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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016.05.25 Conservation Commission Minutes Minutes for the Conservation Commission May 25,2016 Page 1 of 3 MINUTES FOR THE ASHLAND CONSERVATION COMMISSION Wednesday, May 25, 2016 Siskiyou Room, 51 Winburn Way 1. Call to Order Chair Bryan Sohl called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. in the Siskiyou Room. Commissioners Mark Weir, Risa Buck, Roxane Beigel-Coryell, Cara Cruickshank, and James McGinnis were present. Councilor Stef Seffinger was present. Staff member Adam Hanks was present. Commissioner Marni Koopman was absent. 2. Consent Agenda Buck/Beigel-Coryell m/s to approve the minutes of March 23, 2016 and April 27, 2016, as presented. Voice Vote: All Ayes. Motion Passes. 3. Announcements The next commission meeting will be June 22, 2016. Buck informed the group that this will be her final meeting as the Recology Ashland representative. She is leaving her position with Recology Ashland at the beginning of June. She introduced Jamie Rosenthal who will be the representative starting at the June meeting. Buck stated that she has applied to be appointed to the vacant citizen member seat. Beigel-Coryell informed the group that SOU is soon breaking ground on the McNeal Hall renovation project as well as the Theater/JPR studios renovation and expansion project. SOU is once again holding their Move Out program, so that anything left behind by students can be diverted to Goodwill rather than trash. Almost 9,000 pounds of waste was diverted in last year's program. The Hannon Library just completed an installation of new LED lightbulbs throughout. SOU graduation will be Saturday, June 11 th. Lastly, the three finalists for President of SOU will be visiting campus over the next week or so. 4. Public Forum None. 5. Reports/Presentations/Updates City Council Update—Councilor Seffinger gave updates on some of the recently approved topics at Council including the approval of the Forest Lands management plan, which was created by the Forest Lands Commission, and the ordinances relating to downtown behavior issues. In the near future Council will likely also be asked to consider the proposed Nevada Street bridge, which is still currently going through the public input and approval process with the Transportation Commission. Water Conservation Program and Water Supply Update— Staff member Julie Smitherman gave a presentation regarding Ashland's water supply and current conservation efforts. She reviewed some of the Use Water Wisely programs implemented in the past two drought years. She gave information on rebates and giveaways the City of Ashland offers residents (lawn replacement program, low-flow shower heads, soil monitors, etc.) Minutes for the Conservation Commission May 25,2016 Page 2 of 3 Smitherman gave an overview of the in-process Water Master Plan update. On focus in the update is conservation. The group encouraged her and those involved with the update to look into using grey-water re-use as a part of the plan. Group asked if there are any programs or plans specifically targeted at landlords for water use reduction. Smitherman stated that yes, there are many programs and her department works closely with landlords to update their units for efficiency. Additionally, conservation efforts lately have focused on hotels/motels to update things like low-flow shower heads. Group thanked Smitherman for her time. City Conservation Programs and Operations—Hanks gave updates regarding BPA program changes which will soon be implemented. Commercial conservation is BPA's current focus as it has been under served in the past. He stated that Conservation Analyst, Larry Giardina, recently attended a solar conference and came back with good information for the department. Lastly, the Electric Department is doing a cost of service study. Designing rate structures to both encourage lower use and maintain money to cover operating costs is challenging and hopefully the study will assist the department. Low Impact Living Workshops—Beigel-Coryell handed out flyers created for the workshops. She stated that she and Buck are working on the Sneak Preview article to be approved next meeting and have already submitted information to Parks and Recreation for inclusion in their Fall recreation guide. 7. Old Business Sneak Preview Column—The group discussed the order in which the next several topics will be written. The next topic is regarding the Climate & Energy Action Plan, which is technically the purview of that committee. Group discussed ways in which that committee could use the space. McGinnis/Cruickshank m/s that the July Climate & Energy Action Plan ad hoc Committee (LEAP) update Sneak Preview article that Adam has begun drafting be approved by the Commission, with the understanding that Koopman, Sohl, Beigell-Coryell, and McGinnis will further refine the article as representatives of both the Commission and the LEAP, with the understanding that future articles about the LEAP process will be authored by the CEAP. Voice Vote: All Ayes. Motion Passes. Climate &Energy Action Plan—Beigel-Coryell stated that the first open house was held last night. There were five stations to learn about the plan and give input. Lots of input was received from the community. Today the committee met with city staff and the consultant to talk about the plan and get input on what types of goals and actions should be considered. They also talked briefly about the sorts of sectors the plan should be divided into (building, natural resources, etc.) McGinnis stated it was helpful to hear from staff and it felt as if staff interest and involvement will be high. Sohl stated that the committee had a discussion at the last meeting regarding having a legally binding ordinance as part of the final plan. Sohl, Hanks, McGinnis, and Beigel-Coryell Minutes for the Conservation Commission May 25,2016 Page 3 of 3 gave information on the possible timeline of an ordinance. There will be an update to Council regarding the CEAP process at the second meeting in July. 7. New Business Discussion of open commission positions—Buck stated that she has applied for the citizen position, which alleviates some of the pressure to appoint that position. Cruickshank stated that she has talked to teachers to encourage them to apply for the School District Representative position. Group discussed whether a teacher or an administrator/board member is more effective as a representative. Buck would like the group to consider proposing to the Mayor a change in the Commission Charter so that another entity, like OSF, the hospital, or the Chamber of Commerce are represented. The group also discussed the probability that the entire commission will alter based on the outcome of the CEAP process. Project Concept—Buck stated she would like to propose a collaboration between the Tree, Transportation and Conservation commissions to consider planting trees along the I-5 corridor. She wondered if there would be value in cooling, sequestration, and sound prevention? Group agreed to discuss this issue at a later date. 8. Wrap Up Items to be added to the next agenda: • Buck's tree collaboration proposal • Review of the Commission's charter Group discussed meeting dates for the rest of the year and agreed to combine the November and December meetings into one meeting, held on December 14th. Meeting adjourned at 8:04 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Diana Shiplet Executive Assistant