Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutConservation Commission - 03/11/2008 APPROVED MINUTES CONSERVATION COMMISSION TUESDAY, MARCH 11, 2008 7:00 PM, CITY CENTER Prairie Room 8080 Mitchell Road COMMISSION MEMBERS: Eapen Chacko (Chair), Ray Daniels, Laura Jester, Sean Katof, Rita Krocak, Geneva MacMillan, Jan Mo sman STUDENT MEMBERS: Vallari Ajgaonkar, James (JP) Maslyn, Ann Wachutka STAFF: Leslie A. Stovring, Staff Liaison Jan Curielli, Recording Secretary GUESTS: Greg Ackerson and John Rasmussen, McKinstrey Essention IV. SPEAKER/PROGRAM UPDATE Due to the lack of a quorum, Chair Chacko asked the representatives from McKinstry Essention to begin their presentation at 7:05 p.m. A. 20-40-15 Update—McKinstry Greg Ackerson and John Rasmussen of McKinstry Essention, presented a PowerPoint update of the 20-40-15 program. Ackerson said they outlined Phase 1 of the project to staff and received staff approval of Phase 1. They would like the Commission to review Phase 1 tonight and also recommend approval before they present to the Council next Tuesday. Ackerson explained the process for Phase 1, noting they establish the budget beforehand and identify the maintenance and energy costs. The goal is that the savings made by the Phase 1 improvements go to pay for the improvements, and that is the case for Phase 1. He noted that Phases 2 and 3 may not repay the cost of the improvements and may require the City to fund additional costs for those phases. Jester arrived at 7:10 PM. Rasmussen reviewed the proposed lighting improvements, including items such as replacing larger fixtures, a pilot program in the City Center parking lot to install LED lights, and occupancy sensors in rooms. They plan to add sophisticated controls to reduce energy consumption in City buildings, and will add a newer, more efficient emergency generator that can be used to reduce peak demand. In addition they will add items such as vending machine controls and a thermal solar system to provide solar heating for the Community Center swimming pool. He reviewed the energy Conservation Commission March 11, 2008 Page 2 reduction produced by the improvements, noting there will be a 4% reduction in electric energy usage in 2008 with the improvements installed. Stovring asked how the reduction in electricity equates to an increase in efficiency. Ackerson gave an example that increasing fuel efficiency to 100 MPG would increase efficiency by 20% and produce a 16% reduction in energy consumption. He said they want to work with staff and the Commission to come up with a consensus on definitions and quantifications in order to publicize the results of the improvements. Chacko asked how other cities deal with this. Ackerson said most cities have taken the Kyoto Agreement or the Mayors' Climate Protection Agreement for their definitions and quantifications, and Eden Prairie is their first client to use the 20-40-15 verbiage. Ackerson noted Eden Prairie has quite high energy-efficient buildings already, so we are off to a great start. With Phase 2 and beyond it will become increasingly harder to meet goals. Phase 2 now includes such items as additional LED parking lot lights, but they wanted to try a pilot program first because LED light is very different from other kinds of light. Jester asked if it is similar to LED headlights on cars. Ackerson said those are different, but LED is used for taillights and also on the new light bars on police car roofs. Jester then asked if it illuminates as large an area. Ackerson said LED is very directional, but it is possible to put a lens on it to spread the light. The parking lot lights will have lenses and will appear brighter to the human eye. He said one of the training rooms downstairs in the City Center has been outfitted with LED lights. Katof asked if they have worked with other programs where they said "no" to LED lights after a trial project. Ackerson said the reality is that everyone has loved them, but LED photometrics are lower so they need to have a pilot project. Jester asked if they contain any mercury. Ackerson said there is no mercury in LED lights and, rather than burning out, the light level decreases at 50,000 hours or so. That means there is lower maintenance for LED's, but they are very expensive to purchase. He said they want to try an LED interior light design in the City Center courtyard for Phase 2, add some additional solar thermal and also include a small scale wind turbine. He said they planned to include a wind turbine in Phase 1, but there have been issues recently with supply of those units so it was