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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015.04.29 Conservation Commission Minutes Minutes for the Conservation Commission April 29,2015 Page 1 of 4 MINUTES FOR THE ASHLAND CONSERVATION COMMISSION Wednesday,April 29, 2015 Siskiyou Room, 51 Winburn Way 1. Call to Order Roxanne Beigel-Coryell called the meeting to order at 6:01 p.m. in the Siskiyou Room. Commissioners Risa Buck, Thomas Beam, Mark Weir, Shel Silverberg, Bryan Sohl, Jim McGinnis, and Jim Hartman were present. Staff member Adam Hanks was present. Council liaison Rich Rosenthal was absent. Commissioner Koopman arrived late. 2. Consent Agenda Buck/Hartman m/s to approve the minutes of March 18, 2015,with amendment correcting the words, "police" to "policy" in public forum and "complicated" to "challenging" in the Earth Bowl update. Voice vote: All ayes. Motion passes. Water Conservation Program Summary- Conservation Analyst Julie Smitherman was unable to attend the meeting. Hanks asked the group to give him any questions they may have on the report included in the packet so that she can be prepared to answer them at the next meeting. 3. Announcements The next commission meeting will be held on May 27, 2015. The climate and energy subcommittee will meet on May 6 and 20 at 2:00 p.m. in the Siskiyou Room. McGinnis noted that the meetings of the subcommittee may be fewer during the summer months. The Chamber of Commerce's 4th of July planning committee is hosting a workshop on May 20, from 4:00—5:00 p.m. at the library regarding how to build a low-waste float or parade entry. Beam reminded the group that this is his last official meeting. He stated that he has enjoyed his time as a commissioner and that he will be around for projects or assistance, when they fit into his schedule. The group thanked him for his service. The Jackson County Plastic Round-up will take place on May 14 and 15, at Rogue Disposal in White City. Buck wanted to particularly note the new location. Hanks informed the group that on May 4th the Council will hold a study session regarding the definition of a quorum for commissions. Also, Council is planning a commissioner appreciation event on August 3 Oth. Invitations for this event will be coming later. Silverberg noted that the state of Arizona just passed a bill preventing any city/municipality from passing their own bag-ban ordinance. The group noted their frustration with these sorts of bills. Raj Patel will be speaking at SOU in the music recital hall on April 30, at 8:00 p.m., regarding the food system. 4. Public Forum Minutes for the Conservation Commission April 29,2015 Page 2 of 4 Gerry Paschel— Gave the group information about his group's plan to install a wind energy farm. He would like the commission to write a letter to encourage investors in this project. The farm will be built on Dead Indian Memorial Road. He gave details of the amount of electricity the farm could potentially provide and the costs involved with construction. Huelz—Noted he will be giving the same talk as he's giving today at the next City Council meeting. He discussed what he calls the Transportation Safety Index, which has five components; Transportation, Recreation, Exercise, Socialize and Spiritualize. Transportation is getting to your destination. Transportation requires a vehicle or"safety container". Recreation is for getting outside and does not require a safety container. Exercise is not generally fun but could have the side benefit of getting you somewhere. Socializing can be both random encounters or more intimate conversations in a car. Cars can good, they get you places further and faster, which means you make more money and more money means you can buy an environmentally friendlier car. Everyone in Ashland should have a car. The problem is that fossil-fuel carbons are killing the planet. 5. Reports/Presentations/Updates Introduction of Compost Class Instructor—Buck introduced John Flaherty, who will be the compost class instructor this year. He spoke about his qualifications and previous work with composting and gardening. The classes will touch on a variety of composting styles. He would like to see a county-wide movement to add composting to our trash service for those who can't compost. Buck reminded the group that one commissioner attends each class with Mr. Flaherty, which helps connect the commission to the community. The group encouraged Mr. Flaherty to include information about"critter-proof ' designs in the classes. They thanked him for taking the time to come to the meeting and for being willing to teach the classes. City Conservation & Operations—Hanks updated the group on the recent clean-up and new signage in the Calle Guanajuato trash and recycling area. He is hoping the new signage will improve usage, and be an example of best practices for multi-unit buildings. He also stated that Asante is doing a lighting upgrade project, which should save energy. Lastly, the Ashlander's apartment complex is doing a window upgrade and this too will save energy. The group briefly questioned Hanks regarding conservation budget numbers proposed in the upcoming biennium. Earth Bowl—Due to requests from coaches for more time to work on learning the information, this event has been moved to May 18. All the coaches have been given all the topic questions, to help focus the student's studying for greater success. There are six teams completing from either Ashland Middle School or the John Muir school. Jeff Golden has agreed to be the moderator and/or host of the event. The subcommittee still need score keepers and other assistance at the