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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017.01.25 Conservation Commission Minutes Minutes for the Conservation Commission January 25,2017 Page 1 of 3 MINUTES FOR THE ASHLAND CONSERVATION COMMISSION Wednesday, January 25, 2017 Siskiyou Room, 51 Winburn Way 1. Call to Order Commissioner Roxane Beigel-Coryell called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Commissioners David Sommer, Risa Buck, Mark Weir, Jaime Rosenthal, and James McGinnis were present. Staff member Adam Hanks was present. Council liaison Rich Rosenthal was present. Commissioners Cara Cruickshank and Bryan Sohl were absent. Commissioner Marni Koopman was late. 2. Consent Agenda McGinnis/Buck m/s to approve the minutes of December 14, 2016, as presented. Discussion: None. Voice Vote: All Ayes. Motion Passes. 3. Announcements The group welcomed the newest commission member, David Sommer, the Ashland School District Representative. Sommer gave some background information. The group introduced themselves and gave some background information on their involvement with the group. The next commission meeting will be February 22, 2017. Commissioner Marni Koopman arrived 6:06 p.m. The Water Subcommittee will be meeting this Friday at 1:30 p.m. with conservation staff member Julie Smitherman in the Siskiyou Room. On March 10, 2017, there will be a climate change action celebration at the Ashland Historic Armory. It's being organized by Geos Institute, Rogue Climate, SOCAN and others. Ashland School District has updates lighting on their sports field to LEDs. There were some issues with the equipment, but the installing company will be replacing those items. 4. Public Forum Jeff Sharpe—stated he is encouraged by the addition of Sommer to the commission and is looking forward to seeing the partnership between the City and the school district. Huelz— stated that ACE Hardware is having a sale on LED lightbulbs. He stated that Portland is now requiring energy audits to be shown on all real estate transactions and new homes should also be modeled for energy before building. The commission should ask for this requirement in Ashland. They should also request homes be autonomous and off the grid as a comp plan requirement. He would like everyone to have a car for easier transportation but that all homes should have chargers and solar panels to provide electricity so that those cars can be electric. 5. Reports/Presentations/Updates Recology Quarterly Report—J. Rosenthal handed out copies of the recent ads for the group to Minutes for the Conservation Commission January 25,2017 Page 2 of 3 review. She stated that Recology has recently done the following: • helped to make the Bear Creek Salmon Festival a waste-zero event • provided support for the SoPride parade last fall • the leaf diversion programs in the fall also had more participation than previous years • Christmas Tree recycling (chipping for Parks)program is still going on - it's $5 for a tree to be picked up • partnering with the Master Recycler program to help keep large events low- or zero- waste events assisting Ashland Middle School in its "green week" to establish a composting program Some of Recology's upcoming projects include: • SOU interns researching multi-family recycling and waste management ordinances in other cities • the fourth of July events planning • a new SOPTV commercial. Group discussed multi-family recycling and waste management ordinances and what the challenges exist in Ashland regarding multi-family housing. City Council Update—R. Rosenthal stated that January 27 is the deadline for applications for those interested in filling the Council seat 6 vacancy and gave some process details. He stated the Council is set to approve the hire of a new Finance Director at the next business meeting. Lastly, there was a study session on January 23rd regarding the Climate and Energy Action Plan (LEAP). At this meeting there was lots of discussion regarding the proposed goals ordinance but only a few questions from council members regarding the plan. The plan should be on the March 7th business meeting for approval. City Conservation Programs and Operations—Hanks stated there will be a solar workshop at the end of March (more details to come). Conservation staff member Larry Giardina is finishing an assessment of all city facilities for solar purposes. This should help in future budgeting, the CEAP implementation process, and 1Ox20 Ordinance process. BPA is doing a new pilot program for smart thermostats and will review the results when the pilot is completed. If it is deemed successful, this might lead to a similar program through the City. Conservation staff member Dan Cunningham is on BPA's low-income taskforce. ACCESS, Inc. is our local partner in this and they have some new programs coming out that we are helping to promote. Water Subcommittee Update—The group is working with Julie Smitherman on an education event regarding grey-water, possibly for early summer. Their goal is to work toward doubling the number of systems in the city. 6. Old Business Sneak Preview Column—Hanks handed out a draft article for publication. Group discussed some minor edits. Weir/Koopman m/s to approve the Energy Efficiency article by Hanks with edits based on the discussion. Discussion: None. Voice Vote: All Ayes. Motion Passes. Minutes for the Conservation Commission January 25,2017 Page 3 of 3 Group discussion potential article topics and agreed to the following: March—CEAP update (as agreed to at last meeting) April—Water, written by Weir and Buck May—Energy Climate &Energy Action Plan—Beigel-Coryell suggested that the commission members read the draft plan and give their input before it moves into final form. McGinnis gave an overview of the City Council study session discussion. Hanks gave a summary of the budget issues Council will need to consider with the plan. In general, they felt that Council was supportive of the plan but had concerns with the timing of the goals ordinance. Conservation Commission Powers and Duties Discussion—Group agreed to postpone this discussion until the CEAP ordinance regarding the creation of a new commission is passed and/or until there is more clarity on that ordinance. 7. New Business Nomination of 2017 Char/Vice Char—McGinnis nominated Buck, she respectfully declined. Group decided to postpone the discussion until next meeting as both Cruickshank and Sohl are absent. Conservation Classes (Low Impact Living Series) —Koopman stated that last year the classes were engaged but very small in size. She would like to consider ways to increase attendance. Group discussed some opportunities to market the classes. Group agreed to submit information about the classes they would like to teach for inclusion in the Parks Department catalogue. 8. Wrap Up Group requested that the following topics be on an upcoming agenda: • SOU Quarterly Update in February • ASD Quarterly Update in March • Earth Bowl discussion Meeting adjourned at 7:58 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Diana Shiplet Executive Assistant