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HomeMy WebLinkAboutConservation Commission - 10/11/2016 APPROVED MINUTES CONSERVATION COMMISSION TUESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2016 7:00 P.M., CITY CENTER Prairie Rooms A & B 8080 Mitchell Road COMMISSION MEMBERS: Lori Tritz (Chair), Amanda Anderson (Vice Chair), Gena Gerard, Michael Bennett, Ashley Young STUDENT MEMBERS: Hayden Bunn, Emilie Cleveland, Zoe Pettit, Annika Quam STAFF: Beth Novak-Krebs, Planning Division Leslie Stovring, Engineering Heidi Wojahn, Recording Secretary I. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Chair Tritz called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. Anderson was absent. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Bennett moved, seconded by Young, to approve the agenda. Motion carried 4-0. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES MOTION: Bennett moved, seconded by Young, to approve the September 13, 2016 minutes. Motion carried 4-0. IV. REPORTS FROM STAFF A. OPEN HOUSE DEBRIEF Tritz thanked those who helped at the City Wide Open House and asked for feedback. Bennett suggested more lead time for both the March event and future open houses and inquired about results of the quizzes administered at the event. Tritz said Anderson has access to the data. Gerard said the interactive display and tables were a great way to engage attendees of all ages. Going forward, the Conservation Commission (CC) should think about how to approach"no waste, low waste". Although kids like the buttons, they might end up in a landfill. Future ideas should mesh with the City's sustainability goals. Young suggested seed bombs, creations made from mud and compostable paper. They are pollinator-friendly, and kids enjoy getting dirty. CONSERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES October 11, 2016 Page 2 Tritz said kids stop by because of the children's activity, and that is the golden moment in which to make a connection with adults or deliver an impactful message. She agreed the Commission needs to be more strategic about what it does and gives out. Prizes do not have to be big. She liked the interactive family activity of sorting materials. Bennett commented what was most enlightening for attendees was the realization toilet paper and paper towel tubes and egg cartons are not recyclable. People also are not aware food packaging coming into direct contact with food is considered waste. Novak-Krebs said what struck her was parents talking with their children during the activity about what they do at home with their recycling. Gerard stated she liked the available literature while attendees liked the recycling labels for different rooms of the house. They were good talking points and conversation starters with kids. Gerard stated there is new research coming out about tote bags. The time will come when they become a disposable item because people have too many. If in possession of them, they should be used. If not, plastic produce bags should be used as many times as possible before being recycled at the end of their life. Bennett pointed out they are not typically used at shopping malls. Gerard added the excess is due, in part, to businesses using them for marketing. Bennett said the event was a resounding success. Young said the location was ideal. Bunn observed the majority of kid prizes distributed were from adults getting prizes for their kids. Tritz said the prizes need not be expensive. The drawing for the winner of the Patio Furniture prize took place. B. SUMMARY OF 2016 WORK PLAN ACCOMPLISHMENTS Novak-Krebs highlighted some items from the 2016 work plan including a joint meeting between the Parks, Recreation, and Natural Resources Commission and CC, a tour of the water treatment facility, and the Expo, Arbor Day, and Green Fair events. Ongoing items include implementation of the Sustainable Eden Prairie (SEP) initiative, developing continuing education materials, and doing outreach. Novak-Krebs suggested carrying over the water resources update into 2017. Next year's work plan will also include the City's comp plan. Presentations and tours are worthwhile events. She would like to see an effort to do more of them and asked for suggestions. Stovring recommended joint meetings with watershed districts or advisory committees. Nine Mile Creek provides many opportunities for involvement. Gerard suggested engaging the public in tours. General Electric has public events centered on electric vehicles. Tritz mentioned an educational component be added to local bike rides or looking at native landscapes at fire stations and dovetailing efforts with other organizations. Stovring solicited articles for the December newsletter. Commissioners can send her articles one or two paragraphs in length. Tritz said this could be a project option for the student representatives. CONSERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES October 11, 2016 Page 3 Gerard