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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018/11/07 - ADMIN - Minutes - Environment & Sustainability Commission - Regular St. Louis Park City Hall • 5005 Minnetonka Blvd., St. Louis Park, MN 55416 www.stlouispark.org • Phone: 952.924.2500 • TTY: 952.924.2518 Environment and sustainability commission (ESC): Sustainable SLP Minutes Nov. 7, 2018 Community Room, St. Louis Park City Hall Members present: Chair Bridget Rathsack, Hannah Ampe, Shaina Ashare, Sue Bloyer, Katie Christiansen, Nicole Ciulla, Stefan Collinet-Adler, Zoe Frank, Ryan Griffin, Jim Leuthner, Claire Lukens Excused absence: Larry Kraft, Julie Rappaport Staff present: Shannon Pinc, ESC coordinator, Lauren Michaels, intern Guests: Kim Erickson 1. The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. by Chair Rathsack. 2. Chair Rathsack opened the meeting and members introduced themselves. 3. Sue made a motion to approve the October 2018 minutes, Niki seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. 4. Business a. Staff updates i. Lauren noted an article in the October Park Perspectives which mentioned the ESC. She handed out the article for the members. Shannon noted the commission will discuss branding at a future meeting. ii. The solar power event was attended by community and ESC members. The social media postings were discussed and number of people reached on Facebook, along with how many clicked or engaged/responded to the invite. On the city’s Facebook page, 630 people clicked on the page to view and 3444 screen impressions were viewed on the Nextdoor app. 340 Twitter impressions were also viewed. Shannon noted they were not able to find out the number of shares. iii. The Home Remodeling Fair will be Sunday, Feb. 10, 10:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. The commission discussed volunteer shifts, noting two volunteers were signed up at this point. More volunteers are needed to discuss home energy and other ideas related to energy efficiency. Claire, Nikki, Ryan and Sue volunteered to assist, along with staff. The toolkit will be discussed and finalized in December. b. Review Climate Action Plan St. Louis Park City Hall • 5005 Minnetonka Blvd., St. Louis Park, MN 55416 www.stlouispark.org • Phone: 952.924.2500 • TTY: 952.924.2518 i. Shannon gave an overview and discussed updates on the Climate Action Plan. Lauren will email the plan to commissioners, if needed. It is also online on the commission’s page and the ESC page as well. She noted the plan was developed out of the Energy Action Plan and work with youth. ii. The mid-term goals in the plan to 2030, and advanced strategies were noted, and deep dives into working out of heavy emissions fuels. There are a lot of highlights about what the city will do, although city emissions are under 3 percent, and is small compared to the rest of the city’s emissions. iii. Shannon is working on a place to direct folks to and what this should look like and driving people to the staff page for resources. The basic framework is being worked on to have completed by the end of the year. Viable projects are being looked at now, to be done around the community, and at the nature center. Electrical vehicle charging will also be encouraged and analytics reviewed. Engineering is installing the smart chargers now and they will explore the possibility of charging a fee or having a subscription to use the smart chargers. iv. Stefan asked about adding timers to chargers to see usage. Ryan said its best not to charge fees for charging until it’s absolutely needed. Shannon said chargers will be built, so fees can be charged in the future if needed. v. Shannon discussed energy projects being worked on within city properties and deeper dives will be needed to create more energy efficiency. The city will take the lead on these energy efficiency projects and present the details to businesses within the city, and encourage them to do likewise. Other events will be identified to be present at. vi. Shannon will be focusing on the implementation of the Climate Action Plan, and will be the internal consultant and work with the outside consultant as well. vii. Ryan discussed the Living Streets policy of the city and noted the policy is being looked at again for further development. It will incorporate certain national standards, new forms of zoning and build on Connect the Park. Ryan noted also that St. Louis Park is looking at Minneapolis’ Complete Streets policy as a model. A report will be given to the city council at their next study session. c. Work/project group updates i. Bridget explained the Google doc sheet and goals, and asked if commissioners had reviewed yet. She mentioned the toolkit project, EV event and sustainability champions’ project, noting who’s involved, the goal dates, the members who are working on projects and alignment with the work plan alignment. She also noted this will help track who attends events and who will volunteer for various events. ii. Shannon stated this will be helpful in reporting back and writing the annual report also. St. Louis Park City Hall • 5005 Minnetonka Blvd., St. Louis Park, MN 55416 www.stlouispark.org • Phone: 952.924.2500 • TTY: 952.924.2518 iii. Ryan stated rather than going through the full packet, it would be helpful to have a synopsis of information. iv. Claire noted the city also lists upcoming meeting information regarding the city council, on Nextdoor. Information related to ESC can then be posted on the Google document. Shannon will ask the communications department or the city clerk/administration what is the best way to receive relevant information on ESC topics that the council will discuss at their meetings. v. Toolkit group – A lot of work has been done in this group. Handouts for tables are being worked on along with how to table and talk to residents, and how to engage the community on topics. Also, frequently asked questions and answers will be included in the toolkits. vi. Roots and Shoots update – An all staff meeting will happen at the school next week and sustainability will be discussed there. The group is also working on energy efficiencies with businesses. iMatter also received a grant to develop materials. Nov. 8 and 15 will be dates for door knocking and volunteers will be trained. vii. Logos for climate champions are being worked on and they will be emailed to the commissioners for review. d. Other updates i. ESC retreat will be held Sunday, Dec. 2 from 9:30 am - 1:30 p.m. and pre- work will be done, along with personality evaluations discussed at the retreat in order to understand one another and communicate effectively with one another. ii. Each member will create their own bio slides and are encouraged to update them from last year’s slide. Also, each member will be asked to include an additional slide that focuses on where their interest in environmental work comes from and what skills, experiences and passions areas does each person have. Words or illustrations, or magazine cut-outs are encouraged. Prompt questions will be sent to the commissioners to help them do the activity and creativity is encouraged. iii. Commissioners should bring their calendars to the retreat and also update their Myers-Briggs results and bring to the retreat as well. The meeting was adjourned at 8 p.m. Orientation of new ESC members was held from 8 – 8:30 p.m.