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EC Agenda 2-26-2024 REGULAR MEETING AGENDA Remote Attendance: Members of the public may attend this meeting via Microsoft Teams by calling 1-872-256-4160 and entering access code 910 737 312#. Questions/Comments: Members of the public who have questions about the commission or any items on the agenda should contact the staff commission liaison – Eric Eckman, Environmental Resources Supervisor, eeckman@goldenvalleymn.gov, 763-593-8084. 1. Call to Order 2. Land Acknowledgement We acknowledge and honor the Dakota nation, on whose ancestral land the City of Golden Valley is built, and whose land resources we use. We commit to counteracting the erasure of the cultural practices and presence of the Dakota people through education and by amplifying a wide range of indigenous voices. 3. Roll Call 4. Approval of Agenda 5. Approval of January 22, 2024 Regular Meeting Minutes (5 min) 6. Old Business 7. New Business A. Golden Valley Garden Club: Pollinator Pathways (10 min) B. GreenStep Cities actions (15 min) Action Requested C. Solid Waste Reduction update (20 min) D. Program & Project updates (5 min) E. Council Updates (5 min) F. Other Business (5 min) 8. Adjournment February 26, 2024 – 6:30 pm City Hall Council Conference Room REGULAR MEETING MINUTES Remote Attendance: Members of the public may attend this meeting via Microsoft Teams by calling 1-872-256-4160 and entering access code 587 275 181#. Questions/Comments: Members of the public who have questions about the commission or any items on the agenda should contact the staff commission liaison – Eric Eckman, Environmental Resources Supervisor, eeckman@goldenvalleymn.gov, 763-593-8084. 1. Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Chair Hill at 6:30 pm. 2. Land Acknowledgement 3. Roll Call Commissioners present: Dawn Hill, Debra Yahle, Wendy Weirich, Tonia Galonska, Sarah Drawz, Paul Klaas, Ellen Brenna Commissioners absent: None Council Members present: Sophia Ginis Staff present: Eric Eckman, Environmental Resources Supervisor; Carrie Nelson, Engineering Assistant. 4. Approval of January 22, 2024 Agenda MOTION by Commissioner Weirich, seconded by Commissioner Galonska to approve the agenda for January 22, 2024, and the motion carried. 5. Approval of November 27, 2023 Regular Meeting Minutes MOTION by Commissioner Brenna, seconded by Commissioner Drawz to approve the minutes of November 27, 2023, as submitted and the motion carried with the following change: • Commissioner Brenna was present at the November 27, 2023 meeting. 6. Old Business A. Ȟaȟa Wakpadaŋ/Bassett Creek Effort i. Staff met with Crystal Boyd and Laura Jester from the Watershed to talk about the next steps. ii. DEIC is going to talk at their next meeting about partnering on a community presentation from Ho-Chunk members about their history in Minnesota, the west metro specifically. 1. The DEIC is not asking the EC to partner or help pay for a room for this event. January 22, 2024 – 6:30 pm City of Golden Valley Environmental Commission Regular Meeting January 22, 2024 – 6:30 pm 2 iii. Possibly partner on a community creek clean-up or a water ceremony in 2024, depending on work plan priorities. 7. New Business A. GreenStep Cities MOTION by Commissioner Yahle, seconded by Commissioner Galonska to approve posting the GreenStep Cities Best Practice Actions 6.5, 13.1, and 18.1 to the website, and the motion carried with the following update: • Amend Action 18.1 to include the programmable solar trail lighting. B. 2024 Work Plan i. Typically, we start our work plan ideas/brainstorming discussion in January. This year we are waiting for the Council goal session to be completed (happening Jan 30) for guidance on our work plan. We’ll talk more about our 2024 Work Plan at the February and March meetings. 1. It’s possible we’ll be asked to shorten our work plan and focus on 3-4 items. 2. There may be more active engagement by the commission members to lead projects and do more work outside of meetings, and less involvement from staff. ii. Commissioners may form small subcommittees. We will need to check the open meeting laws with regards to working/talking/meeting outside of monthly meetings. iii. Things to think about when considering work plan items: 1. Outcomes/Impacts to the community and community engagement. 