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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSustainability Commission - 07/08/2025APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION MEETING TUESDAY, JULY 8, 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 Ousmane and Conners were absent. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND OTHER ITEMS OF BUSINESS MOTION: Nehl moved, seconded by Hendrickson to approve the agenda. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM MARCH 11, 2025 MEETING [Hoffman and Frost arrived at 7:04 p.m.] MOTION: Nehl moved, seconded by Wieland, to approve the minutes from the June 13, 2025 meeting. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. IV. REPORTS A. REPORTS FROM STAFF SPRING RECYCLING EVENT RESULTS Fierce displayed a PowerPoint and explained that the City was holding drop-off recycling events a few times a year, beginning in 2020 (as a standalone event), for more difficult to recycle materials. They were held at the yard waste site. Eden Prairie residents had to show their ID. No hazardous waste was allowed. A curbside option was also added to assist residents who could not transport materials. The vendor could recycle up to 98 percent of the items accepted. Sustainability Commission Minutes July 8, 2025 Page 2 Hoffman asked for and received clarification that the vendor was not paid by the City. Fierce displayed the participation numbers (curbside and drop-off) between 2020 and 2025 (partial), showing a low of 292 (2020) and a high of 631 (2024). Fierce displayed metrics between 2022 and 2025 showing the numbers for furniture, electronics, appliances and exercise equipment, gas equipment, mattresses/box springs, and miscellaneous. Beginning in 2022, the City covered the first $10.00 of the fee. Now covering first $20.00 (in 2025). Recycling grant funds covered the write-down. Hendricks asked for and received confirmation residents paid a fee to recycle. Poock asked if the yard waste drop-off had increased, and Fierce replied it was tracked and she could find out; but in her recollection, it had also grown. 2025/2026 STUDENT PROJECT DISCUSSION Fierce displayed information on past student project strategies. She noted that in the best-case scenario in the past, roughly half of the student representatives participated in any given project. Poock suggested another clothing swap. Hoffman agreed but added she would prefer the students make the ultimate choice as to what was swapped. Wieland added she would love to see the clothing swap adopted by the school. Hendrickson mentioned the Smith Coffee shop video shown at the commission banquet and suggested a similar project to put on the Eden Prairie website. Discussion followed on possible student representative projects. Poock echoed Hoffman’s remarks that this was the students’ project; they had to take the initiative. Discussion followed on how to guide the student representatives on this. Fierce suggested the swap be held in a city facility. She also suggested students need to work out a way to better manage incoming donations. One option was having items dropped off the night before the swap, rather than during the event; holding the event at a City facility could make this easier to accomplish. Hoffman and Wieland agreed. Discussion followed on drop-off restrictions. Wieland suggested limiting donations to one bag. Sustainability Commission Minutes July 8, 2025 Page 3 Hoffman stated these questions could be problem-solved by the student representatives. She agreed holding the event at a City facility could ease the drop-off process. Fierce suggested narrowing down the type of materials donated (such as sports equipment). Hoffman reiterated the importance of students taking control, even if the event were to fail. Fierce stated she was giving the Climate Action Plan update in September, along with the introduction to the student project, so the students would be part of this process. Wieland offered to send the 2025 Swap information to Fierce. Hoffman suggested delineating the student roles, and Fierce suggested this could be determined by the students. There will be nine student representatives starting this fall. Hendrickson suggested giving the students a checklist. CITYWIDE OPEN HOUSE EV SUPPORT The Citywide Open House would be held Saturday, October 4, 2025, 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. There would be equipment and demonstrations outside, and the City department tabling inside. Fierce asked whether the commission members wished to have non-PD fleet EV outside for display with the commission members interacting with the public, or have a table inside with staff, either a standalone EV-info table or with a Sustainable Eden Prairie table. The Police Department would also likely have an EV for display. Commissioners opted to be outside with a fleet EV. Poock suggested having available a comparison of EV and gas vehicle prices. Fierce took the names of volunteers for tabling. B. REPORTS FROM CHAIR Poock stated all efforts ideally started locally and “crept up” to higher levels. He urged the commission members to continue their activism, have conversations with neighbors, et cetera. He thanked Hendrickson for starting a pocket garden. C. REPORTS FROM COMMISSION Wieland stated the organization Reuse Minnesota would be holding 12 swap events between fall of 2025 and fall of 2026 for Hennepin County and was looking for volunteers. She offered to send the link to Fierce who could distribute it to the commission members. No clothing would be swapped. Sustainability Commission Minutes July 8, 2025 Page 4 Wieland also announced the organization MnTAP (Minnesota Technical Assistance Program) would conduct site visits to observe school lunches and audit food waste. This was a grant-funded initiative. It required two to four hours to observe all the meal periods. Hendrickson announced he had started pocket garden in his neighborhood through the Blue Thumb grant program. Junker suggested the former carwash would be a landscaping opportunity, and Fierce explained there were landscaping requirements for all new developments; however, that area was a City right-of-way. V. OTHER BUSINESS Fierce announced the City of Eden Prairie won the Best of B3 (Buildings, Benchmarks and Beyond) Award. This was announced on the Eden Prairie website. This was a statewide honor for commitment to increasing energy efficiency in buildings, and a recognition event was held June 18. Fierce also announced that the solar panels on Fire Station 1 would be turned on the following day. There would not be a ribbon-cutting, but an announcement would go out. Frost asked for and received confirmation the solar arrays on City buildings could be accessed via monitoring system to view production. Hoffman suggested opening the rooftop solar garden for a tour. Hendrickson asked if there would be another community solar garden, and Fierce replied this was the last of the City’s flat roofs, but there could be commercial ones not on city property in the future. Poock noted there were bond issues for a solar farm at the landfill, and changes in the law were required. Junker asked for and received confirmation the commercial energy audits program was moving forward. VII. NEXT MEETING The next Sustainability Commission meeting will be held Tuesday, September 9, 2025. (There will be no meeting in August.) VIII. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Hendrickson moved, seconded by Nehl to adjourn the meeting. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. The meeting was adjourned at 8:25 p.m.