2025-9 AgendaSUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION
Regular Meeting Agenda
Thursday, September 25th, 2025, 7:00 pm
Bartholomew Room, City Hall
Commission Members Staff/Others Liaisons
Amanda Kueper, Adam Burnside, Craig Heinen, Katy
Boone, Chris Danner, Alexa Wozniak, Rose Thompson
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: August 28, 2025
3. Public Comment
Any resident comment and items not printed on the agenda
4. Staff Reports (Lindholm, McCarty)
General updates: CAP update, SolSmart certification
Solid Waste updates:
Winter clothing swap recap
Upcoming events:
• Pumpkin smash
• Tentative plans for February swap event
New city code for multifamily recycling overview
WLNC deconstruction recap
5. Discussion Items
Commuter Services presentation (Leonard)
Workplan discussion items, as needed
6. Action Items
None
7. Committee Reports
Community Services Commission (CSC) (Tompkins)
8. Next Meeting
Thursday, October 23rd, 2025, 7:00 pm
Bartholomew Room, City Hall
9. Adjournment
Call to Order
Approval of Minutes/Agenda
Public Comment
Staff Reports
Discussion Items
Action Items
Committee Reports
DRAFT MINUTES UNTIL APPROVED BY THE COMMISSION
REGULAR SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION MEETING
Thursday, August 28, 2025
Heredia Room, City Hall
COMMISSIONERS: Amanda Kueper, Adam Burnside, Craig Heinen, Chris Danner, Katy Boone, Alexa Wozniak
STAFF: Rachel Lindholm (Sustainability Coordinator), Zach McCarty (Solid Waste Specialist)
LIAISONS: Hayley Tompkins (CSC), Rori Coleman-Woods (City Council)
ABSENT Tompkins, Coleman-Woods
Heinen called the meeting to order at 7:02 pm.
Boone motioned, Wozniak seconded, approved by all.
None
Lindholm and McCarty reported:
• Solar on public buildings – the solar array on top of the Public Works building is completely installed, just not connected to grid yet.
Richfield Ice Arena’s solar array will be installed in October. Both projects continue to be on track to comply with federal timelines.
• SolSmart – City webpage is created and Rachel has finished documents to submit to the org for a Silver Award.
• Hennepin County has been convening regional city staff for dialogue on the topic of climate resilience. Richfield, for example, shared
our Parks & Recreation policy related to air quality and cancellation of events.
• Solid waste updates – city has “enough” volunteers for the upcoming events below but more are always encouraged:
o Winter clothing swap – Sat Sept 13th, 2-4:15p, pre-drop at farmers market from 7-12
o Pumpkin smash – Sat Nov 8th, 9:30-12
o Unity in the Community – Rainy but went well. Some changes anticipated to materials used for events, esp. for youth.
o Starting Nov. 12, the Bartholomew Room at City Hall will host county-organized “fix-it hubs” with volunteers assisting community members with repairs. Looking for local volunteers – contact Zach McCarty if interested.
o Twin Cities Marathon is recruiting “Green Team” volunteers to assist with waste sorting – Oct 4th and 5th.
Urban Wildland Half Marathon went smoothly with the introduction of reusable cups. Only 18 out of ~3,000 were
lost! Other waste from the event was minimal.
New Youth Commissioner
A Richfield High School student will be joining in September as a youth commissioner. The group discussed continuing school outreach to
continue building awareness in the fall/winter.
Workplan Updates
• Richfield HS Clothing Drive – Wozniak and Lindholm will reconnect on events that would be good for promoting in the fall.
• Condo/Apt Building Outreach – Danner still getting started on his work. Boone has connected with some condo buildings with mixed
success reaching the right people – not easy to find the right person. Here are some issues she learned about:
o Buildings reported getting fined for contamination in recycling/compost
o One building does not have yard waste pickup and has been using landfill for this
o Some buildings looking at EV chargers and upgrades to make them happen
o One building contact asked if city could provide free bags for organics recycling (we already do)
o More advanced buildings have created committees and resident ownership of waste streams. Giving away compost buckets,
refrigerator magnets. Education around compostable bags. Special collections for difficult-to-handle waste. Partnership with
Trex to collect plastic bags to receive a free bench.
• Tree Health Awareness – Kueper to contact city arborist to plan another event in the fall (farmer’s market).
o Kueper and Lindholm discussed how there may still be some action items related to city tree preservation policy, though further
exploration is needed related to legal risk, given ongoing litigation in other Twin Cities suburbs.
• Curbside Organics Awareness – Commission has tabled at multiple events this year so far; next will be pumpkin smash in Nov.
o City pursuing additional funding/assistance for organics outreach – McCarty to keep us updated.
There will be a remembrance gathering for Santwana Dasgupta on Aug. 30, 10a-1p at Oak Grove Lutheran Church for anyone who might be
interested in attending.
None
Salvage crews (Better Futures MN) have been on-site at WLNC to salvage fixtures and deconstruct parts of the building.
Next Meeting/Adjournment
Construction/demolition at WLNC starts after Labor Day.
Next Meeting: Thursday, September 25, 7:00 pm
Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 8:05 pm