2. Equity and Environmental Justice. 3. Impacts to other departments and divisions – not just environmental staff. 4. Does it require policy or code changes that go to Council? iv. Review of Progress on 2040 Comprehensive Plan and other guiding plans 1. Staff comments are in red in the 1-22-24 agenda. 2. Chapter 7: Resilience and Sustainability Chapter 1. This was developed with the help of a GreenCorps Member and a consultant and a grant back in 2017/2018. 3. Chapter 6: Parks and Natural Resources Chapter 1. EC was instrumental in this working with Open Space and Rec and the Planning Commission. 2. Focus on Sustainability and Natural Resource implementation actions. 3. Staff did not comment on the capital reinvestment section because it is focused on Park & Rec items 4. Staff collaborates with Parks & Rec and Park Maintenance staff quite a bit on projects, programs, resources. 4. Chapter 5: Water Resources 1. A lot of focus on water resources in the early years of this commission. Many other issues and priorities have come up since City of Golden Valley Environmental Commission Regular Meeting January 22, 2024 – 6:30 pm 3 then that have gained importance, and so much work has been done on water resources collaboratively, that it seems the commission is less focused on water now. 2. A lot of the implementation actions are complete or currently happening at the City level and Watershed level. v. Energy Action Plan 1. Not a chapter in the 2040 Comprehensive Plan 2. The first page included in the 1-22-24 agenda packet includes programs/initiatives the City was working on or was planning to work on that are being tracked with our own metrics outside of the Partners in Energy (PIE) Program. 3. The second page includes the PIE implementation plan and focuses more on CenterPoint Energy and Xcel Energy tracking in collaboration with the City. 4. How can the City incentivize and/or require more EV charging stations? Staff discussed recent actions that can help accomplish that. vi. Climate Emergency Declaration 1. This can be found on the City website. 2. It talks about our commitments as we work toward a clean energy economy. 3. Many items are ongoing as regular business. Others are things we could consider that aren’t quite done yet or need to take more steps toward improving. 4. Consider the development of a Climate Action Plan for the community. There is public money to assist communities with developing Climate Action Plans. 1. Include GreenStep Cities, Natural Resources Management Plan, Energy Action Plan, Organics, Pollinator Resolution. 2. We need to hear from Met Council what they’ll require for the next Comprehensive Plan update. Resilience/Sustainability was optional last time. 3. There are example plans/models available. We haven’t really explored them yet. C. Program/Project Updates i. Sanitary Sewer Inflow & Infiltration Grants 1. Clear water flows in pipes to the St. Paul wastewater plant to be treated and then discharged into the river and that results in less pipe capacity for development and extra costs for communities. The grant money will be used to upgrade utilities to reduce the amount of clear water entering our pipes. 2. Approximately 90% of homes/businesses fail their first I&I inspection. D. Council Updates i. Mayor Harmon was sworn in as Mayor, and Council Members Ginis and Harris started their next 4-year term at the January 2, 2024 Council meeting. ii. Council Member Ginis will continue as the liaison to the EC as well as the Planning Commission. City of Golden Valley Environmental Commission Regular Meeting January 22, 2024 – 6:30 pm 4 iii. Conditional Use Permits being reviewed by Council – Needed when a business wants to do something that makes sense, but the area zoning does not permit it. 1. Allow an aerial acrobatics studio on Boone Avenue. 2. Auto shop/dealer will move to a new location. iv. Discussed and approved the legislative agenda. v. Winter Market in the Valley on Sunday’s at Brookview, 10:00 – 1:00. vi. January 24 – GV Fire Department promotion ceremony – 7:00-8:00 – Brookview Bassett Creek Room. vii. No joint meeting with Council and Commissions this year. E. Other Business i. No updates on student members – What is being done to recruit? 1. Applications are held and applicants are contacted when there are vacancies. 