2025-09-15_EC_Minutes7800 Golden Valley Road I Golden Valley, MN 55427 t 1 tv 0' ni 763-593-8027 1 TTY 763-593-39681763-593-8198 (fax) I www.goldenvalleymn.gov go Id'
val1 lev
Environmental Environmental Commission
September 15, 2025 — 6:30 pm
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 774 327 980#.
Questions/Comments: Members of the public who have questions about the commission or
any items on the agenda should contact the staff commission liaison — Ethan Kehrberg,
Sustainability Specialist, ekehrberg@goldenvalleymn.gov, 763-593-8083.
Commissioners present:
Commissioners absent:
Council Members present:
Staff present:
Others present:
1. Call to Order
Sarah Drawz, Paul Klaas, Ellen Brenna, Adam Wold
Amelia Schulz, Hannah Byl
None
Ethan Kehrberg, Sustainability Specialist;
Carrie Nelson, Engineering Assistant.
Amy Fredregill, Consultant, WSB
The meeting was called to order by Chair Klaas at 6:30 pm.
2. Land Acknowledgement
3. Approval of Agenda
MOTION by Commissioner Wold, seconded by Commissioner Brenna to approve the agenda
for September 15, 2025 as submitted and the motion carried.
After further discussion:
MOTION by Commissioner Drawz, seconded by Chair Klaas to add the Water Blessing as item
5.13. to the September 15, 2025 agenda and the motion carried.
4. Approval of Meeting Minutes
MOTION by Commissioner Drawz, seconded by Commissioner Wold to approve the minutes
of August 25, 2025 as submitted and the motion carried.
5. Business
5.A. Update on Haha Wakpadaq/Bassett Creek Co -Naming Policy
This document is available in alternate formats upon a 72-hour request. Please call
763-593-8006 (TTY: 763-593-3968) to make a request. Examples of alternate formats M1
may include large print, electronic, Braille, audiocassette, etc.
City of Golden Valley Environmental Commission Regular Meeting 2
September 15, 2025 — 6:30 pm
• The City Council passed resolution 25-081 unanimously to approve co -naming Hahn
Wakpadag/Bassett Creek at it's 9-2-25 meeting.
S.B. Water Blessing
• The 3rd Annual Haha Wakpadaq/Bassett Creek Water Blessing will happen Monday,
October 13, 9:30-12:00 at West Medicine Lake Park in Plymouth.
MOTION by Commissioner Brenna, seconded by Commissioner Drawz to approve allocating
$500 of the Environmental Commission budget to the Water Ceremony and the motion
carried.
S.C. Climate Equity Plan Update
• Amy Fredregill from WSB, the City's consultant on the Climate Equity Plan, presented on
the draft plan/Template for the Climate Equity Plan and GV Climate Equity Plan Survey
Interim Results in the 9-15-25 EC Agenda.
o Landscape Scan is what the City is currently doing that's relevant and what
several peer cities are doing, as well.
o The Vulnerability Assessment is climate conditions. How has the environment
changed because of climate change?
■ The Social Vulnerability Assessment is the human focus. How humans are
doing with X3 heat, or flooding and droughts, and how they are being
impacted.
o The Golden Valley plan will focus mainly on the Vulnerability Assessment and
Green House Gases data, as well as the environmental side like water, current
climate conditions, wildlife, and forestry/vegetation based on a number of
models available.
o The focus areas could be in order of what we're hearing most about from the
community, based on emissions impact, alphabetical.
o 210 responses to the survey as of September 8, 2025.
o Can we post the survey results or have them available for the community to see
just for transparency purposes? They can also be requested through a data
request.
o Sample Focus Area Outline for the Climate Equity Plan —Water
■ Focus Area 1— Water
• Vision
• Social Equity & Vulnerability Assessment
• Initiatives/Goals —City Operational & Community Actions:
o Could be water conservation, water quality, runoff,
buffers, habitat, water quantity, erosion, water access.
• Implementation Plan Matrix
o What is the action initiative?
City of Golden Valley Environmental Commission Regular Meeting
September 15, 2025 — 6:30 pm
3
o What is the low -medium -high greenhouse gas emission
estimate?
o Cost — low -medium -high?
o How will we measure it?
o Timeline?
o Lead Role?
o Priority Level? We'll have to decide what the top 3-4
priorities are per year because you can only do so much
with time and budget.
Make sure goals are measurable.
Keep it short, concise, and easy to understand.
This plan is what we're communicating to the public about what the City
is doing about climate, as well as what staff will be looking at with our
comprehensive plan and work plans year to year as what the Council and
Community, and Climate Equity Team have identified as top priority
goals.
