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HomeMy WebLinkAboutConservation Commission - 12/09/2010 APPROVED MINUTES CONSERVATION COMMISSION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2010 7:00 PM, CITY CENTER Prairie Room 8080 Mitchell Road COMMISSION MEMBERS: Laura Jester(Chair), Greg Olson (Vice Chair), Sue Brown, Ray Daniels, Ravi Jaiswal, Geneva MacMillan, Prashant Shrikhande STAFF: Regina Herron, Staff Liaison Jan Curielli, Recording Secretary STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES: Joshua Auerbach and Rachel Wood I. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Chair Jester called the meeting to order at 7:03 PM. Jaiswal was absent. Brown left early. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Brown moved, seconded by Olson, to approve the agenda. Motion carried 6-0. III. MINUTES A. Approval of Minutes for the November 9, 2010 Meeting MOTION: Brown moved, seconded by Daniels, to approve the minutes of the November 9, 2010 meeting. Motion carried 6-0. IV. REPORTS FROM STAFF A. Driveway Material Ordinance—Update Herron said the ordinance was approved by the Council. She commended the Commission members on their great work. Jester asked if the changes discussed at the last meeting were included in the final ordinance. Herron said some of them were, and she will distribute a copy of the final ordinance. She said the language regarding the '/a inch gaps was included because other cities such as Bloomington used that language. She said the code can be redone if there is a problem. B. Nine Mile Creek Water Resource Center—Project Status Herron said this project was moved to the January 14th meeting of the Council. Jester asked if she knew of anything that will stop the project. Herron said details are still being worked out in the development agreement before it can go to Council. Conservation Commission Minutes December 14, 2010 Page 2 V. REPORTS FROM CHAIR VI. REPORTS FROM COMMISSION A. Discussion on Water Conservation--Shrikhande Shrikhande gave a PowerPoint presentation on water conservation. He reviewed the question of why water conservation is necessary and the demand that humanity places on our global water resources. He compared the consumption of water resources by North America to other areas of the world, noting that North America consumes three times what other societies around the world consume. He said the City of Eden Prairie is doing quite a lot in terms of water quality,but there is a lot more that can be done. We can provide incentives to promote the quantity of water by encouraging such things as raingardens and limiting the use of groundwater. He distributed an article on water neutrality from American Rivers that presented their efforts to promote water efficiency and security with corporations, municipalities and other entities. They measure water use in terms of water volumes consumed or polluted by three elements: blue water footprint(volume of surface and groundwater used); green water footprint(volume of rainwater consumed); and grey water (volume of polluted water). Shrikhande said we need to consider a multigenerational plan to slowly build and change our awareness of the need for water conservation. The rate structure used in Eden Prairie does not encourage overall conservation of water as it is currently set up. He showed a slide with information on Seattle's rate structure which provides for very low usage tiers with lower rates. He said 80% of Eden Prairie users are in the lowest bracket, and there is no incentive to lower usage below the amount billed for that bracket. Olson asked if he was talking about developing a scheme to use less fresh water. Shrikhande said groundwater is the most expensive to treat and deliver to the user. It takes a lot of money to build the infrastructure necessary to deliver water and remove waste water. Jester noted Seattle is not known as a dry area, and she wondered what their reasoning is for using such a rate structure. Shrikhande said they had drought years a few years back and their population levels have gone up. They have been able to reduce their overall usage despite their population going up. Olson asked why there is no widespread usage of grey water. Brown said probably because it is not available. Shrikhande said in California they are channeling kitchen water and bath water to gardens. Brown noted commingling would cause problems. She said we might restructure our pricing so that users would pay substantially more per gallon as water usage increases. Jester said water conservation is a big deal,but it is hard to sell here because we are in a land of plenty. The City has redone their rate structure a couple of different Conservation Commission Minutes December 14, 2010 Page 3 times. She thought there are various ways the Conservation Commission can go about trying to change attitudes about water conservation by either education or policy with regard to the rate structure. She said we have a presentation on the GreenStep Cities program next month, and it will be interesting to see what their recommendations are for water conservation. Jester asked Shrikhande if he was asking for a specific recommendation to move forward. Shrikhande said he hoped we can start building awareness by providing a comparison of water usage for the current quarter and the previous quarter on water bills. Brown noted her family switched all their showers and toilets to low flow and had a dramatic drop off in the amount of water used,but not a large difference in their water bill. She said it seems we need to put something sizable on the cost end to incentivize users. Wood asked if the City has an incentive program. Jester said the City pays $100 if you buy a low flow toilet or low water use washer or dishwasher;however, the fund for that isn't as big as it could be. Brown said we might get the fund beefed up. Olson said the question is whether we are paying the real cost for water usage by considering what is available now and what will be available in the future. Shrikhande said we pay for the service of bringing water to us, not the ecological impact. We would be looking at a totally different concept to change that. We would need to pay back some of the amount we are using through a water credit that would go towards funding some of the improvement projects. Brown said that would be similar to carbon offsets. Shrikhande said he didn't know how much we can pursue that approach,but it would be a good idea. He said it would be good to build awareness of usage by requiring the top users to do a water audit. He thought that would give them some incentive to reduce usage. Jester noted we have a lot of ideas. She asked if we determined how many residents get their water bills online. Herron said 15% get their bills online. Jester said Ms Stovring said there is one more utility bill insert we can include. That should have information on water conservation and signing up for online billing because they can track their usage that way. She suggested we have a graphic of what the user would be able to see with online billing. Brown noted online billing also saves paper and reduces printing and mailing costs. Jester said we need to get the timeline for the insert from Ms Stovring. Olson asked if we have any idea what would be a sustainable level of usage. Shrikhande said he would need to get information on that. Jester thought we could get that from either the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) or the Freshwater Society. The Freshwater Society may also have some examples of what other cities in the area are doing to reach the same goals and they may have model ordinances available. Jester asked who will find out the deadline for the Environmental Times article and put together information for that. Shrikhande said he would do that. Brown said staff Conservation Commission Minutes December 14, 2010 Page 4 can create a colorful and attractive graphic so he would not need to create that part. Jester noted Commission members have written articles in the past, and she thought quick bullet facts are good. Jester said she will contact the Freshwater Society to get information from them. B. Discussion on Plastic Bays—Brown Brown said the information she sent to Commission members addresses the point it is not just about plastic bags. There are huge variations in cost for plastic bags. She talked to the Secretary of State's office and the Minnesota Department of Revenue and asked if it was within our right to create a tax through the city. She found out we can do that,but we also could call it a fee. As a city, we can structure a fee any way we want, and that is pretty well laid out in the material she provided. It makes perfect sense to have a fee or a tax on plastic bags when one understands the impact on our environment. It would be another way to live up to our name and create a more "edenesque" environment. She would like to put together some kind of measure to send to the City Council for their review. MacMillan asked what we would propose and how we would do it. Brown said we could put together a tax or fee structure that would impose a fee for using any bag that is not reusable and offer it to merchants. She didn't see this is a bad thing for anybody. Ikea had no problems turning over their bag problem. People become used to the concept that if you want a bag, you can buy one. Such a fee would get to people in a way that a 5¢ discount does not. MacMillan said they give a 5¢ discount where she shops. Brown said we need to move away from rewards and go to a fee so there is a value associated with getting a plastic bag. Shrikhande noted he is able to reuse paper bags several times. Jester asked how the fee would work and if we would have an ordinance that says retailers must charge fees of a certain amount to consumers who use plastic bags. Brown said we would move to a fee-based structure for non-reusable bags and ask that all retailers move to this structure. We could have up to a 200 fee for those who don't bring in a reusable bag and would apply the fee to both plastic and paper bags. Olson asked who would enforce the ordinance. Jester asked if the City would require it or would we just encourage it. Brown said we would have to look at those questions more. She thought it would be great if we could put together an ordinance. Jester asked if she had an example. Brown said there are a lot of them,but she would have to research it. Olson said we should connect with area retailers and get their thoughts about encouraging behavior away from plastic and paper. By doing that, it becomes more of a situation where the City and retailers work together to come up with something. We might get more traction that way because the City would have to enforce an ordinance. Brown said we could talk to Target and the Chamber and have an opportunity to test it. Olson suggested picking out certain key retail establishments in town to approach. Jester was not sure WalMart and Target could make decisions at Conservation Commission Minutes December 14, 2010 Page 5 the store level. Olson said it might be a blind alley, but he thought this topic may have hit their radar somehow. He thought it would be more successful if we can cooperate with the retail section. It would be one less cost they need to deal with, so there would be opportunities for them to save money. Brown said there are dry