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HomeMy WebLinkAboutConservation Commission - 01/10/2017 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE CONSERVATION COMMISSION MEETING TUESDAY,JANUARY 10, 2017 5:30 PM—CITY CENTER Prairie Rooms A&B 8080 Mitchell Road COMMISSION MEMBERS: Lori Tritz (Chair), Amanda Anderson (Vice Chair), Gena Gerard, Michael Bennett, Ashley Young CITY STAFF: Senior Planner Beth Novak-Krebs, Planning Division, Leslie Stovring, Engineering, Kristin Harley, Recording Secretary STUDENT MEMBERS: Hayden Bunn, Emilie Cleveland, Zoe Pettit, Annika Quam I. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Chair Tritz called the meeting to order at 6:54 p.m. Commission Member Gerard was absent. Student Members Cleveland and Pettit were absent. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND OTHER ITEMS OF BUSINESS MOTION: Anderson moved, seconded by Bennett, to approve the agenda and other items of business. Motion carried 4-0. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES MOTION: Bennett moved, seconded by Anderson, to approve the December 20, 2016 Minutes as presented. Motion carried 4-0. IV. REPORTS A. REPORTS FROM STAFF 1. Website Review The Commission discussed potential improvements to the Living Green webpage and potential changes to other pages in the Eden Prairie website. Chair Tritz stated that the goals she envisioned for the website went beyond redesign (Phase I) to also make the site more engaging, in which the public could find information more readily and be a place where the community (residents, businesses, and schools) could connect(Phase II). The website should present a"unified message" and take input from the community, and also allow for calculators, games and quizzes, a chat portal, and other interactive elements. She distributed her suggested changes and encouraged the zero footprint concept, now a logo, to ultimately be a program of the city. Quam suggested a"conservation rebate calculator," and Bunn suggested that the commission investigate using existing online tools rather than take on the task of developing them. Stovring stated that the Communications Department preferred"water use" over"residential water use," and"solid waste and recycling" over "recycling" as suggested by Tritz's changes. Quam suggested having a clear events page with a calendaring function, and having solutions available on the same topical pages. Stovring emphasized that since the poster panels were completed, she needed the commission's suggested changes during this meeting. She added that the Communications Department needed to review and approve the changes. The commission also looked at the Garbage and Recycling, and Recycling Guide pages. Discussion followed on the goal of having organics recycling in Eden Prairie and the possibility of having either a drop off site as in Carver County, or a pickup service. Stovring stated that she was working on an RFP and did not have specific direction on a pilot project for organics. Another method toward this end was food waste reduction. Bennett noted that he had suggested a survey of those participating in recycling; however, residents would have to self-report, as others were not allowed to look into private bins. Anderson agreed that more had to be done to recommend eliminating waste upstream, and added that she would have more to say on this during her presentation. Quam suggested that the Contact Us page for the commission be updated. Stovring noted that Novak-Krebs was listed as the contact for the Commission, but that the members listing need to be brought current. Discussion followed on the 20-40-15 Initiative, which belonged on the Energy page, since the public was not aware that this was an energy initiative. Novak-Krebs stated that once the initiative was completed there would be more news to put on the website. Tritz stated that there would be an opportunity to engage the public once the team was formed. The commission brainstormed energy initiatives: solar panels on Community Center [Stovring], an energy tour [Tritz], and announcements to highlight what is already being done [Quam]. Tritz suggested that the commission needed to build up the pollinator piece, perhaps by announcing events on the community calendar, updating the page quarterly and inviting discussion, and especially inviting the public to the next commission meeting for the presentation by the "bee person." Stovring stated that the city did track"hits" on the website and usually saw upticks after March and July. Regarding the Recycling Flyer, Stovring stated that Hennepin County has deemed both toilet paper tubes and paper towel tubes as recyclable; Eureka and Waste Management both readily take them, whereas Republic will reluctantly accept them. 2. Review RFP for the City to hire a consultant to study ways to make the Solid Waste, Recycling, and Organics Program more efficient Stovring stated that she used Bloomington's RFP as a guide and that a draft was sent out to staff. The RFP included looking at organics, possible ordinance changes, a communications plan, recycling solid waste, food waste reduction, backyard composting, and incentive programs. The result would include two presentations to the commission, one at the beginning of the work, one at its end to finalize a plan, and also one public open house informational meeting, one workshop with solid waste licensing, one presentation to City Council, and a public workshop toward the end. Tritz requested that this information go on the website, and Stovring agreed. Discussion followed again on the feasibility of a summer organics drop off program similar to Carver County's, or drop off of other wastes streams, versus a pickup program. Pickup was less likely and would involve a multi-weekend effort, but the consultant hired could look at options. This could also impact current and future regulations. There were also cost implications, unknown staffing needs, as well as a schedule, plan