ESC_2021_12_09 MINUTESENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE MEETING 1
Thursday, December 9, 2021 – 5:30 P.M. 2
REMOTE ACCESS MEETING 3
4
ROLL CALL/CALL TO ORDER 5
6
Chairman Melanie Rummel called the meeting to order at 5:30 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; Michael Thomas, Director of 11
Public Works; Chuck Myers, Superintendent of Parks and Forestry; Jim Lockefeer, 12
Assistant to the Director of Public Works; and Layla Werner, Management Analyst 13
14
Also in attendance was Mark Pruitt, Consultant. 15
16
There were no members of the public that attended the meeting remotely. 17
18
Chairman Rummel made the following statement as required by the Open 19
Meetings Act. In accordance with state statute, Chairman Rummel has made a 20
determination that it was not practical or prudent to schedule an in-person 21
Committee meeting because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is why this 22
December 9, 2021, Environmental Sustainability Committee meeting is being held 23
remotely. 24
25
INFORMATIONAL ITEMS 26
27
I. REVIEW OF COMMUNICATIONS EFFORTS RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL 28
INITIATIVES – Layla Werner, Management Analyst 29
30
Management Analyst, Layla Werner, provided an update to the 31
communications campaign, which was launched in September of 2021. 32
Ms. Werner discussed the different platforms utilized for this campaign 33
including the dialogue, the website, and social media. She further 34
provided examples of each platform, including the Environmental 35
Sustainability page on the city website, the dedicated sustainability page 36
in the Dialogue, and the Sustainability Sunday social media campaign. 37
38
The Committee provided extensive feedback regarding the layout of the 39
webpage, future initiatives, and the overall goal of the campaign. 40
41
Chairman Rummel asked if there were any additional comments from the 42
Committee. 43
44
The Committee provided additional feedback regarding promoting 45
current recycling initiatives that are available to residents. 46
47
Environmental Sustainability Committee Minutes
Thursday, December 9, 2021
Additionally, there was discussion regarding the analytics of those 48
reached via the communications campaign. 49
50
Chairman Rummel asked if there were any additional questions or 51
comments from the Committee or members of the public. 52
53
Seeing none, she moved to the next agenda item. 54
55
II. UPDATE ON GRANT OPPORTUNITY FOR LAKE FRONT AT FOREST PARK BEACH 56
– Mike Strong, Assistant City Manager 57
58
Assistant City Manager, Mike Strong, provided a brief update to the 59
Committee, regarding a water quality structure that would be placed at 60
Forest Park Beach, called a Marina Trash Skimmer (MTS). He further 61
explained where the MTS would be placed, and the environmental 62
benefits such as skimming oil sheen from the water, and other plastic and 63
debris in the water. MR. Strong stated that staff currently manually cleans 64
the water, however, the MTS would allow this to be a more seamless and 65
efficient process. 66
67
Chairman Rummel asked if there were any comments or questions from 68
the Committee. 69
70
Chairman Rummel asked if there were any questions or comments from 71
members of the public. 72
73
Seeing none, she moved to the next agenda item. 74
75
At this time, Chairman Rummel asked Assistant City Manager, Mike Strong 76
to provide an update on the EV charging station. 77
78
Mr. Strong provided a brief overview of the January – September 2021 79
data for the EV charging stations. He stated that since this report only 80
compiled data through September, it would not include information from 81
the new station at Old Elm. The report included, where the most usage is, 82
and how frequently a station is being utilized. 83
84
The Committee members asked clarifying questions regarding usage, and 85
where the user is from. Additionally, there were questions regarding the 86
rates of electricity, and incentives for residents with electric vehicles. 87
88
Chairman Rummel asked if there were any comments or questions from 89
the Committee. 90
91
Seeing none, she asked if there were any questions or comments from 92
members of the public. 93
94
Seeing none, she moved to the next agenda item. 95
Environmental Sustainability Committee Minutes
Thursday, December 9, 2021
ACTION ITEMS 96
97
I. APPROVAL OF OCTOBER 20, 2021, MEETING MINUTES 98
Alderman Weber moved to approve the October 20, 2021, Environmental 99
Sustainability Committee meeting minutes subject to changes discussed 100
by the Committee. Alderman Preschlack seconded the motion. The 101
following voted “Aye”: Chairman Rummel, Aldermen Preschlack and 102
Weber. The following voted “Nay”: None. 3-Ayes, 0 Nays, motion carried. 103
104
II. APPROVAL OF REGULAR MEETING CALENDAR FOR 2022 105
106
Assistant City Manager, Mike Strong, explained the process for approving 107
the calendar, stating that, if necessary, meetings can be moved or 108
rescheduled when given proper notice. 109
110
The Committee discussed meeting dates, and what the frequency of the 111
dates should be. 112
113
Alderman Preschlack made a motion to approve the regular meeting 114
calendar for 2022, Alderman Weber seconded the motion. The following 115
voted “Aye”: Chairman Rummel, Aldermen Preschlack and Weber. The 116
following voted “Nay”: None. 3-Ayes, 0 Nays, motion carried. 117
118
DISCUSSION ITEMS 119
120
I. DISCUSSION ON NEW SOLAR GENERATION FACILITIES ON CITY FACILITIES – 121
Mike Strong, Assistant City Manager 122
123
Assistant City Manager, Mike Strong updated the Committee regarding 124
solar generation facilities. Mr. Strong explained the process including 125
analyzing feasibility, site selection, the solicitation process, franchise 126
accounts, and final contract approval. Mr. Strong provided an in depth 127
analysis of all of the identified locations, and the feasibility when choosing 128
which site to move forward with. 129
130
The Committee had lengthy discussion regarding the facilities identified, 131
and how this coincided with the capital budget. 132
133
Additionally, there was discussion regarding the strategic management of 134
upgrading equipment as necessary. 135
136
Chairman Rummel asked if there were any additional questions or 137
comments from the Committee or members of the public. 138
139
Seeing none, she moved to the next agenda item. 140
141
II. DISCUSSION ON SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVES & PRIORITIES – Mike Strong, 142
Assistant City Manager 143
Environmental Sustainability Committee Minutes
Thursday, December 9, 2021
144
Chairman Rummel provided a brief background on this item, explaining 145
the Committee would have more in-depth discussions on this item at 146
future committee dates. 147
148
The Committee had lengthy discussion regarding specific initiatives that 149
were prioritized by the group. This list included greenhouse gas emissions 150
and air quality, recycling initiatives, water quality, and natural land 151
management. 152
153
The Committee had additional discussion about capacity to manage and 154
complete project priorities. 155
156
Further director was provided to staff to investigate the priorities and 157
present findings later, regarding a timeline to project completion. 158
159
Chairman Rummel asked if there were any additional questions or 160
comments from the Committee or members of the public. 161
162
Seeing none, she moved to the next agenda item. 163
164
PUBLIC COMMENT 165
166
Chairman Rummel asked if there were any public comments on any non-167
agenda items. 168
169
Seeing none, Chairman Rummel moved to the next agenda item. 170
171
NEXT MEETING DATE(S) 172
173
Assistant City Manager, Mike Strong stated that the next meeting would be 174
scheduled for January 2022. 175
176
ADJOURNMENT 177
178
Alderman Preschlack moved to adjourn the meeting of the Environmental 179
Sustainability Committee at 6:52 P.M. seconded by Weber. The motion carried 180
unanimously by voice vote. 181
182
Respectfully Submitted, 183
184
Layla Werner 185
Management Analyst 186
187
Reviewed by, 188
189
Mike Strong 190
Assistant City Manager 191