event. Commissioners interested in helping should let the subcommittee members know ASAP. The next sub-committee meeting will be May 11, at 4:00 p.m. in Jim Hartman's classroom at Ashland High School. Fourth of July—The next sub-committee meeting will be May 26, from 2:00—3:00 p.m. in the Siskiyou Room. Minutes for the Conservation Commission April 29,2015 Page 3 of 4 Ashland School District Quarterly Report—Hartman informed the group that there is a senior project placing an anemometer at the high school football field. Hartman also explained to the group that he is working on getting new recycle bins for around the high school campus. He's been talking to Buck about options. He would like to request that the Commission spend $700 to purchase red bins (Ashland color) for recycling at AHS. Weir/Hartman m/s to ask the City to support $700 for the purchase of bins for recycling at Ashland High School. Discussion: Group asked why he hasn't asked the school board for the funding. Hartman stated that he pitched the idea to the Principal, but was told there is no budget available. Group asked why these bins aren't automatically a part of what is provided by Recology. Buck stated that Recology doesn't want to give the glass-only blue bins for mixed recycling as it causes mixed messaging and confusion to home users. Group gave Hartman suggestions of other locations to request funds or matching funds for the bins and other options for recycling containers. 7:09 p.m. Commissioner Marni Koopman arrived. Role call vote: 7 ayes (Beam, Buck, McGinnis, Sohl, Hartman, Koopman, Weir, Silverberg) and 1 nay (Beigel-Coryell). Motion passes. Beigel-Coryell stated she voted no, not because she doesn't support recycling at the High School, but because she believes there are better options than the smaller, glass-only style recycling bins. Hartman agreed to also look into other funding options. 6. Old Business Sneak Preview Column—Group gave a few minor edits to Buck on her composting article for the June edition. Beam/ Silverberg m/s to approve the article,with the proposed edits. Voice Vote: All ayes. Motion Passes. Upcoming columns: • July& August—irrigation articles regarding Ashland High School and Southern Oregon University, written by Beigel-Coryell and Hartman. They will determine which is most appropriate for which month. • September— Storm drain and leaves, written by Buck, with information and assistance from Will Bridges in Public Works Climate Action Plan Presentation recap—Koopman stated that the group is meeting almost weekly and are currently putting together a work-plan chart and timeline. They are expanding on the original approvals from Council with more details. They have been discussing how the process will work with the grantees approved by Council. Group discussed the proposed calendar. Some were concerned that the dates were too vague. McGinnis stated that some of the vagueness was due to needing to be flexible but that other dates were being locked-in as the process was refined. Group requested more information on each topic in the work chart at the next meeting. Minutes for the Conservation Commission April 29,2015 Page 4 of 4 Weir/Buck m/s to endorse the schedule as presented with the understanding that it will continue to be enhanced. Discussion: Group discussed if the motion was needed now, or if it could wait until the plan is more clear. Voice Vote: 3 ayes, 5 nays, motion fails. 7. New Business Election of Commission Chair/Vice Chair— Beam/Sohl m/s to appoint Beigel-Coryell as chair and Koopman as co-chair. Discussion: Group confirmed with Beigel-Coryell and Koopman that they are okay with these appointments. Both agreed it could work. Group expressed how impressed they have been with Beigel- Coryell's growth into a leadership position over her time on the commission and thanked Koopman for how hard she worked as the Chair. Voice Vote: All ayes. Motion Passes. Bag Ban Update—Hanks informed the group that the ban implementation mostly was good. There was a need for clarification of requirements and some confusion regarding which businesses would be effected at the beginning of the ban. All the big retail outlets implemented the ban easily. The smaller retail outlets were more challenging, and some are not yet in full compliance. Staff is working with the Chamber to help the smaller retailers on how to market and implement the ban effectively. Once the Chamber has helped them, then staff will pursue enforcement on those still not in compliance. The Group wondered if staff could do a survey at the 12-month anniversary to see how it's going, maybe separating results from big- and small- retail. Staff explained the challenges of that, as businesses can't be asked to give any hard numbers, so any participation in a survey would be voluntary only and would mostly be anecdotal. Group requested that further discussion on this topic be added to the next agenda. Cigarette Butt Pilot Project—Eight cans were originally installed. Seven of the businesses sponsoring the cans have had positive reactions to their installation. The eighth had some negative issues. Staff is looking into alternative designs (likely more expensive) to resolve those issues. Until a new can design is chosen staff is holding off on adding the signage. 8. Wrap Up Calendar/Budget Review— Group would like clarification on what amount of money is left in the budget for the rest of this fiscal year. This discussion will be added to the next agenda. They would also like a discussion of the "Stream Smart"program. Meeting adjourned at 8:01 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Diana Shiplet Executive Secretary