ESC 2022 01 19 MINUTESENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE MEETING 1
Wednesday, January 19, 2022 – 5:15 P.M. 2
REMOTE ACCESS MEETING 3
4
ROLL CALL/CALL TO ORDER 5
6
Chairman Melanie Rummel called the meeting to order at 5:15 P.M. Aldermen 7
Jim Preschlack and Eileen Weber were present. 8
9
Staff in attendance included Mike Strong, Assistant City Manager; Cathy 10
Czerniak, Director of Community Development; Dan Martin, Superintendent of 11
Public Works; Chuck Myers, Superintendent of Parks and Forestry; and Layla 12
Werner, Management Analyst 13
14
There were approximately 2 members of the public that attended the meeting 15
remotely. 16
17
Chairman Rummel made the following statement as required by the Open 18
Meetings Act. In accordance with state statute, Chairman Rummel has made a 19
determination that it was not practical or prudent to schedule an in-person 20
Committee meeting because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is why this 21
January 19, 2022, Environmental Sustainability Committee meeting is being held 22
remotely. 23
24
INFORMATIONAL ITEMS 25
26
I. UPDATE ON GRANT OPPORTUNITY FOR LAKE FRONT AT FOREST PARK BEACH 27
– Mike Strong, Assistant City Manager 28
29
Assistant City Manager, Mike Strong, provided a brief update regarding 30
the grant opportunity at Forest Park Beach. He explained that the State 31
Department of Natural Resources contacted the City encouraging staff 32
submit an application for a lakefront trash skimmer. Mr. Strong explained 33
the benefits to having the trash skimmer including collecting plastic in the 34
water and skimming oil sheen produced by boat activity. 35
36
Chairman Rummel asked if there were any additional comments or 37
questions from the Committee. 38
39
The Committee thanked staff for working on this initiative. 40
41
Chairman Rummel asked if there were any additional questions or 42
comments from members of the public. 43
44
Seeing none, she moved to the next agenda item. 45
46
47
48
Environmental Sustainability Committee Minutes
Tuesday, January 19, 2022
II. UPDATE ON NEW SOLAR GENERATION FACILITIES PROJECT – Mike Strong, 49
Assistant City Manager 50
51
Assistant City Manager, Mike Strong, provided a quick information update 52
to the committee regarding the RFP for the installation of solar panels on 53
City facilities. Mr. Strong explained the process including the site visits and 54
how to move forward with the bidding process. He stated that the final 55
bid will be due Wednesday, February 2nd, and that internal staff would 56
review the results and present them to the Committee. 57
58
The Committee asked clarifying questions regarding grant funding for the 59
project and other funds to offset the cost of the project. 60
61
Chairman Rummel asked if there were any comments or questions or 62
comments from the Committee. 63
64
Seeing none, Chairman Rummel asked if there were any questions or 65
comments from members of the public. 66
67
Seeing none, she moved to the next agenda item. 68
69
ACTION ITEMS 70
71
I. APPROVAL OF DECEMBER 9, 2021, MEETING MINUTES 72
Alderman Weber moved to approve the December 9, 2021, 73
Environmental Sustainability Committee meeting minutes subject to 74
changes discussed by the Committee. Alderman Preschlack seconded 75
the motion. The following voted “Aye”: Chairman Rummel, Aldermen 76
Preschlack and Weber. The following voted “Nay”: None. 3-Ayes, 0 Nays, 77
motion carried. 78
79
DISCUSSION ITEMS 80
81
I. DISCUSSION ON FUTURE SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVES & PRIORITIES – 82
Alderman Rummel, Chairman 83
84
Alderman Rummel provided background regarding the process to 85
identify the various sustainable initiatives and priorities. She further 86
explained the specific way the items were categorized. 87
88
Assistant City Manager, Mike Strong, provided further detail including the 89
summary survey data conducted last spring, the reorganization of the 90
priorities and initiatives, and the use of incentives and engagement versus 91
utilizing bans. Mr. Strong further explained various initiatives that have 92
been endorsed by the full City Council that are in process, and the strong 93
alignment between the City Council and staff on the initiatives presented. 94
95
Environmental Sustainability Committee Minutes
Tuesday, January 19, 2022
The Committee had lengthy discussion, focusing on the initiatives 96
recommended to be brought forward by City staff. Items discussed 97
included the Greenhouse Gas Emissions project and composting. 98
Each Committee member provided their thoughts on the initiatives 99
presented. Additionally, the Committee had discussion regarding top 100
initiatives identified to move forward with discussion. 101
102
Assistant City Manager, Mike Strong provided additional background 103
regarding projects and initiatives and the reasoning behind how they 104
were ranked. He provided further clarification to the Committee stating 105
that items could be moved around on the list if the Committee felt it was 106
necessary. 107
108
The Committee had lengthy discussion, prioritizing the various staff 109
recommendations in each sustainability category, and the tiered structure 110
from the survey. 111
112
Chairman Rummel asked if there were any questions or commens from 113
the Committee. 114
115
Seeing none, Chairman Rummel asked if there were any questions or 116
comments from members of the public. 117
118
Seeing none, she moved to the next agenda item. 119
120
PUBLIC COMMENT 121
122
Chairman Rummel asked if there were any public comments on any non-123
agenda items. 124
125
Seeing none, Chairman Rummel moved to the next agenda item. 126
127
NEXT MEETING DATE(S) 128
129
Assistant City Manager, Mike Strong stated that the next meeting would be 130
scheduled for February 2022. 131
132
ADJOURNMENT 133
134
Alderman Preschlack moved to adjourn the meeting of the Environmental 135
Sustainability Committee at 6:32 P.M. seconded by Weber. The motion carried 136
unanimously by voice vote. 137
138
Respectfully Submitted, 139
140
Layla Werner 141
Management Analyst 142
143
Environmental Sustainability Committee Minutes
Tuesday, January 19, 2022
Reviewed by, 144
145
Mike Strong 146
Assistant City Manager 147