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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016/09/07 - ADMIN - Minutes - Environment & Sustainability Commission - RegularMINUTES ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION: SUSTAINABLE SLP ST. LOUIS PARK, MINNESOTA September 7, 2016 Community Room, City Hall MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Chris Anderson, Francie Abramson, Terry Gips, Ryan Griffin, Julie Rappaport, Nancy Rose, Jayne Stephenson, Judy Voigt. EXCUSED ABSENCE: Joe Barten STAFF PRESENT: Shannon Pinc and Recording Secretary (Ms. Pappas). GUESTS: Tom Harmening, St. Louis Park City Manager 1. The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. Roll call and check in was completed. 2. Shannon presented changes submitted by commissioners to staff related to the July 6 meeting minutes. There were no changes to the August 3 meeting minutes. The minutes of the July 6, 2016 meeting were approved unanimously, with changes which will be incorporated by staff. The August 3, 2016 meeting were approved unanimously as presented. 3. Business Overarching Goals Mr. Harmening, St. Louis Park City Manager, presented. Mr. Harmening recognized and thanked the commission for all of their work completed thus far. He noted the city council decided not to move forward with the Bring your own Bag Ordinance, and the position paper presented to the council on this topic was helpful in the council’s decision making process. He added the Living Streets program has been very well received, but the council, as well as the Green Steps Cities Program, noting that St. Louis Park is currently at Level 2, and working toward increasing this rating. He commented on the Energy Action Plan, stating that this continues to be a priority for the council and the city. Mr. Harmening also mentioned the following goals that the commission continues to work on, and what was presented to the council earlier this year as:  Community Visioning,  Energy Action Plan implementation  Green Step Cities  Living Streets Policy Environment and Sustainability -2- September 7, 2016 Commission Meeting Mr. Harmening added the city is about to embark on an energy action plan and also will be signing an agreement with Xcel on this, while also hiring a consultant to work on the climate action plan. He added the council is very committed to moving forward on this issue. He explained this is all becoming much work for the commission and city staff. He added this is all a very major undertaking and staff is working to coordinate who will be working on these projects. Mr. Harmening stated his concern that the council has not given the commission clear direction on what their work plan should entail. He added he has discussed this at length with the council, and the council asked him to discuss the three goals again with the commission in order to create clarity around council expectations of the commission. Mr. Harmening asked Shannon to prepare a draft example of a work plan that focuses on the following four areas identified by the Council:  Support the work of the Energy Action Plan (EAP) from Partners in Energy  Living Streets Policy  Visioning – Comprehensive Plan  Green Step Cities (GSC) He asked the Commission to take the draft prepared by Shannon and develop it, as need be, into a full work plan. He added his goal would be to then bring this document back to the council for approval and adoption, so as to give clear direction to the commission. He stated the council would like to reinforce these areas of concentration/goals, and make this the focus of the commission’s work going forward. Mr. Harmening stressed the commission’s charge then, is to help the council and staff deliver on these goals. Chair Anderson asked if the concern of the council is that the commission does not have time to work on their goals, or that city staff doesn’t have time. Mr. Harmening stated the underlying issue is the council has not informed the commission of what their priorities are. He stated he wants to be very direct and specific on this now, because the commission has determined the things they want to work on, and those things have a great impact on staffing. He added the commission has been created by the council, and the lack of clear direction from the council to the commission is the underlying problem. He stated the council understands this and wants to correct it. Environment and Sustainability -3- September 7, 2016 Commission Meeting Judy asked if the council wants the commission to continue to advise them on environmental issues that are relevant in the city. Mr. Harmening stated yes, the council wants this, in addition to focusing on the work plan and will contact the commission when it needs its advice. As an example of this, he noted, the recommendations from the commission on the bag ordinance were helpful to the council in making their decision. Mr. Harmening added also that this work plan will evolve each year and will be a reflection of what the council wants the commission to focus their energies on. He stated it does not mean the commission will not work on other things, but they will be items that support the work of the four goal areas, noted in the draft work plan. Nancy stated the commission was trying to tie into the council’s two-year plan. She asked if the commission can review how that is progressing. She added within that document, the goals of the commission are included, plus other items, like expanding community gardens. Mr. Harmening