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Home My WebLink AboutCity Council - 10/21/2025 - WorkshopApproved Minutes Eden Prairie City Council Workshop 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025 City Center Heritage Rooms, Council Chambers 8080 Mitchell Road Eden Prairie, MN 55344 ATTENDEES City Council Members: Mayor Ron Case, Council Members Kathy Nelson, Mark Freiberg, PG Narayanan, and Lisa Toomey City Staff: City Manager Rick Getschow, Public Works Director Robert Ellis, Community Development Director Julie Klima, Parks and Recreation Director Amy Markle, Police Chief Matt Sackett, Fire Chief Scott Gerber, Administrative Services/HR Director Alecia Rose, Communications Manager Joyce Lorenz, City Attorney Maggie Neuville, and Recorder Sara Potter Guest Speakers: Sustainability Coordinator Jennifer Fierce MEETING AGENDA Heritage Rooms I. Sustainability Update Getschow introduced Sustainability Coordinator Jennifer Fierce to present the Council’s annual sustainability update. Fierce displayed a graph of total greenhouse gas emissions throughout Eden Prairie. Planned emissions reductions come from sectors including commercial efficiency and fuel switching. The City is currently on track to meet its goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. Data is a few years behind due to a lag in utilities reporting. Emissions decreased three percent from 2022 to 2023, and 33 percent since 2007. Case noted many sectors are outside of City control and asked what percentage of reduction is within City control. Fierce noted the City has direct control over less than a quarter of emissions. Fierce displayed a graph of emission changes by sector. Electricity emissions have decreased 64 percent since 2007 due to increased appliance efficiencies. Natural gas emissions are closely tied to weather and have increased seven percent since 2007. Waste emissions, the smallest emission category, have decreased 22 percent since 2007. Travel emissions have decreased eight percent since 2007 but are slowly rebounding post-COVID. Case asked what comprised travel emissions. CITY COUNCIL MEETING AGENDA October 21, 2025 Page 2 Fierce noted all cars driving into and out of the City are counted, including non-resident commuters. Narayanan noted the City should investigate the proportion of resident versus non- resident traffic. Fierce stated reduction in travel emissions comes from conversion to Electric Vehicles (EVs) and car commuters switching to walking, biking, and using public transit. Narayanan asked how this data will change once the light rail is in operation. Ellis noted the expected benefit to travel emissions once commuters switch to the light rail. Fierce explained the largest category of GHG emissions is from buildings at 59 percent of emissions. Because electricity is cleaner earlier and overall electricity use is lower than planned, the City is ahead of Climate Action Plan (CAP) expectations. Emissions from natural gas are now higher than electricity emissions for buildings. Case asked if cities in cold climates are finding ways to incentivize rooftop solar and heat exchangers. Fierce answered that is the main goal of the electrify everything MN program. Air source heat pumps for cold climates are now available. Fierce stated population has grown four percent since 2007, but citywide electricity usage has decreased 19 percent due to energy efficiencies including LEDs and more efficient appliances. Case asked what percentage of the decrease is due to utility companies investing in wind and solar energy. Fierce noted that percentage isn’t easily identifiable, but emissions per Kilowatt- hour have decreased 56 percent. Case questioned why Xcel is not continuing to expand into solar energy. Ellis answered Xcel sees more value in wind than solar energy. Nelson added it wasn’t Xcel’s choice to invest in solar energy, it was required by legislature. Fierce noted vehicle miles traveled decreased during the pandemic. Future planned emissions reductions will come from the switch to EVs and commuters switching to other modes of transport including walking and biking. Case noted autonomous vehicle adoption will also result in increased efficiencies. Fierce explained vehicle emissions are based on the number of miles driven in the city and the carbon intensity of each mile driven. Hybrid vehicles and EVs are factored in, but emissions are a state-wide average. Vehicle travel emissions are down eight percent since 2007, but will likely continue to increase post-COVID. Fierce displayed a graph of waste GHG emissions. Waste data comes from county wide incineration, landfilling, recycling, and organics processing. This data is specific to Hennepin CITY COUNCIL MEETING AGENDA October 21, 2025 Page 3 County, not specific to Eden Prairie. Waste emission is not yet on-track to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Nelson asked if the county is attempting to reduce landfill waste. Fierce confirmed Hennepin County is the most aggressive county in the state in terms of promoting organics recycling. Case noted Eden Prairie hasn’t greatly embraced organics recycling, and the City should expand education efforts. Fierce stated the City sends an annual recycling guide with a page dedicated to organics recycling, but additional education efforts can be investigated. Fierce explained Hennepin County’s goal to eliminate 90 percent of waste by 2050, the most ambitious recycling goal in the country. Case asked if the Hennepin Energy Recovery Center (HERC) is still in discussion to close. Fierce confirmed it will stay open until diversion rates are met. Landfilling waste is worse than incinerating. The legislature recently approved a bill for producers of waste packaging to make materials recyclable or compostable. Fierce displayed a graph of GHG emissions per capita and explained since 2016 Eden Prairie’s per capita emissions have decreased more than other comparable Minnesota cities. Fierce discussed Electrify Everything MN, which provides education and resources for electrification strategies. Narayanan asked what the solar panels breakeven point is. Ellis noted the two City solar projects on Fire Station 1 and Liquor Store 2 had a three year payback considering the 50 percent State match. Fierce noted resident familiarity with electrification increased eight percent in the last quality of life survey. The first development projects under the City’s new Sustainable Building Standard will be voted on by the Council tonight. The Residence Inn hotel will be LEED silver, solar ready, and have six level 2 and two fast EV chargers. The Roers EP apartment project will have electric heating, and emissions will be offset with solar panels. Getschow noted the City’s Sustainable Building Standard is the result of Council consistently prioritizing sustainability. Fierce explained the City promotes energy efficiency resources in Eden Prairie including partnering with Xcel Energy to provide businesses with free lighting, HVAC, and refrigeration audits, similar to home energy audits. The florescent lightbulb ban begins in 2026. Existing bulbs can be used up, but new bulbs will no longer be made. Seven City facilities have solar panels installed, generating 3,700 megawatt hours of solar energy per year. Case asked if there is any CITY COUNCIL MEETING AGENDA October 21, 2025 Page 4 free rooftop space on City buildings for additional solar panels. Ellis noted once the Maintenance Facility roof is replaced solar could be installed. Fierce stated there are two thousand EVs registered in Eden Prairie, three percent of total vehicle registrations. This is slightly higher than the state average for percentage of EVs. There are 25 EVs in the City fleet, which is 22 percent of eligible vehicles. Case noted the City’s goal to be 100 percent EV for vehicles that are available and financially viable. Getschow added the City currently has electric garbage trucks and electric Zambonis. Fierce noted there are multiple level 2 and fast EV chargers available to the public. Fierce detailed sustainability events for the public. The City hosts multiple curbside recycling events for hard to recycle items such as furniture, mattresses, and appliances. Free compost is available at the Arbor Day event. Sustainability Commission members attend the City Wide Open House to discuss electric vehicles. A Fix It Clinic was held at the Eden Prairie Community Center in partnership with Hennepin County. 150 individuals attended and 200 items were fixed. A clothing swap was recently held where one ton of clothing was swapped. 4 thousand individuals are subscribed to the sustainability newsletter. The City was recently awarded a Best of Buildings, Benchmarks, and Beyond (B3) award for facilities improvements including LED upgrades, rooftop units, and boilers resulting in a 14 percent decrease in energy use from 2023 to 2024. The Council Members thanked Fierce for her time and efforts. Council Chambers II. Open Podium III. Adjournment