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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSustainability Commission - 07/13/2021APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION MEETING TUESDAY, JULY 13, 2021 7:00 P.M., Heritage Room 8080 Mitchell Road COMMISSION MEMBERS: Aaron Poock (Chair), Priya Senthilkumar (Vice Chair), Jeanne DeSanctis, Debjyoti Dwivedy, Cindy Hoffman, Daniel Katzenberger, Emily Eddy-Theis, Jeff Nobleza CITY STAFF: Jennifer Hassebroek, Sustainability Coordinator, Kristin Harley, Recording Secretary I. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Chair Poock called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. Absent were Commissioners Dwivedy, Eddy-Theis, and Hoffman. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Katzenberger moved, seconded by DeSanctis to approve the agenda. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM APRIL 13 MEETING MOTION: DeSanctis moved, seconded by Senthilkumar to approve the minutes of June 8, 2021 Sustainability Commission. 4-0 with one abstention (Katzenberger). IV. REPORTS A. REPORTS FROM STAFF 1. STUDENT COMMISSIONER PROJECT DISCUSSION Hassebroek stated the next group of student commissioner would begin in September. There would be six students starting with the commission, and she had been thinking of ways to involve them more. One idea was to have them discuss youth activities around climate action, perhaps in two groups of three or three group of two, and focus on specific items: energy Sustainability Commission Minutes July 13, 2021 Page 2 efficiency, transportation, social action, waste, et cetera. She asked for input from the commission members. Poock stated there was an issue with students needing to be more involved and attend meetings. His online research on the practices of other commissions did not yield a lot of ideas, but Edina offered a letter of recommendation for college at the completion of a student representative’s service. Attendance at meetings was also in the Eden Prairie Sustainability Commission’s bylaws. He commended Hassebroek’s suggestion as well. Senthilkumar suggested setting expectations up front for the student representatives. She also suggested 2020 was a difficult year since all meetings were online. She agreed with Hassebroek’s idea of having the students present and discuss certain action areas and suggested this be mentioned at their first meeting. She asked if there was a way for them to participate in local events and write blogs or articles for the local media. Poock stated he preferred three groups of two and volunteered to mentor a group. Senthilkumar also volunteered. DeSanctis suggested having the student groups create some kind of community engagement program, such as a scavenger hunt, et cetera. They could focus on the entire community or a subgroup in it, such as children, and have a deadline of April of next year. Senthilkumar replied it would be preferable to have some smaller deliverables along the way, instead of one big project in April. Discussion followed on metrics for this. Hassebroek brought up Arbor Day as a possible project. She offered to get the date of the event. One event could be easier for the students to focus on rather than several, and then they could give a presentation on their ideas beforehand. Hassebroek mentioned she had conversed with Rick Getschow, the City Manager, regarding enforcing student representative attendance. The commission members could discuss this idea more in the August meeting. 2. CSG SUBSCRIPTION AND WEBINAR UPDATE Hassebroek gave an update on the Solar Garden subscription process: 325 people had signed up for the waitlist, a very positive response. An in- person meeting was given August 4. Only 35 attended the Zoom meeting, perhaps indicating residents were already familiar with the program, but a meeting could be added in September if needed. The next step was to finalize the subscription for those in the queue; no one as yet had been approved. The connection agreement with Xcel was still being worked out by the City. Sustainability Commission Minutes July 13, 2021 Page 3 3. LEGISLATIVE UPDATE Hassebroek stated the session yielded the Clean Cars proposal through the MPCA had been approved. It set a low emission vehicle standard that was lower than the federal government’s (changed in 2020). However, Minnesota had been meeting this standard since 2012, which Minnesota’s standard matched the federal government’s. This was a Minnesota law, and therefore permanent no matter what the federal government did in the future. Also, a zero-emission vehicle standard would require auto manufacturers to make electric or hybrid vehicles available for purchase each year. This would be effective as of 2024, but manufacturers could get credit if they meet this standard earlier. Poock asked if there was any legislation regarding infrastructure for charging. Hassebroek replied MnDOT and the Metropolitan Council were currently studying this. The Legislature approved a closed landfill solar project in Anoka County; it set aside funds to pay off the bond for the site and set up a redevelopment account. This pilot project will help the City better understand the process for developing solar at the Flying Cloud landfill. The Commercial Stretch Energy Code did not pass the Legislature, though it had no active opposition. Hassebroek mentioned the comments the City sent regarding Xcel’s Integrated Resource Plan received a response, an alternate plan that would address the criticism Xcel received from various cities. The planned new gas plant in Becker would not be built, in favor of building two new smaller and two refurbished existing natural gas plants that would run at peak times instead of around the clock. Xcel would also close its coal plants by 2030 but the City had urged Xcel to move up that date. Xcel had also increased its solar energy utilization and upped its grid mix to be 81 percent carbon-free by 2030, toward becoming 100 percent carbon-free by 2050. Hassebroek was encouraged by this response. 4. CAP IMPLEMENTATION COMMUNITY OUTREACH DISCUSSION - CONTINUED Hassebroek stated one of the ideas to come out of the Climate Action Implementation discussion from last month was the Green Step Families program. She had reached out to the GreenStep Cities program and asked for feedback. She received some interest but they were still implementing their Green Steps Schools program and were not able to take this on. However, they were supportive and wanted to use this program as a test Sustainability Commission Minutes July 13, 2021 Page 4 model for another wing of their Green Steps Program. There would still be work to do to set up the structure, and she asked for commission members’ input. The commission members agreed to continue this effort. Hassebroek stated she would continue to put together ideas for a program. B. REPORTS FROM CHAIR Poock stated he had been looking at different waste hauler’s website and none had mentioned organics recycling. In addition he was receiving inquiries from the community and those who had gone through the Master Recycler Program as to when organics recycling would start. Hassebroek stated she had spoken to two haulers and neither were ready yet. She suspected all haulers will wait for the deadline of November 1, 2021. Poock urged a big PR push when this service was finally offered. Dan suggested this was another project for the students. Poock stated he attended the Staring at Staring Lake Concert, and during the intermission people roamed the native landscape to take pictures and expressing admiration for the planting. C. REPORTS FROM COMMISSION 1. WATER UPDATE 2. WASTE UPDATE 3. LANDSCAPE/POLLINATOR UPDATE DeSanctis stated the Wild Ones, an organization that promoted pollinator gardens, were doing pollinator tours on August 27 at Fire Station #2 in Eden Prairie. 4. ENERGY UPDATE D. REPORTS FROM STUDENTS V. OTHER BUSINESS VI. UPCOMING EVENTS • Board and Commission Banquet – City Center Garden Room: July 15, 2021 • Community Solar Garden Workshop – Heritage Rooms, 6:30 PM: August 4, 2021 Sustainability Commission Minutes July 13, 2021 Page 5 VII. NEXT MEETING The next Sustainability Commission meeting will be held Tuesday, August 10, 2021, in the Heritage Room. VIII. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Nobleza moved, seconded by DeSanctis to adjourn the meeting. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. The meeting was adjourned at 7:47 p.m.