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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSustainability Commission - 07/08/2025 AGENDA EDEN PRAIRIE SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION MEETING TUESDAY, JULY 8, 2025 7:00 PM – CITY CENTER HERITAGE ROOMS 1&2 COMMISSION MEMBERS: Aaron Poock (Chair), Cindy Hoffman (Vice Chair), Tim Conners, Michelle Frost, Daniel Hendrickson, Alexis Junker, Jim Nehl, Moussa Ousmane, Carolyn Wieland STAFF LIAISON: Jennifer Fierce, Sustainability Coordinator RECORDING SECRETARY: Kristin Harley I. CALL TO ORDER / ROLL CALL II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND OTHER ITEMS OF BUSINESS III. MINUTES A. MINUTES FROM JUNE 10, 2025 MEETING IV. REPORTS A. REPORTS FROM STAFF • Spring Recycling Event Results • 2025/2026 Student Project Discussion • Citywide Open House EV Support B. REPORTS FROM CHAIR C. REPORTS FROM COMMISSION V. OTHER BUSINESS VI. UPCOMING EVENTS VII. NEXT MEETING No Meeting in August – next meeting September 9, 2025 VIII. ADJOURNMENT UNAPPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION MEETING TUESDAY, JUNE 10, 2025 7:00 P.M. Heritage Rooms 1&2 8080 Mitchell Road COMMISSION MEMBERS: Aaron Poock (Chair), Cindy Hoffman (Vice Chair), Tim Conners, Michelle Frost, Daniel Hendrickson, Alexis Junker, Jim Nehl, Moussa Ousmane, Carolyn Wieland 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. Commission members Hoffman and Frost were absent. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND OTHER ITEMS OF BUSINESS MOTION: Conners moved, seconded by Wieland, to approve the agenda. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES MOTION: Wieland moved, seconded by Conners, to approve the minutes from the March 11, 2025 meeting. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. MOTION: Wieland moved, seconded by Conners to approve the minutes from the May 13, 2025 meeting. MOTION CARRIED 4-0. IV. REPORTS A. REPORTS FROM STAFF COMMERCIAL ENERGY EFFICIENCY OUTREACH Fierce displayed a PowerPoint and discussed CEE’s One-Stop Efficiency Shop Program. CEE serves small to midsize commercial properties in Xcel Energy’s Minnesota territory with this program. This program had been sponsored by Xcel Energy since 2000. [Frost arrived at 7:07 p.m.] Sustainability Commission Minutes June 10, 2025 Page 2 One-Stop Efficiency program offers free, on-site lighting, HVAC and refrigeration assessments and free smart thermostat installations. Participants get a report with recommendations and estimated project costs, paybacks, rebates and savings. These rebates could be up to 70 percent of project costs. CEE also offers access to loans and grants, assistance reviewing bids and helping owners find qualified contractors. Fierce mentioned the upcoming phase out the sale of fluorescent bulbs. Commercial building operators would be able to use their existing inventory of fluorescents but would not be able to purchase more after January 1, 2026. Many businesses may be looking to upgrade their systems before this date. To support this phase-out, there are currently bonus lighting rebates available. Small business owners can get 25-50 percent more in rebates covering up to 70 percent of project costs. New equipment must be purchased and installed by November 15, 2025. Discussion followed on LED versus fluorescent lighting and the processes for replacement. Poock raised the question as to how the fluorescent bulbs would be recycled. The program also offers HVAC and refrigeration systems analysis and connections to rebates, along with free smart thermostats. Fierce displayed the promotional options for commission partnership with the One-Stop Efficiency program: • Co-branded outreach campaign with City • Mailed flyer/pamphlet • Online/email communication • Social media communication • Door-to-door outreach Frost asked which business could be targeted. Fierce replied Xcel had a list of some businesses, and smaller strip mall and standalone businesses could be targeted as well. Many of the businesses in the Golden Triangle are probably above the size threshold for the program, since they’re looking for small to medium sized businesses. There were still details to be sorted out. Nehl asked what information was already out, and what the motivation there would be for a business tenant to make these improvements. Poock replied this had