Commission Minutes Sept 2022RICHFIELD COMMUNITY SERVICES ADVISORY COMMISSION
DRAFT MINUTES UNTIL APPROVED BY THE SC
REGULAR SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION MEETING
Thursday, September 22, 2022
Heredia Room, City Hall
PRESENT
COMMISSIONERS: Logan Thein, Amanda Kueper, Craig Heinen, Jeremy Barthels, Adam Burnside
STAFF: Rachel Lindholm
LIAISONS: Jenna Hanson (CSC)
ABSENT
Ben Whalen (City Council), Amy Utley, Santwana Dasgupta
Call to Order
Kueper called the meeting to order at 7:02 pm.
Approval of Minutes/Agenda
Burnside moved to approve the agenda and previous minutes, seconded by Barthels, approved by all.
Public Comment
Ava Tamis shared a link about tree seedling inventory. Rachel will send it in the commissioner recap email.
Staff Reports
Organized Collection
The recycling commodity study will happen in October. Route samples will be analyzed to calculate percentages of each commodity – cardboard, aluminum, glass bottles etc. – and this will
be used to determine the amount of credit residents get back for recycling.
This week compostable bags have been offered to those who still have not received bags, and next week, all remaining bags will be opened for everyone to come and collect. The bags are
available at the Community Center.
Partners in Energy
The campaign to promote Windsource for resident renewable energy efforts has started. Thein and Whalen have been promoted on social media and a news release was drafted too. On September
24th, at the Richfield Farmer’s Market, all energy will be powered by Windsource. There will be a table with information and giveaways, including HES visits and a CEE staff member tabling
with city staff.
Community Gardens
The first open house was held on Tuesday. Attendees asked about the style of accessible boxes – ground vs table, chemical usage, park placement, and more. The second open house will
be held onsite at Veterans Park on October 4th from 5-6:30. Attendees should meet at the pavilion.
Miscellaneous
Lindholm discussed the application process for commissioners whose terms are ending soon.
Discussion Items
Resident Sustainability Digital Guide
Barthels asked commissioners to sign up as SMEs or provide recommendations to fill out the form by the November meeting. Then a timeline for creating the content will be decided, with
a goal of finalizing the entire guide for launch around Earth Day 2023. Lindholm will provide relevant staff contacts so commissioners know who they can reach out to for assistance if
needed.
Tree Planting Recommendations
Kueper led a discussion about recommendations from the commission to council and staff re: trees planted in public areas. Burnside suggested “pollinator trees”. Thein brought up the
points of heartiness/stability. Kueper mentioned native trees as well as climate adaptive trees, expanding the region that is considered “native”. She also mentioned adding language
around avoiding invasives, even those considered invasive in other areas of the country. Commissioners discussed the ash trees removed at Christian around the playground. Kueper suggested
options for balancing fast-growing shade trees as well as long-term larger trees that grow slower. She also suggested creating a fund so residents could contribute towards planting more
trees in public spaces.
Action Items
None
Committee Reports
Hanson gave a CSC report on the summer attendance for Rec programming, the ARPA projects, bike and skate park project progress, and the proposed local options sales tax project.
Other/Next Meeting/Adjournment
Next Meeting: <Thursday, October 27, 2022
Adjournment: < Motion to adjourn by Heinen, seconded by Thein. Meeting adjourned by Kueper at 8:25pm.