2020-02-24 EC Minutes7800 Golden Valley Road I Golden Valley, MN 55427
763-593-8027 1 TTY 763-593-3968 1 763-593-8198 (fax) I www.goldenvalleymn.gov
Environmental Commission
REGULAR MEETING MINUTES
1. Call to Order
The meeting was called to order by Chair Seys at 6:30
2. Roll Call
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February 24, 2020 — 6:30 pm
Council Conference Room
Golden Valley City Hall
7800 Golden Valley Road
Commissioners present: Tracy Anderson, Tonia Galonska, Dawn Hill, Susan Phelps,
Joseph Ramlet, Scott Seys, Jim Stremel and Debra Yahle
Commissioners absent: None
Council Members present: Larry Fonnest
Staff present: Eric Eckman, Environmental Resources Supervisor;
Drew Chirpich, Environmental Specialist;
Emma Pierson, MN GreenCorps Member;
3. Approval of Agenda
MOTION by Commissioner Hill, seconded by Commissioner Galonska to approve the agenda of
February 24, 2020 and the motion carried.
4. Approval of January 27, 2020 Regular Meeting Minutes
MOTION by Commissioner Hill, seconded by Commissioner Galonska to approve the minutes of
January 27, 2020 as submitted and the motion carried.
5. Old Business
A. Partners in Energy update
Eric Eckman gave an update on the Partners in Energy Program:
• The City was formally accepted into the Partners in Energy Program in February.
• Our planning team is being assembled internally and will be meeting with Xcel
Energy in early April for the kick-off.
• We're also reviewing the Memorandum of Understanding we have for the plan
development phase, which will be about 8 months, and will be signed by the City
Manager.
• The Energy Action Team will be assembled with community members and staff for
the plan development phase. We will have an Energy Action Plan at the end of
this phase.
• The Implementation Phase will begin right after the Planning Phase and will be 18
months long.
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Feb 24, 2020 — 6:30 pm
B. Metro Blooms Workshop
Drew Chirpich gave an update on the Metro Blooms Workshop:
• In the past the EC has sponsored a workshop fostering sustainability practices.
• The next in the Metro Blooms series is Creating Your Resilient Yard Workshop.
o It is a base cost of $1,500.00 paid by the City and $15 per person paid by
the attendees. When attendees pay a fee it tends to be a better turnout
than if it's free.
o We can try to incorporate Golden Valley specific items up front to the
workshop agenda but the workshop has a set curriculum with set speakers.
o Workshop talks about pollinators and creating habitats for pollinators.
o We will still have money left over in the Commissions budget to do other
things in the future, possibly holding a student essay competition with
prizes, or create an annual environmental citizen award.
• The workshop is just a one-time class and would be held in the spring.
• MOTION by Commissioner Stremel, seconded by Commissioner Golanska to
approve the Metro Blooms Workshop and the motion carried.
C. 2020 Work Plan
Eric Eckman gave an update on the Draft 2020 Work Plan:
• This list will be refined and brought back next month with the 2019
Accomplishments in the more comprehensive draft Annual Work Plan document.
This will be approved by the Commission in April and will be presented to the
Council in May by Chair Seys.
• Based on feedback and discussion at the meeting, the revised draft work plan
follows:
Draft 2020 Work Plan:
Proposed work plan priorities are based on the City's 2040 Comprehensive Plan,
GreenStep Cities Program, and the City's participation in Xcel Energy's Partners in
Energy Community Collaboration Program.
• Curbside Organics Collection - continue to explore options and make a
recommendation; assist in developing and implementing a new program.
• Xcel Energy's Partners In Energy Program - help develop and implement the City's
Energy Action Plan including:
o Advance building performance
o Private building energy benchmarking
• GreenStep Cities Step 5 - continue working on actions and metrics to address
climate -related impacts, improve the environment, and reduce energy consumption
and costs.
City of Golden Valley Environmental Commission Regular Meeting
Feb 24, 2020 — 6:30 pm
o If awarded a MN GreenCorps Member in 2020-2021, work to complete
GreenStep Cities actions related to Climate and Energy Action.
• Utilize the Commission's $3,500 budget to:
o Fund a joint project, speaker, or event with the Human Rights Commission
o Host an educational workshop on sustainable yards and pollinator habitat
(approximately $1,500 for Metro Blooms Workshop #3 in a series of 3)
o Administer a student essay competition
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• Climate Justice and Environmental Justice - partner with Human Rights Commission on
joint project, event, or speaker. May require joint meeting. Ties in well with City's
Resilience and Sustainability Plan. Potential ideas for collaboration:
o Speaker on climate justice and environmental justice focusing on climate
adaptation and resilience, or promoting community gardens and local food
production.
o Project in an area of the City with inequities of green space - pair a community
event with planting trees in that area.
• Assist the City in hosting a zero -waste community event in 2020.
• Natural Resources Management Plan - continue to assist in implementation.
o Explore the potential to revise City code to allow the temporary use of goats for
vegetation management on public and private properties.
o Provide update on Emerald Ash Borer Management.
o Support habitat restoration in the Pennsylvania Woods Nature Area in 2020-
21 with DNR Grant funds.
• Downtown Redevelopment Study — engage in environmental aspects of study and plan
• Pollinators - complete actions listed in the City's Pollinator Protection resolution
o Inventory and reduce the use of chemicals on City properties
o Develop more plots and habitat
• Review City code with respect to wood burning and update as needed to protect and
maintain local air quality.
