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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014.11.19 Conservation Commission Agenda Packet ASHLAND CONSERVATION COMMISSION MeetingAgenda November 19, 2014 Community Development Building, Siskiyou Room 51 W i n b u rn Way 1. Call to Order 2. Consent Agenda / Reports (5 min) 2.1. Minutes August 27, 2014 Commission meeting 2.2. Minutes October 23, 2014 Commission meeting 3. Announcements (5 min) 3.1.Next Regular Meeting: December 17, 2014 3.2.Upcoming Sub-committee meetings • Sustainability— December 3rd, 17th 3.3. Other Announcements from Commissioners 4. Public Forum (10 min to be evenly divided by public wishing to speak) 5. Reports / Presentations/Updates (35 min) 5.1. Council - Councilor Rosenthal (5 min) 5.2. City Conservation & Operations — Hanks (5 min) 5.3. Quarterly Report— SOU — Beigel-Coryell (5 min) 5.4. Downtown Cigarette Butt Container Project— Hanks/Beam (5 min) 5.5. Climate/Energy Sub-committee(15 min) 6. Old Business 6.1 Commission Monthly Column in Sneak Preview (15 min) a. December Article — Holiday wrapping — Beam b. January Article —Waste Zero Challenge - Buck c. Future Articles - Hartman 6.2 Carbon Fee/Dividend Discussion Prep (10 min) 7. New Business 7.1 Calender Discussion for 2015 (15 min) 8. Wrap Up 8.1 Items to be added to next agenda 8.2 Adjournment (s PM) ASHLAND CONSERVATION COMMISSION Meeting Minutes August 27, 2014 Community Development Building, Siskiyou Room 51 W i n b u rn Way Call to Order Vice Chair Beigel-Coryell called the meeting to order at 6:02. Commissioners Silverberg, Hartman, McGinnis, Beigel-Coryell, Sohl, Weir were in attendance. Commissioners Buck and Beam were absent. Chair Koopman arrived at 6:10. Council liaison Rosenthal and Staff Hanks and Shiplet were also in attendance. Approval of Minutes The minutes of the July 23, 2014 Commission meeting were reviewed with a motion for approval from Weir and a second from McGinnis and a unanimous approval. Announcements Koopman reminded the Commission of the next Regular Meeting of September 24, 2014. Also, upcoming subcommittee meetings on September 3rd and 17tn. Koopman also noted that the November/December Commission Meeting dates have changed due to the holidays those months to November 19t" and December 17th Commissioner Weir noted an article from the ACEEE regarding Germany and their renewable program as well as inquired about whether or not aluminum was a part of the City's water treatment process as a sulfate coagulant (based on article from Science magazine Aug 14, 2014. Hanks said he would pass along to PW staff. Chair Koopman updated the group on the Rogue Energy Alliance and their community energy planning process. They are looking for funding to staff the project. McGinnis suggested crowdsourcing as an option Public Forum N/A Reports / Presentations/Updates Council - Councilor Rosenthal Councilor Rosenthal mentioned the scheduled study session with the Council on the STAR Framework recommendation by the Commission and asked if there was anything he could do to assist in the Commissions efforts for that meeting. Weir inquired about what Rosenthal thought could get through. Rosenthal reminded the Commission that the study session was a discussion and leads to a direction rather than any sort of approval and noted that the ultimate approval would come at a later date. Rosenthal noted that he felt that other Councilors had a generally positive take on the topic and looked forward to the discussion. City Conservation & Operations — Hanks Hanks noted that Clean Energy Works, an energy efficiency retrofitter partnering with the City, has announced their first qualified project in Ashland, with many in the approval process behind it. Hanks also noted that some water supply materials were included in the meeting packet for reference. One is the City's draw down curve which shows the water supply relative to the expected daily use rate of the water. The other document is the daily statistics of water supply and consumption from the Water Treatment Plant showing the water volume in from each fork of Ashland Creek, TID and storage capacity of Reeder Reservoir. Hanks asked what the Commission would like to hear in this regular spot on the agenda and was interested in making sure that the information shared was valuable and relevant to the Commission. Commissioner Weir noted that he would rather have information submitted in writing in the packet materials rather than a presentation format. McGinnis suggested that the focus should be on the relationship of the information to the Commission's goals. Silverberg and Beigel-Coryell liked the oral format. Hartman noted that two reports a year would be adequate for him. Hanks suggested that he work with Koopman to provide information that fits the needs of the Commission. Quarterly Report To begin again in September 1.Ashland School District 2. Recology Ashland Sanitary 3. Southern Oregon University 4. City of Ashland (water conservation, energy conservation,solar,water quality,waste,etc -one topic each time) Recycling Center Ad-Hoc— Beigel-Corgi Commissioner Beigel-Coryell gave an update to the