Loading...
2025-8 AgendaSUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION Regular Meeting Agenda Thursday, August 28th, 2025, 7:00 pm Heredia Room, City Hall Commission Members Staff/Others Liaisons Amanda Kueper, Adam Burnside, Craig Heinen, Katy Boone, Chris Danner, Alexa Wozniak Rachel Lindholm (Sustainability Coordinator) Zachary McCarty (Solid Waste Specialist) Michelle Leonard (Commuter Services) Rori Coleman-Woods (City Council) Hayley Tompkins (CSC) 1. Call to Order 2. Approval of Minutes/Agenda  Regular Meeting Minutes: June 26, 2025 3. Public Comment  Any resident comment and items not printed on the agenda 4. Staff Reports (Lindholm, McCarty)  General updates: Solar on Public Buildings, SolSmart, County Resilience  Solid Waste updates: • Winter clothing swap: Sat. September 13th, 2-4:15; Pre-drop at farmers market from 7-12 • Pumpkin smash: Sat. November 8th, 9:30-12 • Unity in the Community recap • Fix-it hub overview • Twin Cities Marathon volunteering 5. Discussion Items  Workplan Updates/Questions 6. Action Items  None 7. Committee Reports  Community Services Commission (CSC) (Tompkins) 8. Next Meeting Thursday, September 25th, 2025, 7:00 pm Bartholomew Room, City Hall 9. Adjournment REGULAR SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION MEETING Thursday, June 26, 2025 Heredia Room, City Hall PRESENT COMMISSIONERS: Amanda Kueper, Craig Heinen, Helen Burk, Chris Danner, Katy Boone, Alexa Wozniak, Adam Burnside STAFF: Rachel Lindholm (Sustainability Coordinator), Zach McCarty (Solid Waste Specialist) LIAISONS: Hayley Tompkins (CSC), Rori Coleman-Woods (City Council) ABSENT Call to Order Kueper called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm. Approval of Minutes/Agenda Burnside motioned, Heinen seconded, approved by all. Public Comment None Staff Reports Lindholm and McCarty reported. • City council has accepted state grant funding and authorized staff to award contracts for the Solar on Public Buildings project. Some gap-filling funding has also been received from Hennepin County. City would pay about $5K each for two sites. • The City is assessing the potential impacts of federal funding changes which could affect certain capital projects like WLNC. Details are being finalized as part of the congressional spending bill. • Winter clothing swap (all ages) is officially scheduled – Sat. Sep 13th from 2-4:15 pm at Veteran’s Park. Hennepin County is supporting with some resources and volunteers. Community members are welcome to volunteer; if interested, contact McCarty. • Pumpkin Smash is officially scheduled – Sat. Nov 8th, 9:30-12. Volunteers welcome as well. • Unity in the Community – Thurs Aug 14th 3-7pm. Volunteers welcome to help table. McCarty will send an email to commissioners to follow up on scheduling. • Organics Waste Audit – Generally went well with very low amounts of improperly sorted waste. Volunteers found a few households’ worth of trash, grass clippings, many “biodegradable” takeout containers that are not BPI-certified compostable. On a positive note, they saw a lot fewer non-certified collection bags. Discussion Items Review of Organics Participation Map The commission reviewed and discussed a GIS map prepared by the City showing which residences are participating in curbside organics collection. The group discussed where gaps exist within the City’s participation in organics recycling. Generally, the North side of Richfield under Waste Management has the highest proportion of participants. Southeast Richfield has more gaps, possibly due to having a higher number of rental properties where landlords have not signed up. The commission discussed prioritizing South Richfield when dedicating time to tabling and working to educate landlords about signing up. Richfield is also working to translate its Service Guide for waste collection to better serve residents who primarily speak other languages. June Workplan Items Research action steps to reduce plastic trash and microplastics in Richfield’s land and water (Burnside) The commission discussed the scope of this project and how to best make an impact. Burnside described the MNimize program available to help restaurants try new solutions to reduce single-use waste, but currently only two businesses in Richfield participate. Wozniak suggested more education of restaurant operators may be useful in expanding participation in the program to reduce single- use plastics. The group agreed it is challenging to address such a large problem at the scale of a full city. Burnside mentioned that common items seen during trash pickups include fast food and beverage containers and car parts. The group agreed there are varying reasons for why litter occurs. Kueper suggested adding more public trash receptacles in strategic locations to reduce the likelihood of people littering. Danner also suggested reviewing city processes for cleaning up automobile litter after collisions. Tree canopy protection/replacement/expansion policy Prior research by Kueper found that the city has strong standards for new developments around tree preservation/planting, but some questions remain about the leeway provided to developers for removing “significant” trees. Lindholm will follow up with more details DRAFT MINUTES UNTIL APPROVED BY THE COMMISSION from city code. Developers who are unable to replant a sufficient amount of trees to replace those removed must pay into a city fund to be used for planting in public spaces. Lindholm provided some background about the city’s development process. “Significant” trees are not commonly an issue in commercial developments because the existing lots usually have minimal tree cover to begin with. More commonly, legacy trees are found in neighborhoods with single family homes which are usually subject to lower oversight around development. Kueper discussed potential solutions including city policies around tree care and taking more detailed inventory of trees across the city. More research is needed to develop a focus for the project and advise city leadership on a path forward. Committee Reports • Community Services Commission: o Splash pad opens July 1! Next Meeting/Adjournment Next Meeting: Thursday, August 28th, 7:00 pm Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 pm. Danner motioned, Heinen seconded.