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2021-6 AgendaSUSTAINBILITY COMMISSION Regular Meeting Agenda Thursday, June 24th, 2021, 7:00 pm City Hall, Heredia Room Commission Members Staff/Others Liaisons Jeremy Barthels, Laura Durenberger-Grunow, Carolyn Engeldinger, Amanda Kueper, Kameron Murray, Alyssa Sanden, Brian Shaw Rachel Lindholm (Sustainability Specialist) Neil Ruhland (Communications and Engagement Manager) Deirdre Coleman (PiE) Ben Whalen (City Council) Jenna Hanson (CSC) 1. Call to Order/Welcome 2. Approval of Minutes/Agenda  Regular Meeting Minutes: May 27th, 2021 3. Public Comment  Any resident comment and items not printed on agenda 4. Staff Reports  Discriminatory Covenants and the Just Deeds Project (Ruhland)  Organized Collection (Lindholm)  Other (Organics Drop-off, UWHM volunteering, WLNC volunteering) (Lindholm) 5. Discussion Items  Partners in Energy (Lindholm, Coleman) 6. Action Items  Motion to recommend the Energy Action Plan to City Council (Lindholm) 7. Committee Reports  Community Services Commission (CSC) (Hanson) 8. Next Meeting Thursday, August 26th, 2021, 7:00 pm Heredia Room at City Hall 9. Adjournment REGULAR SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION MEETING Thursday, May 27, 2021 Held virtually over WebEx PRESENT COMMISSIONERS: Laura Durenberger-Grunow, Carolyn Engeldinger, Amanda Kueper, Alyssa Sanden, Brian Shaw, Kameron Murray STAFF: Rachel Lindholm, Amy Markle LIAISONS: Ben Whalen (City Council) ABSENT Jeremy Barthels & Jenna Hanson Call to Order Kueper called the meeting to order at 7:02 pm. Approval of Minutes/Agenda Shaw moved to approve the agenda and previous minutes, seconded by Sanden, approved by all. Public Comment Kathleen Balaban - bringing awareness of noxious fumes, microplastics, laundry emissions, etc. Would like clean air codes. Concern about clear cutting trees and brush. Heather MacDonald - Richfield lawn ordinance is currently 6”. She would like the City and Commission to support no mow May. Kueper mentioned that many residents were excited about no mow May, but are getting citations. Would like to see the commission submit something to council to halt citations for next May. Staff Reports Addressing public comment from last meeting (Lindholm): Talked with enviro health and community development staff to understand the conversation that had been happening. The city can’t dictate what people use to wash, and can’t force laundromats to put fi lters on machines or air flow. Richfield does not license laundromats like restaurants that emit food odor. Current regulations only cover food odor. Organized collection (Lindholm): Listening session only lasted an hour. It was a good mix of people in favor, and people addressing concerns. Public hearing is June 1st - in person meeting. After the public hearing, council will be voting on June 8. Sandberg asked how we can explain why council is not allowing this to be a public vote? Lindholm responded that legally the City Council is limited to what they can arbitrarily put on a ballot, and organized collection is not one of the exceptio ns. St. Paul and Bloomington residents went through the legal process to get it put on the ballot. If residents want t o do so, options are highlighted in the City Charter. Augsburg Trees & Accessible Playground (Markle): Augsburg is a community park, not the same as a neighborhood park. The playground is an universally inclusive playground. The design of the playground did incorporate the trees, because it wanted to allow people who normally wouldn’t be able to play around trees to be able to do so. Public works staff, Forestry staff, and an outside arborist have been consulted, as has the playground vendor to both have an inclusive playground and protect the trees. It was stated that no trees would be cut for this project. The vendor was able to meet the requirement. There were two ash trees that were cut, however they have emerald ash borer and weren’t eligible for tr eatment. The project is not an either/or...so, not just the playground OR the trees, it’s a project to encompass both. Kueper asked if there was any criteria the city is using to treat the oaks? Markle replied that they realize it’s not a perfe ct time for the oaks, but due to grants to put the playground in, it has to be done before the end of June. There will be an arborist coming throughout the summer to monitor for oak wilt. DRAFT MINUTES UNTIL APPROVED BY THE SC Discussion Items Volunteer proposal (Shaw) Wood Lake has a lot of invasive species, and has lost a lot of volunteers due to COVID. There are lots of volunteering opportunities to do and promote that emphasize caring about the environment and trees. There is not only invasive removal, but also planting options. Kueper asked if there was an existing avenue to get involved? Shaw mentioned you can talk with either of the naturalists about volunteer opportunities. They also have a new manager who is interested in getting the community more involved. Sanden and Kueper voiced their support of the idea, and wanted to put together an event as a group. Partners in Energy (Lindholm) Document coming together. The Commission will review and have the option to ask questions at the next meeting. Safe Routes to School (Whalen) Safe routes to school is a program that encourages kids to bike to school instead of bussing. If the commission is interested, we could potentially partner with the org to set up a day in Richfield. Free Bikes for Kids (Markle) Saturday, June 26, at Taft Park - the city is partnering with the organization to give kids 150 bikes and helmets. Action Items None Committee Reports Community Services Commission (CSC) (Markle) -COVID impacts: summer looking a bit more normal. Almost all programs will be outdoors - some senior programs may be an exception. -Pool will be open -Summer camps at Wood Lake and bandshell will all be open -Masks will not be required -Wood Lake, Community Center, and Municipal Center will be opening on Monday. Staff will be wearing masks, and the public is encouraged to do so as well. -Playground proposals have been scored for Christensen and Freemont Park. -Wood Lake building project - preliminary proposals and building design. Architect is HGA. Sustainability measures are important. -Just Deeds program - systemic racism with housing covenants. Many parks have a covenant, including Wood Lake Nature Center. An action item will be happening to get rid of those. -Pool improvement plan - pool will be 60 this summer - it’s the original one! A new pool liner needs to be installed. -Several members of the Wood Lake board were reappointed Other/Next Meeting/Adjournment Next Meeting: Thursday, June 24, 7:00 pm, will be held in person (state law mandates). Option for a call -in for public comment. Adjournment: Motion to adjourn by Engeldinger, seconded by Shaw. Meeting adjourned by Kueper at 8:11 pm.