moved to Phase 2. Daniels arrived at 7:25 PM. Ackerson reviewed some of the proposed items included with Phase 2 from the Facility Improvement Measure spreadsheet. MacMillan asked about the term photo voltaic. Ackerson replied it is solar photo voltaic that is used to generate electricity. He said they proposed having a heat reclamation system at the ice rink and using off- peak electric energy storage with intelligent controls to capture and store energy at night for use during the day. He asked the Commissioners to let McKinstry know of any particular interests in the community so they can evaluate those. Conservation Commission March 11, 2008 Page 3 Chacko asked about the term "budget neutral." Ackerson said the net costs of the total budget for Phase 1 improvements would be paid back by the energy cost savings. He said the net costs would include the utility savings, the operating savings and the potential utility rebates. Chacko then asked about using the loan program. Ackerson replied that Northland is familiar with the proposed changes and would issue a bond for the price and then receive the payback from the savings. He noted the thermal solar collector could be eliminated from Phase 1 and that would make the total payback better since the payback on that item is 40 years. Stovring asked if the Commission could receive copies of the spreadsheet. Ackerson said he will send it to her. Katof asked how the costs for the projects in Phase 2 compare to the solar collector. Ackerson said photo voltaic is generally worse. He said all Phase 1 improvements will be owned by the City. They need to find developers willing to do the improvements for Phase 2 who could set up a lease-to-own arrangement. That would also involve research on how a tax-exempt organization like the City could take advantage of the incentives offered. Daniels asked about getting the City involved in purchasing wind from Wind Source. Ackerson said that may make sense for Phase 2 or Phase 3 projects, but it doesn't help with 20-40-15, so they have been concentrating on Phase 1 projects. Jester asked if there is a plan for promoting this to City residents. Stovring said McKinstry was at the Spring Expo. Ackerson said they present to the Council at next Tuesday's meeting. Jester asked if the Council will take action on Phase 1. Ackerson said the Council will take action, and McKinstry would like the Commission to recommend the Council approve the Phase 1 improvements. Stovring said this will be in the City newsletter and they will have a press release. Jester asked about putting a 20-40-15 button on the City web page. Ackerson said they could update the web page every day to show the cumulative savings calculated from the thermal, solar and wind energy data. Stovring suggested Chair Chacko convene the meeting and then proceed with the motion to recommend approval. Katof asked if they considered including a green roof in the improvements. Ackerson said they did not consider it for Phase 1. He said it makes sense in new construction, but a retrofit would have a 40-50 year payback. Jester asked about considering a white roof. Ackerson said that would make sense for a re-roofing project. Stovring said we could take a look at upcoming roof replacements to include in Phase 2 improvements. Ackerson said they could consider including a green roof on part of those replacement roofs along with a white roof. Conservation Commission March 11, 2008 Page 4 Chacko asked them to review the CO2 reduction and how it relates to the 4% in utility savings. Ackerson said they looked at that reduction versus the goal of 20-40- 15, because Phase 1 is either '/a or 115 of the way to the goal, depending on how the reduction is defined. Jester thought a 4% reduction sounds minor, but 25% of the goal sounds much better. She asked if they are asking the Council to determine the definitions. Ackerson said he thought the Commission should make a recommendation on that. Stovring said they should probably sit down with staff to work on that because there should be a way to correlate it easily. I. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Chair Chacko called the meeting to order at 7:50 AM. Commissioners Krocak and Mosman were absent. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Stovring added two items under Item X. Upcoming Events. MOTION: Jester moved, seconded by MacMillan, to approve the agenda as amended. Motion carried 5-0. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. Commission Meeting held December 11, 2007 MOTION: Daniels moved, seconded by Katof, to approve the minutes of the December 11, 2007 meeting as published. Motion carried 4-0-1 with Chacko abstaining. B. Commission Meeting held January 8, 2008 MOTION: Jester moved, seconded by Daniels, to approve the minutes of the January 8, 2008 meeting as published. Motion carried 3-0-2 with Katof and MacMillan abstaining. C. Commission Meeting held February 12, 2008 MOTION: Jester moved, seconded by Macmillan, to approve the minutes of the February 12, 2008 meeting as published. Motion carried 5-0-0. IV. SPEAKER/PROGRAM UPDATE (Continued) Daniels asked what action was needed on Phase 1. Ackerson said staff has approved the items, and they would also like the Commission to approve Phase 1. Stovring said staff likes the items but would like input on the longer term ones. Conservation Commission March 11, 2008 Page 5 Jester thought the long term ones are an investment in the future, and there is an overall average of 13 years which she thought was extremely reasonable. Chacko asked how payback for the wind turbine that was eliminated from Phase 2 compared to the solar panel. Ackerson said there was a 28-year payback for the wind turbine. He said they will readdress the wind turbine in Phase 2, but there is a very high demand for them at this time. MOTION: Daniels moved, seconded by Jester, to recommend approval of Phase 1 of the 20-40-15 program as presented by McKinstry Essention and City staff. Motion carried 5-0. Chacko said he would like to understand more about the solar piece and asked if he could send a separate question to the McKinstry representatives. Ackerson said he could, and he will also forward the spreadsheet to Ms Stovring for distribution to the Commission members. Jester asked if there is some way we can help put together a community plan to get the word out to residents. Stovring said staff will definitely be working on this. Chacko thought the Commission should be part of that, and asked who is in charge. Stovring said she will check on that. Daniels said he was concerned about making sure the wind turbine is included in Phase 2 because things have a way of disappearing. Stovring said it will depend on the supply, so if they can get one, it will be included in Phase 2. V. REPORTS FROM STAFF A. Chamber of Commerce Expo Stovring said the event went very well. Jester said, based on the number of bags given away, there were at least 500 families attending. She said the recycling booth got a lot of traffic. Stovring said there were 14 people at the Rain Garden talk, and they had very good questions. The 20-40-15 talk was not as well attended, but there were very good questions there also. The ZooMobile was very busy, as was the Art Start booth. Daniels noted we got rid of all the Rain Garden books. Stovring said she received a call requesting 125 copies of the irrigation brochure. She plans to do a mailer on that. Daniels noted the rebate for native grasses was popular. Stovring thought we should try the event again next year. B. Status of Conservation Commission Membership Conservation Commission March 11, 2008 Page 6 Stovring said Commissioners MacMillan and Daniels were reappointed to the Commission, and Chacko was reappointed as Commission Chair. She noted there were not as many applicants this year. Jester asked if applications are still being accepted. Stovring said they are because we have one vacancy on the Commission. C. Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting - March 3, 2008 Stovring said she gave a presentation on the Watershed District to the Parks Commission and also talked about the Conservation Commission and upcoming events. Chacko asked if representatives of the Nine-Mile Creek Watershed District were at the meeting. Stovring said they were. D. Utility Rates Stovring said the fee resolution is on the City Council's agenda for March 18. The "Miscellaneous Charge" is now called the "Repair/Expansion Fund." The cap was removed from the non-compliance fee. Chacko was concerned that the new fees might not reduce water consumption. Stovring said the irrigation-only accounts will be affected. She said 90% of businesses have irrigation and the surcharge will be $2.65, not $1.65. They will also see the impact more quickly because of the switch to monthly billing. Chacko asked about the effect on the residential side. Stovring said there will be an impact because of the cap being removed. Chacko asked if water consumption will be the same at the end of the year. Stovring said they hope it will go down, if not this year, then next year,because residences will also be on monthly billing next year. Ajgaonkar