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2019-01-28 EC Minutes GOLDEN VALLEY ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION Regular Meeting, Minutes January 28, 2019 Commissioners Present: Tracy Anderson, Tonia Galonska, Dawn Hill, Joseph Ramlet, Scott Seys, and Jim Stremel Staff Present: Eric Eckman, Development and Assets Supervisor; Drew Chirpich, Environmental Specialist and Claire Huisman, Administrative Assistant Absent: Commissioners Lynn Gitelis and Debra Yahle Call to Order Chair Hill called the meeting to order at 6:30 pm. Approval of Reqular Meetinq Minutes MOVED by Galonska, SECONDED by Stremel, and the motion carried unanimously to approve the minutes of the November 26, 2018 regular meeting. Approval of 2019 Meetina Dates MOVED by Anderson, SECONDED by Ramlet, and the motion carried six to one to change the May 27t'' meeting to May 20th due to the Memorial Day Holiday and to cancel the December 23�d meeting due to the Christmas Holidays. Solid Waste Haulin� Update Eckman presented a summary of the waste hauling forum that was discussed at the January 8th Council/Manager's meeting. The League of Women Voters will have their . report available on solid waste hauling this spring. It was requested for the Commission to be given a copy of the report at the time it is made available to the Council. Curbside Textile Recvclinq Proposal Chirpich presented to the Commission the curbside textile recycling program offered by Simple Recycling Company and marketed by WasteZero, a textile and soft recyclable curbside pickup organization. Collection bags are given to the residents for used clothing, textiles and other small household goods. These will be picked up on normal recycling days by a transit van. There is no cost to the residents or the City but they do require a five year contract. Simple Recycling will weigh the material and pay the City $20/ton. 30% of the material goes to local thrift stores, 30% is shipped to overseas markets and the rest is shredded into insulation and/or fiber for industrial use. Staff was asked to find out where the company does its sorting. It was suggested by the Commission to use the money the City will be receiving on environmental programs. MOVED by Hill, SECONDED by Galonska, and the motion carried unanimously to approve the Curbside Textile Recycling Proposal and present it to the Council for their approval. G:\Environmental Commission\Minutes�2019\1-January\01-28-19 EC Minutes.doc Minutes of the Environmental Commission January 28, 2019 Page 2 of 3 GreenStep Cities — Step 4 Metrics — Surface Water After a brief discussion of Step 4 core topic, Surface Water, led by Drew Chirpich, the Commission made the following motion. MOVED by Stremel, SECONDED by Seys and the motion carried unanimously to approve the Performance Metrics entry for Step 4 Surface Water as amended into the GreenSteps Cities website at the time when all core topic areas and optional topic areas are completed. The amendment included changing the percentage rating on Data Element 12.3 to reflect "non-impaired" waters instead of "impaired" waters so the goal to reach would be a rating of 100%. GreenStep Cities Inventorv— BP 23-5, 4-3, 12-6 and 2-4 Best Practice 23-5: Install & promote one or more public fueling stations for plug-in electric vehicles. The City installed a 240 Volt dual charging station in the City Hall parking lot which qualifies them for this Best Practice. Rate for charging is 90 cents per hour and $1.20 per hour afterwards. It was suggested to possibly add a charging station in Wirth Park where the City could share the cost of installation with the City of Minneapolis. Best Practice 4-3: Replace the city's existing street lighting with LED's. In 2018, the city worked with Xcel Energy to change out 558 cobrahead street lights with 3000k LED bulbs which uses less energy and emits less CO2 into the air. Best Practice 12-6: Add/expand transit service or promote car/bike sharing. In 2018, the City approved an agreement with "Lime" allowing the company to deploy a fleet of dockless bikes and scooters. The City has implemented the service and is actively promoting the program on the City's website and in its newsletter. Best Practice 2-4: Describe energy/water efficiency outcomes and other green building practices within the city. The City installed two water fountain systems which allow for the quick fill of reusable water bottles. Since installation in July, 2018, the use of the fountains have saved an equivalent of 5,564 plastic water bottles. Commissioners recommended adding the data from Brookview and possibly from various larger businesses in the area who have water filler stations to the amount of saved plastic water bottles for the City. MOVED by Seys, SECONDED by Stremel, and the motion carried to approve Best Practices 23-5, 4-3, 12-6 and 2-4 for entry into the GreenStep Cities website with the amendment for BP 2-4 to include the water bottle savings data from Brookview and possibly other businesses in the City. Motion to remove BP 12-6 from entry into the GreenStep Cities website failed to pass 2 to 4. Citvwide Pollinator Policv Eckman stated that he is meeting with the People for Pollinators Golden Valley Group on February 8, 2019 at 9a in City Hall. They will be discussing ideas and items which will help with the draft of the Citywide Pollinator Policy. The Commission hopes to have the policy completed by May 2019. G:\Environmental Commission\Minutes�2019\1-January\01-28-19 EC Minutes.doc Minutes of the Environmental Commission January 28, 2019 Page 3 of 3 , Pro4ram/Proiect Updates Chirpich reviewed the year-end recycling report which provided weight in pounds of the various collected materials. Commissioners asked staff to provide the previous year's reports as well. The Commissioners also expressed interest in going on a tour of Hennepin County Energy Recovery Center(HERC) in downtown Minneapolis. The center burns solid waste to recover energy and steam which is used for heat and power in the surrounding area. The Commission asked if grants for Emerald Ash Borer removal were being actively sought after by the City. Staff will contact the Forestry Dept. for an update regarding this matter. DeCola Ponds B and C Project was briefly discussed. The Council approved agreements with the MnDNR and the Bassett Creek Watershed Management Commission to begin final design work on the flood mitigation project. Besides reducing flooding issues, additional benefits include improving water quality, enhancing vegetation and wildlife habitat and improving recreation and park user experience. As part of the project, an Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) was completed and public comments were accepted. A public open house is scheduled for February 6, 2019 at 5p at Brookview to review the plans and provide feedback for the project. Adiourn MOVED by Stremel, SECONDED by Anderson, and the motion carried to adjourn the meeting at 8:20 pm. �J��� ���� Claire Huisman Administrative Assistant G:\Environmental Commission\Minutes�2019\1-January\01-28-19 EC Minutes.doc