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ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE 2021/08/18 PacketENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE MEETING Wednesday, August 18 – 7:00 P.M. Municipal Services Building, 800 N. Field Drive AGENDA I.CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL _____ Ald. Melanie Rummel, Chairman _____ Ald. Jim Preschlack _____ Ald. Eileen Looby Weber II.INFORMATIONAL ITEMS (:05 - :10 per item) a.STATUS REPORT ON FY2022 BUDGET INITIATIVES – Jim Lockefeer, Assistant to the Public Works Director b.UPDATE ON MUNICIPAL AGGREGATION PROGRAM MAILINGS – Mike Strong, Assistant City Manager c.RECAP OF NORTH BRANCH CHICAGO RIVER WATERSHED WORKGROUP MEETING – Layla Werner, Management Analyst III.ACTION ITEMS (05: - :10 per item) a.APPROVAL OF JUNE 16, 2021 MEETING MINUTES IV.DISCUSSION ITEMS (:10 - :15 per item) a.INTRODUCTION AND DISCUSSION ON SUSTAINABILITY COMMUNICATIONS PLAN – Layla Werner, Management Analyst b.UPDATES ON SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVES & PRIORITIES – Mike Strong, Assistant City Manager V.PUBLIC COMMENT VI.NEXT MEETING DATE(S) VII.ADJOURNMENT ACTION ITEM: APPROVAL OF THE JUNE 16, 2021 COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE MEETING 1 Wednesday, June 16, 2021 – 7:00 P.M. 2 City Hall, 220 E. Deerpath 3 4 ROLL CALL/CALL TO ORDER 5 6 Chairman Melanie Rummel called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M. Aldermen 7 Jim Preschlack and Eileen Weber were present. 8 9 Staff in attendance included Mike Strong, Assistant City Manager and Dan 10 Martin, Superintendent of Public Works 11 12 Also in attendance was Mike Stopka, Consultant with MIST Environmental 13 14 There were no members of the public that attended the meeting. 15 16 INFORMATIONAL ITEMS 17 18 I. UPDATE ON RETHINK RECYCLING MARKETING CAMPAIGN – Dan 19 Martin, Superintendent of Public Works 20 21 Superintendent of Public Works, Dan Martin provided a brief 22 update regarding the Rethink Recycling Campaign. Mr. Martin 23 began his report by providing background of the recycling 24 contamination audits in addition to marketing efforts conducted 25 via social media. While there has been a decrease in the 26 contamination rate, he explained they were unable to get the 27 most recent audit, due to a fire at Resource Management. Mr. 28 Martin continued to explain the current environment, utilizing social 29 media, the dialogue, the “oops tag” program, and drop in 30 education programs for the summer camps. 31 32 Chairman Rummel asked if there were any questions or comments 33 from the Committee. 34 35 The Committee had discussion regarding sanitation and Bart the 36 Cart making an appearance at the Lake Forest Day parade. 37 38 ACTION ITEMS 39 40 I. APPROVAL OF MAY 20, 2021 MEETING MINUTES 41 Alderman Preschlack moved to approve the May 20, 2021 42 Environmental Sustainability Committee meeting minutes. 43 Alderman Weber seconded the motion. Motion carried 44 unanimously by voice vote. 45 46 Environmental Sustainability Committee Minutes Wednesday, June 16, 2021 II. REVIEW AND RECOMMEND APPROVAL TO CITY COUNCIL A 47 POWER SUPPLY AGREEMENT WITH MC-SQUARED ENERGY 48 SERVICES – Mike Strong, Assistant City Manager 49 50 Assistant City Manager, Mike Strong, presented an update to the 51 Committee, providing the final draft of the agreement with MC-52 Squared Energy Services. He further explained how the agreement 53 authorizes the City to re-establish an aggregation program. Mr. 54 Strong gave an in depth explanation of the advantages and 55 potential revenue for a sustainability fund after establishing this 56 program. 57 58 Chairman Rummel asked if there were any questions or comments 59 from the Committee. 60 61 Seeing none, she asked for a motion of approval. 62 63 Alderman Weber moved to recommend approval to City Council 64 a Power Supply Agreement With Mc-Squared Energy Services, 65 seconded by Alderman Preschlack. Carried unanimously by voice 66 vote. 67 68 ADDITIONAL ITEMS 69 70 I. REVIEW AND DISCUSSION OF CITY COUNCIL SUSTAINABILITY 71 SURVEY RESULTS – Mike Strong, Assistant City Manager 72 73 Assistant City Manager, Mike Strong provided background 74 regarding MIST Environment and the partnership with the City of 75 Highland Park, to solicit professional services for sustainability 76 projects and initiatives. In addition, he provided background 77 regarding the aggregated data from the survey. Mr. Strong 78 introduced Consultant, Mike Stopka, to provide additional 79 information and analysis regarding the survey completed by the 80 City Council. Mr. Stopka explained to the Committee the process 81 of how the survey was conducted, and how specific items were 82 prioritized. He described in depth each of the items on the survey, 83 and how each category was ranked by the City Council. Mr. 84 Stopka further provided recommendations for potential action, in 85 conjunction with the survey results. 86 87 The Committee had lengthy discussion regarding the survey results, 88 and top initiatives. Each member provided thoughts and feedback 89 to move forward with specific initiatives. 90 91 The Committee came to a consensus on prioritizing four projects 92 including a communications and marketing campaign on various 93 sustainability initiatives, exploring rooftop solar on municipal 94 Environmental Sustainability Committee Minutes Wednesday, June 16, 2021 facilities, addressing ravine maintenance and management for 95 private home owners, and investigating greenhouse gas emissions 96 for the City. 97 98 Chairman Rummel asked if there were any additional questions or 99 comments from the Committee on the initiatives. 