mentioned a new commercial mandate. Commercial property owners of a certain size in Minnesota with four or more cubic yards of trash need to recycle at least three different streams of materials as of January 1. Hennepin County has recycling grants to help businesses set up their systems, including rebates on the first three months of organics. CC can help businesses get connected with those funds. C. BEGIN DISCUSSION OF 2017 WORK PLAN Novak-Krebs asked Commissioners to start thinking ahead to what they would like to accomplish outreach-wise next year. Gerard asked if it was possible to pick new priorities. Novak-Krebs said that is an option. Recommendations coming out of SEP may spur new ideas. Tritz said she still likes the current priorities of pollinators, energy, water, and recycling. They can focus on one or rotate through several, but perhaps the Commission is neglecting something important like air quality or solar power. Gerard suggested aligning priorities with the City's sustainability goals. The guiding framework should be the Commission's chapter for the comp plan. Novak-Krebs explained the City is still in the meeting and organizational stages, but the comp plan and SEP go hand-in-hand, and one may influence the other. The work plan can be modified along the way. Stovring said it helps focus and organize priorities. Stovring said sustainability is what CC wants to do and then get the community involved, whereas the comp plan is more for the City. They are meant to be separate but there will likely be overlapping ideas. Novak-Krebs answered questions about the timeline for the comp plan and SEP. Tritz said much of the CC's role involves engaging in outreach and education which is just the first step. Commissioners should consider what they want to see happen next and what resources are available. Bennett indicated four priorities is a lot. Public events and outreach/education may be all they can handle. It is not reasonable to expect more. Hosting a public event is a good idea to try and they can build on that. Stovring said the Commission will be solicited for input on SEP. Young said the Commission should brainstorm ideas for ways it can assist the City with its sustainability initiatives. Stovring said walking tours, workshop ideas, and looking for opportunities to help with the rebate program would all be ways to accomplish this. Gerard said CC should support the objectives outlined in its purpose statement, public education and advising City Council. Stovring said organics will be a big opportunity. Gerard suggested that be the focal point of the next event. Young said a flyer should be distributed to district students so they can separate organics from food waste at home just as they do at school. Bunn stated that is a good way to reach the next generation. Young asked how to reach other demographics in addition to the Senior Center for older adults. Cleveland suggested churches and CONSERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES October 11, 2016 Page 4 the Community Center. Gerard stated it is important to set the system up before disseminating the message. Bennett asked about the status of organized collection. Gerard said the State is in the process of putting the rules in place. It will dictate the rules to counties which will then communicate mandates to cities. Tritz recommended focusing on the smaller piece of organics rather than tackling all of recycling. Gerard said she preferred to choose a different theme for each event rather than narrowing the focus on one, at least for 2017. Bennett agreed CC should not do the same thing all year. Tritz said she likes the idea of rotating ideas rather than diluting them. Quam said another option is to repeat the same message in multiple locations. Tritz said they could focus on partnerships which support their efforts. Gerard proposed focusing on a different effort each quarter. Tritz approved. Novak-Krebs stated she will prepare a draft plan of the 2017 work plan for the next meeting for further discussion. D. DISCUSS EDUCATION PLAN Stovring explained she wanted to touch base on this year's education plan and what should be done next year aside from the pollinator event and SEP. The following were part of the 2016 plan: quarterly Facebook posts on rotating topics, website updates, Arbor Day, the Expo, and the first Living Green issue. Work on the Fire Station 2 grant is in process and consists of traditional grass with a garden around the flagpole, low-turf fescue-blend grass by the sign for the building, and a native seed mix for two-thirds of the site. Gerard said Facebook posts could be done on each of the four themes for 2017. Tritz agreed. Stovring solicited news to include in Living Green emails. Tritz asked pertinent files be shared with the student representatives. Novak-Krebs will follow up on sending them out. Discussion ensued regarding which topics to feature during the four seasons. Stovring said she needs