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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSustainability Commission - 01/11/2022APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION MEETING TUESDAY, JANUARY 11, 2022 7:00 P.M., Prairie 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 STUDENT MEMBERS: Abi Rajasekaran, Amoligha Timma, Anna Maristela, Augie Stukenborg, Julia Harris, Muthu Meenakshisundaram I. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Acting Chair Senthilkumar called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. Absent were Commissioners Dwivedy, Poock and Katzenberger. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Hoffman moved, seconded by Eddy-Theis to approve the agenda. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM APRIL 13 MEETING MOTION: Hoffman moved, seconded by Eddy-Theis to approve the minutes of December 14, 2021 Sustainability Commission. 5-0. IV. REPORTS A. REPORTS FROM STAFF 1. 2022 WORK PLAN Hassebroek stated she had sent out the PDF copy from the last meeting and could get new copies to the commission members with the changes in the education and zero-waste community events. Her meeting with the Sustainability Commission Minutes January 11, 2022 Page 2 Parks and Recreation Department regarding the Fourth of July was set for Tuesday. There might not be the staff to hold the freecycle event, but this would remain a goal for the future. Poock would present the Work Plan at the City Council Workshop just prior to the next Sustainability Commission meeting in February. No formal motion was needed. 2. ReACT EDEN PRAIRIE UPDATE Hassebroek asked for feedback. The mapping components were mostly completed, but content was needed. She displayed the entry screen and suggested a pop-up dialogue box in which to type an address. It contained background information on solar power which she would revise, and she would add background information on the ReACT Program itself. She asked for feedback from the commission members. Hassebroek cautioned against overloading the map. She explained the map’s legend. Discussion followed on possible content. Senthilkumar suggested a statement of purpose. Eddy-Theis asked for and received clarification the map showed not only actions taken but potentials for action, such as solar power. Hassebroek stated the survey results might be captured through GIS. The responses would be revised to be more meaningful. Eddy-Theis stressed the need to use natural language and adding explanations. Hassebroek explained the idea of pulling the age of the property became more difficult than expected and would not always be accurate. Instead of standard set of criteria would be offered as suggestions for homeowners to consider. Senthilkumar asked for and received confirmation that anyone could see the suggested actions for anyone else’s property. Eddy-Theis asked how vendors could be kept from targeting certain residents for marketing. Hoffman stated this would be a very generic message. Hassebroek agreed, saying the suggestions would be very broad, such as a Home Energy Squad visit, and not specific aside from the solar recommendations. Senthilkumar suggested indicating the year built instead of the age of the building. Eddy-Theis noted the survey was elective, but the map would pull information from it. Hoffman asked if there was some way to avoid tying this information to the address, and Hassebroek replied there was not. Discussion followed on what was public data. Hoffman stated she would only have an issue about revealing ownership of an electric vehicle; the other information was not so much of a privacy issue. Senthilkumar asked if the actions taken could be made even more generalized—the resident took an action on energy, et cetera. Eddy-Theis noted the number of green dots indicating an action taken would multiply in time. She suggested having service layers to filter the actions. Hassebroek replied Sustainability Commission Minutes January 11, 2022 Page 3 that was the intent here and would be more useful than clicking on individual addresses. Hassebroek added it was still an open question how to show the highest levels of actions taken, rather than having multiple dots on one address currently. Hassebroek displayed and explained the heat maps which indicated ideal locations for solar panels. A heat map was the most suitable solution. It showed who was a good candidate, the square footage, production capacity to kilowatt hours, year, CO2 emissions system type (2K or larger) and the cost but was not able to zoom in close. Hoffman asked if the state of Minnesota had a list of solar contractors and Hassebroek replied it did not, but the Clean Energy Team had put together a solar contractor guide. Hoffman suggested that information be included on the map as a clickable link. Hassebroek stated that would be a feature of the map. Nobleza commended the map and suggested working with contractors to supply panels per kilowatt hours in a bulk-buy method rather than per resident. Hassebroek agreed and replied that had been done with the Solar Power Hours program, though there was no “Eden Prairie only” version of that yet. Discussion followed on this possibility. Nobleza added even if this was not done the map would provide an incentive for the contractors to reach out. He added in talking to his neighbors he found they needed to know where to start. Hoffman stressed short and clear statements and found the informative paragraph to be appropriate. Senthilkumar suggested adding the average household energy need to the capacity given. DeSanctis suggested a link to tax credit information. Hoffman also suggested a cheat-sheet of questions for homeowners to ask. DeSanctis suggested a link to professional solar installers, perhaps even a YouTube video. Hassebroek what the map pulled from permit data. Discussion followed on making the information easier to see. Hassebroek noted most users would enter the map with the filters turned off and then choose layers. Hassebroek stated she would bring the updates to the IT Department. 3. ORGANICS RECYCLING REBATE UPDATE Hassebroek stated there were 94 rebates, and just under $4,700 in total, and all but three were Suburban Waste Service customers with organics service. She had just sent out the request for information to the haulers and would know the numbers by March. Sustainability Commission Minutes January 11, 2022 Page 4 4. SUSTIANABLE EDEN PRAIRIE PUBLIC EVENT OUTREACH DISCUSSION Hassebroek announced public events were returning to Eden Prairie. The Chamber Expo would be held on March 12, and the Rotary Club was holding an Eco Expo on February 27. She asked if the commission members wished to participate. Senthilkumar replied a commitment made now might not come to fruition due to changing health information. Discussion followed on having a table/booth with a display at these events. Hassebroek offered to pull together some information on the Climate Action Plan. B. REPORTS FROM CHAIR C. REPORTS FROM COMMISSION 1. WATER UPDATE 2. WASTE UPDATE ORGANICS RECYCLING 3. LANDSCAPE/POLLINATOR UPDATE 4. ENERGY UPDATE D. REPORTS FROM STUDENTS V. OTHER BUSINESS VI. UPCOMING EVENTS • Sustainability Commission 2021 Annual Report and 2022 Work Plan Presentation to City Council: February 8, 2022 – 6:00 PM in Heritage Rooms 1&2 • Eden Prairie Eco Expo: February 27, 2022 – 10 AM to 4 PM at Community Center • Everything Spring Expo: March 12, 2022 – 9 AM to 3 PM at Grace Church VII. NEXT MEETING The next Sustainability Commission meeting will be held Tuesday, February 8, 2022, in the Pioneer Room. VIII. ADJOURNMENT Sustainability Commission Minutes January 11, 2022 Page 5 MOTION: Nobleza moved, seconded by Hoffman to adjourn the meeting. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. The meeting was adjourned at 8:09 p.m.