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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015/11/04 - ADMIN - Minutes - Environment & Sustainability Commission - RegularMINUTES ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION: SUSTAINABLE SLP ST. LOUIS PARK, MINNESOTA November 4, 2015 Community Room, City Hall MEMBERS PRESENT: Chris Anderson, Mark Eilers, Terry Gips, Ryan Griffin; Rachel Harris, Karen Laumb, Renee McGarvey, Cindy Larson-O’Neil, Nancy Rose, Jayne Stevenson, Judy Voigt, Paul Zeigle. EXCUSED ABSENCE: None STAFF PRESENT: Shannon Pinc and Recording Secretary (Mary Pappas). GUESTS: Elliot Richert, student (education and action work group); Julie Rappaport, work group member. 1. The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. Introductions were made. It was noted that the Roots and Shoots fundraiser was a great success. A photo from the event will be added to the Commission’s Facebook page. 2. The minutes of the October 7, 2015 meeting were approved unanimously. 3. Business/Work Groups a. Proposed City Council Commission Annual Meeting input & report – The Commission reviewed comments from each commissioner related to the ESC on the Annual Meeting with the City Council Program. Shannon will follow up with Rachel and include her comments also. Chair Gips recommended all comments be submitted to the Council by Friday, Nov 7th. Chair Gips made a motion to assemble the above comments into specific bullet points within the document and also that Chair Gips and Rachel will review and then submit the comments to the City Council. Commissioner Rose seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. b. Visioning meetings with City Manager - Chair Gips reported on the meeting with City Manager Harmening, and explained the main focus was completing the second half of the workshop on Sustainability and the Natural Step Framework to assess the possibility of it being used as a city- wide education tool as well as part of a possible visioning process. There was a lengthy, productive discussion about how it can be used for vision and process. Terry and Shannon will develop a proposal to be shared with the City Manager and get his feedback before bringing it back to the Commission. This remains in the works at present and the City Manager is positive about the work being conducted presently by the Commission’s work groups. The City Manager feels that the City Council should participate in the process and will discuss this further with the new St. Louis Park mayor and new City Council members. Environment and Sustainability -2- Nov 4, 2015 Commission Meeting Chair Gips also noted all work plans will need to be submitted to the City Council for approval. Once approved, they can be implemented. c. Plastics & Polystyrene meetings Chair Gips explained that City Staff presented two proposed ordinances on plastics and polystyrene, which were discussed at both the Staff and City Council meetings this week. It was noted that staff were not allowed to share their opinions related to the proposed ordinances, so no additional input was collected. He added that ultimately the city is going ahead with the polystyrene policy and a “bring your own bag” policy has been tabled pending further discussions about a fee. The Commission will need to weigh in on this policy and also the idea of a fee for bags, along with the impact it will have on businesses. The Commission also discussed fees, incentives, and biodegradable packaging, and the effects of imposing and using these measures related to polystyrene. They also discussed the possibility of working with other cities on this policy and also with Hennepin County, in order to attempt a coordinated, regional effort. Shannon noted the business responses have been weak and disappointing, stating the businesses want to work on this; however, no plans were brought forward. Chair Gips asked the Zero Waste Work Group to take this project on and give guidance, as the City Council will want guidance from the Commission. Shannon added that she can be a resource, and if others are interested in working on the polystyrene position statement, they were asked to let Shannon know. d. Evening or half day planning retreat; holiday potluck – The Commission discussed extending the December Commission meeting to two hours and also the idea of a 2-3 hour retreat session to be held in January 2016. The Commissioners liked the idea of visioning session and setting priorities. Chair Gips also noted it will be helpful to talk about strategy and Shannon stated bylaws can also be updated at the extended meeting, or at the January retreat. Cindy expressed concern that a retreat would not be an effective use of time, since work groups had already been focused on priorities in their written plans. She questioned the goal of a retreat meeting. Chair Gips stated a retreat will help the Commission focus on strategy and priorities, and leave behind regular meeting items. Cindy added more support from City staff would also be helpful for the Commission. Environment and Sustainability -3- Nov 4, 2015 Commission Meeting Ryan noted a solid agenda and input on the agenda, for the retreat, would be helpful. Renee agreed and added help from an outside facilitator would also be beneficial. A January retreat date will be explored and brought back to the December meeting for finalization. Cindy reiterated she would like to know the goals and proposed outcomes of this retreat session. Additionally, the Commission agreed to do a holiday potluck on Dec 2nd, at 