Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016/04/06 - ADMIN - Minutes - Environment & Sustainability Commission - RegularMINUTES ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION: SUSTAINABLE SLP ST. LOUIS PARK, MINNESOTA April 6, 2016 Westwood Room, City Hall MEMBERS PRESENT: Terry Gips, Ryan Griffin; Chairperson Harris; Renee McGarvey, Cindy Larson O’Neil, Nancy Rose, Jayne Stevenson, Judy Voigt. EXCUSED ABSENCE: Chris Anderson STAFF PRESENT: Shannon Pinc, Sustainability Liaison/City Staff; and Recording Secretary (Ms. Pappas). GUESTS: Julie Rappaport, Education and Action Work Group; Larry Kraft, iMatter. 1. The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. 2. The minutes of the March 2, 2016 meeting were approved with changes: Karen Laumb no longer a member. - Date of Alliance event – is March 24th should be added. With changes from Nancy Rose. 3. Business Recap of Youth presentation to Council on March 21 – Larry/Jayne Larry from iMatter gave an update. He noted the youth group Roots and Shoots did a fantastic job at the City Council meeting and received many positive comments. He noted the Council was very receptive to the group and seemed supportive to the resolution presented. He added this is a great beginning and the St Louis Park is setting an example for the whole country on climate change. This makes it more real and emotional, especially now that the youth are involved. Jayne added it was a very good meeting and the Council was very supportive of their efforts. Additionally, there was a Star Tribune article written and a summary of the article is available online. Larry added that Ryan did a wonderful job and the youth set the tone for this project. He said the ball is in our court now, to make this happen. The Commission asked for copies of Jayne’s speech, and also noted the meeting was recorded on St Louis Park government television. Chair Harris commented that Jayne was a rock star, very poised and it is an honor to have her as a member of the Commission. a. Recap of meeting with Tom Harmening, City Manager – Chair Harris and Shannon met with the City Manager on Monday and covered few items: -Old business related to zero waste and what the Council wants from the Commission. - More frequent tension between Council wanting us to do things one way, and how to reach mutual agreement on this. - Zero waste ordinance – there was a motion to do present a report to the Council and this was also conveyed verbally. When asked if the Council wanted the Environment and Sustainability -2- April 6, 2016 Commission Meeting written statement on the ordinance, and a verbal report, their answer was no, and they have moved on. Additional items discussed: - Bring Your Own Bag (BYOB) ordinance – and it was noted this will be coming back to the Council at some point to be determined. - Working synergistically with Council and staff – Shannon stated she reminded Council of the 3 goals/priorities in February, however the Council receives so much information, that they did not remember this. She stated they reminded them of the 3 goals: Green Step, Climate Action Plan, and incorporating sustainability into the Comprehensive Plan. Shannon added they also discussed the visioning process, and Tom said they are still in the planning stages. She added if the Commission has further ideas on this to please contact Chair Harris, Shannon or Tom Harmening. Additionally, Shannon noted the Council is happy with the work the Commission is doing. Julie Rappaport added the Council should be encouraged to join in at the Earth Day dinner. She added that Terry and Ryan with both be speaking, Roots and Shoots and iMatters also will be in attendance. She encouraged the City Council Members and Tom to attend, noting there will be listening sessions related to visioning from the community. - Results of discussion/voting on meeting time/use of time – Chair Harris presented the number of votes for each topic discussed at the March meeting. She stated the winning result was to have 3 key priorities discussed at each meeting and then work group topics alternately. She added the Commission and staff are learning the meetings and topics need to be flexible for when work group reports need priority also. Ongoing meeting and agenda management will be a priority. b. Overarching Goals – Chair Harris i. Comprehensive Plan – Chair Harris noted at the City of Minneapolis, people gather to discuss their “big audacious” goal which she found to be a great idea. She noted if Commissioners have ideas for the City’s visioning plan, to please send to them to her or Shannon. She added this could be done through surveys also. Ryan said last year the transportation group had ideas about a survey. Terry added it is part of the work plan to do a survey. He added it would be helpful to find out if there is a comprehensive planning budget and if a survey could be part of that. He added the survey could also come out of Shannon’s budget as well. The question is when the City will do their survey, and if there is a budget available to have help with it. Environment and Sustainability -3- April 6, 2016 Commission Meeting Chair Harris added she had connected with Beth Mercer Taylor on this issue also. Julie added the survey was discussed at Earth Day planning also, and could there by paper surveys handed out to participants in order to start collecting information. Chair Harris thanked everyone for their input and said they will revisit the Top 10 survey with the Comprehensive Plan. ii. Green Step Cities – Shannon and Nancy noted the City will be recognized at Step 2 level in June. They added the work group is ahead of schedule on this and also have added Step 4 and 5 to be worked on. They noted there is more work to do, but that a good framework is in place now. They also thanked Renee for her previous insight. Chair Harris asked if the 3 goals could fit into the criteria going forward. Nancy said yes. Chair Harris added there is reason to celebrate. iii. Climate Action Planning – Ryan stated he gave a draft presentation last month to the Commission last month and received feedback, which he now has incorporated into a new presentation. This presentation will be delivered to the City Council on April 18 in a Special Study Session. He stated he will have 45 minutes to present and will be inviting Roots and Shoots and iMatter to be in attendance also. He added that Chair Harris will present the top 3 priorities, and then present the sustainable city goals. Ryan’s portion will be all about the Climate Action Plan -- why it is needed, what it is, what it’s not, and then he will explain the Commission’s support for iMatter climate standards. He stated if all agree on a common message, it will be very effective. He noted the main Asks will be to have the City recognize their responsibility to mitigate this issue, and to recognize we all contribute every day to the problem. This is the first step to solving the problem. He added it will take an effort to get this done and community