ESC_2025_07_21 MINUTESENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE MEETING
Monday, July 21, 2025 – 7:30 A.M.
Lake Forest City Hall – 220 E Deerpath
I. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL
Chairman Novit called the meeting to order at 7:31 A.M. Aldermen Alice
LeVert was present. Alderman Bothfeld arrived at 7:40 A.M.
Lisa Walsh of the Junior Garden Club of Lake Forest was in attendance.
Staff in attendance included Keri Kaup, Assistant to the City Manager and
Lily Reed, Office of the City Manager Intern. There were no members of the
public present.
II. ACTION ITEMS
a. APPROVAL OF THE MAY 14, 2025, MEETING MINUTES
Alderman LeVert moved to approve the May 14, 2025, meeting minutes.
Chairman Novit seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously by
voice vote.
b. CONSIDERATION OF FUNDING A LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT TO COMPLETE
PHASE 1 DESIGN OF A COMMUNITY GARDEN AT DICKINSON HALL
Lisa Walsh of the Junior Garden Club of Lake Forest presented a concept
design for a community garden at Dickinson Hall. The garden would
include cutting gardens, vegetable gardens, and relaxation spaces. The
vision would be for the garden to provide programming for members of the
Senior Center and Twigs Art Camp, including opportunities to tend and
maintain the garden, use the produce in cooking classes and flowers in
floral arranging classes, and host relaxation and healing classes. The Twigs
Art Camp could also use the garden for their Wedding Play. With all the
design elements proposed by the Junior Garden Club, the garden is
estimated to cost approximately $175,000.00. Phase 1 design would be a
percentage of the project cost.
The committee had discussion about whether there is interest in pursuing a
community garden project and how much the committee would be willing
to recommend toward funding if the project were to move forward.
Chairman Novit stated this has been a committee priority for several years
since the last garden did not come to fruition, and she would be
comfortable capping funding from the committee at $100,000.00.
Alderman Bothfeld stated he would like to see the committee reestablish
overall priorities before making a funding recommendation for this project.
Alderman Levert stated she likes the idea of the garden, but does not feel
Environmental Sustainability Committee Minutes
Monday, July 21, 2025
Page 2 of 4
the committee currently has enough information to make a funding
recommendation and would like more detail.
Chairman Novit was interested in learning what the Elawa Farm garden
cost to build. Assistant to the City Manager Kaup stated she would contact
the Public Works Department to understand how they could assist to keep
costs down. Alderman Bothfeld made a motion to hire a landscape
architect for consultation only to determine what garden options are
available within a $100,000.00 budget. Alderman Levert seconded the
motion. The following voted “Aye”: Chairman Novit, Alderman LeVert,
Alderman Bothfeld. The following voted “Nay”: none. 3-Ayes, 0-Nays,
motion carried.
c. CONSIDERATION OF A DRAFT ORDINANCE AMENDMENT FOR LANDSCAPING
NOISE HOURS
Assistant to the City Manager Kaup presented a draft ordinance
amendment for landscaping noise hours. The amendment would change
landscaping noise hours to: Monday – Friday, 7:30am-7:00pm, Saturday,
9:00am-5:00pm, Sunday and holidays prohibited. Assistant to the City
Manager Kaup stated staff conducted a pulse survey of the landscapers
and received 94 responses. Most respondents were comfortable with the
Sunday and holiday change. The most received feedback was that a
9:00am start time on Saturdays is too late and landscapers would prefer to
keep the 8:00am start time on Saturday. The committee discussed the
feedback and agreed that they would like to move forward with the draft
as written. Alderman Bothfeld made a motion to recommend the draft
ordinance as written by the City Attorney to the full City Council for
consideration and approval. Alderman Levert seconded the motion. The
following voted “Aye”: Chairman Novit, Alderman LeVert, Alderman
Bothfeld. The following voted “Nay”: none. 3-Ayes, 0-Nays, motion carried.
d. AUTHORIZE THE PURCHASE OF A BOTTLE-FILL STATION UTILIZING FUNDING
FROM ELECTRIC AGGREGATION CONTRIBUTIONS
Assistant to the City Manager Kaup presented a quote from Pasquesi
Plumbing for a bottle-fill unit to replace a drinking fountain at the South
Sailing Pavilion at Forest Park Beach and a unit at Elawa Farms. The unit at
the beach would cost $3,658 with installation and the unit at Elawa would
cost $4,830 with installation. The committee had questions as to where the
drinking fountain at Elawa was located and if it is easily accessible to the
public. Alderman Bothfeld made a motion to authorize the purchase of
the bottle-fill station for the South Sailing Pavilion in the amount of $3,658
utilizing funding from the electric aggregation contributions. Alderman
LeVert seconded the motion. The following voted “Aye”: Chairman Novit,
Alderman LeVert, Alderman Bothfeld. The following voted “Nay”: none. 3-
Ayes, 0-Nays, motion carried.
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Monday, July 21, 2025
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The committee asked staff to determine the exact location of the drinking
fountain at Elawa before determining whether to add a bottle-fill at that
location.
III. DISCUSSION ITEMS
a. PROGRAM UPDATES
i. SWALCO UPDATE
Assistant to the City Manager Kaup notified the committee that the
textile recycling bin at the Recreation Center has been installed and
the new location is being promoted to the public through the eNews.
Alderman Bothfeld stated he would like to see future communications
include a note about the other textile recycling bin locations as well.
ii. COMPOST PROGRAM UPDATE
Assistant to the City Manager Kaup reviewed the WasteNot Compost
program status. WasteNot has 248 residential customers from Lake
Forest as well as 7 commercial customers. Assistant to the City
Manager Kaup also notified the committee that staff is finalizing
details on an extended agreement with WasteNot for a 5-year
agreement.
b. BICYCLE REPAIR KITS
OCM Intern Reed presented information about public bicycle repair and
pump stations for the bike path. The stations would provide free access to
basic bike tools for users of the bike trail, promoting an active lifestyle and
reducing car use and emissions. Lake Bluff and Highland Park have both
installed these units along the bike path in their communities. Preliminary
research shows the units cost anywhere between $800-$2,500. The
committee expressed interest in staff obtaining quotes to potentially pursue
purchase of one or two units.
IV. PUBLIC COMMENT
No members of the public were present.
V. NEXT MEETING DATE(S)
The Committee agreed the next meeting should be on a Monday of a City
Council Meeting in October. Assistant to the City Manager Kaup stated
she would email potential dates to the committee members.
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Monday, July 21, 2025
Page 4 of 4
VI. ADJOURNMENT
Alderman LeVert moved to adjourn the meeting of the Environmental
Sustainability Committee at 8:37 A.M. seconded by Alderman Bothfeld. The
motion carried unanimously by voice vote.
Respectfully Submitted,
Keri Kaup
Assistant to the City Manager