components, city code revision, data collection tools, and (as stated earlier) a communication plan for delivering results to the public. Stovring suggested that the city could start with a drop off/pickup program for unique waste streams, such as fluorescents, electronics, etc. It depended on how much the commissions and the city wanted to take on. Anderson suggested and Stovring agreed for the commission to table this discussion until after Anderson's presentation on regrettable substitutions. After Anderson's presentation, she asked what the trucks needed for the benefit of picking up Eden Prairie's food waste would cost, what the environmental impacts of the carbon loading from those trucks would be, and suggested that the program could result in a loss. Such a program could possibly put more toxins into the environment rather than having residents drop them off via cars. Anderson added that she would love to see systems design thinking on the part of the commission. Stovring replied that Anderson's presentation gave her ideas for the RFP, including incorporating cultural issues. B. REPORTS FROM CHAIR 1. Discuss brochure that will complement the pollinator display Tritz announced that the brochure was completed, and thanked the other members for their suggested changes. Discussion followed on offering other handouts, such as the 12-page pollinator handout from the Department of Agriculture ("Insect Pollinator Best Management Practices for Minnesota Yards and Gardens") and the handouts offered by the Xerxes Society. Stovring also suggested reusing the list of links from last year's event. Bennett suggested a button in the news section of the website for links from displays, and Stovring replied that she would ensure they are on the Living Green Related Links page, as well as on individual pages ("Related Information"),hopefully by March, 2017. C. REPORTS FROM COMMISSION 1. Commission Member Anderson: Presentation on Regrettable Substitutions Anderson, a holder of a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources and Environmental Science, with a minor in Forest Resources from the University of Minnesota, and in the process of completing a Master of Business Administration in Management Sciences, with a minor in Sustalnability at Yale University, presented to the commission. She subtitled her presentation as "Doing the right thing, wrong," in which a proposed solution may be no less destructive than the problem being addressed. She gave the examples of BPA (Bisphenol A) being replaced by BPS (Bisphenol S), an endocrine disrupter, and subsequently banned in baby bottles for potentially affecting the immune system despite being a substitute for BPA. [Special note: there have been no longitudinal studies in this and therefore studies cannot specifically point to BPA/BPS as an individual cause of endocrine disorders.] Another"solution," PLA (Polylatic Acid), a biodegradable plastic, is made from fermented corn to form the same kind of polymers as other plastics. It uses very little petroleum in the intake process, yet uses fossil fuels in the processing (fermentation, fertilization, etc.). Plant-based vs. petroleum-based plastic are in fact not very different in their petroleum footprint. There is comparable eutrophication between PLA-L (Polylactic acid) and PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate), and eutrophication creates oxygen poor"dead zones" along shorelines. However, PLA does degrade, whereas most plastics do not. In short, one must consider energy consumption and waste lifecycle when deciding upon a solution, and remember that environmental impacts can occur at each stage in its production, impacts that can be non-intuitive (such as aluminum being light and infinitely recyclable but has a larger global warming impact than plastic, whereas soda glass—which is the most inert—has the largest global warming impact, and PET plastic has the least). Solutions must involve possible ecological loops, recycling, and reusing, and consider refrigeration, hauling methods, etc. Takeaways Anderson listed were: always consider the total life cycle, try not to swap the "devil you know" with the"devil you don't know," and realize that the lowest impact solution isn't always the intuitive one. Anderson concluded by noting that the influence that this commission and this city could have pales in comparison to the impacts that business could make. D. REPORTS FROM STUDENTS Quam volunteered to help design one of the pollinator website pages as her final project. Bunn also volunteered for this. V. OTHER BUSINESS A. 2016 EDUCATION PLAN Stovring handed out the updated plan and asked the commission to submit further suggestions. A community education workshop was set for April, 2017, to which the Master Gardeners were invited. The bee lab guide and rebate program was moved from February to March, 2017. The tour of the LEED site was set for October, 2017. The visit to the Nine Mile Watershed District was set for August, and the visit to a recycling center was set for July. VI. UPCOMING EVENTS The Home and Garden Expo will be held on March 18, 2017 from 9:00 a.m. —3:00 p.m. Activities will include a button maker, a survey, the "where's the bee" child look-and- point discovery activity, the bee house example, the "spot the poison" activity for adults (including Dawn soap, cayenne, and garlic), and small prizes such as wildflower seeds and bags. Available to work the event are 5 commission members and whatever students wish to attend. Stovring volunteered to check on staff s availability. The commission agreed to focus on the schedule at the next meeting. The Arbor Day Green Fair will be held on May 6, 2017. VII. NEXT MEETING The next CC meeting will be Tuesday, February 14, 2017, 7 p.m. at City Center, Prairie Rooms A & B. VIII. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Bennett moved, seconded by Anderson, to adjourn. Motion carried 4-0. Chair Tritz adjourned the meeting at 9:12 p.m.