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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-08-13 EEC MinutesAgenda Energy and Environment Commission City Of Edina, Minnesota VIRTUAL MEETING Members of the public can observe the meeting by watching the live stream on YouTube at youtube.com/edinatv or by listening in by calling toll free 1-415-655-0001 with Access code: 133 789 4533. Thursday, August 13, 2020 7:00 PM I.Call To Order Chair Jackson called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm. II.Roll Call Answering roll call were Chair Jackson and Commissioners Dakane, Horan, Hussain, Lanzas, Manser, Martinez-Salgado, Martinez, Satterlee, and Seeley. Absent: Student Commissioner Maynor III.Approval Of Meeting Agenda Motion by Melissa Seeley to Approve August 13, 2020, Meeting Agenda. Seconded by Bayardo Lanzas. Motion Carried. IV.Approval Of Meeting Minutes A.Minutes: Energy and Environment Commission, July 9, 2020 Motion by Michelle Horan to Approve July 9, 2020 Minutes. Seconded by Hilda Martinez Salgado. Motion Carried. V.Special Recognitions And Presentations A.Sustainability in Engineering Engineering Director Millner discussed the reorganization of Sustainability in the Engineering Department. Commissioner Martinez Salgado asked about the time frame of starting the Climate Action Plan based on hiring and training a new Sustainability Coordinator and urged Director Millner to make the Climate Action Plan a priority in the hiring process. Chair Jackson thanked Director Millner and furthered Commissioner Martinez Salgado's point that the Climate Action Plan's timeline is important to the Commission. B.Annual Water Resources Coordinator's Report Staff Liaison Wilson presented the Annual Water Resources Coordinator's Report. VI.Community Comment Chair Jackson invited the community to comment. Staff Liaison Wilson said there were no public comments or callers at this time. During "Community Comment," the Board/Commission will invite residents to share relevant issues or concerns. Individuals must limit their comments to three minutes. The Chair may limit the number of speakers on the same issue in the interest of time and topic. Generally speaking, items that are elsewhere on tonight's agenda may not be addressed during Community Comment. Individuals should not expect the Chair or Board/Commission Members to respond to their comments tonight. Instead, the Board/Commission might refer the matter to staff for consideration at a future meeting. VII.Reports/Recommendations A.2020 Work Plan progress report Staff Liaison Wilson presented an overview of each initiative in the progress report. B.Initiative 2: Education Events Commissioner Lanzas updated that Initiative 2 with Education Events. Chair Jackson added that a booth has been set up at the Farmer's Market. Commissioner Lanzas confirmed he will follow up and start finding volunteers. Staff Liason Wilson mentioned that the Open Streets on 50th event has been cancelled and that the Farmer's Markets are the only options left before they close for the season on September 24th. C.Initiative 5: PARC Initiative Feedback Chair Jackson presented a draft memo to share with the PARC and received comments from Commissioners. D.Chair and Vice Chair Elections Chair Jackson thanked the Commission for allowing her to serve as the Chair and opened the floor for new nominations. She nominated Commissioner Martinez Salgado for Chair. Commissioner Satterlee explained the benefits and experiences of Vice-Chair. Chair Jackson opened the floor for Vice-Chair nominations and was nominated. The floor was opened for votes. Hilda Martinez Salgado was elected as Chair and Carolyn Jackson was elected as Vice-Chair. Motion by Paul Hussain to Elect Hilda Martinez Salgado as Chair and Elect Carolyn Jackson as Vice Chair. Seconded by Ukasha Dakane. Motion Carried. E.2021 Work Plan Development Staff Liaison Wilson presented a spreadsheet on the work plan development and each Commissioner's priority rankings for each. Staff Liaison Wilson refined the priority list based on Commission comments and committed to bringing a formatted list of initiatives to be considered at the September meeting. The Chair will be invited to share the proposed work plan with the Council at their October 6th work session. Commission work plans will be approved in December and implemented in January of 2021. VIII.Chair And Member Comments A.Working Group Minutes B.Green Business Recognition Program Working Group Update Commissioner Horan gave an update about The Galleria Shopping Center, which has been awarded Gold recognition. A process is being considered for how to resubmit business applications without re-doing it so businesses can be recognized for the next year. C.Climate Action Plan Committee Update Chair Martinez Salgado gave an update about the Climate Action Plan Committee. The group reviewed Climate Action Plan work for cities similar to Edina. Recommendations of what can be improved were included in the priority list and will be beneficial for the Climate Action Plan Task Force. Commissioner Satterlee suggested adding researching ways to establish carbon neutrality to the proposed work plan. Vice-Chair Jackson thanked Chair Martinez Salgado for her work. Chair Martinez Salgado highlighted Commissioner Lauren Satterlee's previous research. IX.Staff Comments A.Energy Benchmarking Update Staff Liaison Wilson gave an update that 68% of buildings subject to the energy bench-marking ordinance have submitted their information. The remainder are actively working to submit their applications. Edina has the highest compliance rate out of energy coalition cities, such as St. Paul and St. Louis Park. B.Organics Recycling Update Staff Liaison Wilson reported that 97 tons of organic recycling were collected in July. There is a goal to collect 100 tons per month. She reported cross-contamination rates are extremely low and that the hauler has said that organic loads from Edina are the cleanest that they had seen. C.Senior U of M Engineering Capstone Projects Staff Liaison Wilson reported that every year, the commission works with the senior University of Minnesota Engineering class to come up with projects. Recent past projects from spring 2020 include a report on embodied carbon in infrastructure and an electric vehicle strategy. X.Adjournment Meeting was adjourned at 9:38 PM. Motion by Carolyn Jackson to Adjourn the Meeting. Seconded by Richard Manser. Motion Carried. T he 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.