HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022/10/05 - ADMIN - Minutes - Environment & Sustainability Commission - Regular Official minutes
Environment & sustainability commission
St. Louis Park, Minnesota
10/5/2022
1. Call to order – 7 p.m.
1a. Roll call
Members present: Chair Andrew Willette, Vice Chair Shaina Ashare, Marisa Bayer, Lillian
Hertel, Dave Wilsey, Hailey Sexton, Tatiana Giraldo, Ramil Goonetilleke, Eric Zweber
Members absent: Ryan Griffin, Sasha Shahidi, Abigail Oppegaard
Staff present: Emily Ziring, Sustainability Manager
3. Approval of minutes- Sept. 7, 2022 – The minutes were approved unanimously as
presented with 5 abstentions (Commissioners Hertel, Ashare, Zweber, Goonetilleke, and
Giraldo)
4. Business
a. Update on Idle-Free SLP campaign
Ms. Ziring shared updates on the campaign. She noted the program was launched last month, is
public facing, and has a focus on wherever kids gather, such as schools and parks. She added
two types of signs will be available to post as a notice (not to indicate an ordinance). Ms. Ziring
also noted Benilde will be putting up signs, and staff is hopeful other schools will want to order
the signs as well.
Ms. Ziring added that the Park Nicollet logo is being included on the signs as they have agreed
to partner with the city. Twenty signs will be posted at Methodist Hospital, with additional signs
at municipal buildings and parks. She noted she is also asking businesses if they would like to
display signage in their parking lots or in front of their business. She stated they will not ask
people to be idle-free during the coldest days of winter, although it is encouraged that people
do so. Ms. Ziring asked the commissioners to suggest other areas where signs can be posted.
She noted the new transportation director at the school district will share this information with
school bus drivers. Ms. Ziring also stated she reached out to federal agencies about cueing cars
at schools and how to alleviate this.
Commissioner Bayer suggested having decals that can be given to parents to put on the back of
their cars.
Chair Willette asked if there is way to measure idling within the city, noting measuring behavior
might be a way to do this.
b. Select possible dates for annual commission retreat
Environmental & Sustainability Commission Oct. 5, 2022
Chair Willette noted December is being looked at for a possible date for the retreat. Ms. Ziring
stated she is looking into the nature center as a location, adding she would like to survey the
commission on their availability. She noted the retreat is typically 4 hours long, with a
timeframe of 9 a.m.– 1 p.m. or 1 – 5 p.m. She asked commissioners to let staff know their
availability.
5. Staff Updates
• Electrify cohort is ongoing and in progress - 2023 plan to be developed
• Benchmarking compliance – at about 80%
• Prepping programs for 2023
• Doing outreach to local organizations and other commissions (HRC, CTAC)
• Ms. Ziring recently attended the Urban Sustainability Directors Network meeting in
Indianapolis and Minnesota chapter of the American Planning Association conference in
Duluth
• Poster making session on idling reduction – Oct. 13, 4-5 p.m. at SLP Middle School
• Energy Efficiency Day – residents can sign up for the climate action plan newsletter to
receive a code for a free Home Energy Squad visit. This was advertised on social media
today.
• Writing an op-ed about idling for Sun Sailor
• Door knocking to businesses about the energy efficiency breakfast and to discuss the
city’s programs
• Working on energy efficiency program for multifamily buildings
6. Workgroup and/or project updates
a. Year of Climate Action workgroup - debrief on climate action trivia night
Commissioner Wilsey said it was a highly successful event.
Commissioner Bayer agreed it was very successful and noted a lot more folks showed up that
night than the usual trivia nights. She noted other locations in St. Louis Park do trivia, so this
could possibly be done at different locations around the city. Photos and a debrief were shared
with the city council.
Ms. Ziring asked if the workgroup could become more of a general events workgroup going
forward. The commissioners agreed on this and encouraged the other commissioners to join in
on future events.
b. Gas-powered lawn equipment workgroup
A survey was sent to 32 lawn equipment companies, and 7 have been returned so far.
Commissioner Zweber noted that responding companies have from 20-125 pieces of
equipment. Of those who responded, only 2 are residential and the rest are commercial. He
added some of the information is expected; for example, most companies use 2 and 4 stroke
engines. He said 5 of the 7 have experience with electric leaf blowers, but battery life was
noted as an issue.
Environmental & Sustainability Commission Oct. 5, 2022
Commissioner Zweber stated cost of fuel, tax credits, additional financial incentives, and
number of models are all issues of interest.
He noted durability, maintenance, and power as the top three factors driving equipment
choice. He stated he is hoping to receive a few more surveys. Ms. Ziring stated she would like to
close the survey next Friday and send the results to the University of MN students for their
cohort, with final presentation to staff in December. She encouraged commissioners to attend
if available.
c. Tree policies workgroup –
Commissioner Griffin had previously indicated interest in sending a letter to council on this
topic. Commissioner Zweber asked when the environmental stewardship theme is back on the
council agenda. Mr. Ziring said it would be December or January. She said there is opportunity
to weigh in regarding tree policies regardless of whether a letter is written. Commissioner
Zweber said the ESC should review the letter before it goes to council. Chair Willette will reach
out to Commissioner Griffin about the letter.
7. City Council engagement –
The work plan is usually presented in June each year, but this did not happen in 2022. Ms. Ziring
stated the ESC should be thinking about what to include in the work plan for 2023 and this can
be discussed further at the December ESC retreat.
8. Environmental Justice and current events open discussion
Ms. Ziring had sent out several links to the ESC this past month.
Chair Willette stated that he appreciated the two PBS videos about environmental justice. He
stated he went to Open Streets Minnehaha and spoke to someone about the demolition of the
Roof Depot building. He noted residents in the area are concerned about arsenic in the ground
from a former use. Residents are hoping to turn this area into an urban farm instead of a water
utility operations facility.
MN350 is promoting a plan in Minneapolis called the people’s climate action plan focused on
funding environmental and equity projects in the city.
The group discussed flooding and heat events and how this is being looked at in St. Louis Park
and across the country, noting there is no place safe from climate change. Ms. Ziring stated so
much of resiliency depends on city and regional partnerships, especially related to 100-year
flood events.
Commissioner Zweber asked if anyone had seen the new EV chargers at Costco, noting they are
in the front area and are very visible at the front entrance of the store.
Environmental & Sustainability Commission Oct. 5, 2022
Commissioner Giraldo noted people are asking about battery life for electric cars and end of life
of batteries. She noted solutions will need to be developed.
Ms. Ziring stated ultimately batteries will need to be recycled and reused, noting there are
funds in the Inflation Reduction Act for research and development.
9. Upcoming/proposed events
• Ride & Drive: Oct. 6, 5-7 p.m. at Lenox Community Center
• Energy Efficiency Business Breakfast: Oct. 12, 7:30 – 9:00 a.m. (St. Louis Park and
Edina business representatives)
• November ESC meeting: Nov. 2, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. (Westwood Room)
10. Adjournment – 8:14 p.m.
______________________________________ ______________________________________
Emily Ziring, liaison Andrew Willette, chair member