2. Commissioners can spread the word about the openings and encourage students to apply. ii. Star Tribune article – Recycling is Real, Twin Cities counties tell residents in new ad campaign - January 18, 2024. iii. Wildones.org 1. Free webinar – Cultivating Change – January 25, 2024 – Talking about how native gardening can address climate challenges. iv. Can we include the name Ȟaȟa Wakpadaŋ along with the Bassett Creek room name at Brookview? 8. Adjournment MOTION by Commissioner Galonska, seconded by Commissioner Klaas to adjourn the meeting at 8:21 pm and the motion carried. ATTEST: ________________________________ _______________________________________ Carrie Nelson, Administrative Assistant Dawn Hill, Chair Date: February 26, 2024 To: Environmental Commission From: Eric Eckman, Environmental Resources Supervisor Subject: Garden Club - Pollinator Pathways The Environmental Commission work plan includes a Natural Resources action item to “continue promoting educational opportunities in cooperation with the Golden Valley Garden Club.” The Golden Valley Garden Club is a valued partner of the City that regularly shares information and events with the commission and occasionally presents or provides input to the commission. The Garden Club recently shared an exciting new initiative that advances many of the City’s goals and objectives with respect to pollinators, habitat, and environmental health. Attached to this memo is the Garden Club’s Pollinator Pathways Initiative 2024, an example of signs available from the Garden Club, and maps of the City’s Green Corridors and Native Buffer Areas. Golden Valley Garden Club (GVGC) Pollinator Pathways Initiative 2024 Pollinator Pathway - Definition: “a pesticide-free corridor of native plants that provides nutrition and habitat for pollinators and helps them to disperse into new habitats.” Canadian Wildlife Federation  The Golden Valley Garden Club has begun an initiative to establish pollinator pathways in Golden Valley. We plan to start with a small model or pilot program involving Golden Valley residents' yards. The goal is to develop pollinator pathways that connect the City’s existing green corridors and native buffer zones together with neighborhood pollinator friendly pocket gardens. We envision this as a public-private-corporate effort that will provide a healthier environment for pollinators, pets and people for years to come.  This new program supports the City of Golden Valley and the Golden Valley Garden Club focus on creating new pollinator and wildlife habitat. Residents in targeted areas who want to participate will receive free native pollinator plants purchased with GVGC funds. All of these newly planted pocket sized gardens have the potential to serve as neighborhood demonstration plots which inspire other residents to try planting more pollinator attracting plants in their yards.   The People for Pollinators committee of the Golden Valley Garden Club held a planning meeting on February 7, 2024, where we decided on three basic steps to begin this program: 1.Share information with the public via scheduled events like the Market in the Valley in February and March, the May 18 GVGC plant sale and through electronic and print sources (ie City and GVGC websites, social media, the SunPost, and the Golden Valley - City News). 
 2.Residents in targeted areas who signed up for free plants for their own yard will receive enough plants to create a small “pocket garden” (approximately 3 ft by 5 ft). Plants will be available for pick-up in May or June. Supplies, planting instructions and possible design layouts will be included with the plants.
 3.Sell native, pollinator attracting plants at the Golden Valley Garden Club plant sale on May 18 (12 noon - 3 pm) and on Pollinator Day at the Market (June 23) to individuals who may want to expand their new or existing gardens as a way to connect with their community as part of a neighborhood pollinator pathway.  