Sustainable BC Committee

City of Battle Creek Environmental Policy Study Committee Room 302A, Third Floor 10 N. Division St. Battle Creek, MI Friday, August 19, 2009 4:00 p.m. Members Present: Commissioner Ryan Hersha, Christine Kosmowski, Randall Champlin, Mary Lindow, Michael Myszka, Taichi Ochi, Tiffany Eichorst, Kathy Antaya, Commissioner John Godfrey, Ken Kohs and Commissioner Sherry Sofia Absent: Laura Adams, Susan Anderson, Commissioner Christopher Simmons, Others: Michelle Reen, Mayor Mark Behnke, and Audrey Wierenga Call to Order: Mr. Myszka called the meeting to order at 4:00 P.M. Additions or Deletions to the Agenda: None. Old Business: There was none. Public Comment: Audrey Wierenga, Field Representative of Pollution Prevention & Compliance Assistance Section of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, asked for an updated on Waste Management’s pilot program to encourage curbside recycling. Ken Kohs reported that Waste Management is monitoring the progress of this project, which is a pilot program for that company. They have not yet shared results with the City. Member Comments: Mike Myszka asked for an update on the stimulus projects. Mr. Kohs reported that the City of Battle Creek was the first to successfully submit an application, but there is more to the process for final approval and funding from the EPA. Kohs expects this to be a formality but it could take time. After approval, a plan to utilize the funding will need to be developed and submitted to the EPA. As long as plan follows guidelines, Kohs doesn’t foresee a problem. He would like feedback from this committee and elsewhere in the organization to develop the plan. Kohs thinks there is potential to accomplish some good things with energy efficiency and that timeline may serve to our advantage to give us time to make the plan effective. Comm. Hersha asked if the initial application included specific projects. Kohs clarified that the application did not include the plan as there is more time available to prepare that. The 1 application focused on criteria qualifying the City for use of federal money, for example Davis Bacon wage requirements. Kathy Antaya asked if there was matching grant money available. Kohs said no. b. Sustainability Covenant Mayor Behnke reported that a signing ceremony did take place for the Sustainability Covenant for Southwest Michigan region, however, there was not full participation in the ceremony. He said that Chris Kosmowski and Ken Kohs will be forwarding the City’s efforts with the regional sustainability group. He said Calhoun County has expressed an interest in participating as well. Mike Myszka commented that he has not heard anything either about next steps for moving the Covenant forward. Mayor Behnke suggested that Grand Rapids may be a model for how the area could move forward. He sees nothing but positives to come out of that effort. Audrey Wierenga mentioned that BCPS needed to sign yet, but this was just a logistical issue. She said there is a quarterly meeting that will be held Wednesday on Grand Valley’s campus in Allendale. She will give meeting details and a map to anyone interested in attending. She attended a recent meeting in Grand Rapids and the topic came up of how to engage people, but she does not intend to be a spokesperson for this region. Mike Myszka indicated that as the group is new communication is the biggest challenge and he encouraged members to share what they know. Audrey Wierenga said that she heard Western Michigan University may be planning a meeting this fall, September or October. Randall Champlin asked if there was a source for information on what the Covenant group is doing. Mayor Behnke said he would provide this committee’s email addresses to the coordinator in Kalamazoo so that emails can be distributed to everyone. Mike Myszka then discussed where the committee is going. This is the fourth meeting of this group. There have been a lot of conversations about possibilities. He suggested reviewing the role of this committee, future meetings and asked for clarification on when terms end. Kathy Antaya asked the Mayor to describe what the Commission had in mind for this meeting. Mayor Behnke said Ken Kohs gave a very good report on recycling and that this is an important area that needs attention and participation from the public. He has had conversations with Waste Management about how to promote neighborhood participation. He said if the community can make strides in recycling and reducing waste in landfills we could do a lot for our area. He asked Comm. Godfrey to comment. 2 Comm. Godfrey asked Ken Kohs if, at the end of the growing season, the City intended to contact retailers regarding the zero phosphorus fertilizer effort. Will there be intent to gather information on this effort to determine what compliance was in the first year of this ban. Ken Kohs responded that the City has limited staff to enforce this ordinance. He said staff plans to monitor compliance to the best of the City’s abilities and data could be limited. He said the focus is on getting information out into the community. Christine Kosmowski agreed that it could be difficult to find staff time to gather information about compliance. She asked what this data would tell us. Comm. Godfrey commented that major waterway is Goguac Lake. He asked if everyone on the lake complied how quickly would there be a change in the phosphorous levels in Goguac Lake. He noted that the Commission acted somewhat quickly in passing the ordinance and that it would be nice to have some idea of whether it impacted water quality. Christine Kosmowski mentioned that an environmental survey determined there was good awareness of the ban. She said the intent is to repeat the survey in two years. She mentioned a colorful bill stuffer on the topic was included