• Reducing single use plastics and containers
The Commission also considered Development of a Climate Action Plan (separate from
GreenStep Cities and PIE Energy Action Plan) but removed the item due to the increased
level of effort and involvement with the Energy Action Plan in 2020. The Commission plans
to discuss this item again in 2021.
D. Curbside Organics Collection Options - Pros -Cons
Emma Pierson gave an update on the Curbside Organics Collection Options:
• Organized "All -In, Everyone Pays" Program (cart)
o How is it billed? It depends on the contract but most cities bill through the
city, similar to what Golden Valley does with the recycling program now.
o Option to subsidize fee to residents with SCORE funds or general funds.
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Feb 24, 2020 — 6:30 pm
o Question about St. Louis Park having 3 staff members — Staff does not
believe that the fees paid by residents fully covers their salaries.
• Organized "Opt -In" Program (cart)
o The portion of cost the City covers could come from SCORE Funding.
o No cities at this moment cover any costs of the All -In, Everyone Pays
Option but it could be explored.
o Edina added $0.50 onto the base fee to help pay for a full-time position to
administer their program. Staff has not estimated the time, cost, or
additional fee to do the same in Golden Valley.
o Add a note to the 'Cons' that part of the added City cost could be covered
by an added fee to residents.
o Fridley sends requests directly to the hauler and the hauler sets them up
and does the billing so it doesn't require as much city staff time. Golden
Valley could do it this way depending on how a contract is written.
o Compared to Golden Valley, Robbinsdale is smaller in number of residents
and geographically. Fridley is slightly larger in population but similar
geographically.
• License Requirement (Cart)
o The cost appears to be dependent on density and participation.
o Since Golden Valley is more spread out we would likely have a higher cost
per household.
• License Requirement (Durable Bag Program, Co -Collected with Trash)
o Only Randy's is currently licensed in Golden Valley for this option.
o No cities currently have this as a license requirement. Some smaller, more
compact communities who already have organized trash hauling, like
Wayzata and Osseo, have this as an option. All residents are charged for
the service, but they must opt -in to receive the bags. In other communities,
residents must opt -in to pay and receive bags.
6. New Business
A. Organics Recycling —Summary of Hauler Engagement
Emma provided a summary of the meetings with haulers
i. All haulers would be interested in offering an organics recycling program. They
reported City contracts are more efficient and cost effective.
ii. Most haulers already provide a service in other communities.
iii. All haulers stated the pricing would vary depending on the hauler and community.
Cost factors include density, participation, and location.
iv. Increased density or more participation would help lower the cost to residents.
v. All haulers do have the capacity to offer curbside organics.
vi. Many will use separate carts for both license requirement or contract to reduce
the risk of contamination.
City of Golden Valley Environmental Commission Regular Meeting
Feb 24, 2020 — 6:30 pm
vii. Haulers that do a co -collect with trash (durable bag program) would provide a cart
for those who do not have trash service with them.
viii. Making compost available to residents or a coupon system — Some haulers already
have an established coupon system for 1 free bag of compost but all other haulers
reported having the ability to back haul compost to the City. This would require a
separate contract with the composting vendor.
1. Extra costs to have it hauled back to the city?
2. Logistics for setting this up? Drop it at a park and people come pick it up.
ix. Can haulers provide services with compressed natural gas (CNG) or lower emission
vehicles? Many said they already operate with CNG trucks. All diesel trucks that
need to be replaced are replaced with CNG trucks.
x. Any issues haulers see for their business with implementing curbside organics?
Some said an issue could arise with an open hauling trash system. Other concerns
included disposal site capacity and days allowed in the city for pick up.
xi. All haulers are able to comply with Hennepin County educational requirements.
xii. All haulers will work with the City, County, and disposal sites to develop materials
specific to the City of Golden Valley for specific contamination issues specific to
Golden Valley. All haulers have a local/regional service hub to handle increased
customer service calls.
Eckman provided an update on next steps.
1. Next we'll engage with residents.
2. Another article will go out in the March/April edition of the CityNews.
3. There is a new City Organics webpage that will have a citizen survey linked
on the page.
4. We're also having an Open House on April 9 at Brookview, 5:00-7:30 with
City and County staff members. The survey will be available there as well.
The Commission was asked to think about any questions they may have for the
March meeting. They need to be prepared to make a recommendation in March or
April and bring it to Council in May along with other information presented by
staff.
B. Program/Project Updates
i. On file.
C. Council Updates
i. A meeting is set up with 3 of the County Commissioners to talk about energy and
resilience in the western suburbs. Council member Fonnest wondered if the
commission members and staff could put this on their calendar to represent
Golden Valley. Meeting is Wednesday, March 18 from 9:00-11:00 at the Hennepin
County Government Center. Agenda items include sharing energy priorities
between the suburbs and the County, County initiatives on climate mitigation and
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Feb 24, 2020 — 6:30 pm
resilience, and talk about possible partnerships on initiatives for lower carbon
emissions from buildings, energy supply, transportation, and land use.
D. Other Business
i. None
7. Adjournment
MOTION by Commissioner Yahle, seconded by Commissioner Anderson, to adjourn the meeting
at 8:30pm and the motion carried.
ATTEST:
Carrie Nelson, Administrative Assistant
Scott Seys, Chair