cleaners and any number of stores at Eden Prairie Center that could be encouraged to participate. Olson noted we probably cannot cover the waterfront in a few months. Brown said we should talk to the Chamber members. Jester asked if the Chamber includes retailers. Herron said there are a whole range of businesses that are members of the Chamber. Olson said the Chamber likes to be involved in things with reasonable visibility, and retailers are not terribly active in the organization. Jester said she was not sure that was the correct way to go. Olson said we could talk to Pat MulQuenny about it because there is a certain amount of influence one could get from the Chamber. We should have something for them to look at but he wasn't sure the Chamber would give momentum early on. Brown thought we could talk to groups like the Lions Club and get them behind it to build grass roots support. Jester asked if the plastic bag issue is the only thing we would want to talk about with the Chamber. She thought there are issues like not watering the green strip in front of businesses. This brings us back to what is in the GreenStep Cities program and the fact it may be better to go to the Chamber with a whole list of action items. Brown said this has been proven to work and retailers save a lot of money by doing this. She thought it is very feasible and very straight forward. She would worry if we take everything in front of the Chamber. We might wrap the bag fee in with what they can do to be better stewards,but she would hate for it to get lost. Olson thought this involves a significant amount of effort over a long period of time. He said the bag idea is okay,but he was also very open to the GreenStep Cities program. We should see if that program is something that we can package any way we want. Brown said she also considered Mr. Daniels' comment about the new City Council being open to more things. Jester said we would have to have their support but would have to take them out of the direct loop. Jester asked how the fee would work. Brown said the money raised would come back to the City and would be directed to an environmental fund like the Parks Fund or other conservation initiatives such as improving water quality. Shrikhande said that would make it an ecological fee, and we could strive to be plastic bag neutral. A discussion followed regarding how such a fee would be collected and who would receive the proceeds from the fee. Shrikhande asked if there are other pilot programs going on so we could see how they are structured and see what forum this is happening in. Brown said the District of Columbia does this, and she can research how that works. Olson said we need to clarify what we are trying to decide. Jester said there will be no decision tonight as we need more research. She would be interested in seeing the mechanics of how it works in D.C. Daniels noted the retailers complain about the fees they have to pay. Conservation Commission Minutes December 14, 2010 Page 6 Herron said she knows there are building permit fees and cash park fees and other fees, and she could look to see what other fees are imposed by the City. Jester said Ms Herron will find out about our fees to retailers and Ms Brown will research how this works in D.C. We will have the GreenStep presentation and find out if there is anything in that program. MacMillan said she would see this as a small part of the GreenStep program. Jester said both of these items are really big issues, and there are some fascinating facts that need to get into the newsletter. She thought we should hand the information to the Communications Department and let them choose how to present the facts about plastic bags and how to encourage use of cloth bags. Brown noted a lot of cheap reusable bags contain lead so it is important to use well-made reusable bags. MacMillan asked how to find out which ones have lead in them. Brown said they have a plastic look and reusable bags should be made of cloth that can be washed. She volunteered to look for more information about reusable bags. VII. REPORTS FROM STUDENTS A. Commission Involvement with Eden Prairie High School Tree Hulmers Club— Wood Wood said the Tree Huggers Club is not doing a lot because they are such a small group. They would like to work with the Commission to see what they could do to help. She thought they might help to educate the High School on water conservation or plastic bags. She said they have a very strong Business Marketing Department that could also work with the Commission on things. Brown suggested they do a discussion about an item from the Environmental Times. Olson thought they might give the presentation on the new water rate structure to students in math or science as a real world application. They could work on what we could do to the rate structure to encourage people to use less water and make recommendations regarding changes. He said the Arboretum has an exhibit on permeable surfaces used in combination with landscaping to reduce runoff. The subject of permeable surfaces is a very hot topic among municipalities as they try to encourage more infiltration of rainwater. Herron thought the students might have an interactive display at the Chamber's Home and Garden Expo in the spring. Jester asked what Ms Herron meant by the interactive display. Herron said it could be a "hands on" display and we already have space reserved at the Chamber Expo. Shrikhande suggested the students could volunteer to do a water audit of the High School and see where water conservation is possible. He saw an infiltration demonstration done by a consultant where kids could spray water on houses and see how it flowed into the watershed. Jester