Engineering and Public Works 2025 Annual Report

2025 PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS

RESTORING TURF TO NATURAL HABITAT The City’s Engineering Department continues to prioritize habitat restoration throughout the community by establishing new natural areas with park development projects and converting existing underutilized turf to native vegetation. Ranging from large acreages to pocket prairies, native vegetation provides many benefits including habitat for pollinators and other wildlife, water quality improvements, erosion control, and reduced maintenance costs. The City was recently awarded grant funding through the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to restore several turf areas within City parks to native prairie vegetation. These new sites are located at Prairie Bend Park, Scenic Heights Park, and the Community Center. Establishing native vegetation takes time. These areas were seeded in May of 2025 and are expected to be fully established within three to five years. First and second year plantings are often weedy and can look a bit unkempt as the native plant species are working to build their root systems underground. Additionally, many native species must endure a freeze/thaw period before they germinate, a process called cold stratification. By the third year, native plants have typically established strong root systems to be able to produce substantial, above-ground growth. It’s all about trusting the process; the City is committed to completing the maintenance necessary for these areas to establish. This maintenance often involves regular mowings to keep weeds from producing seeds as well as increasing light availability to the ground. The City has also developed a Native Vegetation Management Plan to aid in the routine maintenance of our managed natural areas to control invasive vegetation. Other completed habitat restorations include Whispering Oaks Park, Stagecoach Park, and the Highway 169 Pollinator Prairie. These are good examples of what new native prairie areas will look like once the native species have grown in. Memorial Park was also recently restored and has undergone its second year of establishment maintenance. The use of native vegetation in our park areas and open spaces restores these sites to functional ecosystems and will make them resilient for years to come.

2025 Annual Report | 31