stakeholders will be needed also, along with outside support. He said the main goal will be to get the City to net zero emissions by 2024 and electricity by 2025, and this will be for all City sectors, not just businesses. It will be for residents, vehicles, and anything within St. Louis Park. He said he will recommend continuing collection of regional indicators data, and added he will recommend the City switch the City Hall building to 100% renewable this year to lead by example. He added it is doable. Shannon stated she needs this data on costs for WindSource for all city accounts so she can put into the budget proposal. And finally, Ryan stated he wants to incorporate this climate resolution with full support. Environment and Sustainability -4- April 6, 2016 Commission Meeting The Commissioners agreed Ryan’s presentation looks very good, and Terry thanked all those involved. Chair Harris added that everyone in the room has been supportive of this proposal, along with the members of the Partners in Energy workgroup and those St. Louis Park business representatives involved also. Motion made (Judy) and seconded (Nancy) that the Climate Inheritance Resolution be endorsed before the City Council on April 18th at the Study Session. Ryan – added the friendly amendment to include the Climate be submitted along with the Climate Action Plan CC on April 18th. Motion passed. c. Other Work Group Updates i. Partners in Energy update – Ryan/Cindy are working on a draft that supports the Climate Action Plan, with specific actions in each area. They added they hope to have this completed by the next Commission meeting and will send a draft out prior to the Commission for review, before the May meeting. Ryan stated this is an 18-month action plan, which will be part of how to start doing this for the 25-year climate action plan. Strategy will be discussed on this plan. Ryan pointed out that Cindy has recruited many people from the community and businesses to be involved in this plan and he thanked her for all her work on pulling this team together. Chair Harris congratulated the work group and said if they need help to digest information, please let the Commissioners know. ii. Living Streets Policy – Ryan/Rachel/Shannon The meeting was held yesterday and Ryan and Nancy (storm water work group), Deb Heiser, City Director of Engineering made an excellent start to a high-level draft. They discussed what the policy is, and why do it, along with outcomes and objectives, measures, and goals. For the next 6 months, they will conduct monthly meeting and each one will take on a specific part of the draft. They hope to have a complete policy approved by the Council ultimately. They will meet the first Tuesday of each month to work on this. Terry said this is a positive development and asked if there is alignment with the rest of the City staff. Ryan said there seems to be and they keep working on partnership and collaboration. He thanked Shannon for doing the pre-work on this and noted that benchmarks and performance will be clear. Environment and Sustainability -5- April 6, 2016 Commission Meeting Julie asked if these meetings are open to community members, noting it would be a good way to conduct some visioning, and people would like to have a voice. Nancy noted if the majority of Commissioner are in attendance, then it is a public meeting, however this work will begin with the small group first. Renee noted there are many landscape architects that live in St. Louis Park and stated the Commission could tap into them. She will do some work on this. She added she will look for more information and existing policies already in use in Edina and Maplewood. She said the City Council and Staff seem pretty open, and the Commission should keep working on items and giving reasons behind, sharing the why. iii. Communications – Shannon showed the updated Facebook page for the Commission and said some additional training was held for Commissioners recently on how to add updates to the page. There was also training on Twitter, and Terry, Clark, Nancy and Judy were in attendance. She stated that content can be sent to her and Nicole by email, and they will be responsible for positing it on the pages. Staff will be monitoring and following City guidelines. The concern is staff does not want to see discussions on these sites, as it may violate the open meeting laws and City rules, so it is important to remember these sites are strictly to be used for updates, tidbits, etc. and are just to be informational. Events will be posted also. Chair Harris stated this is an exciting milestone in our Commission and thanked the Communications workgroup. iv. Water and wildlife work group –Nancy provided a brief update. She stated City Engineer Phillip Elkin presented background on the Bass Lake Project work during 2014, 2015 and early 2016. Several projects relating to Bass Lake were proposed. The most appealing project is stormwater capture and reuse to irrigate ball fields in Carpenter Park. Runoff from the two blocks west of City Hall would be drained to tanks placed in a low spot at the western edge of Carpenter Park, treated and used to irrigate the ball fields there. Cost is estimated at about $1.25 million. Another project would be drainage improvements around Glen Road. Removing trees from the wooded area at the northeast corner of Bass Lake was discussed. Keeping the trees may be preferable. The discussion will Environment and Sustainability -6- April 6, 2016 Commission Meeting be continued at another study session. Nancy added she will keep the commission apprised of future meetings. d. Upcoming Events i. April 12th – Solar Power Hour at the Rec Center – Cindy said this organization through Midwest Renewable Association does focus groups all over MN and WI. It is free and open to the public and they will have rooftop and wind source information available. She noted her thanks to Shannon, Nicole and staff with help on this and added that Julie will bring some items to distribute at the event also. ii. April 16th – Organic Living Workshop – Judy noted they are in need of table staffing and other needs at this upcoming workshop. She asked Commissioners to please email her or Shannon if they are available to help. A sign-up sheet was passed around to Commissioners. iii. April 24th – 2nd Annual Earth Day Event – Terry is the keynote speaker, and Julie and Judy are on the planning committee for this event. Judy passed around a sign-up sheet to commissioners to sign up for work times. They will have exhibitors, and Julie noted this could be a chance to start the visioning process. They added a whole room is available for Sustainable St. Louis Park along with iMatter and Roots and Shoots. Speakers start at 3:30 with dinner following. The event runs until 8 p.m. and there will be prize giveaways also. Julie passed out flyers and cards that can be handed out to the community. Shannon noted she will be out of the office from April 18 – 27 and back in on April 28th. The meeting was adjourned at 8:36 p.m.