to focus on tree removals tied to development projects that already require permits. Staff will also explore ways to increase public awareness of the ordinance, such as through an annual report and provide periodic updates on its impact. Protecting and replenishing the community's tree canopy supports goals outlined in Edina's comprehensive plan and climate action plan. A firstofits-kind program delivering advanced life support capabilities in the prehosp system for cardiac victims is staying in Edina. In 2021, the Dina Fire Department began a partnership with Fairview and other health care providers to operate the mobile extracaporeal membrane oxygenation or ECMO truck as part of a pilot program to treat patients experiencing severe cardiac or respiratory failure without access to specialized services. This specialized unit allows for rapid deployment of equipment and personnel to initiate ECMO therapy significantly improving survival chances for critical patients.

The first in the world mobile ECMO procedure was done right here in Edina. And ECMO is a in layman's terms heart and lung bypass. So, it's a machine surgery that's performed uh where you can oxygenate the blood outside of the body and put it back in to help save lives.

During the pilot phase, Edina Fire found that the model was not sustainable because when an ECMO call was dispatched, an ambulance or fire crew was taken out of service to respond. Under an amendment to the contract approved by the city council last month, Fair View will fund two dedicated positions to staff the ECMO truck. When these personnel are not actively deployed on ECMO related calls, the contract permits them to assist with Edina fire operations, including emergency response and other needs of the department.

So part of any good pilot program is is failures and successes. So, we're using this opportunity to showcase the staffing of this vehicle with dedicated staffing while still growing the response capabilities for our EDIA residents with this pilot program.

The contract provides nearly $340,000 annually for staffing through 2027. Police officers across the country are using the drug abuse resistance education program, commonly known as DARE, in local classrooms. The program gives children the skills needed to avoid making decisions that would negatively impact their lives and the lives of others. It TV introduces us to one officer who has taken on this important mission. Only a select few officers in the city have ever received the special training needed for today's assignment.

We are headed to our Lady of Grace Catholic Church. Um, we're going to the fifth grade classrooms to do DARE. Using the drug abuse resistance education program, also known as DARE, Officer Gabby Doyle is laying the foundation for 10 and 11year-old students to make good choices. I'm Officer Gabby um with the Edina Police Department. The DARE course material is tailored for kindergarten through 12th grade students. I've been on a scene where a rifle was fired, where a back and forth conversation is welcomed. The longest someone would spend in jail would be uh 364 days, right? So almost a year because if it's longer than a year, then they'd go to prison.

Our fifth grade teachers have really enjoyed that interaction. It helps broaden the kids's worldview as well to have that officer working in partnership with them right there in the classroom where the kids feel most comfortable. Why don't you throw a wolf up in the air so you're ready? For kids living in a complicated world, describe the problem, challenge or opportunity. These lessons are about a lot more than saying no to drugs and alcohol. We teach kids good decision- making. Um talking about risk and consequence, learning about um how every decision that they make has a consequence, whether it be good or bad, and teaching them to weigh the the benefits or the negative things that might happen as a result of whatever decision they make.

Serious topics discussed with curiosity. That's a great question. I think the positivity around it shows me that they take this seriously and they have fun with it, which is the most important thing. Yes, I'm Dan Carpenter for Adina TV.

Starting a DARE program begins with getting approval from your local school administrators who can then reach out to the Edina Police Department. March is Women's History Month. This year's theme, Leading the Change: Women Shaping a Sustainable Future, honors women whose leadership is building a more sustainable, equitable, and resilient world. From environmental innovation to community equity, women are shaping the future for all of us. Thank you for watching this episode of Agenda Edina. I'm your host, Dorothia Marty.