responded, the city is doing these things, but the council needs the commission to work on just the aforementioned goals, especially with capacity at only 9 members. He noted the number of commissioners will also need to be discussed. Ryan agreed, and stated the commission will need as much help as possible. He added he likes the focus of the commission’s work plan goals, and stated it will help the council focus also, so the commission can make an impact. He added the four goals will not limit the commission, but will help it stay focused and prioritize efforts also. Julie mentioned there is much overlap with the 29 sections on Green Steps, and asked if the city is working to let people know about the visioning process yet. Mr. Harmening stated the city will want to get community feedback, adding they are utilizing many tools to get this feedback from the community. He said the city will want feedback on the environment, but also other areas, such as redevelopment, connectivity (sidewalks and trails), the SWLRT project, and other areas also. He noted during the last visioning process, the city was able to gather input and create four strategic priority areas:  Connected community, socially and physically  Have a well-maintained and diverse housing stock  Environment – good stewards  Community aesthetics Julie recommended that the city bring the visioning conversation to all groups, especially to those who typically do not have a say, or participate on a routine basis. She also noted the University of MN provides community partnership grants to help community engagement in cities that are working in this area, and she noted she would pass this information on to staff. Environment and Sustainability -4- September 7, 2016 Commission Meeting Mr. Harmening added the council’s priority on visioning and community engagement is to hear from all residents, and not only the usual subjects. He added the council is building this into the comprehensive plan visioning work, to make sure it happens. Terry asked if the work of Green Steps Cities, across 29 areas, can continue to be developed, given the new work plan proposed by the council. He noted in order to do this work, the commission needs to work across many areas. Mr. Harmening stated the commission will need to develop a work plan that they systematically work through in order to achieve the goals established, and that the commission’s work must be relevant to one of the four work plan areas. Shannon added the commission will need to ensure their work lines up within the goals. Terry added the commission’s communications work group wanted to do more with social media and the website, but now he is not sure how the new work plan will affect this workgroup. Mr. Harmening stated there is a communications aspect to each of the four goal areas, and under each area, there is a communication element that can be included. Terry asked for clarification, and if the council ever approved the past work plans of the commission, adding he thought they had. Mr. Harmening stated as compared to what other cities may do, St. Louis Park’s City Council has not been as formal or intentional or deliberate in the development, adoption and approval/implementation of work plans, for any of their commissions. Mr. Harmening added his goal is to become more intentional going forward with all St. Louis Park commissions -- not only the Environmental and Sustainability Commission -- and get approval from the city council on all of their work plans and goals. Terry thanked Mr. Harmening for this clarification, and stated this clarity from the council has been important to him ever since he started on the commission, and while he served as chair also, and will continue to be. Francie stated she understands this focus, and noted there have been activities that have not been a good use of the commission’s time, noting this may be the time to reorganize the commission’s work groups to only these four goal area, and then evaluate the need for other pieces and groups. Mr. Harmening stated this is correct adding there are many aspects related to work on the environment; however, the commission cannot do it all, and that is why the council felt it necessary to give the commission clear direction, and discipline, so they would not work in areas that are not in the best interest of the council. Environment and Sustainability -5- September 7, 2016 Commission Meeting Chair Anderson stated he is glad to have this direction. He added this will be a good time for commissioners to look at the work groups and realign them. Mr. Harmening agreed and added there will not be anything that is lost. The city will still address surface water issues, and will still work with the Friends of Bass Lake, but the commission will not be involved -- this will be the work of the city. Mr. Harmening encouraged the commission to continue their work on the Living Streets Policy also, as it is one of the areas in the draft work plan, and they will need to continue to advise the council on this topic. He added the commission should now work with Shannon on this draft work plan, and then eventually present it back to the council for final approval. He added the commission should start working immediately on the work plan, noting there is a sense of urgency here to move forward on these items. Staffing and additional help will be needed also, and the commission will be asked for their suggestions on this additional support. Shannon noted that this will be worked