Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-12-12 EEC Minutes MINUTES OF THE ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING 7:00 PM THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2024 Meeting location: Edina City Hall Community Room 4801 W. 50th St. Edina, MN 1. Call to Order Chair Lukens called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. then shared the procedure for public hearing and community comment. 2. Roll Call Answering roll call were Commissioners Lukens, Haugen, Walker, Bartholomew, Tessman, Schima and Weber. Absent were Commissioners Martinez-Salgado and Dakane, and student Commissioners Langsweirdt and Srivastav. 3. Approval of Meeting Agenda Bartholomew made a motion, seconded by Walker, to Approve Meeting Agenda. Motion Carried. 4. Approval of Meeting Minutes 4.1. Minutes from November 14, 2024 Meeting Schima made a motion, seconded by Bartholomew, to Approve Meeting Minutes. Motion Carried. 5. Special Recognitions and Presentations 5.1. 2023 Greenhouse Gas Inventory Ted Redmond with PaleBlueDot presented the 2023 Greenhouse Gas Inventory. Edina has achieved a 17% reduction from baseline, which is on track with where we'd expect to be, but there are some upward trends in specific sectors Edina should be paying attention to. A major driver of change for emissions reduction is utility-scale grid decarbonization, which affects the Buildings & Energy sector. Commissioners asked questions about opportunities to reach our goals, including where to focus between now and 2030. Commissioners stressed the importance that there is still work to do for the commission, staff and Council to reach the Climate Action Plan goals. 6. Community Comment A resident observing the meeting noted they appreciated the discussion and are interested in school engagement, particularly the ability to impact and reach a lot of homes and residents. 7. Reports/Recommendations 7.1. Time of Sale with Energy Disclosure Staff Report Follow Up Sustainability Manager Bayer reviewed data to answer questions asked by the EEC at the November meeting. EEC will draft an Advisory Communication as a "cover page" to their existing report, which will be shared at a future meeting. 7.2. Paved Area / Community Gardens Work Plan Item Commissioner Weber noted that she has drafted the study and report. Sustainability Manager Bayer will send it out to the EEC to review ahead of the January meeting where they will be asked to approve the report. 8. Chair and Member Comments • Commissioners shared frustration with the work plan process and suggested more collaborative ways to approach the work. • Commissioners discussed how to encourage and engage the community to participate and support topics important to the EEC's work. • Commissioners asked for an update on the tree protection ordinance. Sustainability Manager Bayer noted a meeting has not happened and she will keep them updated when more information is available. 9. Staff Comments 9.1. Approved 2025 Work Plan The 2025 approved workplan will be entered into Envisio. The major change was separating out the "catch all" work plan item into individual projects, and recommending the EEC reach out to an already established community event that supports EVs rather than host their own standalone event. Commissioners expressed an interest in still hosting an EV event and will be requesting it be added back to the workplan. Sustainability Manager Bayer noted that she will be presenting the benchmarking ordinance updates discussed in November at the Dec. 17 City Council meeting. 10. Adjournment Haugen made a motion, seconded by Tessman, to Adjourn. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 9:24 p.m.