2021-3 AgendaSUSTAINBILITY COMMISSION
Regular Meeting Agenda
Thursday, March 25th, 2021, 7:00 pm
Virtual Meeting - WebEx
Commission Members Staff/Others Liaisons
Jeremy Barthels, Laura Durenberger-Grunow, Carolyn
Engeldinger, Amanda Kueper, Kameron Murray, Alyssa
Sanden, Brian Shaw
Amy Markle (Recreation Services Director)
Rachel Lindholm (Sustainability Specialist)
Dr. Eric North (UMN)
Jennifer Teegarden (DNR)
Ben Whalen (City Council)
Jenna Hanson (CSC)
1. Call to Order/Welcome
2. Approval of Minutes/Agenda
Regular Meeting Minutes: February 25th, 2021
3. Public Comment
Any resident comment and items not printed on agenda
4. Staff Reports
Organized Collection (Lindholm, Markle)
Miscellaneous items – commission trainings (Lindholm)
5. Discussion Items
Tree Preservation Policy education (North, Teegarden)
6. Action Items
None
7. Committee Reports
Community Services Commission (CSC) (Hanson)
8. Next Meeting
Thursday, April 22nd, 2021, 7:00 pm
Virtual Meeting held on WebEx
9. Adjournment
REGULAR SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION MEETING
Thursday, February 25, 2021
Held virtually over WebEx
PRESENT
SC: Laura Durenberger-Grunow, Carolyn Engeldinger, Amanda Kueper, Alyssa Sanden, Brian Shaw, Kameron
Murray
STAFF: Rachel Lindholm, Amy Markle
LIAISONS: Ben Whalen (City Council), Jenna Hanson (CSC)
ABSENT Jeremy Barthels
Call to Order
Kueper called the meeting to order at 7:02 pm.
Approval of Minutes/Agenda
Sanden moved to approve the agenda and previous minutes, seconded by Murray. Minutes passed.
Public Comment
Resident Ava McKnight joined the call and expressed interest in seeing a plant sale for Richfield, more alt lawns, more native
species, etc. Lindholm and Markle mentioned many of McKnight’s concerns are already on Richfield’s roadmap, and are things
the city hopes to implement. A plant sale is of interest to the city already, as well as possibly a tree sale. The commissioners
were very happy to have McKnight join the meeting, and welcome public comment any time.
Staff Reports
*Organized Collection (Lindholm, Markle)
City still in negotiations, hopeful to be able to share next month. As a resident, if you received your annual or quarterly trash bill,
you should still pay it. If the transition happens before the year or quarter is up, you will get your money back.
*Tree Policy process update (Lindholm, Markle)
Tree experts will be joining the next sustainability commission meeting for an informal conversation/Q&A to share their expertise
and any experience they have working with cities who have created tree preservation policies. Commissioners should plan to
brainstorm some questions to ask the tree experts.
Kueper submitted the letter to council, and there were a couple pieces of feedback, but overall it was very well received.
*Miscellaneous items (Lindholm)
-Hennepin County has put out a survey to learn about residents’ food journey and waste to help provide better resources and
guides. March 1 is the deadline.
-Submitting comments for the county's draft climate action plan are open. If commissioners are able, read and comment or
attend a feedback session.
-Richfield’s diversity, equity, and inclusion workshops for commissioners have been set. Please attend one if you are able.
March 24: at 1:00 p.m., March 25: at 4 p.m., and March 30: at 6 p.m. Each session is approximately two hours. Lindholm wil l
check on if the sessions will be recorded.
Discussion Items
Municipal Solid Waste Goals (Lindholm)
The commission went through the draft document, talked about the target goals, and how Richfield is behind other cities in th is
area.
Sanden, Durenberger-Grunow, and Kueper had questions and comments clarifying certain points. One of Kueper’s comments
suggested rewording one of the targets. Markle reiterated the importance of having an actual educational piece - not just flyers
and social media posts.
Once the document is finalized, it will go to council and then will be posted publicly.
Action Items
Keuper asked for a motion to approve the goals with amendments for the municipal solid waste goals. Sanden motioned, Shaw
seconded. Motion approved by commission unanimously.
DRAFT MINUTES UNTIL APPROVED BY THE SC
Committee Reports
Hanson reported on the CSC’s last meeting, giving an update:
-Rec programming that Richfield is working on for the summer. The pool is planning to be open with precautions.
-Parking lot at Vets Park is going to be redone. Public works will be going out for a bid, and those bids will be coming back within
the next couple of weeks. The project is expected to be done early summer. New picnic tables too!
-50th anniversary of Wood Lake - lots of events planned. A small event in May happening, but a larger group in the fall (safer for
more people to gather).
-Friends of the Arts bandshell festival - Sept 25. Planning and happening.
-Discussion meeting: Wood Lake building. Outdated, not a lot of use right now. Working on ideas on what a new building will
look like, comparing it to other park buildings, etc.
Other/Next Meeting/Adjournment
Next Meeting: Thursday, March 25, 7:00 pm, will be held virtually over WebEx.
Adjournment: Motion to adjourn by Murray , seconded by Sanden. Meeting adjourned by Kueper at 7:57 pm.