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City Council Minutes Page 7 <br />April 20, 2020 <br />----------------------------- <br />Councilmember Westgaard agreed that looking at intensity of usage and separating <br />them out might give some clarity. He would like to avoid adding more red tape and <br />barriers for small home occupations. He suggested having City Attorney Beck and <br />staff work together to bring some recommendations. <br />Mayor Dietz suggested addressing the different types of home occupations and try to <br />make some type of list of criteria on how business might fit into categories. <br />9.4 Medians and Prairie Grass <br />Mr. Femrite presented the staff report. <br />Councilmember Westgaard stated the main issue with prairie grass was that it looked <br />unkempt. Overgrown grasses do not support the vision of beautification. <br />Mayor Dietz agreed and added that cost played a factor in deciding what materials to <br />use in a median. Irrigation would have to be added to support turf. One person's <br />prairie grass is another person's weeds. <br />Councilmember Wagner wondered if there may be varieties of prairie grass that had <br />shorter stalks. <br />Mr. Femrite said the prairie grass must reach maturation in order to repopulate and <br />reseed itself. He would look into mowing the edges and trimming the grasses more <br />often. <br />Mayor Dietz asked about the cost of prairie grasses and if this were the cheapest <br />option. <br />Mr. Femrite stated past research has shown it to be the cheapest option. Especially <br />considering nothing but weeds will grow without proper irrigation. <br />Mayor Dietz asked about the cost of concrete or asphalt. <br />Mr. Femrite advocated for concrete over asphalt but that would be the most <br />expensive option. <br />Councilmember Ovall stated concrete was an impervious surface and may cause <br />stormwater issues. <br />Mayor Dietz agreed that nothing was wrong with prairie, grass as long as it is <br />maintained. <br />Councilmember Wagner agreed and also addressed the appearance of city - <br />maintained plantings. <br />Mr. Femrite agreed that some plantings appear overgrown and there has been an <br />issue finding plants that can handle the salt from winter road maintenance. <br />NAYURE <br />