Bordentown City Environmental Commission

Bordentown City Environmental Commission – Meeting Minutes February 8, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom Submitted by Lynn Robinson The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Ralph Tolomeo. Members Present: Ralph Tolomeo, Cathy Elliot Shaw, Joel Dowshen, Dan Preston, Ralph Simon, Lauren Drumm. Chloe Arnold Current Items --Continue BCEC Meeting venue via Zoom in 2023 until decision to meet in person is agreed upon --Planning Board Report: Reorganization meeting. Discussion on rules and regulations. --D&R Greenway & Abbott Marshland Report Bluffs trail is completed. There was a visit by the state to review and approve it. We passed with flying colors thanks to Dan and other volunteers. March 25 th there will be a ceremony to celebrate the opening of the trail. More details will be forthcoming. -- Joel received a mailing of the Preliminary Bird and Mammal Inventory on Point Breeze. It was an interesting report. Joel posted the review on the website. Joel suggested we post some of the relevant events on our website. He also ordered an electronic copy. It was agreed that Joel should put the Friends of Abbott calendar of information on our website. Should we put some Old City Hall calendar of events information on our calendar? We will ask first. --BCEC & Green Team Membership Recruitment We have two interested people. Dan Aubrey and Gabriella. (Both have attended previous meetings.) They can be substitutes until appointed by the mayor. They will both have to fill out the applications. --Reappointments in 2023 will be discussed next month --High School Student “Membership/Participation” in BCEC Chloe (student) said she is interested and she knows another student who is interested. We don’t need the mayor appointment for students however we will share this information with the mayor. Chloe has a high interest in the trails. Ralph welcomed Chloe to the group. --2023 BCEC Budget - There are 2 or 3 items pending. We need to look at the giveaways for the Green Fair and the Street Fair. Do we want to sell seeds and plants? Peggy said we couldn’t fund raise. We can buy the plants at wholesale prices. Maybe we can just distribute them. Maybe if/when we do the pollinator gardens workshop we could give away the plants. --Green infrastructure project was completed but Cathy stated that she wanted to do one with the Rutgers planning group. 2023 Initiatives & Events --Invasive species remediation...report at Commissioner's meeting No date yet. Perhaps we can have a presentation at the May meeting. --Hilltop Park Native Planting & Plant Identification Markers This will be temporarily taken off of the agenda. --Storm water downspout planters & materials - No plans at this time. --We should be thinking about our priorities for the year and given publicity in those areas. One area would be improving our storm water impact. --Earth Talks—Topics & Speakers (when & where) --Green Fair - meetings are underway for this project. Ideals needed for some great things for inside of the gym. Please mark your calendars. We will need help on that day (June 10th) 2023 Calendar of Events—Will update as Info becomes available --Rambles--Locations & Guides (when & where) April 8 th – tree planting Pizza Party – Wednesday, May 17, 2023 – 12:00 noon Earth Day House Tour – April 30th - So far we have 5 houses. There are 8-10 stops firmed up so far. The homeowners will explain their homes. BCEC committee members will be at Carslake to give away plants. --CleanUps--when & where Plogging – the joggers want to partner with us on this project so Lauren will meet with them to firm up dates. We will supply the necessary materials. --Food Waste Reduction Project Cathy joined this committee that is part of the tri-county. Cathy is interested in composting programs and ways to support the community. --ANJEC Workshops for Effective Environmental Commissions - Please try to attend some of the workshops. Quarterly Check-In Report (Q1 in March, Q2 in June, Q3 in Sept, Q4 in Dec) Representatives of these subcommittees/initiatives will present a status report on a quarterly basis --Farmer’s Market --Community Garden --Pizza Box Recycling- 6,000 pounds of pizza box reduction so far. There is a request for volunteers to flatten the boxes and/or help with transporting the boxes to the farm. (Chloe said we could probably get students who need community service hours to help with flattening the boxes.) PUBLIC COMMENT - None Adjournment Next meeting: WEDNESDAY, March 8, 2023 at 7:00 via Zoom