Sustainable BC Committee

Environmental Policy Study Committee Battle Creek City Hall Room 302B, Third Floor 10 N. Division St. Battle Creek, MI Friday, February 1, 2008 4:00 p.m. Committee Members Present: Commissioners Sherry Sofia, Ryan Hersha, John Godfrey, and Chris Simmons Committee Members Absent: None Staff Present: Chris Kosmowski, Dawn Hammond and Wayne Wiley Call to Order: The meeting commenced at 4:00 p.m. Comm. Hersha felt it most beneficial to wait to go through the committee selection when there is a larger pool to draw from. Comm. Simmons suggested a public release notifying the committee is forming. Comm. Godfrey suggested giving applicants the option of attaching a resume, noting it on the bottom of the application. Comm. Simmons stated there was not a formal process for applying. He stated he would work on the form and e-mail. Comm. Godfrey questioned if a 19 member committee was necessary, instead of 11. He felt the committee selection should be directly from the community. Comm. Sofia recalled the Resolution stated up to 19 members. Ms. Kosmowski suggested setting a deadline. Comm. Simmons suggested sending a press release at the end of February. Mr. Wiley asked if targeted letters would be more beneficial than a press release, contacting the high schools. Comm. Sofia asked if there was a generic form the city used for committees. Mr. Wiley advised there was not. 1 Comm. Simmons stated he would create the form and e-mail it to Mr. Wiley and mail it out. Ms. Kosmowski recommended adding to the form the mission and purpose of the committee. Comm. Simmons stated Resolution 41 (12/4/07) addressed this. Comm. Sofia talked about opportunities of educating the public regarding the work of the committee. Comm. Godfrey remarked it was not the committee’s job to highlight environmental events already planned, but to seek out grants and see what other cities were doing. Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor are already involved with wind energy and other environmental issues. Comm. Sofia felt the events could be used to highlight the committee. She gave an example of people who were involved in Arbor Day might have a natural interest in the committee. She stated she was interested in sustaining the message year around. Mr. Wiley asked if Comm. Sofia was looking at a working agenda for topics. Comm. Sofia was interested in the environmental issue staying fresh in the community. Mr. Wiley stated we are currently compiling electrical and gas information through the utilities. The City has vehicle usage data. Mr. Wiley stated purchasing power from the Ceresco Dam is an option being considered. Comm. Simmons would like to look at the limitations on our current curbside recycling. For example, plastics (only #1 & #2 are accepted) with #5 being the most used, Styrofoam (Example: City of Jackson). Mr. Wiley commented the City’s contract with Waste Management is coming up soon and is looking at working on a list of recyclables. Comm. Godfrey agreed with Mr. Wiley. Mr. Wiley stated the next steps are recruiting new members and setting an agenda for topics to be discussed. Comm. Hersha had hoped the committee would be smaller, keeping the committee more focused and on task. Comm. Godfrey suggested reducing the number of commissioners on the committee to two and utilizing other persons in the community with environmental expertise. 2 Ms. Kosmowski felt it would be hard to maintain 19 committee members on a long-term basis. Comm. Hersha did not want to see the committee turn into a bureaucracy. He stated he wants to see results. Mr. Wiley is hoping committee members would provide research and expertise. He stated the committee would be productive and successful with an agenda and a purpose. Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 4:58 p.m. DH/cs 3