• The Vision and Executive Summary are two of the first things in
the draft so they're the first things people see when they open it
and read about what climate change is, what Golden Valley is
doing about it, what are the top actions, and how we're using the
using and implementing the plan.
o How much information do you share without losing people
and how much do you keep to guide the work?
• Every 3 years a work plan could be made from this with those top
priority actions.
• The Committee has been working on setting up an arts event to engage the community
in the climate equity effort. For example, you could have artists talk about what climate
resiliency looks like in the eyes of the community. Look at different ways for the
community to express themselves.
o Ask students what climate equity means to them and possibly create art to show
this.
• Staff has been to many City events talking about the Climate Equity Plan and asking
people to take the survey.
o Maybe we could put a little flyer on all the tables at Brookview with the QR Code
asking people to fill out the survey while they wait for their food/beverages.
• The MET Council is requiring a look at Greenhouse Gas Emmissions. The nearest year
they have finalized is 2022. They should have 2023 numbers in a couple of months, and
2024 numbers next year some time.
o The City of Golden Valley had 414,908 Metric Tons of CO2 Emmissions which
equals almost 7,000,000 tree seedlings grown for ten years, or 124 wind turbines
running for a year.
The transportation sector has been the number one source of
greenhouse gas emissions in the state for 7 years now.
City of Golden Valley Environmental Commission Regular Meeting
September 15, 2025 — 6:30 pm
�1
■ Businesses are a close second.
o The City's percentage of business/residential premises in Golden Valley is 90%
residential, 10% business based on numbers from our Energy Action Plan. Our
electricity and natural gas is around 70% business emisisons.
• From 1895 — 2024
o Average annual temp in East Central MN has increased by 3.5 degrees. Most of
that warming taking place during the winter with average winter temps
increasing by 5.6 degrees. There are an increasing number of observed extreme
precipitation events.
o Increased flood risk, prolonged dry spells, public health risks, natural resource
degradation, and air quality are top concerns for the vulnerability assessment.
• What are 4-5 Topics the Commission would like to see in the plan?
o Infrastructure
o Natural Habitat/Green Space
o Transportation
o Energy
o Environmental Justice/Social/Community Dynamics
o Waste Reduction
o Water
o Livability
■ Hennepin County Ideas
• Energy, Water, and the Built Environment
• Waste and Materials
• Community Cohesion and Resilience
• Natural Systems
• Transportation
o The topics will be chosen by looking at the data and where the big greenhouse
gas emission are and then the community survey.
• Next Steering Committee meeting is September 30.
• Council Work Session on the draft on November 18.
• Plan finalization in December.
S.D. 2024 Recycling Report
• Staff reviewed the memo found in the September 15, 2025 EC Agenda packet.
• Ethan and Commissioner Byl are working to set up a meeting to discuss increasing
participation in the organics program.
S.E. Council Communications
• None
S.F. Commissioner/Staff Communications
• Outdoor Lighting Ordinance
City of Golden Valley Environmental Commission Regular Meeting 5
September 15, 2025 — 6:30 pm
o Chair Klaas met with Ethan, Chloe McGuire, Assistant Police Chief Alice White, and
Planner Jacqueline Kraemer. The current Outdoor Lighting Ordinance is part of the
Zoning Code and any chances the EC recommends will need to go through the
Planning Commission.
■ The police will not have any connection to this. They just want to make sure
there's good lighting for citizens and officers.
o The technical issues are addressed in a redline version a Dark Sky consultant
provided for us, but that won't be more widely distributed until it's more refined.
■ The effect of LED lights.
■ What kind of Kelvin color do we want?
■ Address and public safety concerns that may come from any proposed
changes.
■ The operations of the process of administering approvals for lighting plans.
• Audubon Audit
o Brookview is busy with golf operations and solar right now. Fall/Winter will be a
better time. They have staff on hand who are willing to see what we're doing and try
to document that and provide us with an update. They're concerned about cost.
• Styrofoam/Single-Use Plastics, Bags, and Containers
o This would require a big lift and require a lot of collaboration with residential,
business, and support from the City. Would City Council support these efforts? An e-
mail was sent to Council Member Ginis to see if Council is interested. She
responded she wasn't sure it's the right time due to upcoming elections and new
council members. She said to keep up with staff efforts to decrease single use
products at City sponsored events and to possibly bring it to a work session after the
elections.
• Staff Updates
o Electric Vehicle and Equipment Showcase Event —September 30, 4:00 — 7:00, City
Hall Parking Lot.
6. Adjournment
MOTION by Commissioner Wold, seconded by Commissioner Drawz to adjourn the meeting at
8:00 pm and the motion carried.
ATTEST:
Carrie Nelson, Administrative Assistant
r
Paul Klaas, Chair