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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSustainability Commission - 09/09/2025APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION MEETING TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 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 STUDENT COMMISSION MEMBERS: Lillian Beutz, Avni Maheshwari, Ava Muilenburg, Shailee Rana, Paili Rice, Atharva Sarmah, Jhansi Senthilkumar, Syon Shetty, Ipshita Tiwari, Colin Weiher I. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Chair Poock called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. Commissioners Wieland and Frost, and Student Commissioners Weiher and Sarmah were absent. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND OTHER ITEMS OF BUSINESS MOTION: Hendrickson moved, seconded by Nehl to approve the agenda. MOTION CARRIED 6-0. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM JULY 8, 2025 MEETING MOTION: Hendrickson moved, seconded by Nehl to approve the minutes from the July 8, 2025 meeting. MOTION CARRIED 6-0. IV. REPORTS A. REPORTS FROM STAFF CLIMATE ACTION PLAN UPDATE Coordinator Fierce displayed a PowerPoint and explained the goal of the Climate Action Plan, available online, for the student representatives. Every year, the emission totals were updated. Emission totals for 2023: Sustainability Commission Minutes September 9, 2025 Page 2 Total greenhouse gas emissions showed Eden Prairie on track to meet its 2050 goal. The data came from a wide variety of sources, including records kept by Xcel Energy and CenterPoint Energy, as well as from MnDOT, the MPCA, and other government entities. Greenhouse emissions in Eden Prairie showed a decrease of 33 percent since 2007. They included building energy, vehicle travel, and waste. From 2022-2023, emissions fell 3 percent. Emissions change by Sector showed a sharp decrease in emissions from electricity and a variable level of emissions from heating fuels following weather patterns. Emissions from waste are slowly decreasing over time. Travel emissions are down since the pandemic, however, have been growing again since 2020. [Hoffmann arrived at 7:22 p.m.] Electric emissions data showed Eden Prairie exceeding its goals as it is down 60 percent, due to cleaner electricity than planned, and less residential and commercial/industrial electricity use than planned. Fierce expressed hope that outreach regarding electrical appliances and fuel- switching, as well as LED bulbs and energy-efficient appliances makes a difference, especially since the population of Eden Prairie grew by 4 percent during this same time. Electricity use decreased 19 percent between 2007 and 2023. The emissions factor over the same period dropped 56 percent. Emissions from heating fuels are now higher than electricity emissions. Heating fuel use showed how heating fuel (both residential and commercial) was highly weather-dependent. Improvements to building weatherization were also part of the solution, as well as electric heating and heat pumps. Heating fuel use had increased in recent years. Travel GHG emissions showed Eden Prairie being currently on track to meet its goals, due to a reduction in vehicle miles traveled (VMTs) during the pandemic. Both mode shift (alternative travel options, consolidating trips, et cetera) and electric vehicles contributed to this decrease. Vehicle travel is measured by each time a vehicle crosses a boundary into Eden Prairie, whether the driver lived in the City or not. While carbon intensity of each mile decreased since 2007, the number of vehicle miles traveled (VMTs) is slowly increasing since the pandemic. Eden Prairie needs to reduce VMTs and accelerate electric vehicle adoption to meet its goals. Sustainability Commission Minutes September 9, 2025 Page 3 Commissioner Junker asked why the numbers were higher and Fierce replied the pandemic caused the drop in 2020, but businesses had grown since then and more people were returning to the office. Construction could also be a part of this. There is a slow increase in VMT since the pandemic; business travel probably accounted for most of it. EVs were roughly a total of 3 percent of the vehicles in Eden Prairie (64,000 registered cars, 2,000 electric). Chair Poock stated Eden Prairie was one of the top three cities for EV ownership. Waste emissions are not yet on track to meet Eden Prairie’s goals, showing an increase over the preferred trajectory and a greater use than the baseline. There has been an increased recycling rate since 2007, but landfilling and incineration were still heavily used and showed themselves to be not easily solved. The City needed to focus on reducing overall waste while continuing to increase recycling rates to meet its goal. Commissioner Junker asked if there was distrust of recycled material being recycled. Fierce replied this could play into the metrics, but Minnesota had very strict regulations surrounding recycled materials. Chair Poock suggested there could be some uncertainty with the integrity of companies who claimed to recycle plastic. However, scrapped metal and other waste were taken out of garbage and recycled. Fierce agreed, saying since there was value in it; glass and cardboard were also valuable materials that had a market, not just a mandate, for reuse. Emissions per capita showed Eden Prairie as a leader in greenhouse gas reduction since 2016 in Minnesota. Eden Prairie needed to continue accelerating climate action to stay on track to meet its goals. Fierce concluded travel and gas emissions from buildings were the biggest challenges, but overall, the trend was in the right direction. 