come up before in other discussions. Fierce replied she had seen metric slides not shown here details which businesses had been targeted and helped. The motivation was a difficult question, especially with HVAC; lighting was most popular and there was legislation Sustainability Commission Minutes June 10, 2025 Page 3 surrounding this with a deadline. Nehl suggested the lighting was a gateway to other improvements. Wieland asked if religious institutions would fall under this mandate, and Fierce replied she was unsure at this time. Junker asked the timeline for the outreach, and Fierce replied the CEE Team was ready to begin in the next few weeks. Hendrickson asked if a mailer could be included with a utility bill, but Fierce replied she did not think Xcel’s agreement with the program would allow that. Hendrickson also suggested communications in person. Wieland asked if there was a stated goal, for example in terms of participation numbers. Fierce replied the 2025 Work Plan and Energy Action Plan were very broad but the commission could set one if needed. Hendrickson suggested messaging businesses through their Facebook pages. Wieland also suggested contacting them via LinkedIn and Nextdoor.com. Nehl asked if the City had a mailing list, since bills and property taxes were sent out. Fierce stated Eden Prairie has a water bill list, and CEE had its own lists as well. Hendrickson asked if local news was a resource. Life on the Prairie and Eden Prairie News were local news outlets. Discussion followed on other outreach possibilities. Poock summarized the commission’s response as supportive of the initiative and agreed with lending the Eden Prairie logo to the communications. Discussion followed on the possibility of going door-to- door. Conners suggested asking CEE what had been done in other cities. It was important to target the business owner. Wieland suggested getting updates on businesses who do sign up. Testimonials and metrics would be persuasive. EV EVENT Fierce displayed a list of options at to location, timeframe, approach, reach, audience, cost and access to EVs. She summarized the event for the new commission members and noted the commission needed to decide about the 2025 event. She added the first two events (2022 and 2023) were well attended and 2024 had lower numbers. The 2024 event included mowers and electric yard equipment, and E-bikes had been included at all events. All the events were held at Staring Lake and were standalone events. The commission could continue that or partner with another event, like the Citywide Open House. Discussion followed on the options. Sustainability Commission Minutes June 10, 2025 Page 4 The commission members voted via straw poll to forego a standalone event and partner with the Citywide Open House to promote EV’s in 2025. B. REPORTS FROM CHAIR Poock thanked Wieland for chairing the May meeting. He also welcomed the new commission members. C. REPORTS FROM COMMISSION Wieland stated the University of Minnesota’s Minnesota Technical Assistance Program was looking for schools to partner with them to conduct audits of waste, signage, waste bins, et cetera. 90 percent of trash could be recycled or composted, and schools could save up to $9,000 per year. She asked if Eden Prairie students would be interested, and/or if the new student representatives could take this on as a potential project. Discussion followed on this proposal. Wieland stated she would go back to her contact and say the commission was exploring options. Fierce agreed this was a good potential student representative project. V. OTHER BUSINESS Fierce requested commission members notify her as early as possible if they were to miss the July and/or August commission meetings. Several members noted they would be out of town for the August meeting, and Fierce responded that the meeting would then be likely to be cancelled. VI. UPCOMING EVENTS • Monday, June 16 – Electrify Everything Minnesota Webinar – 6 PM • Tuesday, June 17 – Planting for Clean Water on Shorelines Workshop, 6-8 PM, Cambria Room, Community Center VII. NEXT MEETING The next Sustainability Commission meeting will be held Tuesday, July 8, 2025, in the Heritage Rooms. VIII. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Hendrickson moved, seconded by Nehl to adjourn the meeting. MOTION CARRIED 8-0. The meeting was adjourned at 8:22 p.m.