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HomeMy WebLinkAboutConservation Commission - 02/17/2009 APPROVED MINUTES CONSERVATION COMMISSION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2009 7:00 PM, CITY CENTER Heritage Room I & II 8080 Mitchell Road COMMISSION MEMBERS: Eapen Chacko (Chair), Ray Daniels, Laura Jester, Sean Katof, Geneva MacMillan, Jan Mosman STAFF: Leslie A. Stovring, Staff Liaison Jan Curielli, Recording Secretary STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES: Vallari Ajgaonkar, Alexandra(Alex) Baumhardt, Michael (Paco) Caughill SPEAKERS: Paul Sticha, Facilities Manager I. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Chair Chacko called the meeting to order at 6:52 PM. Ajgaonkar and Caughill were absent. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Due to starting the meeting a little early, regular business was moved to the top of the agenda so the speaker would not begin until after 7:00 p.m. MOTION: Mosman moved, seconded by Katof, to approve the agenda as amended. Motion carried 6-0. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. Commission Meeting held January 13, 2009 MOTION: Jester moved, seconded by Daniels, to approve the minutes of the January 13, 2009. Motion carried 4-0-2, with MacMillan and Katof abstaining. IV. SPEAKER A. Paul Sticha, City of Eden Prairie Facilities Manager Sticha presented information on the progress of the 20-40-15 Campaign to the Commission. For Phase I the most visible change was the parking lot lighting switch to LED lights. So far the comments have been positive. The Police have stated that the whiter light looks more natural and there are fewer shadows. Other Phase I actions that have been completed include placement of the vending machine controls are at the larger facilities; upgrading of lights and addition of motion sensors at the City Center, Water Plant, Fire Stations and Senior Center; installation of an emergency generator at the maintenance facility; and new lighting at the Community Center in Ice Rinks 1 & 2 and the Pool. The new lights on Rink 1 Conservation Commission February 17, 2009 Page 2 are also on multiple switches so they can turn on key areas or all areas. The comments have been that the light is much more even. Phase II is now underway. Actions that have started include: • Upgrading of remaining interior lights (underway), including the high bay lighting at the water plant and in the Police garage among others. • Upgrading building exterior lighting with LED wall packs (underway). • Changing parking lot lighting to LED at the Water Plant, Fire Stations, Senior Center and Maintenance Facility (underway). • Installation of a de-superheater (heat exchanger) in Rink 1 at the Community Center to capture waste heat from the ice making process (looking at engineering design right now and once completed will go out for bids). • Power factor correction at the Maintenance Facility to reduce electrical consumption (underway). • Replacing water fixtures in bathrooms and locker rooms with "low flow" water restrictors for water conservation (underway). • Retro-commissioning or tuning up control systems (underway). This is partially paid for by Xcel Energy (50%). This will lead to recommendations for future improvements or efficiency recommendations for existing equipment(Phase III). Sticha stated that so far no surprises have occurred and all the upgrades are going well. Approximately $800,000 worth of projects have been completed in Phase 1 and another approximately $600,000 worth of projects are underway in Phase 2. This program has been very attractive to the City as it was a way to find alternative funding to improve the City's energy usage in a much timelier manner. The City will continue to look at energy alternatives, such as solar, wind or geothermal, with future phases. As funding alternatives come available or technology improves, they may become more cost-effective. For example, the federal stimulus package does have funding for energy conservation and this may lead to new incentives for alternative energy or it may result in prices going down as more projects are done. For example, LED prices are starting to come down and there are new technologies coming out that will lead to new competition in this area. Stovring asked about the possibility of using geothermal at Fire Station 4. Sticha stated that the payback was approximately 40 years, which was not good. They did get two quotes from engineering firms to verify the payback to ensure this was accurate. Sticha stated that the technology for larger, commercial buildings is still expensive and not as common. They have experienced problems with using geothermal at ice rinks for example, and they have been unable to provide 100% of the power needed. A question was asked on how this is being funded. Right now the savings incurred are being used to off-set the costs. The consultant, McKinstry, has guaranteed the cost savings so there is a way to ensure the costs are all captured. Chacko thanked Mr. Sticha for his presentation. Conservation Commission February 17, 2009 Page 3 V. REPORTS FROM STAFF A. Environmental Times Stovring asked if any of