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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSustainability Commission - 11/09/2021APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION MEETING TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2021 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 Chair Poock called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. Absent were Commissioners Dwivedy and Senthilkumar and student representatives Maristela and Stukenborg. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Nobleza moved, seconded by Katzenberger to approve the agenda as amended to correct the next meeting date to December 14, 2021. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM APRIL 13 MEETING MOTION: Katzenberger moved, seconded by Nobleza to approve the minutes of October 12, 2021 Sustainability Commission. 5-0. [Eddy- Theis arrived at 7:10 p.m.] IV. REPORTS A. REPORTS FROM STAFF 1. ORGANICS RECYCLING UPDATE Sustainability Commission Minutes November 9, 2021 Page 2 Hassebroek announced as of November 1 Eden Prairie was recycling organics. 125 residents had signed up as of last week, and 28 rebates had been requested. Waste Management would charge all customers $3.25/month whether or not they opted into the organics recycling program, rather than having a pay-to-participate option. Pricing varied widely, whereas Republic charged $55.00/month. Haulers did not know how to price their services since they did not know how many participants to expect, and Hassebroek expected rates to adjust as the program moves forward. She expected to see hauler numbers in February 2022. 2. COMMUNITY CENTER SOLAR GARDEN UPDATE Hassebroek stated there was a very strong response to subscription, and a 10 kW cap was set on subscription size, affecting perhaps 20 percent of those who signed up. This allowed two or three additional users to every capped user. (Out of 40, perhaps four were using double the cap.) The subscription agreement process would begin soon with the infrastructure built and operable perhaps next spring. 3. CITY FLEET EV AND PUBLIC CHARGING UPDATE Hassebroek announced this program was growing rapidly. The Tesla was well-received by the Police Department which was now looking at other electric vehicles for comparison. The City had one fully electric and two plug-in vehicles. Eight fully electric vehicles were ordered for next year. There was also more availability of such vehicles that met the City’s needs. Facilities were looking at a couple of e-transit cargo van, Inspections was looking at the Chevy Bolt, and the Police Department was looking at the Mustang. Chargers were being added to Riley and Staring Lake Parks. There was money in the capital improvement plan for the next 10 years for this. Xcel Energy was also ramping up to assist with the installation of infrastructure, with the exception of the DC Fast Charger. Meenakshisundaram asked for and received confirmation these improvements by Xcel were for the City’s fleet. Hassebroek added one EV Charger dated to 2013, which showed how Eden Prairie had been proactive. Meenakshisundaram asked if usage would support the fees and Hassebroek replied there was insufficient data to know at this point. Hoffmann asked if new developments, particularly multi-family developments, had to be EV-installation capable. Hassebroek replied the city had some successes in urging applicants for recent developments to consider this option. Hoffmann noted that one such new improvement as this required a larger infrastructure commitment. Hassebroek agreed and Sustainability Commission Minutes November 9, 2021 Page 3 added EV-ready garages were becoming a reality in Eden Prairie construction. 4. RESIDENTIAL ACTION AND RECOGNITION PROGRAM DISCUSSION Hassebroek distributed a document with the weighted best practices along with a QR Codes and asked the commission members and students to vote on each. Discussion followed on the best practices and Hassebroek tracked the results of the online averages. She also displayed a slide with the potential program names. The commission members and students chose ReACT Eden Prairie. Hoffmann suggested an accompanying icon, and Hassebroek replied the Communications Department would come up with one. 5. EVIE CARSHARING NETWORK EXPANSION PILOT INTRODUCTION Hassebroek explained the program. Public EV Chargers with 70 different hubs would be built across the Minneapolis and St. Paul, and residents who did not wish to buy a car could sign up for the carsharing program. Since the chargers were public, this also served residents of multi-family homes without access to charging. This effort required the collaboration of many partners and the hope was for this to be up and running by the end of 2022. Expansion of this network into the suburbs would help meet Eden Prairie’s Climate Action Plan goals, but as yet there was no vision of what this would look like in the suburbs and how, and if, it would make sense in Eden Prairie. The City submitted a grant for an outreach fund. Meenakshisundaram asked who offered the grant the City applied for and how much it was. Hassebroek replied it was a local nonprofit called Clean Energy Resource Team that offered seed grants ($5,000.00) to explore community feedback. Meenakshisundaram asked what Eden Prairie would specifically do as a City and how the initial survey would work, and Hassebroek replied that was a question for the future; at this point, the City would conduct education and outreach to determine possible interest and need. Katzenberger added he knew of more than one big box retailer that would be interested in participating in this effort. 