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Sustainability Commission - 10/10/2023APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 10, 2023 7:00 P.M., Heritage Rooms 1&2 8080 Mitchell Road COMMISSION MEMBERS: Aaron Poock (Chair), Laura Bishop, Tim Conners, Gretchen Enninga, Cindy Hoffman, Moussa Ousmane, Carolyn Wieland, Michelle Frost, Jim Nehl STUDENT COMMISSION MEMBERS: Rylee Brazil, Sophie Cain, Lucy Dowdal-Osborn, Alyssa Ehler, Lalitha Gunturi, Roshan Gurumurthy, Isaac Hepper, Sabreen Khanikar, Pranav Narayanan, Kate Ropchak, Lilli Timpe, Keerti Tumu CITY STAFF: Jennifer Fierce, Sustainability Coordinator, Kristin Harley, Recording Secretary I. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Chair Poock called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. Absent was Commissioner Bishop and Student Commissioners Brazil, Cain, Ehler, Gunturi, Hepper, Narayanan, Ropchak, and Tumu. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND OTHER ITEMS OF BUSINESS MOTION: Conners moved, seconded by Nehl to approve the agenda. MOTION CARRIED 8-0. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM AUGUST 8, 2023 MEETING MOTION: Nehl moved, seconded by Conners to approve the minutes from the August 8, 2023 meeting. MOTION CARRIED 8-0. IV. REPORTS A. REPORTS FROM STAFF 1. STUDENT INTRODUCTIONS Sustainability Commission Minutes October 10, 2023 Page 2 Commissions members and new student commissions introduced themselves to each other and noted their interests in participating in the Sustainability Commission. 2. SUSTAINABLE EDEN PRAIRIE AWARD SELECTION Fierce provided an overview of the nominations for this year’s Sustainable Eden Prairie Award. Commissioners and student commissioners were given an online tool to vote for their preferred winner in each category. Nehl asked if a winner is required in each category or if write-in candidates are acceptable. Discussion amongst the commission followed. Conners inquired to the group if an overall winner would make sense. Commissioners voted to give the energy award to SunOpta, landscape to Rustic Hills Garden Co., water to Lori Tritz, and waste to Dick Rawlings. Fierce outlined the student’s role in the award presentation at the City Council meeting in November. 3. EV SHOWCASE RECAP Fierce asked the group to provide feedback on the EV Showcase from September and how the event should be approached in the future. Nehl was happy with participation and the questions from attendees. Conners asked if any dealerships participated. Tesla provided six test drives for attendees. Poock noted he thought it was slightly busier last year. Frost felt that she had a steady stream of people at her vehicle for 3/4ths of the event. Hoffman asked if perhaps cutting an hour off the event would make sense. She also noted to add a flag or signage outside the park next year. Wieland asked if the Electrify Everything booth saw a lot of traffic, which it did. Poock noted the potential to partner with Scheels next year and host it in their parking lot to increase traffic. He also noted it is closer to more MF housing for access. The group discussed the potential to move the event to Sustainability Commission Minutes October 10, 2023 Page 3 the mall and were open to the idea. They also recommended cutting the event to two hours and cutting the food truck due to the shortened time. B. REPORTS FROM CHAIR Chair Poock welcomed the students once again. He also noted he was at Crestwood Park recently and noticed two different residents were out picking up trash in the park on their own. C. REPORTS FROM COMMISSION Nehl asked about student projects and the timeline to introduce them to the concept. The group agreed to discuss student projects at the next meeting. Nehl also invited the student commissioners to participate with Friends of EP Parks to help clear invasive species from parks. Frost asked about the upcoming Electrify Everything MN Workshop. Conners commented on availability of food waste toolkits for schools. D. REPORTS FROM STUDENTS No reports from students. V. OTHER BUSINESS None. VI. UPCOMING EVENTS • Saturday, October 28 – Electrify Everything MN Workshop VII. NEXT MEETING Next Sustainability Commission meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 14, 2023 VIII. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Nehl moved, seconded by Enninga to adjourn the meeting. MOTION CARRIED 8-0. The meeting was adjourned at 8:22 p.m.