HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-11-19 PacketMinutes of the Regular Meeting of the
Energy and Environment Commission
Edina City Hall Community Room
Wednesday, November 19, 2008.
Members In Attendance and Roll Call:
Raymond O'Connell, M. Germana Paterlini, Bill Sierks, Surya Iyer, Julie Risser,
Dianne Plunkett Latham, Paul Thompson, Hailey Lee, John Owens
Absent:
Visitors: Steve Christianson, 5224 Duncraig Rd.; Kevin Bigalke, 9 Mile
Creek Watershed; Bob Kojetin, 9 Mile Creek Watershed; Geoff Nash, 9 Mile
Creek Watershed; Richard Griffith, resident.
Staff Present:
Heather Worthington
Solvei Wilmot
Welcome & Roll Call
2. Approval of September, 2008, Meeting Minutes
Approved, with changes as directed to staff.
4. Public Comment
None
5. Three Rivers Trail Project
Kevin Bigalke, the Watershed District Administrator, reported on the project
to date, and the process that the WD uses to move such projects forward.
He told the Commission that the WD uses a petition process with cities, and
the Board of Directors determines whether to accept the petition. Typically,
they will accept the petition because they have already been working with
the City in question. They will then begin to identify easements, which the
City will negotiate and pay for. After 75 to 90% of the engineers report is
complete, they will conduct public hearings on the project. The project will
then go through a soil and water review at the State, and then hold a final
public hearing to order the improvements. Mr. Bigalke pointed out that
stream bank erosion, turbidity of the water, and chlorides in the water are
some of the water quality issues addressed in the stream bank
improvements.
Commissioner O'Connell made a motion to support the petition, and
recommend it to the City Council for passage, seconded by Latham.
Unanimous approval.
6. Working group reports
Commissioner Risser reported that a Water Quality Working Group has
been formed. Risser will chair the WQWG. Motion by Sierks to establish
Water Quality Working Group, seconded by Latham. Unanimous
approval.
Recycling and Solid Waste Workinq Group:
Commissioner Latham reported on the SSO Ordinance. The revisions will
be sent to the RSWG for review, and forwarded back to the City Council in
2009. The RSWG has a work session with the City Council on December
2nd to review the executive summary of the draft RFP for recycling services.
She then reviewed the RFP talking points with the Commission. Chair Iyer
reported on a town in Massachusetts that recycles everything—with virtually
no solid waste stream. They have increased their recycling participation
rate tenfold. Commissioner Latham referenced the Recycle Bank program
(which is apparently similar to the program that they instituted in MA), and
said that it required single -stream recycling. In Edina, the pilot program for
single -stream did not produce a significant increase in recycling
participation. There were also questions about residual rates of waste in the
recycling stream.
Climate Change Workinq Group
Commissioner Paterlini reported. The CDP submittal is completed. They
now want to review sprinkler systems, the energy code, water volume and
usage for 2008, tiered water rates, and "no idling" restrictions.
Education and Outreach Work Group
Commissioner Thompson reported. The Green Holiday Event will be tabled
for the time being, and reviewed prior to the 2009 holiday season to
determine how best to implement that project. They are working on some
additional education material to be sent out to residents in the near future.
He also reported on the Youth Environmental Activists -15 schools that
Edina hosted recently. They discussed individual school projects, and wrote
letters to President -Elect Barack Obama asking him to engage in policy
changes around environmental issues.
They will plan several Spring workshops around lawn care, tool sharing and
"greening" equipment used in home care/lawn care.
Commissioner O'Connell shared information related to the installation of
major electric transmission lines throughout Wisconsin.
6. Commission Business
Motion by Sierks, second by Latham, to recommend that the City Council
sign the Blueprint. Unanimous approval.
Commission asked that Worthington draft a resolution for the December 2nd
City Council meeting declaring the week of 12/8/08 "Local Climate Action
Week".
CDP Submission:
Motion by Commissioner Owens to submit the CDP paperwork, seconded
by Sierks. Unanimous approval.
Metro CERTS Membership:
Motion by Paterlini to approve the Metro CERTS affiliate Group Survey,
seconded by Owens. Unanimous approval.
Commissioner Risser updated the Commission on variances for wetland
setbacks. The language in the ordinance is adequate, but needs more
language regarding compliance, buffer -zone requirements, and other issues
as recommended by Planning staff. The City Attorney did not recommend
environmental impact fees due to statutory difficulties in enforcing those
fees. The Commission referred the issue to the Water Quality WG and
Planning Commission for ordinance amendments. Commissioner Risser is
also researching driveway ordinances.