Commission on the work of the Ad- hoc committee and referred the group to the materials in the packet that summarized the recommendations. Hanks noted that the materials in the packet did not reflect the final vote at the last ad-hoc committee meeting regarding comingle options at the Recycle Center and clarified that the committee voted to retain the comingle, not eliminate it. Hanks noted that the recommendations would be presented to the Council in September. Koopman suggested that the Commission reserve 15 minutes on the next meeting agenda for the final review of recommendations to Council. Commission Annual Report to Council — Recap Chair Koopman gave a quick summary of the annual presentation to the Council and indicated that it went well and the recap also matched up well with the goals for the next year. Weir added that he felt the use of a script was very helpful and the time allotted for each Commissioner speaking was just right and that he felt that it was very effective overall. Rosenthal also commented that it was well received by the Council and thanked the Commission for their good work. Sustainability Sub-Committee — STAR framework update McGinnis updated the Commission on the efforts of the sub-committee and noted that they have made contact with all but one Councilor (Morris) and felt that the overall tone was one of support for the concept. McGinnis noted also that several City Councilors are commenting that the Commission actually take on the climate change planning. McGinnis reiterated that the STAR format is a framework not a plan in of itself. Koopman noted that funding for the effort is important and added that the sub- committee has discussed the pro and con of the City as the lead rather than a community led plan. Councilor Rosenthal suggested that the presentation answer why the plan is important to the community and to be clear that the Commission conveys what they are asking the Council for, which he thinks is 1) adopt the STAR approach 2) solidify funding for staffing/consultant technical assistance Commissioner Weir asked about the details of the funding request and suggested that a specific amount be requested. Rosenthal added that it would be helpful for the Commission to present three options;1) minimal, 2) what you really want and 3) the ultimate plan. Commissioner Sohl asked if the presentation asks for using parts of it or doing it all and suggested that the Commission ask other communities that are doing to to see how they got it started. Commissioner Silverberg mentioned that an important element to the staffing/consultant work is what type of skill set is needed to perform the tasks. Beigel-Coryell agreed but thought that would be much later in the process and most likely handled by Staff. Koopman thanked the group for the discussion and stated that it was very helpful feedback for the next sub-committee meeting. Old Business Commission Goals — Review/Approve Koopman and Beigel-Coryell presented an updated goals document from the last Commission discussion on the topic. Commissioners discussed approving the document as a whole or going through each goal ultimately deciding to go through each goal. Green house Gas Mitigation —Weir motion for all items in bold to be approved. McGinnis second and approved unanimously. City/Community Sustainability— McGinnis motioned to keep all content for this category, Beigel-Coryell second. Sohl recommended to change the second bullet under "Track progress" to "recommend the City completes .....". Hartman second. Approved with one nay (Weir) Waste Minimization — Beigel-Coryell moved to approve as is, second from McGinnis. Approved unanimously. Citizen Education — Hartman noted that these are just goals and not all are required to be met and the Commission could change the details throughout the year. Hartman moved to approve, Buck second and approved unanimously Protect and Restore (Water) — Koopman recommended discussion prior to motion. McGinnis wants it but feels it needs a champion for it to stay a goal. Silverberg inquired where this fit with the Commission's charge. Weir noted he had no desire to champion. Hartman added that he felt the Commission has enough on its plate already. McGinnis motioned to adopt goal but not objectives/actions, Sohl second. Approved unanimously. Climate Change/Adaptation — McGinnis motioned to adopt goal but no objectives/actions until hearing from Council/Mayor after STAR presentation, Sohl second. Approved with one nay (Silverberg) Air/Noise Pollution — Beigel-Coryell motioned to remove, Silverberg second. McGinnis noted that the issue is part of the Commission's charge. Weir noted that air pollution in particular is a huge issue in Southern Oregon. Koopman suggested that the Commission could come back to it next year. Sohl noted that it could be too much for the Commission. Motion passed unanimously. Commission Monthly Column in Sneak Preview Hartman handed out the draft compost article he wrote for the September Sneak Preview. The Commission discussed the ability for the Commission to be able to generate content and meet the monthly deadline. Hartman suggested that he would come up with a plan and take the lead in coordinating the effort. Hanks noted that the Commission should review/approve the articles each month before they are submitted which will require having a few topics being written or in review in advance of the month the submittal is needed. The Commission approved the compost article and agree to coordinate future content with Hartman for scheduling. Hanks added that he would be glad to assist Hartman as needed. New Business Cigarette Butt Collection Pilot Project— Hanks/Beam Deferred to future meeting. 