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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSustainability Commission - 01/10/2023APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION MEETING TUESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2023 7:00 P.M., Heritage Rooms 1&2 8080 Mitchell Road COMMISSION MEMBERS: Aaron Poock (Chair), Emily Eddy-Theis (Vice Chair), Laura Bishop, Tim Conners, Gretchen Enninga, Cindy Hoffman, Daniel Katzenberger, Carolyn Wieland STUDENT MEMBERS: Tanvi Bhujle, Mia Cain, Palak Dhiman, Maura Fitzgerald, Tyler Little, Taylor Oliver, Suchita Sah CITY STAFF: Jennifer Fierce, Sustainability Coordinator, Kristin Harley, Recording Secretary I. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Chair Poock called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. Absent was Commissioner Bishop. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND OTHER ITEMS OF BUSINESS MOTION: Enninga moved, seconded by Conners to approve the agenda. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM MARCH 8, 2022 MEETING MOTION: Connor moved, seconded by Wieland to approve the minutes from the November 9, 2022 meeting. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. MOTION: Wieland moved, seconded by Conners to approve the minutes from the December 13, 2022 meeting. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. IV. REPORTS A. REPORTS FROM STAFF 1. RESIDENT LEARNING SESSIONS PLANNING Fierce displayed an editable PowerPoint and asked questions: What are the goals for the workshops? Sustainability Commission Minutes January 10, 2023 Page 2 Conners stated one goal was to take steps to reduce emissions. Discussion followed on the needed messaging around how to reduce energy costs. Wieland urged that residents have different avenues to achieve energy goals. She asked if residents thought of reaching out to commission members with questions and added perhaps commission members should advertise themselves as a resource. Wieland asked how the commission could blanket the City with a coherent message and/or be a network. Eddy-Theis stated she one goal was building connections across the community, building skills and knowledge, and added she had thoughts on specific topics. Fierce asked what a successful workshop would look like. Katzenberger stated given the students’ successes, 75 attendees would be a successful workshop. Wieland stated ensuring the message reached a diverse audience. Hoffman asked if the event would be in person or online, and if this was a stand-alone event or tied to another event. An individual event would have lower numbers. Conners suggested 10 attendees in person, and 20 online. Eddy-Theis suggested smaller groups might be more comfortable, or the chat in a large group could by very dynamic; there were advantages to large or small workshops. Poock suggested the commission at least double the attendance of past events. Katzenberger asked if this would focus only on energy, or include water, pollinators, and waste. Poock replied the end of 2020 focused on recycling and asked what the next educational opportunity would be. Fierce stated there had been 250 rebates for organics, and she would know next month how many residents signed up with haulers. Early adopters had already started their organics recycling. Conners stated regarding the question of including other topics: unless the climate issue was solved, pollinators would not thrive. He was not opposed to including pollinators, but climate was the priority for him. There was funding due to the passage of the IRA. Hoffman agreed climate action was the goal but stated the commission and City must attract people one way or another to get a foot in the door, and pollinators, waste, and water were attractors. Potential Topic Suggestions Weatherization and energy efficiency Solar (rooftop, CSG) Recycling and organics Pollinator friendly plantings/water quality and conservation Planned events for residential electrification (x2) and EV ride and drive in September 2023 Sustainability Commission Minutes January 10, 2023 Page 3 Conners stated he had secured a commitment from the Eden Prairie AM Rotary for a second Eco Expo, and the date was not yet set. Katzenberger asked if an introduction to climate change was needed. Commission members agreed a 101 was crucial for some audiences. Conners stated he did two sessions at the high school on EV and environment issues and a climate solutions workshop and found the high school students and administration to be very open to his presentation. He suggested the commission expand on this. Enninga suggested a one-on-one introduction, as it was more important to educate on how to make the change. She found the suggested topics mostly focused on Scope 1 and 2 emissions rather than 3. She also suggested reusing options and “buy nothing” groups. Eddy-Theis stated the Hennepin County Master Recyclers’ Program