Commissioner Paterlini requested more information on MHFA/Dept. of
Commerce programs on weatherization of homes. Commissioner Sierks
will send information he may have, and Worthington will review e-mails to
see if she has any information.
For the next meeting, Commissioners asked Worthington to bring back a
recommendation for a facilitator to work with the Commission to draft the
ICLEI work plan, and a full accounting of budget year to date and applicable
costs related to the MPCA grant.
For the January meeting, it was suggested that the Commission try to meet
with State legislators.
8. Staff Report
9. Adjournment
Meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Heather Worthington, Secretary
EDINA PUBLIC MEETING PROCEDURES
During "Public Hearings" the Chair will ask for public comment after City staff members make
their presentations. If you wish to speak on the topic, you are welcome to do so as long as your
comments are relevant to the discussion. To ensure fairness to all speakers and to allow the
efficient conduct of a public hearing, speakers must observe the following guidelines:
Individuals must limit their presentations to three minutes or less. The Chair will modify
presentation times, as deemed necessary.
Try not to repeat remarks or points of view made by prior speakers and limit comments to
the matter under consideration.
In order to maintain a comfortable environment for all those in attendance, the use of
signs, clapping, cheering or booing or any other form of verbal or nonverbal
communication is not allowed.
During "Public Comments," the Chair will ask to hear from those in attendance who would like to
speak about something not on tonight's agenda. Individuals must limit their presentations to three
minutes and cannot speak to an issue for which a public hearing was previously held and closed
within the last thirty days or a matter scheduled for a future hearing on a specific date,
Individuals should not expect the Chair or Commission to respond to their comments. Instead, the
Commission might direct the matter to staff for consideration at a future meeting.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT COMMISSION
AGENDA FOR MEETING
November 19, 2008, 6:45 PM — 8:45 PM
1) Welcome, Call to Order, and Roll Call (2 min)
2) Discussion and Approval of Agenda and Agenda times (3 min)
3) Public Comment (15 min)
1. 9 -mile watershed district
4) Discussion and Approval of October Meeting Minutes (5 min)
5) Committee Updates and Discussion
1. RSWG Update (10 min)
2. CCWG Update (10 min)
3. EOWG Update (10 min)
4. Chairperson Update (10 min)
6) Commission Business
1. Carbon Disclosure Project — Revision (Approval required) (5 min)
2. Setbacks to bodies of water — Ordinance discussion (10 min)
3. MetroCERTs membership — Decision required (5 min)
4. Edina Housing Authority — Funding for Renewable Energy? (15 min)
5. Budget / Vision / Facilitator discussion — Follow-up (10 min)
7) Staff Report (10 min)
8) Adjourn
The City of Edina wants all residents to be comfortable being part of the public process. If you
need assistance in the way of hearing amplification, an interpreter, large -print documents or
something else, please call 952-927-8861 72 hours in advance of the meeting.
Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the
Energy and Environment Commission
Edina City Hall Community Room
Wednesday, October 15, 2008.
Members In Attendance and Roll Call:
Raymond O'Connell, M. Germana Paterlini, Bill Sierks, Surya Iyer, Julie Risser,
Dianne Plunkett Latham, Paul Thompson, Hailey Lee
Absent:
Staff Present:
Heather Worthington
1. Welcome & Roll Call
2. Approval of September, 2008, Meeting Minutes
Approved.
4. Public Comment
Sean Gosiewski, Alliance for Sustainability:
Sean Gosiewski from the Alliance for Sustainability made a brief presentation
regarding the Alliance's work on transit, bike access, open spaces, and
increased outreach to suburban communities around issues of sustainability.
He suggested a "summit" with adjacent cities in the near future. On March 18,
2009, the Alliance will hold a large meeting, with follow-up in smaller group
discussion sometime in April or May. Chair Iyer noted that Commissioner
Owens has been designated as the Commission's liaison with adjacent
communities, and that a meeting has been scheduled with Minnetonka.
Commissioner Paterlini is also working with the City of Northfield to schedule a
meeting. Mr. Gosiewski suggested that on March 18th, 2009, the City's staff
could be involved in a day -time training event, and have commissioners join the
group for an evening session will all participants. He noted that the Alliance
partnered with the League of Minnesota Cities and the Minnesota Pollution
Control Agency last year. He also told the Commission that the next Natural
Step classes would be on October 30 and November 6. He invited
Commissioners to attend those classes, and noted interest in a class aimed at
staff in 2009. Mr. Gosiewski also infofined the Commission of work the Alliance
is doing around coordination of bike lanes/pathways utilizing the "Cyclopath"
wiki online tool. Chair Iyer asked Mr. Gosiewski to prepare a proposal for
training, outlining the Commission's role and how it will match the ICLEI goals,
and see if it can engage the community in the upcoming workshops.