8. Wrap Up Koopman adjourned the meeting at 8:00 Minutes for the Conservation Commission October 22,2014 Page 1 of 2 MINUTES FOR THE ASHLAND CONSERVATION COMMISSION Wednesday, October 22, 2014 Siskiyou Room, 51 Winburn Way 1. Call to Order Chair Marni Koopman called the meeting to order at 6:01 p.m. in the Siskiyou Room. Commissioners Mark Weir, Thomas Beam, Risa Buck, Jim McGinnis, Jim Hartman, Roxane Beigel-Coryell, Bryan Sohl and Shel Silberberg were present. Councilor Rich Rosenthal and staff member Adam Hanks were present. 2. Announcements The next meeting will be a week early, on November 19th due to the Thanksgiving holiday. The sustainability subcommittee will be on November 19th as well. The Center for Sustainability's Fall Fair is Friday, October 24th, from 4 -7 p.m. SOU is holding a forum on November 12th at 6:00 p.m. in the Rogue River room regarding their potential co-gen plant project. The anti-idling program is moving forward. They are hoping Public Works could fund the new (or revised) signs. Weir/Hartman m/s to request that the City work with Cat Gould to support signage for an anti-idling program at Heiman School,within reason. Discussion: Group discussed why this isn't at all schools, were reminded that the School Board requested that they try this as a pilot program, and that if it's successful, they will move on to the other schools. Voice Vote: 8 ayes, 1 no (Beam). Motion carries. 3. Public Forum None. 4. Reports/Presentations/Updates Council Update—Rosenthal reviewed the Recycle Center recommendations, approved by the City Council on October 21 St. The Council also approved the divestments resolution. The Council recommended that the people requesting Ashland become a Bee City USA pursue this with the Parks Commission, as they have control over most of the things the group is concerned with. Rosenthal let the group know that the Council will be approving their strategic planning goals at the November 4th Council meeting. He recommended that the commission keep an eye on those goals. Recology—Buck gave information regarding the Leaf Drop-Off days, the pre-paid leaf bag program, and the option of short-term green bin service. She showed the group a series of videos she's working to be shown on SOPT broadcasts. As those broadcasts go to more than just Ashland residents, they needed to be fairly broad. Minutes for the Conservation Commission October 22,2014 Page 2 of 2 Buck informed the group that Recology will be changing its name to "Recology Ashland". She and Hanks discussed some of the changes DEQ will be making regarding diversion rates. She would like to have this topic on a future agenda, once things are settled. Buck thanked Beam for contribution of cloth napkins to the Salmon Festival. Said it went well and that his car wash demo was requested for next year's event. Climate/Energy Sub-committee—McGinnis informed the group that the sub-committee is starting to morph into the new subcommittee, based on Council's STARR framework request. The group will use the framework as they proceed. They are hoping to talk to Council individually, in November or December to move ahead with the V2 FTE employee (or consultant) addition in the upcoming budget process. 5. Old Business Commission Goals—Group worked on assignments and timelines for each of the proposed goals. Group decided to pull in people from the community to assist on the events when they can. Sneak Preview Column—Hartman showed the group the published version of the first column and let them know that a picture can be included. Hanks informed the group he column on BYOB just before the meeting. Hartman reminded the group to let him know what topic they would like to write and what month they would like it to be published. 6. New Business Carbon Fee/Divided—Group discussed the information which was included in the packet. Sohl requested they hold off until the report due to the state legislature is published, which is expected at the end of November. In general, the group is supportive of a carbon tax but want a better understanding of the proposals as well as the potential pit-falls. Group agreed to wait until the legislative report is published and to have a full discussion with folks from all sides. Weir/Hartman m/s to add this to the December meeting with a minimum of 45 minutes of discussion. Discussion: Is it okay with the group for Sohl to send info from legislature before hand? Yes. Group discussed whether they needed to set up this discussion with a different format, more of an expert panel. Group decided this was unnecessary at this time. Weir/Hartman agreed to