100 101 Seeing none, she moved to the next agenda item. 102 103 II. UPDATE ON CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM PROJECTS – Mike 104 Strong, Assistant City Manager 105 106 Assistant City Manager, Mike Strong, provided an update on 107 capital improvement projects including, the Ringwood Ravine 108 project, Old Elm Parking project, South Park parking lot project, 109 Seminary Ravine Study, Waveland Park parking lot, and the Natural 110 Area Management project. Mr. Strong further provided when the 111 project was approved by the City Council, and the percentage 112 completed. 113 114 PUBLIC COMMENT 115 116 Chairman Rummel asked if there were any public comments on any non-117 agenda items. 118 119 Seeing none, Chairman Rummel moved to the next agenda item. 120 121 NEXT MEETING DATE(S) 122 123 124 ADJOURNMENT 125 126 Alderman Preschlack moved to adjourn the meeting of the Environmental 127 Sustainability Committee at 8:32 P.M. seconded by Weber. The motion carried 128 unanimously by voice vote. 129 130 Respectfully Submitted, 131 132 Layla Werner 133 Management Analyst 134 135 136 Reviewed by, 137 138 Mike Strong 139 Assistant City Manager 140 DISCUSSION ITEM: INTRODUCTION AND DISCUSSION ON SUSTAINABILITY COMMUNICATIONS PLAN Environmental Sustainability Communications Plan ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE 8 -18-2021 Background Communications Plan -Objectives Educate Lake Forest residents and businesses on sustainability “best practices” Encourage adopting sustainable alternatives and solutions Showcase the City’s sustainability initiatives and programs General Approach •Develop campaign branding and key messages •Set campaign metrics to monitor and track engagement and reach •Develop communication tools to showcase environmental initiatives the City is working toward •Identify communication platforms to increase awareness, reach and engagement •Collaborate with community-based organizations to leverage their support •Reach out to local program participants to highlight their participation (i.e. resident spotlights) Key Messages –Potential Topics Recycling Waste Reduction Ravines Native Planting/Vegetation Water Conservation Green Infrastructure City Projects General Sustainability Tips Potential Tools and Tactics  Tool Frequency Digital Social Media Sundays (1 time per week) Weekly eNews Fridays (2-3 per month) Website 1-2 times per month Lake Forest Now App 1-2 times per month Lake Forest Love 1 time per month Print Dialogue 4 times per year Flyers 4 times per year Brochures As needed Community Workshops 2-3 times per year Community Events As needed Metrics for Success EXAMPLE: The primary metric will be total participation in municipal solar, and local energy efficiency programs offered by utilities. Secondary metrics to evaluate success could include the following: •Online social media engagement/reach/website traffic •Facebook Instagram reach on posts related to sustainability •Number of permits issued for renewable energy projects •Hours used at EV Charging Stations •Attendance at community workshop events Previous #SustainabilitySunday Posts Discussion DISCUSSION ITEM: UPDATES ON SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVES & PRIORITIES UPDATES ON SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVES & PRIORITIES Environmental Sustainability Committee August 18, 2021 CURRENT PRIORITIES IDENTIFIED AND TIMELINE Project/Initiative July August September October November Communications/Marketing Plan Rooftop Solar Investigation Ravine Management Program Greenhouse Gas Emissions Analysis Initiation Planning Target Recommendation SOLAR FACILITIES ON MUNICIPAL BUILDINGS •Current Status: Planning Phase •Project Scope: Explore the potential of installing solar panels on municipal facilities. Locations being investigated: Townline Park, Municipal Services, West Train Station, Fire Station 2, Public Safety Building •Project Timeline: Target Q4 2021 for Recommendation •Latest Update: •City Staff sent facility information to Consultants in Mid July to investigate system configuration, size, and budgetary estimates •Next Steps: •Meeting scheduled with Consultants to review proposals on 8/16/2021 •City Staff setting up tours at College of Lake County to view installations •Investigating additional Consulting Agencies to assist with procurement Image of a preliminary concept for solar installation at Townline Park Pavilion. PRELIMINARY CONCEPT –TOWNLINE PARK •System Overview •84 Solar Panels •Capacity of 31.1 kW (solar modules) •Production of approximately 35,730 kWh/year •Energy would offset 102% of current on-site consumption •Investment Overview •Turnkey installation cost of $90,754 •Net Investment After Incentives = $53,710 •Sustainability Overview •Produce a volume of 994,187 kWh over 30 years 152 passenger vehicles driven for one year 240 tons of waste recycled instead of landfilled 79,280 gallons of gasoline consumed 11,650 tree seedlings grown for 10 years MEASURE AND MONITOR LAKE FOREST’S GREENHOUSE GAS (GHG) EMISSIONS •Current Status: Initiation Phase •Project Scope: Conduct an inventory analysis for community and municipal operation emissions and develop recommendations for emission reduction targets •Project Timeline: Target beginning of Q4 2021 for Recommendation •August –early September –RFP Development and Review •Mid September –Mid October –RFP Solicitation •November –RFP Review and Budget Recommendation •Latest Update: •City Staff drafting RFP for GHG Emissions Source: EPA DEVELOPMENT OF RAVINE INSPECTION/MONITORING PROGRAM •Current Status: Initiation Phase •Project Scope: Explore opportunities to promote consultation services and communications regarding best practices in ravine maintenance. Potential scope includes: •Update of Ravine Maintenance brochure and informational resources •Coordination of community forum/workshop •Ongoing Partnership with Lake Forest Open Lands Association (LFOLA) •Project Timeline: Target end of Q4 2021 for Recommendation •Latest Update: •City Staff completed research on various ravine-related resources •Coordinating a meeting with internal City staff and LFOLA personnel QUESTIONS?