Michael Seaman, Higlands Elementary School:
Michael Seaman, a teacher at Highlands Elementary School, explained his
classes grant proposal in the amount of $20,000 for the installation of a vertical
axis wind turbine at Highlands. His class has been working on the project for
the past four years. He is now seeking the School Board's support for the
installation of a vertical axis wind'turbine on the roof of the school. Students
would use the turbine for study and data collection. The Class recently
received a grant from the Edina Education Fund to purchase a weather station.
The turbine was invented by an Edina resident, Jim Ellis. This installation
would be the prototype. Chair Iyer suggested that Mr. Seaman work offline with
students in the Project Earth group at Edina High School, and report back to
the Commission in the future.
5. Work Group Updates
Recycling and Solid Waste Working Group:
Commissioner Latham reported. Commissioners will participate in a joint
workshop with the City Council on December 2 from 5:00-7:00 p.m. in the
Community Room at City Hall. The Working Group will meet at 7:00 p.m.
after the work session. They will release the next draft after that meeting.
By December 17th, the RSWG will finalize the RFP and then meet with the
haulers. The WG has now toured the three MERFs in the metro area, and
have gathered more information about how recycling and waste is
separated in dual stream facilities.
Climate Change Working Group
Commissioner Paterlini reported. The WG has been finalizing the CDP
disclosure. This document is focused on city operations, and contains "city -
only" data. She asked the Commission to approve the CDP disclosure
document. Chair Iyer asked that Commissioners review and reply to
Commissioner Paterlini with issues or corrections by Thursday evening (10-
16-08). Motion by O'Connell, second Thompson, to approve CDP
disclosure conditionally. Unanimous Approval.
Education and Outreach Work Group
Commissioner Thompson reported. The Energy Workshop was a great
success. He commended the Communications staff for their work in taping
the event, and conducting interviews. He said that the publicity was very
good. Their next work will be on the "Green Holiday Project", an effort to
educate the public about "greening your holidays" through better insulation,
conservation of energy, use of greener technology. He asked the
Commission about potentially inviting stores in Edina to make presentations;
engage the Holiday House Tour in highlighting energy saving
decorations/approaches; having a presence at large events through the end
of the year; finding a "mascot" to help promote the Commission's Education
and Outreach work. Commissioner O'Connell suggested having open
houses in the City's park buildings. Commissioner Thompson also reported
that Jennifer Bennerotte, the City's Communications and Marketing Director,
suggested that the Commission do a PSA to promote energy conservation.
6. Commission Business
Allocation of grant funds:
The Commission discussed next steps in.fulfilling the objectives and goals
of the grant from the MPCA.
They identified the following action items:
Work more closely with Project Earth group
Establish a document that highlights goals and objectives through ICLEI and
CDP documents
Hire a facilitator to guide the Commission ,through the process of setting
goals and objectives
Consider a May -term project for students at Edina High School
Consider covering students under City's liability insurance for activities
involving volunteerism
Engage the three "legs of the stool": Chamber, Schools and Faith
Community; arrange conferences with all entities, including service clubs,
etc...
The Commission directed Worthington to bring back the
Commission's financial standing and link that financial data back to
the MPCA grant so that they have a sense of how much they've spent,
and which goals have been met.
8. Staff Report
Worthington showed a recent PSA developed by the City to educate
residents about water conservation.
9. Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Heather Worthington, Secretary
Affiliate Group Survey
Name of Organization/Group: Edina Energy Commission
First Contact: Surya Iyer Email: r.survanarayanan.iver(iDj�ynlail.com Phone:
Second Contact: Bill Sierks Email: wsierks@comcast.net Phone: 952 829 5683
In order to begin working with your organization, the Metro CERTs Network finds it useful
to know where your organization stands in terns of project planning, project implementation,
and project completion. This initial survey is just a starting point for our team to determine
where Metro CERTs can be most useful. Each project, affiliate group, and process is
different, so if some of these questions do not apply feel free to leave them blank. Thank you
for becoming a Metro CERTs Affiliate, we look forward to working with you!
1. Please provide a brief description of your group (i.e. number of people involved; are
members residents of a lock, neighborhood, or other?; how long has the roup been
together and what is your organizationaUleadership structure?)