the Commissioners would like to contribute to the Spring 2009 Environmental Times. Jester stated she would like to write an article on buckthorn and how to manage it effectively Stovring also handed out a list of messages that are proposed for incorporation into the Waterpeeples House exhibit at the Environmental Learning Center (ELC). She asked for any thoughts or ideas for a new message for the "Haunted Closet" piece of the exhibit. If anyone had any ideas, they were asked to submit them by the end of the week. She also stated that we would have a meeting at the ELC after the new members were appointed so that everyone could see it. VL REPORTS FROM CHAIR Chacko discussed his future with the City Commissions. He informed everyone that he would be leaving the Conservation Commission, but has decided to work with the Budget Commission in the future. Discussion ensued on the remaining commission terms. A. Council Workshop Discussion Chacko stated that he thought the discussion went very well and that everyone seemed engaged and had a lot of good comments and questions. He felt that this is a new commission and it was important to have a good line of communication and was glad they could meet with us. The goal is to advocate for environmental issues with the Council and other commissions. Other thoughts were that the City should be a model for lawn watering and native landscaping. Chacko asked if we could meet with either the Parks Director (Jay) or the Parks Manager (Stu) at a future meeting to discuss areas where this could happen. Stovring said there is a proposed schedule to meet with the Parks Commission later this year and this would be a great topic to discuss then. Another possibility would be to meet with the School District to discuss conversion of some of their landscaping to cut back on their watering requirements. VIL OLD BUSINESS B. Budget Proposal for Enemy Conservation Programs Stovring stated that the budget proposal will be submitted to the City Council in March for consideration. Daniels stated he does support the proposal and is glad it is going forward. MOTION: Daniels moved, seconded by Mosman, to approve the budget proposal as submitted at the City Council workshop. Motion carried 6-0. Conservation Commission February 17, 2009 Page 4 VII. NEW BUSINESS VIII. INFORMATIONAL MATERIALS /HANDOUTS/COMMUNICATIONS IX. UPCOMING EVENTS A. Clean Enemy Resource Teams (CERTS) Conference—February 10— 11, 2009 Mosman stated she did attend the conference and felt there was good information presented. She primarily sat in the residential talks to get a good feel on how to effectively provide education and outreach to our residents while motivating them to change their habits. Mosman stated that the findings concluded that residents can be harder to motivate than commercial or businesses. Monetary awards in the form of coupons are not always a good motivator, however rebates have been found to be effective. Rebates work well as it sets up a process as well as a motivation to get the award. Doorknockers also did not work well. The key is to start with small programs (such as changing light bulbs) and to build from there. Social competition is also good, for example neighborhood events and social pressure or competition to change are good motivators. Daniels stated that the WindSource campaign would fit well into this premise. The key is to educate residents on how to sign up and why they should. Right now, a 100 kilowatt block costs 71 cents per month. He was wondering if any council members or others in a leadership position in the City have signed up for WindSource. An article on how has signed up and why might be a good way to promote the campaign and set up a challenge for the community. B. Pax Christi Environmental Ministry Program—February 8, 2009 Daniels stated that church members did come in and walk around the exhibits and that he talked to about 30 people. Chacko stated that he felt the fair was the most successful one they have had so far and was happy with the results. Other topics included composting, natural cleaning products and recycling. Daniels also handed out brochures on WindSource. Jester stated that the Commission should start keeping a log of Commission activities, such as participation in community events like environmental fair, to help keep track of where the Commission went and how successful it was. Daniels then asked if he could develop a web page for the commission on his non- profit web site. Stovring stated she would inquire before the next meeting but didn't think it was likely as there would be no control over content if it was hosted elsewhere. Conservation Commission February 17, 2009 Page 5 C. Chamber of Commerce Yard & Garden Expo — March 21, 2009 at Grace Church Jester asked what time they should start setting up for the Expo. Stovring stated that she was unaware of when they could start,but that the Expo does run from 9 am to 3 pm on Saturday. D. Infiltration Seminar,April 16, 2009 at 6:30 pm—Heritage Rooms VII E. Rain Barrel Workshop—June 27, 2009 at Staring Lake Outdoor Center XI. NEXT MEETING A. March 10, 2009 XII. ADJOURNMENT Chair Chacko adjourned the meeting at 8:52 PM.