2025/2026 STUDENT PROJECT OVERVIEW Fierce displayed a PowerPoint with a list of options for a clothing swap. She described the past events and suggested the main project roles: • Lead event planners • Communications: create and distribute promotions • Logistics: what materials needed for event, where leftovers were handled, how items were dropped off, et cetera • Event volunteers: setup, check in, sorters, clean up Sustainability Commission Minutes September 9, 2025 Page 4 Commissioner Hoffman described the drop-off and end-of-event weighing process. Fierce stated all but 300 pounds of a ton of donated materials had been swapped in 2025. Hoffman suggested the students take the lead, determine the kind of swap (community, sporting gear focused, homecoming focus, games, tools, et cetera) to hold, figure out who to contact, create a timeframe, and other details while the commission members would provide support and troubleshooting assistance. Student Commissioner Rice suggested a children’s winter gear swap. Hoffman commented on the idea and suggested this would require a quick turnaround. Fierce stated the swap would be held at a City location in 2025/2026 for easier planning and access. Discussion followed on the possibility of holding a swap in November or December. Hoffman suggested this could be a backup idea. Hoffman suggested an April 2026 timeframe. Student Commissioner Tawari suggested a spring-cleaning swap, such as cleaning supplies or decorations. Fierce stated the Arbor Day tool swap was successful the first year. Chair Poock mentioned the soccer gear swap. Discussion followed on the various types of swaps the student representatives could choose. Hoffman reminded the commission members of the space problem in the past and urged the student representatives to focus their swap on one type of item. Student Commissioner Tiwari asked if the swap could happen over a weekend. Hoffman replied yes, although the limiting factor could be finding volunteers. Poock looked at the previous event in 2025 and stated this could be a possibility if the National Honor Society and other student groups could be recruited. Tiwari suggested involving the Green Crew and other similar groups and asked if this event could be expanded to the greater metro. Fierce expressed concern about the event being too large to manage. Rice stated she could find volunteers from her Key Club membership. She suggested a prom dress swap, which would be timely in April. Discussion followed on the drop-off process. Fierce stated she would send out a sign-up sheet for the various roles and put together a Google Doc for brainstorming, and the student representatives could narrow down their ideas before the next meeting. FIX-IT CLINIC RECAP Sustainability Commission Minutes September 9, 2025 Page 5 Fierce noted there were 154 attendees, with 164 items of 211 items brought in fixed (for a 78 percent repair rate), and 1,279 pounds of materials diverted from the garbage. There were 62 volunteers, and these were held throughout Hennepin County. Student Commissioner Tiwari asked for and received confirmation these were promoted on social media. CITYWIDE OPEN HOUSE REMINDER The Citywide Open House will be held Saturday, October 4, 2025. There is equipment and demonstrations outside, and City department tabling inside. Chair Poock and Commissioner Junker had signed up to staff the table, and Fierce stated she would email with a reminder. B. REPORTS FROM CHAIR Chair Poock added some upcoming events: • A buckthorn workshop will be held this coming Thursday. • There was a drop-off recycling event this Saturday. • Nominations were open for the Eden Prairie Awards. He explained the Eden Prairie Awards for the new student representatives. He thanked them for their participation in this commission. C. REPORTS FROM COMMISSION Commissioner Conners stated the Eco Expo was being planned for 2026 and asked for participants. 80 percent of participants were from Eden Prairie schools. Nehl stated the Friends of Eden Prairie Parks would be holding events. There were 50 parks and conservation areas, amounting to over 2,000 acres in Eden Prairie. Tools would be provided, and it was posted on the FEPP website. He asked volunteers to reach out to Fierce. Nehl stated thin film plastics that could not be recycled in one’s home bin but could be recycled at drop-off locations around the Twin Cities. He displayed an example and stated this was an educational opportunity. If the bag could be stretched, it could be recycled as a thin film. Conners stated he collected these bags and recycled them at the front door of the Eden Prairie City Hall, which sent them to a company that turned them into benches. Nehl also urged preventing usage in the first place. Sustainability Commission Minutes September 9, 2025 Page 6 Hendrickson stated he donated his Blue Thumb grant to his HOA, and phase one was underway. One hundred plants had been donated, and this Sunday one hundred pollinators would be planted. D. REPORTS FROM STUDENTS Student Commissioner Tiwari asked about other opportunities to participate. Chair Poock described the Sustainable Eden Prairie Awards ceremony, as well as any parks events and the Eco Expo. Conners mentioned past lunchroom waste efforts by previous students and asked if they had bandwidth for more than one large project than the swap. Poock also mentioned student clubs and the commission focus areas. Fierce stated in November the Commission would begin putting together its work plan for 2026; this centers around the Climate Action Plan implementation. V. UPCOMING EVENTS • Citywide Open House, Saturday, October 4, 2025 – 11 AM to 2 PM • City Council Presentation – Sustainable Eden Prairie Awards, Tuesday, November 18, 2025 – 7 PM (Commission Meeting to Follow) VI. NEXT MEETING The next Sustainability Commission meeting will be held Tuesday, October 14, 2025. VII. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Hendrickson moved, seconded by Hoffman to adjourn the meeting. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. The meeting was adjourned at 8:37 p.m.