The Energy & Environment Commission was established in April 2007 to help the City stay on the
forefront of issues of sustainability. Duties of the commission include:
• Examining and recommending best practices for energy conservation for Edina's residents and
businesses, including recommendations for a "green" building code, use of Energy Star
appliances and other energy -reduction targets.
• Examining and recommending changes in City purchases and operations to conserve energy.
• Evaluating and monitoring the provision of a residential recycling program.
• Evaluating and monitoring the provision of a privately provided solid waste program, as well as
a reduction in municipal solid wastes.
• Evaluating and encouraging improvements in air and water quality.
• Educating the public about energy issues, reduction, conservation, reuse, recycling and
environmental protection.
The nine -member commission includes Chairman Surya Iyer, Dianne Plunkett Latham, Ian
Nelson, Raymond O'Connell, John Owens, M. Germana Paterlini, Julie Risser, Bill Sierks and
Paul Thompson.
2. What prompted your group to organize itself to work with CERTs?
Our Commission structure and operations are determined by City Code. Within that existing
structure, our Commission has been actively exploring opportunities to assist our efforts to
achieve the goals and objectives that have been established by the City. Our Commission is very
interested in the opportunity to network with similar community groups, particularly other local
commissions that are addressing global warming and clean energy. We are interested in
collaboration and connecting our efforts with technical resources, as well as identifying other
resources to help our effectiveness.
3. How did you find out about CERTs?
Ongoing activities by several Commission members made us aware of the Metro CERTs.
4. Why are you interested in CERTs?
See Response to Question 2.
S. What are your goals in working with CERTs?
Our City has joined ICLEI and signed the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. The
City is also one of 21 US cities to join the international Climate Disclosure Project. We are
very close to completion of Milestone 1 of the five-step ICLEI process by determining the
City's carbon footprint. We are very interested in identifying additional partnerships,
technical and financial resources, and other assistance to help us achieve the next phase, i.e.,
developing and implementing actions to reduce GHG emissions. We are also interested in
working with other CERTs partners to promote sustainability concepts in our community.
6. Does your group/organization currently have an energy project idea? If so, what is it?
Can you measure the success of your project upon completion? How?
At this time, the Commission has not developed a specific energy project. We are very
interested in exploring the feasibility of solar PV, solar thermal, geothermal, community
wind, or similar renewable energy project. Our city is also working with the Regional
Council of Mayors on a 34 -city project to identify city buildings that offer significant
opportunities for saving energy. We have made contact with the Edina Chamber of
Commerce and the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce Energy Smart project and are
interested in helping our smaller businesses save energy. In addition, we have contacted
several cities, including Northfield, Minnetonka, and Bloomington, to express our interest
in working with them on reducing GHG.
7. What stage of project implementation would you say your group/organization is
currently in?
We are completing work on the City's carbon footprint, and will now turn our efforts to
the next ICLEI milestones — developing GHG reduction timetable and plan, and
implementing actions to reduce GHG emissions. We have not developed plans for
specific projects at this time.
8. What resources are you seeking from CERTs (i.e. technical resources,
organizational advice, funding information, project templates, project ideas, training)
We are hoping to access CERTs resources, such as technical assistance, networking with
other municipal efforts, helping us in our efforts to educate and reach our residential and
business community, and similar efforts.
9. What kind of events would you like CERTs to provide (i.e. networking sessions,
guest speakers for particular group meetings/events, workshops)?
We would like to work with CERTs on community events and workshops, and also on
networking with other municipalities to develop regional energy efficiency and renewable
energy projects.
10. What would you like to see Metro CERTs help you do within the next year?
See answers to questions 7, 8 and 9.
11. Does your organization/group currently know the carbon footprint of the area you will
be focusing on?
Yes. As a member of the CDP, the City's carbon footprint will be reported through the
CDP website.
12. Additional comments or questions.
We are looking forward to working with Metro CERTs.
Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the
Energy and Environment Commission
Edina City Hall Community Room
Wednesday, October 15, 2008.
Members In Attendance and Roll Call:
Raymond O'Connell, M. Germana Paterlini, Bill Sierks, Surya Iyer, Julie Risser,
Dianne Plunkett Latham, Paul Thompson, Hailey Lee, John Owens.
Absent:
Staff Present:
Heather Worthington
1. Welcome & Roll Call
2. Approval of September, 2008, Meeting Minutes
Approved.
4. Public Comment
Sean Gosiewski, Alliance for Sustainability:
Sean Gosiewski from the Alliance for Sustainability made a brief presentation
regarding the Alliance's work on transit, bike access, open spaces, and
increased outreach to suburban communities around issues of sustainability.