asked when the fees go into effect. Stovring said March 18th. Daniels said one gentleman came up to the booth at the Expo and was upset because he will have to pay a lot more to fill up his swimming pool. Katof asked if residents have options other than paying the non-compliance fees. Stovring said a rain sensor won't keep them on schedule, and the point of the odd/even system is to regulate the amount of water through the system. Stovring noted she is updating the lawn watering brochure. VI. REPORTS FROM CHAIR A. Recycling update Stovring reviewed the 2007 Recycling Report to Hennepin County, noting our 87% participation was much higher than before. Jester said Grace Church and the Eden Prairie Mall businesses don't recycle. A discussion followed regarding businesses recycling and Recycling Minnesota which aims at gas stations and stores. Conservation Commission March 11, 2008 Page 7 Chacko said we talked about having recycling at City events. Jester asked if we have a target event. Chacko thought we need to discuss that, and we also need to get support from the high school for an event. Stovring noted Commissioner Mosman said she would help with Sunbonnet Day and another event. Chacko suggested the Eden Prairie Cup soccer event because it is a large event at multiple sites. Stovring said we would have to be there with bins, but she thought we might pick one park and set up there. Chacko thought it would be good if we could get some of the soccer teams to help. Wachutka said she would talk to her brothers about it because they play in the tournament. Stovring noted the event must be for Eden Prairie residents in order to count. Chacko said he will check with the Eden Prairie soccer teams and also Recycle Minnesota. Stovring said Hennepin County has free bags that are clear, which would make it easy to check that the contents were recyclables only. She said the Parks Department can pick up the bags, but we would have to monitor it and make sure the bags include only recyclables. Jester thought we should have garbage bins available next to the recycling bins at any events. Chacko asked about doing this at High School graduation. Wachutka said graduation takes place at the University,but the overnight party does not have recycling. Ajgaonkar said she would take over posting this on the high school website. Stovring suggested the Commission pick two events at the next meeting. Chacko thought each member should come up with positives and negatives for each event so that we can compare. VII. OLD BUSINESS VIII. NEW BUSINESS A. Potential Zero-Waste Event Chacko said Eureka Recycling in St. Paul has a website with good information. Stovring thought we should have an event where we could do organics and recycling. Chacko said Grace Church might be a good site for a Zero Waste Event if they do any recycling now. IX. INFORMATIONAL MATERIALS /HANDOUTS /COMMUNICATIONS X. UPCOMING EVENTS A. Presentation at City Council—March 18, 2008 Conservation Commission March 11, 2008 Page 8 Stovring said we will be giving a presentation to the Council on March 18"" and all Commission members are encouraged to attend. Jester asked if Chair Chacko was going to give the presentation. He said he will give the presentation. B. Living Green Expo—May 3 & 4, 2008 C. Pond and Lake Care Seminar—May 17, 2008 D. Summer Clean Up - June 21, 2008 E. Commission Orientation—March 26, 2008 Stovring said the purpose of the orientation is to present the legal issues. Commissioner Katof should attend the orientation because he did not receive it last year. Other commissioners are encouraged to attend as a refresher. F. Storm Water Meeting—April 8, 2008, 6:00 to 7:00 PM Stovring said the annual Storm Water public meeting will be held before our next meeting on April 8 from 6:00 to 7:00 PM. She said she is working on putting that together and is trying to get the newspaper to do an article. She thought she could get the new map into a PDF file so those could be available. Jester asked when Park Clean-up Day is scheduled. Stovring was not sure but she will put it on the next agenda. Chacko thought we need to get people involved about 20-40-15 and the climate change agreements, and we need to have a consistent communications plan. Katof thought it was important to focus on the fact it doesn't cost anything for Phase 1. A discussion followed regarding redefining the 20-40-15 terms. XI. NEXT MEETING A. April 8, 2008 XII. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Jester moved, seconded by Katof, to adjourn. Motion carried 5-0. Chair Chacko adjourned the meeting at 8:50 PM.