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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022/02/02 - ADMIN - Minutes - Environment & Sustainability Commission - Regular Official minutes Environment & sustainability commission St. Louis Park, Minnesota 2/2/2022 1. Call to order – 6:30 p.m. 1a. Roll call Members present: Chair Marisa Bayer, Shaina Ashare, Ryan Griffin, Holly Johnson, Dave Wilsey, Eric Zweber, Tatiana Giraldo, Paige Kane, JD Moore, Sasha Shahidi, Andrew Willette, Lillian Hertel Members absent: none Staff present: Emily Ziring, Sustainability Manager, Annie Pottorff, Sustainability Specialist Guests: none 2. Approval of minutes Dec. 1, 2021 – the minutes were approved unanimously as presented with abstentions from Commissioners Willette, Hertel and Shahidi. Dec. 5, 2021 – ESC Retreat – the minutes were approved unanimously as presented with abstentions from Commissioners Moore and Hertel. 3. Business a. Review proposed 2022 ESC work plan – Commissioner Zweber stated there should be information on the Year of Climate Action included in the work plan. Commissioner Shahidi also asked if information on Minnesota Climate Caucus coalition work and the climate emergency should also be added here, or if that is too broad and not St. Louis Park-specific enough. Commissioner Wilsey stated putting the Year of Climate Action in the intro seems to be more in line with outreach and engagement, adding he liked that idea. Commissioner Johnson agreed as did Commissioner Moore. Commissioner Zweber supported this as well. Commissioner Wilsey recommended pulling out the item on evaluation metrics and making it a separate point. He agreed this would refer to event and program evaluation. Ms. Ziring stated focusing on metrics around outreach or the impact of personal engagement would be her preference, as there are already existing metrics for climate action programs. Environment & sustainability commission -2- Feb. 2, 2022 Commissioner Zweber made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Shahidi, to approve the work plan with the Year of Climate Action intro statement and moving the metrics for evaluating outreach to a sub point E. The motion passed unanimously. Ms. Ziring stated the workplan will go to council in May or June for feedback and approval. b. Annual commission appointment process – Ms. Ziring stated the application process is posted on the city website and applications will open soon and be due at the end of February. Council will then score applicants, conduct interviews of top applicants, and appoint new members at the end of May. She noted terms of 3 members of the commission are up at the end of May and they can either re-apply or resign from the commission. She added there is a still a youth position vacancy. c. Commission elections for chair and vice chair – Commissioner Zweber nominated Commissioner Ashare as chair. Commissioner Ashare stated she is open to serving as Vice Chair. Commissioner Johnson nominated Commissioner Zweber, but he declined. Chair Bayer nominated Commissioner Willette as chair. Chair Bayer explained the time commitment of chair. Commissioner Willette accepted the nomination as chair. Commissioner Zweber made a motion, and Commissioner Griffin seconded, to nominate Commissioner Willette as chair. The motion passed unanimously with one abstention by Commissioner Willette. Commissioner Willette made a motion, and Commissioner Wilsey seconded, to nominate Commissioner Ashare to serve as vice chair. The motion passed unanimously with one abstention by Commissioner Ashare. d. Multifamily housing community engagement research study – Ms. Ziring stated staff recently was notified that the city was awarded full funding from CERTs and the Department of Commerce for the multifamily housing community engagement research study. She added staff created a scope of work and will be hiring a community engagement consultant soon. Ms. Ziring stated ACEEE will also help with draft survey questions and will make policy recommendations. She stated there are a few thousand people living in multifamily housing in St. Louis Park and there will be opportunities to talk with many of them through this work. Environment & sustainability commission -2- Feb. 2, 2022 Commissioner Wilsey asked when the wrap-up date would be for the study. Ms. Ziring stated June is the desired deadline. She added the only difficulty at this point is finding an engagement consultant who is available right away to begin this work. She added she will seek ongoing feedback from the ESC on this study. Commissioner Shahidi asked when the questions are ready will the ESC be able to see them, and what the outreach process will look like to reach people who have not been reached through the usual channels. Ms. Ziring stated yes, adding she hopes the consultant will have creative ideas to reach folks for their opinions. Commissioner Ashare asked if incentives would be possible to use with the grant. Ms. Ziring stated there is some budget for participation incentives. 