ideas by the end of the year for planning purposes. Novak-Krebs said as topics for the work plan are discussed, they can see how they fit into the education plan. Leslie discussed topics for fall Facebook posts. Further discussion on monthly topics to highlight took place with Stovring suggesting holiday lights recycling in November and water conservation in December. Gerard said the commercial recycling requirement for businesses fits with fall and is an opportunity for education about the law and how to help with free money. Gerard said Food Too Good to Waste would be an appropriate topic around holiday time. Heating/energy would be good for January. Tritz suggested including information on energy and insulation rebates. Bennett said aligning the posts with home energy audits from utility companies would be ideal. Gerard departed at 8:33 p.m. CONSERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES October 11, 2016 Page 5 V. REPORTS FROM CHAIR VI. REPORTS FROM COMMISSION A. 2016 EDUCATIONAL PRESENTATION ON RECYCLING - Michael Bennett stated one of the reasons recycling exists is because we have too much. Big box stores and online shopping have created excess packaging and waste, and consumers are put in the position of having to determine the correct waste stream for materials. Residents can take action by not buying more than needed and by talking to retailers about excess packaging. One reason for the excess packaging is to deter theft. Older generations often burned everything which caused air pollution, or they dumped their waste in a ravine or gully and covered it up with dirt. Recycling, however, been around for a long time, at least as far back as World War II when patriots saved materials for war efforts. A new recycling effort started with the first Earth Day in the 1970s. Despite this, there are still some who are resistant to recycling. Bennett shared an article from such an individual who claims recycling is not economical and doesn't help the environment—there is plenty of space for landfills and future generations can mine them for energy. Separate recycling trucks further complicates matters. Putting something in a recycling bin at home isn't helping unless consumers look for and purchase products made from recycled and with recyclable content. Bennett identified several items and explained which were recyclable, partially recyclable, or trash. Food products like salad dressing should not be dumped down the drain, but rather put in the trash with material around it for absorption. The garbage disposal should be used on a limited basis because food contents get into the waste water treatment plant where the solids are skimmed off and placed into a landfill. The best thing to do if uncertain is to ask a knowledgeable source. Cans and plastic containers should be rinsed first. For glass jars,plastic lids should be tossed in the trash and metal lids should be recycled separately. VII. REPORTS FROM STUDENTS VIII. CONTINUING BUSINESS B. REVIEW AND DISCUSS THE POLLINATOR DISPLAY Tritz said a three-panel format is being used to display graphics for the pollinator event. The first panel will present the problem, the second main panel is for solutions, and the final panel is how Eden Prairie can provide support. Ideas for the third panel and feedback on the middle panel are needed. Stovring said she is working on a pollinator pledge with the mayor which could be included. She reviewed the talking points of the pledge and said they can pick eight to focus on to include in the display. CONSERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES October 11, 2016 Page 6 Tritz suggested pointing out Eden Prairie is a pollinator-friendly city. They can list locations where visitors can see this in action. They can take the pledge and be provided with suggestions on how to participate, and they can be given information on resources and rebates for transforming yards into native plant gardens. Tritz said she will finalize things with Stovring and have the finished product ready for next month's meeting. Novak-Krebs will include it on the agenda. Bennett encouraged distribution of seed packets. Stovring said she will ask art center personnel to coordinate creation of the mud seed bombs. They can also create a pollinator identification quiz, have a place where people can take pictures of pollinators and native plants and upload them, and provide education on providing habitat and how to dispose of poisons. IX. UPCOMING EVENTS Home, Landscape and Garden Expo —March 18, 2017 X. NEXT MEETING This item was discussed out of order following Item IV. D. An alternate meeting date for November was discussed due to a conflict with election day. The next CC meeting will be Tuesday, November 15, 2016, 7 p.m. at City Center, Prairie Rooms A & B. XI. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Bennett moved, seconded by Young, to adjourn. Motion carried 3-0. Chair Tritz adjourned the meeting at 9:06 p.m.