2024-10 AgendaSUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION
Regular Meeting Agenda
Thursday, October 24th, 2024, 7:00 pm
Bartholomew Room, City Hall
Commission Members Staff/Others Liaisons
Amanda Kueper, Adam Burnside, Craig Heinen,
Matthew Dobratz, Helen Burk, Amanda McKnight
Rachel Lindholm (Sustainability Coordinator)
Zachary McCarty (Solid Waste Specialist)
Ben Whalen (City Council)
Kris Anderson (CSC)
1. Call to Order/Welcome
2. Approval of Minutes/Agenda
Regular Meeting Minutes: September 26, 2024
3. Public Comment
Any resident comment and items not printed on the agenda
4. Staff Reports (Lindholm, McCarty)
Communications Campaign
Hennepin County Community Zero Waste Grant
5. Discussion Items
City Bella Sustainability Presentation (Pat Brezonik)
Finalize details for curbside organics sign-up effort at Pumpkin Smash (Kueper, McCarty)
Quick round robin: any workplan updates Commissioners wish to share or questions for the group on
a workplan item? (Kueper)
6. Action Items
None
7. Committee Reports
Community Services Commission (CSC) (Anderson)
8. Next Meeting
Thursday, November 21st, 2024, 7:00 pm
Heredia Room, City Hall
9. Adjournment
REGULAR SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION MEETING
Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024
Babcock Room, City Hall
PRESENT
COMMISSIONERS: Amanda Kueper, Adam Burnside, Amanda McKnight, Craig Heinen, Student Commissioner Helen Burk
STAFF: Rachel Lindholm (Sustainability Coordinator), Katie Rodriguez (City Manager)
LIAISONS: Kris Anderson (CSC)
ABSENT Matt Dobratz (Commissioner), Ben Whalen (City Council)
Call to Order
Kueper called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m.
Approval of Minutes/Agenda
Heinen motioned, Burnside seconded, approved by all.
Public Comment
No public comments.
Staff Reports
City Manager Katie Rodriguez gave a presentation about the three Parks and Recreation projects on the November ballot: a new
building and ADA upgrades at Wood Lake Nature Center, a new Community Center, and upgrades to Veterans Park amenities and
buildings. The three ballot measures will ask residents if they want to approve a .5% local sales tax to help fund these init iatives. Voters
can visit www.ourlegacyourfuture.org to learn more about the referendum.
Sustainability Coordinator Lindholm reported:
● She created a web page on the City website for Inflation Reduction Act resources for residents
● Pumpkin Smash is planned for Nov. 2 - this is an event for recycling pumpkins for compost after Halloween instead of letting
them rot on the front stoop or putting them in the trash. Burnside and Kueper, along with a local resident in attendance,
volunteered to be at the event to help people sign up for curbside organics service.
● Staff have been reviewing the logo drafts for the Sustainability Communication campaign. Lindholm showed the drafts to
commissioners to weigh in on.
Discussion Items
2024 Work Plan
Burnside presented some information about action steps to reduce plastic trash and microplastics in Richfield’s land and wate r. Some
options that were discussed:
- Ask council to impose a 5-cent cost for plastic bags
- Encourage recycling with the 5-cent bottle deposit
- Do an educational campaign about reducing plastic usage and plastic trash
- Burnside asked Commissioners where do we go from here to have the biggest impact, particularly when so many of the impactful
measures happen at the state and federal level
- America Recycles Day is November 15, so that could work for an opportunity to promote recycling plastics (suggested by Lindholm)
- How could we help connect local businesses to the MNimize program?
Lindholm provided an update from Code Enforcement and Environmental Health about the fowl code revisions.
- Need to finalize a few more things, but the draft copy has been redlined and is being reviewed by legal
- There are some technicalities being worked out around the public nuisance portion of the code
- Lindholm is hoping the new code will be approved and effective by January 2025
- The code increases the amount of fowl residents can own from three to six and establishes a permitting system for fowl/birds
Action Items
No action items.
Committee Reports
Kris Anderson reports there is a total park inventory going on to audit every building and asset. That will help with the lon g-term plan for
replacing amenities. The City got a $500,000 federal grant to take out and replace Ash trees near Washington and Roosevelt Pa rks.
Around 500 trees will be planted to replace what’s being removed (per Lindholm). Anderson also reports the CSC is talking abo ut a
communication plan for parks maintenance and other park updates.
Other/Next Meeting/Adjournment
Next Meeting: Thursday, Oct. 24, 7:00 p.m. in the Babcock Room.
Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 8:28 p.m.
DRAFT MINUTES UNTIL APPROVED BY THE COMMISSION