educated the public on reducing consumption and conscious consumption. Wieland urge the training be applicable to everyday life, addressing individual habits and decisions. Discussion followed on adding a zero-waste lifestyle topic. Katzenberger suggested a Project Drawdown 101 instead of Climate Change 101. Discussion followed on outreach to businesses. Little advised the commission members to be careful about messaging around consumption and socio-economic status—some advice could be difficult for certain residents and audience to adopt practically. Hoffman agreed these topics hit advanced/early adopters but stated the commission needed to outreach to the “middle” group getting ready to transition, such as through a talk, or a tour. The commission could bring in experts, but then have residents teach each other. Conners stated certain issues and solutions would be universal and thus attractive. Poock reiterated tying events to another for a larger audience and/or tie several topics together to widen interest. Wieland suggested a Legislative Update. Fierce added the commission could draw on the expertise in this room. Katzenberger suggested an Endangered Bumblebee Photo Contest. Katzenberger suggested involving the Senior Center. He noted even skeptics wanted the cost savings with EVs. Discussion followed on a timeline: winter versus summer. Discussion also followed on including a trivia session and having small frequent meetings and/or pairing residents with early adopters. Outreach ideas included involving churches and focusing on a spring pollinator/bee-friendly lawn. 1. ARBORD DAY EVENT GARDEN TOOL SWAP PLANNING Fierce displayed a PowerPoint and stated the event would be held April 29 from 9:00 a.m. to noon. There would be compost for residents to take, the Sustainable Eden Prairie booth would be there, and a garden tool swap reuse project would be offered. There would also be reusable bags, and Sustainability Commission Minutes January 10, 2023 Page 4 flatware. Fierce suggested a list of things not to bring to the tool swap such as chain saws and lawn mowers. Tables/signage would be provided and there was a plan to track items exchanged or donated, such as garden tools, pots, seeds, etc. Discussion followed on residency requirements. Fierce asked if the commission needed volunteers for support beyond commission members, and Poock urged opening up the event. Fierce solicited volunteers for the event. Discussion followed on having the Sustainable Eden Prairie award winners attend. Fierce stated the Wild Ones were already coming and urged the commission members to save the winners for another event. The first planning meeting would be held in approximately a week. 2. CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING AWARD Fierce stated Eden Prairie, Edina, and St. Louis Park were awarded $1,000,000 for whole-home weatherization and electrification improvements to income-qualified properties. She added the Assessing Department tracked hearing types already helping them identify potential participants. B. REPORTS FROM CHAIR Poock thanked the commission members for their animated discussion. C. REPORTS FROM COMMISSION 1. WATER UPDATE 2. WASTE UPDATE Wieland announced the Hennepin County Plastic-Free Challenge beginning February 1. Fierce stated the message was going out on social media. ORGANICS RECYCLING 3. LANDSCAPE/POLLINATOR UPDATE 4. ENERGY UPDATE D. REPORTS FROM STUDENTS Taylor stated she had met with the high school administrators and the building operations coordinator to discuss getting rid of Styrofoam bows Sustainability Commission Minutes January 10, 2023 Page 5 and trays at lunch. Another possibility was revising the menu to prevent food waste. She asked for messages to send to the School Board. Taylor gave some statistics: between October 1 and October 31, 2022 the school threw away 13.8 tons, and 16.75 tons during the month of November. Recycling was emptied twice weekly. From July 2021 to June 2022 there were 9,337,229 watts of energy used from Xcel. Natural gas use was 320,000 therms. From the end of July 2021 to the end of June 2022, 346,000 gallons of water were used. There were solar panels on all school roofs and a solar garden. The school employed smart salting during the winter. More than 500 trees were planted in 2022. The school produced 85 percent of its energy from solar panels on its own roofs. Taylor said she would give an update after the upcoming meeting. Little added the school was not as forthcoming about composting or getting compost bins. V. OTHER BUSINESS VI. UPCOMING EVENTS VII. NEXT MEETING The next Sustainability Commission meeting will be held Tuesday, February 14, 2023, in the Heritage Rooms 1&2. VIII. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Enninga moved, seconded by Wieland to adjourn the meeting. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. The meeting was adjourned at 8:34 p.m.