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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015/08/05 - ADMIN - Minutes - Environment & Sustainability Commission - RegularMINUTES ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION: SUSTAINABLE SLP ST. LOUIS PARK, MINNESOTA August 5, 2015 Community Room, City Hall MEMBERS PRESENT: Terry Gips, Karen Laumb, Rachel Harris, Nancy Rose, Alex Sundvall, Judy Voigt, Cindy Larson O’Neil, Renee McGarvey EXCUSED ABSENCE: Mark Eilers, Paul Zeigle, Chris Anderson, Ryan Griffin, Jayne Stevenson STAFF PRESENT: Environment & Sustainability Coordinator, Shannon Pinc and Recording Secretary, Mary Pappas GUESTS: Julie Rappaport, work group member 1. The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. Chair Gips noted that this was Alex Sundvall’s last official Commission meeting, and invited him to return at any time. Chair Gips acknowledged Alex’s service on the Commission. Additionally, the Commissioners introduced themselves and spoke about what they are working on this summer. 2. The minutes of the July 8, 2015 meeting were tabled and changes will be forwarded to staff for review. 3. New Business a. National Night Out Report – Karen Lamb stated she presented at her National Night Out neighborhood meeting. She said she spoke about the Commission, and that no one had ever heard about it. She said the group wants to form a neighborhood association. Nancy Rose spoke after the emergency response team at her National Night Out meeting and people were happy to learn about the Commission. Julie Rappaport also went to her neighborhood meeting and explained the Commission. She noted five people signed up to be involved, and she will follow up with them. Renee McGarvey stated she lives in Fernhill neighborhood and noted citizens were interested in the Commission. She noted she pointed them to the City website for further information. Chair Gips said he attended the meeting with the City Manager Tom Harmening at the Police Station, and also did a ride along in a squad car with Officer Ken Cisco. He added he spoke to adults and kids, and stated the Commission should do more next year with this event, to get the word out. He thanked the Commissioners for attending their meetings, noting this was an important beginning in getting the word out about the work of the Commission. Environment and Sustainability August 5, 2015 Commission Meeting b. Presentation to the SLP Business Council – This event will take place tomorrow morning, August 6, 2015 and Commissioner Cindy Larson O’Neil will make a presentation about the Commission. Chair Gips will attend and be available to speak at the event, as will Shannon Pinc. Handouts about the Commission will be distributed and they will work to recruit business people for the Partners in Energy program, along with business participation in all of the work groups. Chair Gips invited the Commissioners to attend, and noted also that the City Manager will speak about the plastics project. The meeting will be from 7:30 – 9:00 a.m. at Wolff Professional Building. c. Work Group Reports Communications Work Group Update – Chair Gips said the work group had a good meeting, and reviewed the plan that was given to them one year ago. They made modifications to the plan and prioritized items. Now they will need a Facebook page that is in working order, will also create a video, and a revised flyer. He added they met with Jacque Larson, City Communications Staff, and had a positive meeting. The group’s work plan will now be written and presented. They also will discuss social media policies, in light of the City’s upcoming website revision. Water, Land, Wildlife Work Group Plan – A revised work plan was submitted to the commission for review at the meeting. Comments & suggestions were requested from commissioners. Nancy stated that vision and goals were largely unchanged from an earlier version, but that the Green Step Cities Best Practice Actions have been incorporated to provide framework for next steps. SLPs reporting to the program is incomplete. Shannon & Jim Vaughn will meet to clarify updated procedures. The work group will then review opportunities for actions to upgrade ratings. In surface water management, new system of upstream retention devices is needed to reduce flooding and pollution of ponds. This plan is required by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for the 2017 Stormwater Management Plan. The work group has also discussed an overall park plan, to explain park properties, and incorporate green infrastructure to reduce climate warming. Wildlife policy now exists only to deal with population reduction. Protective considerations could be added. They will review otherd documents, and the current comprehensive plan, and come to agreement about what should be done. They discussed adding more parks, and more ground cover. Additional reviews will be done with City Staff and priorities will be set. The Commission also noted that Meadowbrook Golf Course is currently being revamped by Minneapolis Park and Recreation. Minnehaha Creek will be re-meandered and there will be discussions about everything including land, wildlife, water and conservation, through the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District. The Commission also discussed the work of Peter McCoy and his website radicalmicology.org. Chair Gips noted his work with mushrooms would be beneficial to the plan. Green Corridors could be incorporated into the plan. Chair Gips asked Renee to work on the language in this work plan. Previous work in this