Golden Valley Garden Club - People for Pollinators Committee Members: Kathy Baldwin, Kristin Baden, Margaret Beegle, Sonia Casey, Barb Ego, Jeanne Iverson, Linda Loomis, Sue Mauren and Jeannie Schwartz Contact Jeanne Iverson for any questions at: jeannemag@gmail.com or 612-590-1938 (call or text). Golden Valley Garden Club https://gvgardenclub.com "Bringing community together through gardening" C I T Y O F N E W H O P E C I T Y O F C R Y S T A L C I T Y O F R O B B I N S D A L E CITY OF MINNEAPOLISC I T Y O F S T . L O U I S P A R K CITY OF MINNEAPOLISCITY OFST. LOUIS PARKCITY OF ROBBINSDALECITY OF CRYSTAL CITY OF ST. LOUIS PARK C I T Y O F N E W H O P E CITY OF PLYMOUTHCITY OF MINNEAPOLISC I T Y O F S T . L O U I S P A R KCITY OFPLYMOUTHWinnetka Ave SWinnetka Ave NWinnetka Ave NDouglas Dr NDouglas Dr NMedicine Lake Rd Glenwood AveMendelssohn Ave NPl ymo u th Av e N 10th Ave N 7thAve Boone Ave NWisconsin Ave NNevada Ave NGeneralMillsBlvdG o ld e n V alleyRdRhodeIslandSandburg Rd Betty CrockerDr WayzataBlvd Country Club Dr Harold Ave Laurel Ave Louisiana Ave SJersey AveFloridaAve SGolden Hills DrZane Ave NS Frontage Rd TurnersCrossroad NMeadow Ln NNoble Ave NHampshireAve SW ayza ta Blvd Zenith Ave NTheod o r eWirthPkwyDecatur Ave NWayza t a Blvd Duluth St G o l d e n ValleyRd AveNG o l d e n Valley Rd Pennsylvania Ave SWayzataBlvd XeniaAveSOlson Memorial HwyN Frontage Rd Lilac Dr N456766 456770 456766 456740 456740 4567156 4567102 §¨¦394 §¨¦394 Æÿ55Æÿ55 Æÿ100 Æÿ100 £¤169 £¤169 38 36 29 2 7 8 11 16 4 37 30 20 12 21 6 13 22 27 19 23 31 17 26 33 159 5 18 39 32 14 10 3 35 1 28 25 34 24 Vegetated BufferMaintenance 0 1,800 3,600900Feet IPrint Date: 12/20/2023Sources:-Hennepin County Surveyors Office for Property Lines (2023).-City of Golden Valley for all other layers. Managed Buffer 1 Adeline Nature Area 2 Bassett Creek Nature Area 3 Bassett Creek and Winnetka 4 Boone Ave Pond and Berm 5 Briarwood Nature Area 6 Briarwood-Dawnview Pond 7 Brookview Park Ponds 8 General Mills Nature Preserve 9 Golden Meadows Pond10 Golden Ridge Pond11 Golden Hills Pond12 Hampshire Pond13 Madison Pond14 Meadow Lane Woods Pond15 Minnaqua Pond and Creek16 Minnaqua Wetland17 North Tyrol Park18 Perry Ave Pond19 Regent and Westbend20 Scott Ave Pond21 Schaper Park22 South Tyrol Pond23 Sweeney Branch Streambank24 Winnetka and Hwy 5525 Xenia Avenue Pond and Wetland26 St Croix Trail27 Honeywell Pond28 Paisley Park Rain Garden29 Brookview Ponds N and O30 The Liberty31 Talo Pond32 Brookview Community Center33 Brookview Driving Range34 Olympia Filtration Basin35 Georgia Pond36 DeCola Ponds B and C37 Brookview Ponds F and G38 Douglas Dr Pollinator Plot39 Pennsylvania Woods Date: February 26, 2024 To: Environmental Commission From: Annie Knoll, GreenCorps Member Ethan Kehrberg, Sustainability Specialist Subject: GreenStep Cities Best Practice Action 2.1 The City is reporting an update to the GreenStep Cities Best Practice Action 2.1: Buildings and Lighting. This action involves the promotion of incentives for energy, water, and sustainability improvements in existing residential, not-for-profit, and commercial buildings/building sites. Achieving three-star level recognition requires the creation of a city program and reporting on the number of households participating (e.g. took advantage of rebates, loans, grants, attended workshops, received home energy audit) and dollars or BTUs or therms saved. Each year, the City promotes and reports on participation in the following energy efficiency programs: Business Energy Assessments, Compressed Air, Efficiency Controls, Efficient New Home Construction, Energy Efficient Showerhead, Energy Information Systems Pilot, Home Energy Audits, Home Energy Savings Program, Home Energy Squad, HomeSmart Replacement Helper HVAC+R Systems, Insulation Rebates, Lighting, Lighting One Stop, Low Income Home Energy Squad, Multi-Family Building Efficiency, Recommissioning, Refrigerator Recycling, Residential HVAC, Turn Key Services, Whole Home Efficiency. The City of Golden Valley also created the Energy HERO business recognition program to incentivize and highlight businesses that complete actions improving efficiency and contributing to the city’s Energy Action Plan goals. The 2022 Xcel Energy Community Report shows there were 614 projects across the 21 energy efficiency programs, resulting in electric energy savings of 3,682,137 kWh in 2022. The City promotes many of these programs through targeted outreach, such as emails and social media/blog posts, as well as providing energy efficiency information materials at City Hall. After discussion, staff requests that the Commission consider making a motion to approve the update to the City’s Land Use Best Practice 2.1 for submission to the GreenStep Cities program. Date: February 26, 2024 To: Environmental Commission From: Annie Knoll, GreenCorps Member Ethan Kehrberg, Sustainability Specialist Subject: GreenStep Cities Best Practice Action 18.3 The City is reporting an update to the GreenStep Cities Best Practice Action 18.3: Environmental Management. This action requires achieving minimum levels of city green space and maximizing the percentage within a ten-minute walk of community members. To reach three- star recognition, 90% or more of residents must be within a 10-minute walk, or one-half mile of, a park or other protected green/blue space. As of 2023, 99% of Golden Valley residents live within a ten-minute walk of green space. There are 1,342 acres dedicated to parks and open spaces, which equates to 59.51 acres of green space per 1,000 residents. After discussion, staff requests that the Commission consider making a motion to approve the update to the City’s Land Use Best Practice 18.3 for submission to the GreenStep Cities program. Date: February 26, 2024 To: Environmental Commission From: Annie Knoll, GreenCorps Member Ethan Kehrberg, Sustainability Specialist Subject: GreenStep Cities Best Practice Action 23.5 The City is reporting an update to the GreenStep Cities Best Practice Action 23.5: Environmental Management. This action involves preventing the generation of local air contaminants to improve community health. Preventive measures include installing, assisting with, and promoting publicly available electric vehicle (EV) charging stations or public fueling stations for alternative fuel vehicles. To achieve two-star level recognition, the city must have EV charging stations at two or more city-owned/operated locations or a Level 3 DC Quick Charge station. In October 2018, one of Golden Valley's first EV charging stations was installed in the water tower west parking lot, near McDonald's, on the City Hall campus. In 2021, an additional charging station was installed at Brookview Community Center. The 240-volt, Level 2 charging stations at City Hall and Brookview are powered by ChargePoint, the largest EV charging network in the world, with more than 300 charging stations in the Minneapolis area. After discussion, staff requests that the Commission consider making a motion to approve the update to the City’s Land Use Best Practice 23.5 for submission to the GreenStep Cities program. Date: February 26, 2024 To: Environmental Commission From: Ethan Kehrberg, Sustainability Specialist Subject: Solid Waste Reduction Update The Environmental Commission’s annual work plan includes actions that support and improve the City’s Recycling and Organics programs. Before the commission begins to explore the next action under this topic, staff would like to provide a brief update on the recent solid waste reduction efforts happening at the state and county levels. In 2022, approximately 1.27 million tons of waste were generated in Hennepin County, with 42% of this waste recycled or composted. The material that remains after waste prevention, recycling, and composting is approximately 750,000 tons that is currently managed as trash. To put that in perspective, Hennepin County’s residents and businesses fill Target Field six (6) times a year with discarded items. Over the past few years (and especially in the past few months) the state and county have passed updated plans aimed at waste reduction and waste system changes. This memo provides a brief update and overview of some of those plans. The City of Golden Valley also has its own waste reduction goals. The third goal (pg. 21) of the City’s Resilience and Sustainability Plan is to “promote waste reduction, recycling, and composting.” This goal includes two main objectives: improve efficiencies in solid waste removal and motivate residents, businesses, and institutions to reduce, reuse, and recycle waste. The following is a summary of recent state and county plans and actions. HERC Closure At its October meeting, the Hennepin County Board directed county staff to create a plan to close the Hennepin Energy Recovery Center (HERC) sometime between 2028 and 2040. That plan will be explained further in the next section. The county has faced more pressure lately to close HERC due to public health and environmental justice concerns. The HERC incinerates trash for much of Minneapolis and surrounding cities