amend the original motion to include that equal amounts of time be allotted to each commissioner's discussion time. New motion reads, "move to add this to the December meeting with a minimum of 45 minutes of discussion,with equal amounts of time to be allotted to each commissioner." Voice Vote: 8 ayes, 1 no (Beam). Motion passes. Bee City USA Proposal—group agreed to leave this decision up to the Parks Commission, particularly after Council's discussion and decision. Meeting adjourned at 7:59 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Diana Shiplet Executive Secretary SOU Quarterly Update • SOU's Center for Sustainability was named Runner-Up for the Best Campus Sustainability Case Study award by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASH E). • Drive Less Connect : SOU campaign is officially underway.This is a partnership with ODOT, RVTD,Alta Planning and PacWest to provide students with the information they need to drive alone less and use alternative transportation more.This is the first time it has been done on at a university.The campaign includes: o Alternative transportation events ■ Bus ride to Talent for free tacos ■ Hike downtown for coffee, bus ride back ■ Bike repair workshops ■ Group bike rides o Launch of Raider Rideshare program through Drive Less Connect(ride matching tool) o Free "Go Kits"for students to get more information about their chosen modes of transportation • Still working with Chevrolet to sell carbon offsets for new residence halls(LEED Gold buildings). Will be monitoring and tracking energy use through 2014. • Sustainability Council has proposed the creation of a Climate Action Fund (CAF)to support conservation and carbon reduction efforts on campus. If approved,the university will pay a "tax" on 1%of all university-funded air travel. Estimated impact is$5,000 per year. • Biomass/Cogeneration project survey is being conducted online. Contact me if you would like the link. Information about the project can be found at http://www.soucogeneration.org/ • New bike rental program is currently in development. • The university is conducting a greenhouse gas inventory for fiscal year 2014. Hope to have it completed and published in spring 2015. • Planning a showing of Bag It! for winter or spring 2015. May be looking to partner with the City and/or the Conservation Commission. I st draft for December Sneak Preview Holiday gift wrapping alternatives Unfortunately most wrapping paper and gift packaging hits the trash or recycle bin immediately after the present is opened. This holiday season we encourage all community members to save some of their hard earned cash and turn to the creative side for some alternatives. Reuse repurpose and recondition are some of our favorite ways to get the job done and enhance your holiday gift giving experience by really personalizing it. Here are a few examples that are wonderful expressions of creativity, if the gift is an item for the home a decorative dish towel or hand cloth is a fantastic accompaniment. If it's a bottle of liquor or wine this approach or a scrap of patterned cloth can do the trick. Shop or garage items are always welcome wrapped in shop towels like old tee shirts. Clay pots or decorative bowls found at the local reuse stores make for fun packaging and usually can be reused many times or regifted. Brown craft paper, newspaper, comics, scrap wall paper, horizontal blinds, old maps, calenders from last year, magazines with patterns and picture collages, and out of date periodicals make fun gift wrap some of which can be themed too a specific gift or time of year. Recycled gift paper and reusable gift bags are easy to get a hold of easy to store and even easier to reuse. Using stamps, and old paint on boxes can be a way to personalize a gift while the box remains recyclable. Older disposable shopping bags can be decorated to hold a gift. Using rope or string that has been repurposed is a great alternative to ribbon and can quickly be tied into a bow. With the new bag ordinance taking effect in November reusable shopping bags are as inexpensive as wrapping paper and make a great gift bag. Maps, brochures, flyers and advertisements like old posters from your personal or family travels stir great holiday conversations. And finally, a personal favorite, things from the backyard like decorative branches, dried herb bouqets, and decorated slices of trimmed wood can make great ornaments for any gift or package. Altogether the ways to personalize a gift are endless and they don't require spending a bunch of money. Gift wrapping and packaging create a 25% increase in trash around the holidays. If you do find yourself in a place where only wrapping paper will due make sure it will look good wrapping your compost pile after the holiday. Holiday cards are another phenomenon ,2.6 billion cards are sold around the holidays every year enough to fill a football field 10 stories deep! Now I am not suggesting sending Aunt Sally a Christmas card is bad for the environment, on the contrary,however making her a card out of something personal would really make the holiday extra special. Annually half of the paper we use is