Loading...
8-27-2020 MinutesRICHFIELD COMMUNITY SERVICES ADVISORY COMMISSION DRAFT MINUTES UNTIL APPROVED BY THE SC REGULAR SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION MEETING Thursday, August 27h, 2020 Held virtually over WebEx PRESENT COMMISSIONERS: Laura Durenberger-Grunow, Carolyn Engeldinger, Amanda Kueper, Alyssa Sanden, Jeremy Barthels, Brian Shaw, Kameron Murray STAFF: Rachel Lindholm, Chris Link LIAISONS: Heather MacDonald (CSC) ABSENT STAFF: Amy Markle LIASIONS: Ben Whalen (City Council) </w:t></w:r></w:p></w:t Call to Order Kueper called the meeting to order at 7:04 pm. Approval of Minutes/Agenda Engeldinger moved to approve the agenda and previous minutes, seconded by Shaw, approved by all. Public Comment None Staff Reports Reminders Lindholm reviewed open volunteering and engagement opportunities, including Home Energy Squad virtual audits, the Community Builds at Madison and Washington Parks, and the tree planting opportunity at Donaldson Park. The 2nd shift at the Tree Trust event runs until 7 PM so the September commission meeting might be delayed a half hour if needed. Secretary Volunteering/Rotation Lindholm asked for a commissioner to volunteer to take minutes as the secretary; Durenberger-Grunow volunteered. Discussion Items Partners in Energy (PiE) Lindholm gave a brief overview of the program and the small kick-off meeting city staff and Chair Kueper attended. Lindholm asked for volunteers from the commission to serve on the energy action team, as well as suggestions from commissioners regarding businesses that might be interested in participating in the planning process. She will send out more information via email to help commissioners understand what is needed and explain more about the process and program. Climate Action Plan Feedback General Feedback - Sanden inquired about the timeline (5 years?). Lindholm explained that this current draft will be cut down to create a more specific 5 year work plan with more manageable initiatives. - Shaw asked who has looked at the CAP and who’s been involved in creating it in terms of staff. Lindholm said that the respective departments or staff positions related to each goal or action have been involved in the creation of actions and language used. She also noted that while the city attorney has not read the plan, it is not a legally binding document. Any code ordinance changes would go through the established revision process. - Murray said he appreciated the flow of the plan, from general to individual actions. - Kueper asked if GreenStep Cities could be explained at the beginning. Additionally, she suggested using Word’s accessibility features for screen readers. Goal 1 - Shaw asked if actions 1.2.4 and 1.2.5 need to be in the opposite order for chronological purposes. Lindholm explained that the two actions are not sequentially related so the order doesn’t matter. Shaw also mentioned that he would like to see more safety measures for biking in the city (lights, etc) as he has been cut off by drivers while biking. - Barthels noted that actions 1.1.3 and 1.1.4 focus on business energy usage; he would like more language about residential energy efficiency. Lindholm explained action 1.1.1 will focus a lot on residential efficiency, and she will revise the language to reflect that. - Engeldinger asked why Richfield’s VMT is higher and where the data comes from. Lindholm explains what Regional Indicators Initiative is and why Richfield’s location and size could contribute to higher mileage. Goal 2 - Sanden mentioned that installing solar residentially is expensive and asked about the possibility of grant money or financing. Lindholm said that financing resources will be shared along with information about tax incentives. - Barthels said that action 2.1.3 needs to address solar education as well; he thinks there’s a lot of fear around residential solar. - Kueper asked to add an equity element around “accessibility and affordability” to action 2.1.1. Goal 3 - Shaw wondered about the cost to developers to make construction plans EV ready and solar ready and asked if it would be passed to residents. Lindholm explained that this action was suggested in part by the Community Development director and previous developments have already been asked to make certain projects EV ready so asking for the plans to reflect this doesn’t cost residents. Goal 4 - Kueper wanted to add another action to protect mature/legacy trees. Link asked how she defines legacy tree. Kueper said any tree that’s been here for longer than Richfield has been a city. She also asked what the city can do on private properties. Link suggested expanding the program that can assess removal costs to property taxes. - McDonald asked if we have any dedicated city staff for tree efforts and can we have a tree lottery, potentially at fall farmers markets. Link explained the role of Joe Clarke, city forester, and that they’ve have been thinking of starting an annual tree sale. - Durenberger-Grunow brought up converting residential land to natural landscaping, including education on fertilizer needed to maintain traditional lawns. Lindholm and Link also explained why raingardens aren’t allowed per Kueper’s written comment. Goal 5 - Kueper asked about the possibility of the city having a yard waste collection site and finished compost site. Lindholm said that unfortunately, the city doesn’t have adequate space or staff for this. Kueper added that it is usually a county initiative. Goal 6 - Durenberger-Grunow questioned the purpose of action 6.2.4 as the commission has already talked about food deserts in Richfield. Lindholm explained that while the group has more generally talked about areas in the city without nearby grocery stores, this action will provide quantifiable data about how big those areas are, the size of the population in them, and more demographic data. - Sanden wondered how a home CSA would fall under the actions in this goal (community gardens or otherwise). Lindholm said it would fall more under promoting CSAs in general since it’s a private space and not an active community garden. - Barthels suggested having a website that highlights individuals that are already doing sustainable actions. - Durenberger-Grunow mentioned the Richfield Garden Facebook page as a partner group. - Kueper asked about reviewing code in general and a land assessment for places to establish gardens. Lindholm explained that assessing and revising all related code isn’t the most manageable project due to the length of the process and all of the related steps. However, certain sections will be reviewed and amended and more can be looked at in the future. - McDonald suggested using the Arboretum for resources as the CAP is implemented. Action Items Motion to recommend the Climate Action Plan with proposed edits to the City Council in September. Motioned by Murray, seconded by Engeldinger, approved by all. Committee Reports MacDonald reported on the CSC’s last meeting, giving an update on the Recreation Department’s recent projects (inclusive playground at Augsburg Park, tree planting, free bikes for kids, arena refrigeration project is complete). Other/Next Meeting/Adjournment Next Meeting: <Thursday, September 24th, 7:00 pm (unless otherwise notified), will be held virtually over WebEx. Adjournment: < Motion to adjourn by Engeldinger, seconded by Sanden. Meeting adjourned by Kueper at 8:29 pm.