ESC 2022 12 08 MINUTES 1
2
ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE MEETING 3
Thursday, December 8 – 5:30 PM 4
Lake Forest City Hall, 220 E Deerpath. 5
6
AGENDA 7
8
9
I. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL 10
11
Chairman Melanie Rummel called the meeting to order at 5:30 P.M. Alderman Jim 12
Preschlack and Eileen Weber were present. 13
14
Staff in attendance included Jim Lockefeer, Assistant to the Director of Public Works, and 15
Reagan Walsh, Management Analyst. George Issakoo, Assistant City Manager also 16
attended virtually. Two members of the public were present. 17
18
19
II. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS (:30 for Presentation) 20
21
a. “BATTERY BOX” RECYCLING PROGRAM – Reagan Walsh, Management Analyst 22
23
Reagan Walsh, Management Analyst, introduced a new initiative regarding battery 24
recycling coined the “Battery Box” to soon be offered at the Compost and Recycling 25
Center in Lake Forest. The program partners with Call2Reycle, a national recycling 26
foundation, to help collect primary single-use batteries (alkaline, button, lithium primary), 27
rechargeable batteries (lithium ion, nickel zinc, small-sealed lead acid, etc.), and 28
cellphones. The box will simply be a collection point for residents to drop off properly 29
sealed batteries, and then shipped to a Call2Recycle collection facility to be properly 30
recycled. 31
32
Riya Bhatia, a local high school student in Lake Forest who had interned with Green 33
Minds, was the leader behind the initiative and brought the idea forward. Her story 34
brings forward the true spirit of collaboration within Lake Forest and has ultimately 35
bettered the City’s services and environment. 36
37
38
III. ACTION ITEMS (:10 - :15 per item) 39
40
a. APPROVAL OF OCTOBER 19, 2022 MEETING MINUTES 41
42
Chairman Rummel moved to approve the October 19, 2022, Environmental 43
Sustainability Committee meeting minutes. Alderman Weber seconded the motion. The 44
motion carried unanimously by voice vote. 45
46
Chairman Rummel asked if there were any additional questions or comments from 47
members of the public. 48
49
Seeing none, she moved to the next agenda item. 50
51
52
IV. DISCUSSION ITEMS (:15 - :20 per item) 53
54
a. UPDATE ON LAKE FOREST COMMUNITY GARDEN – Reagan Walsh, Management 55
Analyst 56
57
Reagan Walsh, Management Analyst presented a status update on the Lake Forest 58
Community Garden including the results from a community garden survey sent out 59
the general public. Attached in the meeting packet, the presentation included 60
consolidated data and overall themes surrounding community support and 61
participation, preferred design elements and garden features, location site 62
preferences, and surveyor demographics. 63
64
The data presented led to many questions and discussion items related to the overall 65
vision and mission surrounding the garden, how the community, including the local 66
Garden Clubs could be more involved, and what the next steps in terms of 67
community engagement and site selection are for the garden. 68
69
City staff and the Committee proposed numerous potential sites for the garden in 70
addition to the originally proposed Waukegan and Westleigh Road location. This 71
included potential garden sites at the “Joytime” plot owned by the city directly 72
adjacent to South Park, Townline Park, Elawa Farms, and others. After in-depth 73
discussion regarding specific benefits and downsides to each location, the 74
Committee came to a consensus that more thorough site analysis was needed 75
before approving a recommendation for a final site. 76
77
The Committee, as well as members of the public, had extensive feedback 78
regarding the garden’s design features to ensure peak performance and usability. 79
This included concerns over raised beds due to insects and pests, road access for 80
composting and garden material, garden plot size differences and preferences, and 81
location preferences dependent on soil composition and built infrastructure. 82
Maintenance and dialogue regarding the proposed raised beds for the garden 83
were discussed in depth as an option to offer to gardeners. After careful 84
consideration for the different types of planting in reference to raised beds and in-85
ground planting, City staff agreed that more engagement will be needed by future 86
program participants to see what type of planting is preferred, and that possibly 87
multiple options could be offered at the garden. 88
89
City staff also answered several questions regarding funding for the garden through 90
the City’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP) and Net Civic Annual Contribution, as 91
well as a general timeline for garden construction. Chairman Rummel concluded the 92
conversation with excitement on the progress of the garden, and the overall support 93
that is evident from the community. 94
95
Chairman Rummel asked if there were any additional questions or comments from 96
members of the public. 97
98