6. ELECTRIFY COHORT INFORMATION Hassebroek displayed a slide that explained heat pumps and how they were a more efficient means to heat or cool a space without natural gas, by moving heath from one space to another. They offered both air Sustainability Commission Minutes November 9, 2021 Page 4 conditioning and heating, reduced emissions, and cost less (mostly in propane or electric resistance heated homes). They could be used in ducted and non-ducted homes but were not able to solely provide home heat during Minnesota winters. They were often seen in greater Minnesota where natural gas pipelines were not feasible. Air source heat pumps (ASHP), which pulled heat from the air, were generally more accessible for the average resident. Ground source heat pumps, which drew on underground heat, required more of a commitment. Katzenberger asked if Eden Prairie had regulations or guidelines for ground source heat pumps, especially with a horizontal well. Hassebroek replied there were none in terms of zoning code. Katzenberger replied he was considering one but lived next to a wetland he did not wish to disturb. Hassebroek offered to check with Water Resources on this. Discussion followed on the structure of the ground source heat pumps. Hassebroek stated Eden Prairie had relatively cheap natural gas available and rhetorically asked why the city was interested in heat pumps. One- fifth of Minnesota’s energy emissions came from fuel combustion in homes and businesses. This was addressed in the Climate Action Plan. In addition, 93 percent of homes in the Upper Midwest relied on fossil gas for space and water heating. 13 percent of total emissions reduction need to reach net zero by 2050. The CAP Goal was to have 17 percent of residential switched to electricity for space/water hearing by 2030, 55 percent by 2040, and 97 percent by 2050. This aligned with Xcel’s resource planning modeling. There was a small amount of funds dedicated in the next two-year budget cycle to create a rebate program. Xcel Energy recently received authorization to incentivize residents to switch from natural gas to electricity. The Rocky Mountain Institute contacted the city and invited them to participate in a nation-wide cohort focused on education and training around fuel switching. The first meeting would take place the following week, and the program would begin in January. Poock asked if the greatest barrier was finding retailers that offered this equipment. The commission could promote this but there had to be a means to implement it. Hassebroek replied the Center for Energy and Environment set up a cohort to work directly with contractors. This program was limited now but the hope was in the future it would be more extensive. Discussion followed on special ground source heat pumps. Hassebroek replied cold climate air source heat pumps were getting better at working in the Minnesota climate but a backup heating source was still needed. She displayed the Minnesota Air Source Heat Pump website for the Sustainability Commission Minutes November 9, 2021 Page 5 commission (https://mnashp.org) and the homeowner tab https://mnashp.org/for-homeowners). B. REPORTS FROM CHAIR Poock announced there would be time after the meeting for mentors to meet with the student representatives. Hassebroek confirmed the student representatives were able to attend the Sustainable Eden Prairie Awards and give the presentations. She assigned volunteers to the various categories. Poock added City Council meetings were simulcast on television and also recorded. C. REPORTS FROM COMMISSION 1. WATER UPDATE 2. WASTE UPDATE ORGANICS RECYCLING Hoffman stated Ashley Young, a former commission member, had a very good response to a posting she made on the Eden Prairie Moms site about organics recycling, which generated a lot of questions and discussion. 3. LANDSCAPE/POLLINATOR UPDATE 4. ENERGY UPDATE D. REPORTS FROM STUDENTS Meenakshisundaram stated the student representatives were interested in working with elementary and middle school students, such as giving presentations on how their lives impacted the climate and how they could make a difference. Hoffmann stated there was a Kindergarten Oak Point teacher who led an outdoor classroom and might be a resource. Timma stated reducing plastic waste was a possible project idea. V. OTHER BUSINESS VI. UPCOMING EVENTS Sustainable Eden Prairie Awards, November 16, 2021 Sustainability Commission Minutes November 9, 2021 Page 6 VII. NEXT MEETING The next Sustainability Commission meeting will be held Tuesday, December 14, 2021, in the Heritage 1&2 Rooms. VIII. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: DeSanctis moved, seconded by Hoffman to adjourn the meeting. MOTION CARRIED 6-0. The meeting was adjourned at 8:19 p.m.