6 p.m., prior to the start of the next monthly meeting. Commissioners will be asked to bring potluck items to the meeting. e. Term limits; Elections, new member orientation – Shannon presented the term limits that are up at the end of 2015. They include: Mark, Rachel, Ryan, Terry and Karen. She explained the process if Commissioners would like another term, is to fill out a form and include a statement of intention also. Those who want to return are: Rachel and Ryan. Those who do not want to return are: Mark, Karen and possibly Chair Gips. Paul Zeigle also chose to step down from the commission. Additionally, elections for Chair and Vice Chair will need to be conducted. Shannon can preside over this with ballots, if needed. She asked anyone interested in these positions to email her and voting will take place at the first or second meeting of 2016. New commissioners are to begin their terms in January. She also noted that new member orientation will be would be beneficial. Plans for this can be discussed further at the January retreat. Chair Gips also noted he would like to challenge the policy that middle school students cannot be on the commission. Shannon will assist Chair Gips in making this known to City Staff. f. Water, Land, Wildlife- final plan approval- The Commissioners discussed several changes to the final plan. Commissioner Anderson made a motion to approve the plan with the noted changes. Commissioner Griffin seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. g. Education and Action – Chair Gips noted this topic will be tabled until the next meeting due to shortage of time to discuss. Julie did note that Seeds is applying for a grant for education and organics recycling from Hennepin County Green Partners in amount of $8000. Seeds is now a non-profit and has filed with state of MN. This grant will help support the group and also events related to Earth Day. A letter of support and commitment of time from the Commission was needed. Environment and Sustainability -4- Nov 4, 2015 Commission Meeting Commissioner Griffin made a motion that the commission writes and sends a letter to Green Partners in support of the grant application for Seeds in the amount of $8000, for a Green Partners roots grant. Chair Gips seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. h. Energy – The next Partners In Energy meeting is Thursday and the focus areas are youth, renewable energy, and business. The group will be strategizing on these items. The PACE financing group is helping establish at business liaison, and is also working on reducing energy usage, while moving forward on solar ideas also. The will be considering an energy assessment on the St. Louis Park police station, and exploring tools and options for a package. i. Zero Waste – a fundraiser was held, which generated $1217 net, and 325 bags of compost were sold. The fundraiser was publicized well and was very successful. Thanks to all who worked on it. SEEDS students benefitted from the fundraiser. j. Transportation – A meeting was held related to the idea of protected bike lanes on Dakota Avenue in St. Louis Park. The discussion centered on using the whole length of Dakota Ave and road treatment. Public interest and momentum is growing, as well as support from citizens, and how to add protected bike lanes to Dakota Ave. Another meeting will be held next Tuesday at Park Yogurt. k. Communications – A subset of the group met about how to launch and sustain the Commission’s FB and Twitter accounts. One volunteer from the Commission, and a volunteer citizen, will be need to assist with this process. Shannon can receive, edit, help write and sustain posts about the Commission’s work and work group information. Each Commission will also need to be trained to send information to the designated person and/or Shannon. More information will be presented at the December meeting by the work group. l. GreenStepCities – a conference call with PCA GreenStep Advisor Anne Gelbmann is scheduled for November 16 to learn about reporting procedures and rating evaluations. m. Other business i. Two-year City Council goals – Chair Gips thanked and acknowledged Nancy for reading the City Council agenda and minutes on a regular basis so that she could alert the Commission that this was being approved. Chair Gips submitted comments to the City Manager expressing concerns that the Commission wasn’t engaged in the process, that many key aspects of the Commission’s work were left out and that the goals should be open to revision. The City Manager responded favorably to each of the concerns and said the process in the future will include the Commission and that the goals can be amended. Chair Gips explained that the goals had to be put together quickly and that there will be a better process going forward. ii. Westwood Hills Nature Center – The will be getting a new building, and the Commission will be notified during this process. Additionally, Environment and Sustainability -5- Nov 4, 2015 Commission Meeting currently there is no policy on land use or vegetation, and there is concern because the Center is planting non-native vegetation. There will be several upcoming public meetings regarding the plans and commissioners are encouraged to attend. iii. Upcoming events – • Nov 12 – EPA meeting and Partners in Energy meeting, west metro meeting on Climate, notify Shannon if a table and representation is needed. • Dec 1st – 2015 Metro Summit for Lake and River Groups. • Jan 28 - Climate Adaptation Conference. The meeting was adjourned at 8:40 p.m.