on at the October meeting and possibly at the November retreat. Francie volunteered to help build the rest of the outline of the work plan with Shannon. Terry stated the commission now has four commission vacancies, and he asked what can be done to add new members. He also pointed out the need for a new chair to be elected to the commission, and if the interim chair can serve as chair in the next year. Additionally, Terry asked about the continual issue surrounding conflict of interest, and the need for clarification on this topic. Mr. Harmening noted the four vacancies, and asked about lowering the number of commissioners on commission from 13 to 9. Chair Anderson stated he did not think this would be an issue of concern. Terry stated he feels there is a problem in reducing the number of commissioners. He stated the commission will need to continue with the 13 members in order to bring more diverse membership to the group, including adding another student position. He continued to say it would be extremely helpful to have people as commissioners that have other perspectives. He added not having this diversity hurts the city. Terry added that the conflict of interest issue is something that does not apply to the council, but applies only to commissions. He added both council and commission should live by the same rules, and that usually there is no problem with conflict of interest – it just needs to be disclosed and then the person abstains from voting on the particular issue Environment and Sustainability -6- September 7, 2016 Commission Meeting related to the conflict. Terry added this issue has inhibited the commission from doing much work. Mr. Harmening stated this is not an issue which should be discussed in this setting and the council and Mayor are growing weary of this being brought up multiple times. He added the council was near disbanding this commission because of the apparent dysfunction and lack of productivity. Additionally, people who have been on this commission have been upset about the actions of a few of its members. He added the commission is a creature of the council, and exists to serve the council – not themselves. Mr. Harmening stated the conflict of interest discussion should be off the table as a commission discussion item. He indicated that if a commissioner has a concern about a possible conflict of their own or another commission member, that he should contact him and it would be looked into. Chair Anderson thanked Mr. Harmening for attending the meeting, and for the direction from the council, adding he appreciated Mr. Harmening’s candor. Mr. Harmening left the meeting. Likewise, both Terry and Julie left the meeting. Reporting Back Ryan reported on the August 14th Bike Tour. He noted it was a great turnout, and included a nine-mile route around the city. After each route, the bikers filled out a survey on how safe they felt in each area, and would they ride with their children on these routes. Ryan presented charts related to the routes, and also comments from bikers, which included both negative and positive comments, and a good diverse perspective, with multiple needs and opinions expressed. He noted the Action Plan will be to look at the Living Streets Policy to impact bike routes, and the transportation work group will review the feedback and formulate more recommendations to the city transportation engineer. He added another Bike the Park Event is planned to cover additional route concerns. Francie will post the recap of the bike tour on the Commission’s Facebook page and on the city’s website. Living Streets Policy – Ryan noted this will be one of the important topics the commission will need to have additional help. He presented the Living Streets power point had been presented to the council at the August 25 study session. The presentation pointed out examples of where streets had been improved, over the years, and also where streets are still not working well for bikers. He pointed out how living streets are multi-use, and promote all modes of transportation, are pedestrian- friendly, and include water management/rain gardens. Ryan added Living Streets will need support from all areas of the city, and from people attending public hearings, related to Texas Avenue, and other areas being considered. Environment and Sustainability -7- September 7, 2016 Commission Meeting He added the policy draft has a measurement section, and will need more quantifiable data included. Nancy asked if the city wants to follow the Edina or Minneapolis policy. Ryan stated he is waiting for feedback from staff on this. Shannon will follow up. Shannon noted an update on MIM Solar opportunity for the city to have a system on Fire Station #2. She also mentioned that Environmental Initiative is hosting an event on Community Solar barriers on October 27, and asked if anyone was interested in attending to let her know. She will send a link to the commission about the event. Judy noted the Police Station Energy Audit, and stated it is an example of what the city can do for a metric related to Green Step Cities. She said the auditors are in the process of making recommendations and Shannon will share this information with the commission. Judy mentioned also the Organic Living survey results and pointed out details from 14 survey participants. Announcements/Other  Environmental Initiative event on community solar  Discuss Elections for Vice Chair –this will be discussed at the next meeting. 4. The meeting was adjourned at 8:32 p.m.