in Hennepin County, which is used to produce steam and generate electricity. The HERC closure is also informed by other plans because closure of the facility would impact the solid waste system and how trash is managed. The 365,000 tons of material that currently go to the HERC each year for incineration would instead be landfilled. There are currently no active landfills in Hennepin County. It is estimated that closure of HERC will result in more than 10,000 additional trips by semi-trailer trucks and associated vehicle emissions as the landfilled waste is shipped to surrounding counties. A Plan to Reinvent Hennepin County’s Solid Waste System (link) This plan was prepared for the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners as directed by resolution 23-0384 R1 to develop a plan for the closure of the Hennepin Energy Recovery Center (HERC) facility between 2028 and 2040. Hennepin County’s four main visions for the reinvented solid waste system include: 1. Less waste 2. Shared responsibility 3. Easy access to services 4. Social norms align with zero waste It will take a lot of work from the county and in partnership with cities, haulers, businesses, and residents to realize these visions. To achieve the goals of the plan, policies will need to be adopted that put Minnesota on-par with national zero waste leaders, including extended producer responsibility legislation for packaging, material bans at landfills, redirecting the Solid Waste Management Tax to provide adequate SCORE recycling grants, and setting a 50% or higher diversion requirement for construction and demolition waste. Cities may be asked to support the county with some of their actions, including implementing new zero-waste programs, which they will receive additional funding to support. Cities might also be asked to support the transition to organized collection. Golden Valley already has organized traditional recycling and organics recycling service, but it remains an open market system for trash and yard waste service. To reach the ultimate goal of phasing out the HERC and achieve the waste reduction targets, the plan lays out a series of actions along with their estimated timelines, financial requirements, and environmental consequences to consider. Some of the highest impact zero-waste actions that the county recommends pursuing include: 1. Prioritize extended producer responsibility for packaging 2. Secure adequate funding for zero-waste initiatives through SCORE and other sources 3. Ban recyclable and organic materials from landfills 4. Recover recyclable materials from the trash – recycling recovery facility 5. Support the transition to organized collection across Hennepin County Zero Waste Plan (link) Hennepin County defines “zero waste” as preventing 90% or more of all discarded materials from being landfilled or incinerated. Their Zero Waste Plan lays the foundation for the county’s next Solid Waste Management Plan that will be developed in late 2024. The plan includes 62 total actions to transition the county to a zero-waste system. The actions include: 1. Increase the recovery of recyclables and organics 2. Address harder to recycle materials such as bulky items and construction debris 3. Reduce consumption and increase circularity 4. Bolster and expand end markets 5. Encourage or incentivize behavior change 6. Look upstream to reduce waste by influencing what is sold into the regional market The 62 actions are broken down into three main categories based on their difficulty and area of focus: low-hanging fruit, system transformation, and approaching zero waste. Collectively, the actions in the Zero Waste Plan are estimated to achieve between a 77% to 83% diversion rate in Hennepin County, which would fall short of the 90% zero waste goal, but would achieve the state’s recycling goal of 75% diversion by 2030, as identified in the state’s Metropolitan Solid Waste Management Policy Plan. MPCA Metropolitan Solid Waste Management Policy Plan (MPP) (link) This plan establishes the framework for managing the Twin Cities Metro Area’s solid waste for the next 20 years (2023-2043). The MPP supports the goals of improving public health, reducing the reliance on landfills, conserving energy and natural resources, and reducing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. There are three larger, overarching goals that guide the policies and the 75 total strategies of the MPP: 1. Protect and conserve. Manage materials in a manner that will protect the environment and public health, reduce GHGe, conserve energy and natural resources, and reduce toxicity and exposure to toxins. 