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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017.09.27 Conservation Commission Minutes Minutes for the Conservation Commission September 27,2017 Page 1 of 4 MINUTES FOR THE ASHLAND CONSERVATION COMMISSION Wednesday, September 27, 2017 Siskiyou Room, 51 Winburn Way 1. Call to Order Chair Marni Koopman called the meeting to order at 6:04 p.m. Commissioners Risa Buck, Roxane Beigel-Coryell, Jamie Rosenthal, Mark Weir, James McGinnis, and Cara Cruickshank were present. Staff member Adam Hanks, Commissioner David Sommer, and Council Liaison Traci Darrow were absent. 2. Consent Agenda Beigel-Coryell/Rosenthal m/s to approve the minutes of August 23, 2017, as presented. Discussion: None. Voice Vote: all ayes. Motion Passes. 3. Announcements The next commission meeting will be October 25, 2017. Buck stated that September 291h is the due date for instructors to submit events or classes at North Mountain Park for inclusion in the Parks and Recreation guide. This guide is for classes to be held December through May. Beigel-Coryell stated that September 30th is SOU's day of service. This year they are working at Mt. Ashland. Community members can participate. Rosenthal stated that there is a new Recology Ashland Facebook page. She hopes to use it to spread the word about waste reduction and operational information. Rosenthal gave an overview of some of the recycling restrictions which will likely effect Recology's costs as well as what items will be accepted. 4. Public Forum Louise Shawkat— stated that Energize Rogue has another ductless heat pump program. They were able to get the grant because the last one created three jobs. She also stated that SOCAN will be having a Master Climate Protector Class starting soon. Huelz Gutchen— stated that there are three kinds of carbon; plant absorbable (good), inside (raises quickly with no ventilation), and world (raises slowly but is bad). When carbon levels are at 800 parts/million people get drowsy and suffer mental consequences. As world carbon levels are headed in this direction all human will be dumbed down. He also stated that we should all have CO2 monitors in our homes to control our inside levels. He stated some new equipment, like refrigerators, have lower carbon emissions but higher inside carbon issues. He also stated that half of all bad carbon is absorbed by the ocean which is leading to more plankton death which in turn leads to less oxygen in the air. 5. Old Business Sneak Preview Column Minutes for the Conservation Commission September 27,2017 Page 2 of 4 Beigel-Coryell/McGinnis m/s to approve the November article submitted by Rosenthal as submitted. Discussion: None. Voice Vote: all ayes. Motion Passes. Group agreed to the following potential article topics: • December—CEAP ordinances (the big picture on where we are),by McGinnis • January—conservation successes at the ASD, by Sommer 6. New Business Conservation Commission Goal Setting—Koopman read aloud the Commission's mission and duties and the group brainstormed the following: Agreements (how the ,group wants to operate) => Participation on subcommittees => On-time => Active Listening (checking in that everyone understands/is understood) => Raise hand to speak/one voice at a time => It's okay to disagree => Be respectful of meeting time • Stay on topic • Move certain topics outside of the meeting, as necessary • Create topic "bin" for later discussions • Be prepared(do your homework) => Take responsibility for creating the commission you want to have => Encourage group engagement in an informal way? (get to know each other) => Support relationship to and with the City => Keep an open mind Group listed potential priorities for their goals, broken down into basic categories; Waste Reduction, Water Conservation, Renewable Energy, Energy Conservation, Air Quality, and Education and Outreach. They then voted by having each member place a dot next their top five priorities. These were the results (number next to bullet indicates the number of dot votes): Priorities Waste Reduction 1 - Plastic Bottle Ban—look at other cities 1 - Track consumption based emissions 2 - Straws 1 - City-wide curbside compost services 2 - Update multi-family recycling ordinance 2 - Expand downtown recycling basket program 0 - Recology—help with waste diversion 2 - Target businesses for waste reduction Minutes for the Conservation Commission September 27,2017 Page 3 of 4 Water Conservation 2— Greywater and rainwater catchment incentives 1 —Water conservation education & incentives 2— Storm water education, drain labeling 0— Create water use scorecards Renewable Energy 4— 1 Ox20 implementation 1 — Support and encourage renewable energy generation 2— Code requirements for renewable energy 1 —Participate in electric utility comprehensive plan Energy Conservation 4— Create electrical use scorecards 0— Improve energy use data collection 0— Improve user interface 2—Educate citizens 0—Demand management planning 0— Support CEAP specific to energy conservation Air Quality 0— Idling 2—Leaf blower—incentivizing electric or leaf vacuums Education and Outreach 0—Earth Day 0—Bear Creek Salmon Festival 0-4 th of July 1 —Low Impact Living Series 1 — Conservation Corner (Sneak Preview) Group discussed the Education and Outreach section and whether this was a natural extension of any subcommittee work. Group generally agreed that education is integral throughout all commission activities. They also generally agreed to continue with the Conservation Corner by committing to each write one or two articles a year, with the exception of Commissioner Buck who already has a regular column. Weir agreed to create a metric to determine if the Conservation Corner articles are effective and group agreed to review whether to continue with the articles afterward. Group agreed the following would be next steps in the goal setting process: 1) Agree to subcommittee participation. Group generally agreed to the following assignments (recognizing that Commissioner Sommers was absent and may want to participate): • Water subcommittee— Cruickshank, Buck, Weir • Waste reduction—Beigel-Coryell, Buck, Rosenthal, Koopman • Renewable Energy— Cruickshank, McGinnis, Koopman • Energy Conservation—Beigel-Coryell, McGinnis, Weir Minutes for the Conservation Commission September 27,2017 Page 4 of 4 2) Consult with City Staff 3) Create deliverables and/or agree to bumble around until an idea forms 4) Create pilot program 5) Get Council direction/approval 7. Wrap Up "Bin items" for future meetings • Packet agreement (due dates, etc.) • Discussion re: annual retreat • Sneak Preview calendar • Landry to Landscape workshop follow up • CEAP update from Hanks Meeting adjourned at 7:47 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Diana Shiplet Executive Assistant