2021-08-23 EC Minutes7800 Golden Valley Road I Golden Valley, MN 55427 city of
763-593-8027 1 TTY 763-593-39681763-593-8198 (fax) I www.goldenvalleymn.govgolden,,,:,
Environmental Commission
August 23, 2021— 6:30 pm
REGULAR MEETING MINUTES
Remote Attendance: Members of the public may attend this meeting via Webex by calling 1-415-655-
0001 and entering access code 177 393 4642.
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 Weirich at 6:35.
2. Roll Call
Commissioners present: Scott Seys, Dawn Hill, Wendy Weirich, Jim Stemel, Felix Fettig
Commissioners absent: Tonia Galonska, Shannon Hansen, Debra Yahle
Council Members present: Larry Fonnest
Staff present: Eric Eckman, Environmental Resources Supervisor;
Drew Chirpich; Environmental Specialist;
Carrie Nelson, Administrative Assistant.
3. Approval of Agenda
MOTION by Commissioner Hill, seconded by Commissioner Seys to approve the agenda for August 23,
2021 and the motion carried with the following changes:
• Move item 6A up in between items 3 and 4
4. Approval of July 26, 2021 Regular Meeting Minutes
MOTION by Commissioner Stremel, seconded by Commissioner Fettig to approve the minutes of July
26, 2021 as submitted and the motion carried.
5. Old Business
A. EC/HRC Climate Justice Collaboration
i. No updates from the sub -committee.
ii. Looking for potential planting projects within the Hwy 55 West redevelopment corridor.
Staff has continued to talk with property owners within the corridor and nothing has
been set in stone yet.
iii. Do another speaker event?
a
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City of Golden Valley Environmental Commission Regular Meeting 2
Aug 23, 2020 — 6:30 pm
iv. With more ash trees with EAB being identified and cut down, there will be more
potential areas for possible planting projects.
B. Partners in Energy Update
L Staff has bi-weekly meetings with Xcel Energy's Partners in Energy team.
ii. Sept 9 — Staff, Xcel Energy, and GV's Housing and Economic Development Manager,
Cherie Shoquist, will be meeting with multi -family property owners and managers about
the Energy Action Plan.
1. Xcel will talk about rebate programs they have.
2. Also talk about Home Energy Squad for multi -family buildings.
1. Send out a post card targeted to older homes that don't have permits on
record in our system.
3. New GreenCorps member the end of Sept to help.
6. New Business
A. Hennepin County Climate Action Plan
L Diana Chaman Salas presented the Hennepin County Climate Action Plan.
ii. Two Key Goals:
1. Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions.
1. Use the ICLEI —The US Community Protocol for Accounting and Reporting
of Greenhouse Gas Emissions —to track greenhouse gas emissions.
L Includes building energy use, vehicle travel and light rail, solid
waste management, energy use for clean water, land use and
trees.
2. 2/3 of emissions come from energy use, 1/3 comes from vehicle travel. A
small fraction comes from solid waste and waste water.
3. In May, the County committed to reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions by
45% from 2010 levels by 2030. Also, achieving net zero emissions by
2050.
2. Adapt and mitigate the effects of climate change.
1. Climate adaptation is about developing and implementing strategies to
help human and natural systems become more resilient to the effects of
climate change.
L Two trends that are affecting Hennepin County:
1. Wetter Climate
a. Significant increase in sever rain and flooding
events.
2. Warmer Climate
a. Warmer winters.
3. Each of the top 10 warmest and wettest years have
occurred since 1998.
City of Golden Valley Environmental Commission Regular Meeting 3
Aug 23, 2020 — 6:30 pm
iii. How are they going to do it?
1. CIP Projects — Incorporate more green and natural infrastructure to manage
storm water and improve water quality, decrease the urban heat island, and
sequester carbon.
2. Build a more resilient community:
1. Provide financial assistance to residents to help prevent or repair water
damage.
2. Increase water holding capacity in areas that are prone to flooding.
3. Strategies to mitigate the disproportionate impacts. Investments meant
to respond to climate change should also offer the opportunity to reduce
disparities and promote economic growth.
iv. Foundational Strategies:
1. Strengthening individual and community resilience.
2. Transitioning to renewable energy sources.
3. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
4. Preventing food waste.
5. Designing infrastructure and buildings that are prepared for future climatic
conditions and are based on green infrastructure.
6. Sequestering carbon.
1. No specific strategies for this yet but are considering expanding tree
canopy — possibly using tax forfeited land.
v. Golden Valley is willing to partner on these strategies and looks forward to talking more
in the near future.
B. City Energy Consumption Update
i. Using the Minnesota B3 Benchmarking program, the City can track energy usage in all
Golden Valley City buildings and facilities.
ii. 2018 has been chosen as the baseline year since it was used as the baseline year in the
Energy Action Plan and was the first full year of reporting on the new Brookview
Community Center.
iii. CO2 emissions from electricity consumption have been reducing slightly over time;
natural gas consumption fluctuates due to seasonal conditions.
iv. In 2010, a widespread LED retrofit project to convert traffic signals to LED lights resulted
in a drastic drop in energy usage.
v. In 2018 more than 500 standard (cobra head) street lights were switched to LED. In
2019 many, but not all, of the traditional decorative lights were switched to LED. This
saves the City more than $3800/year and prevents nearly 221,000 pounds of CO2 from
entering the atmosphere each year.
vi. Over the past few years the City has installed 4, 40-kilowatt solar arrays on top of
buildings at the City Hall campus. Each one produces 42,272 kWh annually for a total of
169,090 kWh/year. That's about 8% of the electricity used by the City each year.
City of Golden Valley Environmental Commission Regular Meeting
Aug 23, 2020 — 6:30 pm
C. Program/Project Updates
i. There is an interactive map on the website for Emerald Ash Borer.
n
1. 11 affected tree discovered in 2018. Since then 377 more have been identified.
Staff haven't been able to check out all trees in the City, so there is likely much
more. There is going to be more money and temporary staff budgeted to help
the City inventory more trees next year.
ii. Curbside Collection —Staff discussed the new recycling and organics services coming in
2022 and the increased cost (through quarterly utility bills) to support the recycling
program. The Commission agreed that they knew there was going to be an increase as
part of its research and recommendation to council in 2020.
1. Staff also discussed Hennepin County's new SCORE grant funding policy and how
it benefits Golden Valley.
D. Council Updates
L Aug 24 — Eric will represent the City to receive the step 5 block from GreenStep Cities.
ii. Sept 30 — League of Women Voters Forum regarding candidates for City Council in the
Council Chambers.
iii. The PEACE Commission (replacing the Civil Service Commission) is going to launch
shortly. The City is currently recruiting commissioners to serve on this commission.
E. Other Business
i. People venting on NextDoor about Waste Management missing pick-ups all the time.
Consistently seeing the trucks on Saturday. Staff to send warning letter to all haulers.
ii. Any discussion with haulers about offering bi-weekly collection? This can be offered by
haulers currently.
iii. Question about households sharing garbage service. Staff will check code and provide
information on this item.
7. Adjournment
MOTION by Commissioner Hill, seconded by Commissioner Stremel to adjourn the meeting at
8:17 pm and the motion carried.
ATTEST:
AAALA
Carrie Nelson, Administrative Assistant Wendy We rich, Chair