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2022-3 AgendaSUSTAIN ABILITY COMMISSION Regular Meeting Agenda Thursday, March 24th, 2022, 7:30 pm Held Virtually on WebEx Commission Members Staff/Others Liaisons Amanda Kueper, Jeremy Barthels, Adam Burnside, Craig Heinen, Logan Thein, Amy Utley, Santwana Dasgupta Rachel Lindholm (Sustainability Specialist) Roxanne Nelson (MN GreenCorps) Ben Whalen (City Council) Jenna Hanson (CSC) 1. Call to Order/Welcome 2. Approval of Minutes/Agenda  Regular Meeting Minutes: February 24th, 2022 3. Public Comment  Any resident comment and items not printed on agenda 4. Staff Reports  Organized Collection (Lindholm)  Partners in Energy (Lindholm)  Earth Day (Lindholm)  Miscellaneous Items (Lindholm) 5. Discussion Items  2022 Workplan Discussion (Kueper, Lindholm) 6. Action Items  None 7. Committee Reports  Community Services Commission (CSC) (Hanson) 8. Next Meeting Thursday, April 28th, 2022, 7:00 pm City Hall, Heredia Room 9. Adjournment JOINT SESSION WITH COMMUNITY SERVICES AND SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION Tuesday, March 15, 2022 Community Center (7000 Nicollet Ave) PRESENT CSC: Kevin Wendt, Heather MacDonald, Brooke Nelson, Jessica Johnson -Kreps, Mike Devane, Jenna Hanson, Tessa Johanson SC: Santwana Dasgupta, Amy Utley, Amanda Kueper CITY STAFF: Amy Markle (Recreation Director), John Evans (Secretary), Chris Link (Dep Public Works Dir), Rachel Lindholm (Sustainability Specialist) COUNCIL: Ben Whalen, Mary Supple ABSENT CSC: David Benson, Ben Marx, Meredith Bruzek, Stephanie Nwaudo OTHERS: Crystal Brakke (school board) SC: Jeremy Barthels, Adam Burnside, Logan Thein, Craig Heinen Call to Order of Joint CSC/SC Session CSC Chair Wendt called the meeting to order at 7:02 pm. Deputy Public Works Director Link presented the City’s Tree Replaceme nt Plan and the variety of species used. Kueper asked about non-native species that are considered invasive; Link said that a few of those species will likely be removed from the list of species purchased by the City. Adjournment The joint CSC/SC session was adjourned by consensus at 7:57 pm. REGULAR SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION MEETING Thursday, February 24th, 2022 Virtual - WebEx PRESENT COMMISSIONERS: Amanda Kueper, Jeremy Barthels, Adam Burnside, Craig Heinen, Logan Thein, Santwana Dasgupta, Amy Utley STAFF: Rachel Lindholm, Roxanne Nelson (MN GreenCorps) LIAISONS: Ben Whalen (City Council), Jenna Hanson (CSC) ABSENT None 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 McKnight shared public comment about the City’s tree list, commenting on non -native trees versus cultivars. She would like the habitat benefit to be considered over the aesthetics, for pollinator health. She also added comments about the importance of keystone species and understory trees. Lindholm said a future forestry presentation from staff during a commission meeting might be beneficial. Staff Reports New Commissioner Introductions Commissioners, liaisons, and staff introduced themselves as this was the first commission meeting all attended. Organized Collection Staff finished SCORE reporting which shares tonnage with the County. Compostable bag distribution is going well and continues at the Community Center (9:30-4:30) and at Public Works (8:30-4:30). Once finished, a draft of the mailer with Hennepin County will be shared with commissioners. Partners in Energy Staff are working on a multi-family building energy efficiency and assessment mailer to be sent to property owners and managers. There have been lighting kits at City Hall for residents, which have been so popular that the entire quantity is al ready gone! Staff have been trying to connect with local organizations, like House of Prayer church to share energy efficiency and reduction info with community members. Commissioners are invited to share suggestions for partners with staff. Other Kueper asked Lindholm for any follow-up information on the previous topic of declaring a climate emergency. Lindholm shared that she would have to ask the chief of police, city attorney, and city manager if it would be ok to use the word “emergency”, and she’d rather only do that if the commission is interested in pursuing this. Kueper said that commissioners could express their interest in pursuing this as a future discussion item. DRAFT MINUTES UNTIL APPROVED BY THE SC DRAFT MINUTES UNTIL APPROVED BY THE SC DRAFT MINUTES UNTIL APPROVED BY THE SC DRAFT MINUTES UNTIL APPROVED BY THE SC Lindholm also mentioned new resources including the State’s Climate Action Plan and the MN Sustainabili ty Index. Links will be sent out after the meeting. Discussion Items Sustainability Fair w/ LWV League of Women Voters members Donna Drummond, Carolyn Engeldinger, and Susan Rosenberg presented the League’s idea of a 2023 Sustainability Fair with various exhibitors who can help community members reduce their carbon footprint. The high school is interested in partnering to host the event. Lindholm will talk to other staff about the City’s ability to part ner officially. Commissioners shared positive feedback and ideas for the event like compiling a guide of information. Commissioners will each compile ideas for potential exhibitors. Dasgupta suggested the idea of a sub-group to work on the fair. 2022 Brainstorming Lindholm shared the previous list of ideas with the new commissioners and shared information on how they relate to existing city goals. For next month’s meeting, commissioners will identify or suggest their own project ideas or preferences from existing ones. Commissioners asked for clarification about the process of commenting on items under the direction of other commissions. Action Items Dasgupta motioned to support the sustainability fair event and Thein seconded it, approved by all. Dasgupta volunteered and then motioned to nominate herself as the new Secretary. Thein seconded, approved by all. Committee Reports Hanson reported on the CSC’s last meeting:  2nd annual ice festival at Taft Lake was well attended – 150 people  Candlelight walk at WLNC  Summer positions are open – with signing bonuses  Summer programming has been sent out in the citywide rec program Other/Next Meeting/Adjournment Next Meeting: Thursday, March 24th, 7:30 pm, Virtual via WebEx. Adjournment: Motion to adjourn by Burnside, seconded by Heinen. Meeting adjourned by Kueper at 8:27 pm.