4. Staff updates – Ms. Ziring noted the following: • Dec. and Jan. were spent preparing for the council meeting and the Climate Emergency declaration, which went well and passed unanimously. • Multifamily housing study • Sustainability specialist applications review, many applications and highly competitive • Kicked off the electrification cohort with Minneapolis, Edina and Eden Prairie • Tree planting and maintenance programs – two new offerings to be launched this year including as a full-service tree planting option at a bit higher cost than the usual tree sale. This is for the residential side. On the commercial side, a new cost share program will be launched for tree planting. • Relaunching communications for Solar Sundown and Climate Champions • Communications on benchmarking ordinance • Environmental Stewardship dashboard to cover climate action plan goals as well as other metrics within the city • Joining Parktacular planning, which includes the Ecotacular event Commissioner Griffin asked on the electrification program, will there be information to share with the ESC. Ms. Ziring stated she hopes to share information but noted there are many moving parts and she is not sure what the end result will look like. She noted she has also been exploring electrification of natural gas appliances, noting this could be added to a menu of items for property owners to choose from. Commissioner Zweber noted there are funds available in the infrastructure funding for tree planting in the transportation section. Commissioner Shahidi added she is looking for information on promoting electric vehicles for those who live in multifamily housing. Ms. Ziring stated she directs people to a website called MUDcharging.com for resources for Minnesotans who live in multi- unit dwellings and are interested in EVs. She added Met Council is also looking at this issue, as is Xcel. Commissioner Shahidi noted issues related to this are coming from landlords and not from residents. Environment & sustainability commission -2- Feb. 2, 2022 Commissioner Griffin asked if this is being addressed in new buildings in St. Louis Park. Ms. Ziring stated that developers who request certain funding or incentives must follow the green building requirements within the city, including installation of EV chargers. Chair Bayer stated there is a low-cost multifamily building program through Xcel, adding she will share that information with the ESC. Commissioner Girardo stated she was happy to hear about these programs and is excited for them to move forward. 5. Workgroup and/or project updates – a. Year of Climate Action brainstorming – Ms. Pottorff led the discussion. Ms. Pottorff noted the Home Remodeling Fair, the Arbor Day celebration, Ecotacular and the Art Fair. Also, events at the ROC and outdoor movie nights in the fall are places to present on climate action and environmental issues. She also noted a Twin Cities Film Festival event which will focus on climate films, noting more details will be forthcoming. Ms. Pottorff added discussions about what can be presented at these events will be ongoing. Ms. Pottorff noted the climate action ribbon tree could also be brought to events. She added a sign-up genius had been added with all of the opportunities available on the ESC website. Commissioner Giraldo stated youth should be included in engagement with the climate ribbon tree and asked if it can be brought to the schools to help engage the youth. Commissioner Ashare added this could be a very good art project and ribbons could be decorated and brought to the tree as an engagement event, and then tied into another event as well. Commissioner Wilsey added possibly a TikToc or Instagram video could be made along with the tree and event. Commissioner Giraldo added a hashtag could also be used. Commissioner Shahidi noted the tree could be brought to the ROC or the Aquatic Center in the summer as well. Chair Bayer asked the group to consider how folks can be engaged who are not participating in these events. She asked also if other cities can collaborate with St. Louis Park on events. Ms. Ziring stated a more likely collaboration would be with Hennepin County vs. with neighboring cities because of the climate action plan overlap. Chair Bayer suggested continuing to use the prize wheel trivia game as it helps get conversations started when tabling. Ms. Pottorff noted it will still be used this year for both youth and adults. Chair Bayer suggested forming a work group at the next meeting to further this project along related to events. Environment & sustainability commission -2- Feb. 2, 2022 6. City Council written reports – none 7. Environmental Justice open discussion – • Chair Bayer noted an article in the Washington Post about the environmental justice officer in the Biden administration resigning. • Commissioner Shahidi noted articles about how much time and money it can take to live sustainably and how much things are currently favoring homeowners vs. renters, noting she is also hearing this in the community. She added we need to keep having these conversations about making sustainability more affordable. • Commissioner Zweber noted the Recycling Champions program in SLP, adding it is a very impressive program. • Commissioner Shahidi added the Hennepin County plastics program and zero waste challenge provide great information as well. • Commissioner Giraldo added many changes are expensive and not practical. She added that something that is affordable and easy for people to do is most helpful. • Commissioner Johnson noted places like Target put lots of money and ideas into sustainability and shopping in these places at least helps, adding it’s difficult to live completely plastic-free. • Chair Bayer added moving more to plant-based foods is another change she is working on related to her carbon footprint. • Commissioner Ashare noted “Buy Nothing” groups on Facebook have been helpful, where you can give away and receive items and keep things from being discarded. There is also a new “Buy Nothing” app that can be downloaded. 8. Adjournment – 8:09 p.m. ______________________________________ ______________________________________ Emily Ziring, liaison Marisa Bayer, chair member