Seeing none, she moved to the next agenda item. 99
100
b. COMPOSTING PROGRAM – Jim Lockefeer, Assistant to the Director of Public Works 101
102
Jim Lockefeer, Assistant to the Director of Public Works provided an update on the 103
composting program initiative aimed to increase access to composting in the 104
community. After discussing the previous options considered including countertop 105
composting units and centralized large capacity compost machines, a new third-106
party food scrap collection option was brought to discussion. The third party 107
collection system would have many benefits over previous options including the 108
ability to franchise out the program with proven success by nearby communities. The 109
service would depend on the vendor chosen, but typical services offered include 110
weekly or biweekly 5-gallon bucket pickups, flexible rates and schedules, the ability 111
for commercial and non-commercial entities to participate, and a fairly hands off 112
approach from the City. 113
114
The Committee came to a consensus that the third party food scrap collection 115
option was the best route forward and for city staff to work on creating a formal 116
Request for Proposal (RFP) to open to the public. Once out to the public, staff would 117
review and grade all RFP’s and return with a formal recommendation of Vendor to 118
the Committee at the March or April Committee meeting. 119
120
Chairman Rummel asked if there were any additional questions or comments from 121
members of the public. 122
123
Seeing none, she moved to the next agenda item. 124
125
c. ANTI-IDLING VEHICLE POLICY – Reagan Walsh, Management Analyst 126
127
Reagan Walsh, Management Analyst presented research pertaining to several 128
possible anti-vehicle-idling programs that could be endorsed by the City. The 129
presentation included past initiatives in Lake Forest conducted to help deter vehicle 130
idling including an “Idling is Fuelish” campaign through Green Minds, physical no 131
idling signs on school grounds, and recent greenhouse gas (GHG) emission statistics 132
showing how vehicles contribute to Co2 in Lake Forest. 133
134
Several potential opportunities to continue to reduce vehicle idling in the City were 135
presented including the recommendation to adopt a formal resolution to declare 136
Lake Forest to be an Idle-Free community. The Committee came to a consensus that 137
not only would the resolution show commitment from the City to help reduce 138
emissions, but it would also bring educational awareness about the topic and 139
encourage other communities to do the same. The Committee asked for a formal 140
resolution to be drafted and approved to be recommended to City Council at the 141
next Committee meeting. 142
143
The Committee also brought forward additional ideas regarding anti-vehicle idling 144
campaigns including the an Art Contest with local schools that could provide 145
education about idling and drawings for signage around town. The idea was 146
favored by all Committee members with City staff to work towards organizing an 147
event in the coming months. 148
149
Chairman Rummel asked if there were any additional questions or comments from 150
members of the public. 151
152
Seeing none, she moved to the next agenda item. 153
154
155
V. ADDITIONAL ITEMS (Packet Material Only) 156
157
a. STATUS REPORT ON SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVES & PRIORITIES 158
159
Jim Lockefeer, Assistant to the Director of Public Works, provided an update on the 160
2022-2023 Work Plan attached in the meeting packet. Included in the Work Plan are 161
initiatives currently being undertaken by the Committee and upcoming projects 162
slated for the next quarters. 163
164
Chairman Rummel provided questions regarding the progress on research for 165
eliminating Single-Use Plastics within city facilities. Discussion thereafter occurred on 166
the current timelines and upcoming tasks for each initiative in relation to the overall 167
workplan attached in the meeting packet. Chairman Rummel asked if there were 168
any additional questions or comments from members of the public. 169
170
Seeing none, she moved to the next agenda item. 171
172
173
VI. PUBLIC COMMENT 174
175
Chairman Rummel asked if there were any public comments on any non-agenda items. 176
177
Seeing none, Chairman Rummel moved to the next agenda item. 178
179
180
VII. NEXT MEETING DATE(S) – JANUARY 18, 2023 181
182
a. 2023 COMMITTEE CALENDAR YEAR CREATION 183
184
The Committee confirmed the next meeting date for January 15, 2022, at 5:30PM 185
located at Lake Forest City Hall. The Committee also reviewed and approved the 2023 186
Committee Meeting Calendar for the upcoming year. 187
188
189
VIII. ADJOURNMENT 190
191
Chairman Rummel moved to adjourn the meeting of the Environmental Sustainability 192
Committee at 6:59 P.M. seconded by Alderman Preschlack. The motion carried 193
unanimously by voice vote. 194
195
196
Respectfully Submitted, 197
198
Reagan Walsh 199
Management Analyst 200
201