in City water bills this month and that this will be repeated. Comm. Godfrey said it would be nice to know if there was a difference in sales of fertilizer; comparing last year’s sales, when the ban was voluntary, to this year’s sales, when the ban was required. Kathy Antaya said she works with a lot of retailers and could collect anecdotal information about sales of fertilizer. Comm. Godfrey suggested creating a questionnaire to send to retailers, both independent owners and big box stores. Ken Kohs said staff would review how success of the program could be monitored. He noted that testing of phosphorous in the water is tested regularly and gives us some indication of whether program is working. He said feedback from retailers and businesses that apply fertilizer could be helpful. Kathy Antaya mentioned that companies that apply fertilizer would not buy fertilizer locally but probably from distributors. She said the trucks used should have information about the chemicals used available on the truck or upon request. Mayor Behnke asked if we could have the police department assist with enforcement of the applicator’s compliance with the ban. Mayor Behnke said that Calhoun County is prepared to move ahead with a countywide ordinance. He also added that the committee should be realistic in setting benchmarks that are achievable. While he won’t be mayor next year, he doesn’t see a problem with reappointment of the current members. Mike Myszka suggested a strategic planning meeting to develop a three or five year plan to determine a purpose and whether the committee is advisory. He said if policies lead to a program, that is fine, but the goal is not to just create more work for staff. He said an important task is to know limitations on the committee’s work. He suggested part of the strategic planning could be consideration of sub-committees. He said the group needs to determine its priorities. He suggested a meeting in the third quarter to determine the group’s role and priorities over next three years. At that time meeting frequency could be determined. Comm. Hersha supported this 3 idea. He suggested election timing should be considered as it may affect membership and appointments. The city commission election will be in November. He noted that he was skeptical of this committee early on, but has seen the committee do positive things even without a plan. Mike Myszka asked if consideration of election and appointments were made, would timing be first of the year. Kathy Antaya suggested she is anxious to make sure she’s on the right page. She’d like to go ahead and do planning in September, knowing that in November there may be new members to fold into the process. Mike Myszka stated he does not want to lose momentum. He suggested a meeting to review the stimulus grant and Covenant and to create a general framework for a January strategic planning meeting. He proposed a mid-November pre-planning meeting for a January strategic planning session. Comm. Hersha suggested there may be other updates at this meeting as well. The group agreed. Ken Kohs asked what information staff could provide to move that meeting forward. He offered current policies, the charter of the group, an update on environmental programs provided by staff, and a copy of the Covenant. The purpose of the planning meeting would be to discuss generally what the group would like to see in a strategic planning session to be held in January. Comm. Godfrey asked Christine Kosmowski and Ken Kohs about bio-degradable plastic bags and use at festivals. He asked about the technology of bio-degradable plastics and has the City looked at using this technology for City waste receptacles? Ken Kohs responded that the City has looked at this for leaf pickup but had issues because they too closely matched plastic bags that are not permissible. Ken Kohs said he is not aware if the City is using new bags for City services. Comm. Godfrey encouraged City to consider this. Christine Kosmowski mentioned there is no coordinated effort to create a green standard for purchasing, such as bags or cleaning products. That would be an area that could be useful. It is currently up to departments to make these decisions. Kathy Antaya responded that heavy duty bags are not yet of quality because the design to degrade interferes with the heavy duty purpose, but there are other technologies available for office waste use. She said she would like to create a list of 10 easy ways to green city departments. She suggested perhaps a subcommittee to make recommendations. Several members of the committee could give a critical eye to what the City could accomplish. Mike Myszka said one of his concerns is that there are a million activities we could do. He suggested creating a database that would capture projects and provide prioritization tool. Asking how it affects the 15% by 2015 policy goal could help sort the list. He doesn’t want to lose any idea, so the committee needs a way to document and prioritize. Next meeting: Mike will survey committee members for days and times the week of November 9 and 16 and determine what works best. 4 Announcements: Tiffany Eichorst announced that September 19 from 10-noon at the Toeller Building will be the last appliance and tire pickup. More information is available at www.garbee.com under upcoming events. Audrey Wierenga said Kalamazoo County got a grant and on September 19 will do a pharmaceutical hazardous waste pickup. This is not just for Kalamazoo County. Eichorst mentioned cleaners are accepted at the Calhoun County pickup. Christine Kosmowski said River Cleanup will be October 3 with registration at 8:30 a.m. Tiffany Eichorst mentioned there is a new Eco House display that is on display at Calhoun County Fairground. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 5:00 p.m. MAR 5