He suggested a "summit" with adjacent cities in the near future. On March 18,
2009, the Alliance will hold a large meeting, with follow-up in smaller group
discussion sometime in April or May. Chair Iyer noted that Commissioner
Owens has been designated as the Commission's liaison with adjacent
communities, and that a meeting has been scheduled with Minnetonka.
Commissioner Paterlini is also working with the City of Northfield to schedule a
meeting. Mr. Gosiewski suggested that on March 18th, 2009, the City's staff
could be involved in a day -time training event, and have commissioners join the
group for an evening session will all participants. He noted that the Alliance
partnered with the League of Minnesota Cities and the Minnesota Pollution
Control Agency last year. He also told the Commission that the next Natural
Step classes would be on October 30 and November 6. He invited
Commissioners to attend those classes, and noted interest in a class aimed at
staff in 2009. Mr. Gosiewski also informed the Commission of work the Alliance
is doing around coordination of bike lanes/pathways utilizing the "Cyclopath"
wiki online tool. Chair Iyer asked Mr. Gosiewski to prepare a proposal for
training, outlining the Commission's role and how it will match the ICLEI goals,
and see if it can engage the community in the upcoming workshops.
Michael Seaman, Highlands Elementary School:
Michael Seaman, a teacher at Highlands Elementary School, explained his
classes grant proposal in the amount of $20,000 for the installation of a vertical
axis wind turbine at Highlands. His class has been working on the project for
the past four years. He is now seeking the School Board's support for the
installation of a vertical axis wind turbine on the roof of the school. Students
would use the turbine for study and data collection. The Class recently
received a grant from the Edina Education Fund to purchase a weather station.
The turbine was invented by an Edina resident, Jim Ellis. If this project went
through, a prototype turbine would be built for the installation. There is no
prototype at this time. Chair Iyer suggested that Mr. Seaman work offline with
students in the Project Earth group at Edina High School, and report back to
the Commission in the future.
5. Work Group Updates
Recycling and Solid Waste Working Group:
Commissioner Latham reported. Commissioners will participate in a joint
workshop with the City Council on December 2 from 5:00-7:00 p.m. in the
Community Room at City Hall. The Working Group will meet at 7:00 p.m.
after the work session. They will release the next draft after that meeting.
By December 17th, the RSWG will finalize the RFP and then meet with the
haulers. The WG has now toured the three MRFs (Materials Recovery
Facility) in the metro area, and have gathered more information about how
recycling and waste is separated in dual stream facilities.
Climate Change Working Group
Commissioner Paterlini reported. The WG has been finalizing the CDP
disclosure. This document is focused on city operations, and contains "city -
only" data. She asked the Commission to approve the CDP disclosure
document. Chair Iyer asked that Commissioners review and reply to
Commissioner Paterlini with issues or corrections by Thursday evening (10-
16-08). Motion by O'Connell, second Thompson, to approve CDP
disclosure conditionally. Unanimous Approval.
Education and Outreach Work Group
Commissioner Thompson reported. The Energy Workshop was a great
success. He commended the Communications staff for their work in taping
the event, and conducting interviews. He said that the publicity was very
good. Their next work will be on the "Green Holiday Project", an effort to
educate the public about "greening your holidays" through better insulation,
conservation of energy, use of greener technology. He asked the
Commission about potentially inviting stores in Edina to make presentations;
engage the Holiday House Tour in highlighting energy saving
decorations/approaches; having a presence at large events through the end
of the year; finding a "mascot" to help promote the Commission's Education
and Outreach work. Commissioner O'Connell suggested having open
houses in the City's park buildings. Commissioner Thompson also reported
that Jennifer Bennerotte, the City's Communications and Marketing Director,
suggested that the Commission do a PSA to promote energy conservation.
6. Commission Business
Allocation of grant funds:
The Commission discussed next steps in fulfilling the objectives and goals
of the grant from the MPCA.
They identified the following action items:
Work more closely with Project Earth group
Establish a document that highlights goals and objectives through ICLEI and
CDP documents
Hire a facilitator to guide the Commission through the process of setting
goals and objectives
Consider a May -term project for students at Edina High School
Consider covering students under City's liability insurance for activities
involving volunteerism
Engage the three "legs of the stool": Chamber, Schools and Faith
Community; arrange conferences with all entities, including service clubs,
etc...
The Commission directed Worthington to bring back the
Commission's financial standing and link that financial data back to
the MPCA grant so that they have a sense of how much they've spent,
and which goals have been met.
8. Staff Report
Worthington showed a recent PSA developed by the City to educate
residents about water conservation.
9. Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Heather Worthington, Secretary