said it might be a display of how pollutants runoff and could show the difference between sanitary sewers and storm sewers. Conservation Commission Minutes December 14, 2010 Page 7 Brown asked what would motivate the group. Wood said there is a lack of guidance, and they need topics like this to think about and present so they can have a solid focus. Jester asked if they have a staff liaison. Wood said the liaison is there to make it run smoothly. Brown asked how often they meet. Wood said they meet twice a month on Friday mornings. Brown said she was willing to help facilitate the group. Jester said they might help monitor recycling at City functions like the Fourth of July and Sunbonnet Days. Olson said there are so many things we have talked about as a Commission that involve core curriculum areas where real world issues could be incorporated into the curriculum. Jester thought that goes beyond what the students in the club can do. MacMillan said she anticipated that teachers are already current with things they are talking about in class. Jester suggested Ms Wood recruit three students to help us with the Expo in March. VIII. CONTINUING BUSINESS A. 2011 Work Plan Jester said she and Ms Herron got together last week to work on the document. MacMillan noted the work of the Conservation Commission is ongoing, so the first sentence on Page 2 should be: "Conservation Commission regular meetings are scheduled for the second Tuesday of each month at 7:00 PM." Jester asked if we are getting a presentation on GreenStep Cities in January. Herron said Karen Kurt in Human Resources is scheduled to give the presentation. Jester said she assumed Ms Kurt will present the research she has done so far and explain where Eden Prairie has gaps. She may also have recommendations for filling those gaps and the Commission might we might take her action items and lay out a plan. She noted we don't have a workshop with the City Council scheduled until September. Herron said the workshop schedule will be confirmed in January, but the tentative date is September 6 for the joint meeting with the Council. Jester said since the GreenStep Cities requires a resolution from the City Council, one idea might be to find a champion on the Council and a staff member who could take it to the Council. We also might ask for an earlier workshop. Shrikhande said the American Rivers organization has opened an office in the metropolitan area and it would be good if they could talk to us on water quality issues. Herron noted the Fourth of July event was taken off the event calendar as part of the budget cuts; however, we will still have the fireworks display. Brown said it would be good to have actionable agendas and suggested we get individuals listed behind the initiatives. Commission members would have Conservation Commission Minutes December 14, 2010 Page 8 responsibility on an on-going basis and could see where that initiative is scheduled during the year. Herron said she was concerned about possible turnover of Commission members. Jester thought we might have a less formal list outside of the formal document. Brown said it is important to assign responsibility for the initiatives in order to get things done. Daniels said he didn't think that belongs in the Work Plan. Shrikhande asked if there is a problem with Commission members working together. Jester said no more than four Commission members can work together,but two or three members could get together and work on something. Jester said she would like to table the discussion of responsibility for actionable items to the January agenda after the GreenStep Cities presentation. MacMillan said the fifth item under Onsoins! Commitments and Long Range Goals should be two separate items with the second item being "Participate in a Joint Meeting with the Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Commission." She liked the fact that the goals can be plugged into the calendar at any time. Brown said we should change "plastic bag" to "non-reusable bag." Shrikhande suggested changing the goal for the 2nd Quarter to "Develop strategies on water conservation." That is not as restrictive and we can discuss what we should do for water conservation. The consensus was there should be two more bullets under that: • Consider a policy for rate structure changes; and • Develop a City-wide standard message or presentation for water conservation. Brown left at 8:55 PM. MOTION: Olson moved, seconded by Shrikhande, to accept the 2010 Annual Report and the 2011 Goals and Work Plan as amended. Motion carried 5-0. B. Upcoming City Projects and Development—Project Profile Herron said she did not send out the Project Profile this month. One new item is the parking lot expansion on Flying Cloud Drive south of the Super Valu site. Olson said he would be interested in seeing what the requirements are, especially the infiltration requirements. Herron said it met code requirements. C. Ideas for Life in the Prairie Newsletter D. Website Content IX. NEW BUSINESS X. INFORMATIONAL MATERIALS/HANDOUTS Conservation Commission Minutes December 14, 2010 Page 9 XI. UPCOMING EVENTS XII. NEXT MEETING A. Tuesday,January 11, 2011 Jester said she will contact the Freshwater Society. Shrikhande said he will contact Ms Stovring about the Environmental Times deadline. Shrikhande asked Ms Herron to email him the schedule for the Tree Huggers Club. Herron noted the joint meeting with the Parks Commission will be held on the Conservation Commission meeting night in August. XIII. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Olson moved, seconded by MacMillan, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 5-0. Chair Jester adjourned the meeting at 9:00 PM.