attributed to gift wrapping and decorating. If every family reused two feet of ribbon 38,000 miles of ribbon could be saved, tying a bow around our entire planet. Old habits die hard, and we are all busy around the holidays and commercial wrapping paper and petroleum based tape are convenient. So I suggest if this is the case you use you're lazy card and just don't wrap it at all, this naked gift wrapping approach might just take off. If you're really concerned of what the folks in your office, neighbors,or in laws will think just forward them a copy of this article and tell them it seemed like a good idea at the time. Holiday wrapping paper in the United States tops the world with 4 million tons in the Christmas season. In the early nineteen hundreds tissue paper was used to wrap gifts until one year when the greeting card company Hallmark ran out of tissue paper and replaced it with decorative envelope linings and gift wrap as we know it was born. Seems a bit silly we spend 2.6 billion annually on an inventory error made in 1907. Well it seems like we have plenty of options and reasons to find a new way to present our holiday treasures this year. As a community we probably don't meet most of these national statistics but we can all dig a little deeper this month and find some really special alternatives to make this holiday season less wasteful. 2015 New Year's WASTE ZERO Challenge — 663 words It's hard to believe that another new year is upon us. This offers each of us an opportunity for pause to reflect upon some habits we may want to modify in the coming year. It could be to exercise more, be kinder to one another, eat less processed food, support more local businesses and one of my personal favorites, trash avoidance. Here are some ideas to support your efforts to have a smaller impact on the planet. Maybe you will be inspired to add these choices to 2015. Since I have a strong aversion to items we use one time and then toss into the landfill forever, I am hoping these ideas are practical and useful as you create some new habits for the new year ahead. Please be willing to constantly tweak these modifications until they fit just right for you and your family. I hope these tips will be helpful and even inspiring. My personal experience with waste generation is that it boils down to (2) things, the first is awareness and the 2'd is getting organized. Let's start with awareness. Begin to NOTICE (in a non judgmental way) what you are purchasing or accumulating daily and ask yourself : 1. How many times will I use this product before I am done with it ? 2. Where will it end up when I am finished using it ? 3. Might there be another product that will work longer/better/chea per? 4. Can I avoid this product by making a different choice ? 5. Is this product made with renewable resources and/or recycled content and be easily recycled in the Rogue Valley ? So, I think you have a better idea what I mean by "awareness". The next step is to get organized. I'll admit it does take some planning and organization or re- organization to be prepared and have more of what you need to accomplish greater "trash avoidance" If you spend time on your bike or in your car, consider stashing these items IF they are things you use/need often. The point here is to have what you need when you want it so you can be prepared. A worthy goal for waste prevention is to strive to reduce or eliminate disposables (these are items you use only once) HERE ARE SOME TIPS TO HELP: • Drink local tap water in re-usable containers • Bring your own mug for coffee or tea. • When shopping, bring your own bags & choose products minimally packaged. • Choose recycled-content products. Look for products with recycled content- paper, clothes, shoes, metal & plastics. • Choose re-usable cloth napkins, silverware, glasses/cups & plates. • Use both sides of a sheet of paper. • Buy or make birthday, anniversary & get well cards from recycled paper. Re-use cards & re-send as post cards or send electronic good wishes. • Recycle ONLY approved items in commingle with glass separate (no clamshells or plastic bags for example) • Compost yard debris @ home or subscribe to yard debris service. • Compost food scraps at home or give them to a friend who has a critter proof compost bin • Never pour anything hazardous down our storm drain. ONLY rain down the storm drain. • Choose the least toxic product available • Ride a bike, walk, take the bus or carpool whenever possible • Use it up, Wear it out, Pass it on, or Do without ! This is not a complete list but hopefully will provide some ideas for you to get started. Team up with your household, neighbors, school classroom, church, business, athletic team, organization, meditation group or book club to strive toward these achievable changes. I look forward to helping you trouble shoot the challenges and celebrate the accomplishments. We can do this and we can learn from each other. May 2015 move you closer toward all that you aspire to be. Risa Buck is the, "Waste Zero Specialist" for Recology Ashland and member of the Ashland Conservation Commission. 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