area, called Minnehaha Creek Preserve, resulted in the creek being remeandered and includes a boardwalk. Zero Waste Work Group Plan – Judy reported and stated they have a vision of zero waste and it will take time to develop a plan on how to reuse everything so it cycles back. The work group also noted multi unit housing and family units, and businesses should be Environment and Sustainability August 5, 2015 Commission Meeting encouraged to participate in this zero waste plan, and also stated they will need to work with management groups. Julie added she will be conducting composting classes on Aug 19th. The City has also produced a video on composting that is useful. Chair Gips encouraged more work on this in neighborhoods. They also discussed household collection sites and that the process needs improvements. Additionally, Hennepin County conducts workshops where experts donate time to help people fix items, rather than tossing them out, in order to reuse and reduce waste. Chair Gips stated the Commission should also be promoting this program to citizens. Energy Work Group Update – Cindy reported and stated the group is continuing to recruit. Their first meeting will have Xcel staff on hand to guide the work group through processes. They will also provide six workshops at City Hall on energy conservation. Cindy also reported they have reached out to businesses and leaders in the City and have a possible PACE (Property Accessed Clean Energy) program participant ready to look into installing solar panels on his business in order to save on electricity costs. She noted this business owner would be a great ambassador of the program if savings were realized. Over a five-year time frame, the business owner would pay back the City at a lower interest rate on his tax assessment. Transportation Work Group Update – Rachel reported that she will join this group. She noted they will join forces with the Health in the Park group, and will align efforts. Areas that will be discussed include safe biking in the community along with walking audits, safety issues related to walking. Chair Gips noted it would be beneficial to get this update to the City Council as soon as possible. Education and Action Work Group Update – Chair Gips said the planning meeting was positive and included Julie and Clark also. He noted they would like to move forward with a workshop on sustainability, and also look at Green Steps and determine what would apply. 4. Communications a. Climate Resilience Event ESC participation and promotion. Environment & Sustainability Coordinator Shannon Pinc updated the Commission on the August 11 event. It will be placed on the Facebook page, and she asked the Commissioner to view it there and like the page. She noted there will be a table at the event, set up with materials, and she will collect names and hand out posters and flyers. She added Commissioners are invited to come and help with distribution of materials and answering questions from the audience. Additionally, there is no way to know how many people will be in attendance. The event starts at 7 p.m. and Commissioners that can help with set up should be there by 6:30 p.m. b. Banned materials study sessions & Progressive Bag Alliance Meetings & possible recommendation to Council – Terry, Rachel, Judy, Ryan, Shannon & Tim Brausen attended this meeting. Environment and Sustainability August 5, 2015 Commission Meeting c. Julie added that the St. Louis Park mayor will make a proclamation on community garden day, and there will be edible garden tours, classes, and mental well-being aspects of gardening. d. Visioning- Rachel said this has been discussed in the past and the Commission should work with City Staff and the community for input and to get an idea of a community wide sustainability vision. Cindy added that the City Council wants the Commission to create a vision and focus more broadly on priorities. She added that the City has funding for this, and plans to put our vision in place as soon as it is available. The Commission noted the vision can come from work with staff and also from the updated comprehensive plan. Chair Gips said a citizen survey should still be completed and then a report back to the Commission and the City will need to happen. Chair Gips added a meeting will need to be scheduled after meeting with City Manager Harmening. After that, a follow up meeting will be needed in order to make a proposal to the City Council. e. In regard to the polystyrene study session, Chair Gips, Judy, Rachel, Shannon, and Julie were at the meeting. It was noted that the plastic bags are actually not as detrimental as first thought. The bags are not a by-product of gas and there is no petroleum in plastic bags. The Commission noted there are alternative approaches to banning plastic bags, and added they will begin conversations with the cities of Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Edina in order to share resources and information on this topic. Chair Gips added the City Council would like the Commission to do more research on this topic and to attend the public listening session on the plastic bag issue at the St. Louis Park Rec Center on September 2nd. Staff will email the Commission details of this event. f. Upcoming Meetings and Events – next meeting will be held September 9 instead of September 2. g. Feedback on Meetings – The Commission’s goal is to get the meeting agenda distributed to Commissioners one week in advance of the meeting. Staff will send reminders out earlier for agenda topics. 5. The meeting was adjourned at 8:10 p.m.