2. Whether public or private, hold all members of the solid waste system accountable for meeting the goals of this MPP. 3. Systematically and steadily promote more regional cohesiveness and collaboration to foster a synergistic regional approach. The figure below shows the current solid waste hierarchy of Minnesota’s preferred methods of solid waste management: EPR Legislation (House bill, Senate bill) The Minnesota legislature is considering a bill for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). This legislation holds producers responsible for their packaging throughout the entire lifecycle, from product design all the way through to reuse, recycling, composting, or safe disposal. It will also expand markets for recyclables and cover the cost of managing packaging waste. California, Colorado, Maine, and Oregon already passed their own versions of EPR laws. Full implementation of EPR system would take several years after the bill passes, but a well- designed EPR system would build on Minnesota’s existing recycling infrastructure, ensure sustainable funding to offset the cost of collection, expand end markets, incentivize the redesign of packaging and paper products using eco-modulated fees that adjust based on the attributes of materials, and shift producers to more reusable and sustainable packaging – all without taxpayer funds. It is an integral part of Hennepin County’s waste reduction goals. More information about Hennepin County’s plans can be found on their Solid Waste Planning webpage: https://www.hennepin.us/solidwasteplanning PROGRAM/PROJECT UPDATES – February 2024 WATER AND NATURAL RESOURCES Private Ash Trees At its Feb 20, 2024 meeting, the Golden Valley City Council voted to pass an amendment to the current shade tree ordinance that will discontinue private ash tree condemnation. This amendment will relieve private property owners from the obligation to remove infested ash trees from their property. Under the previous ordinance, property owners were required to remove infested ash trees or they would face financial penalties. The City will continue to remove trees with emerald ash borer in the public rights-of-way. Garden Club The next monthly meeting for the Golden Valley Garden Club will take place Tuesday, Feb 27, 6:30 pm at Brookview. The topic is "Coppicing, Pleaching, and Pollarding: Ancient Practices for Modern Times." Chad and Rachel Giblin, owners and ISA Certified Arborists (MN-4668A, MN-4976A), will present. The Garden Club will attend the Winter Market one more time on Sunday, March 10 to share information at their table. They will also be at the Market in the Valley on June 23 for "Pollinator Day". OUTREACH AND EDUCATION Multifamily Site Visits – staff and the Minnesota GreenCorps member have been visiting multifamily properties to collect information that will help the City do more targeted outreach, including descriptions about recycling accessibility, chloride use, stormwater and green infrastructure, and impact of EAB and tree counts. Information about energy assistance, energy efficiency assessments, recycling labels and support, and other resources will be shared with property managers. WASTE & RECYCLING Recycling and Refuse Hauler Licensing – Haulers are currently applying for their annual licenses which are issued by the City around April 1 each year. Organics Recycling Video – GreenCorps member Annie Knoll created an educational video about organics recycling to encourage Golden Valley residents to participate in the program. You can watch the video on the City’s YouTube channel or find it on the City’s Organics Recycling webpage. Please share it with your friends and neighbors! ENERGY Funding Home Energy Projects – Minnesota GreenCorps member Annie Knoll created a one-page flyer with information about how to fund home energy projects. It is a visually engaging piece to introduce residents or businesses to the wide variety of funding opportunities that are available. See the attached flyer in the agenda packet and visit the City website for more information.