Sustainability Commission

CARBONDALE SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION Thursday May 15th, 2025 - 5:00PM Carbondale Civic Center – Room 103 200 S. Illinois Avenue, Carbondale IL AGENDA ________________________________________________________________________________________ 1. Call to Order and Roll Call 2. Approval of Meeting Minutes: March 20th 2025 (April meeting not held) 3. Citizen Comments and Questions 4. Presentations Chaya Rice, SIU Student Representative | Presentation of Projects Earth Month 2025 Debrief | Chair Treesong April At the Table Dinner & Dialogue Debrief | Chair Treesong 5. Report of Officers, Committees, and Communications a. Subcommittee Reports b. Sustainability Coordinator Monthly Progress Report (L. Becker, attached) c. Former Koppers Wood Treatment Site Report (A. Beck) 6. Old Business 7. New Business Sustainability Coordinator Transition https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/carbondale/jobs/4935331/sustainability-coordinator 8. Announcements 9. Adjournment Voting Members: Present Absent Comment Treesong (Chair) Aur Beck (Vice Chair) Jane Cogie Kevin Clark Sarah Heyer x Excused Vacant (CCHS Student) Chaya Rice (SIU Student) Gayle Klam Joan Davis Ex Officio Members: Present Absent LaCaje Hill (Councilmember) City Staff: Present Absent Lauren Becker (Staff Liaison) Community Members Present:  CARBONDALE SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION Thursday March 20th, 2025 - 5:00PM Carbondale Civic Center – Room 103 200 S. Illinois Avenue, Carbondale IL MINUTES ________________________________________________________________________________________ Voting Members: Present Absent Comment Treesong (Chair) x Aur Beck (Vice Chair) x Jane Cogie x Kevin Clark x Sarah Heyer x Vacant (CCHS Student) Chaya Rice (SIU Student) x Gayle Klam x Joan Davis x Ex Officio Members: Present Absent LaCaje Hill (Councilmember) x City Staff: Present Absent Lauren Becker (Staff Liaison) x Community Members Present: Mike Baltz, Keep Carbondale Beautiful Executive Director Mark McDaniel, City of Carbondale Parks & Recreation Supervisor and Arborist Ana Moroz, John A Logan College Student Body President 1. Call to Order and Roll Call (5:02pm) 2. Approval of Meeting Minutes: February 20th 2025 (J. Davis moved, J. Cogie seconded) 3. Citizen Comments and Questions (None) 4. Presentations/Special Guests Mark McDaniel, City Arborist – Volunteering with Carbondale Parks & Recreation The Commission engaged in conversation with Mr. McDaniel about city greenspaces and the potential for volunteer opportunities. Mr. McDaniel expressed interest in hosting an Earth Month tree planting event. The  Commission brainstormed and finalized a tree planting to be held April 5 th at 8am. Liaison Becker offered to create a flyer and add the event to the community-wide calendar of Earth Month events. 5. Report of Officers, Committees, and Communications a. Subcommittee Reports i. Nature | Joan Davis: J. Davis shared that the Native Garden Walk will be hosted June 8th . Joan shared about her experience at the Wild Things Conference. Joan asked Mark McDaniel if there was any opportunity to reduce mowing across city greenspaces. Mark expressed that there is. Liaison Becker asked a portion of the gasoline budget could be repurposed for the cost of labor + seeds/plugs to establish a native planting area. Mark expressed that could be done, especially given staff who are already familiar with establishing prairie. b. Sustainability Coordinator Monthly Progress Report (L. Becker, attached) c. Former Koppers Wood Treatment Site Report (A. Beck) 6. Old Business (None) 7. New Business (None) Save the Date! April 15th 5:00pm Earth Month “At the Table” Dinner & Dialogue Series - Asking that Sustainability Commission members attend and serve as facilitators for discussion. - The overarching topic of dialogue is Climate Anxiety and Climate Grief, with particular focus on questions of environmental justice, identity, sense of place, the term “home”, and the “balms” that can help make these anxieties manageable. 8. Announcements Open Meetings Act (OMA) Training https://illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/open-and-honest-government/pac/pac-training/ J. Davis shared that her son’s house has been funded for solar through the Bright Neighborhoods Program! 9. Adjournment (6:12pm S. Heyer moved, C. Rice seconded) The following will serve as my Sustainability Coordinator report of progress for the month of March 2025. As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out with questions and comments. Recurring: - Continued regular check-ins with Justin Harrell, SIU Facilities & Energy Maintenance - Continued regular check-ins with Wade Halva, Faith in Place - Continued attending weekly “Federal Funding Fridays” by the Midwest Climate Collaborative - Continued attending monthly “Complete Streets” meetings, which encourage interdepartmental collaboration for well-designed cityscapes - Continued regular monthly check-ins with the Village of Dowell team - Continued regular Pleiades Strategy Check-ins Chronological: - Attended Village of Dowell Board Meeting to witness approval of bid award for Village Hall and Fire Station rooftop solar installation, grant funded through collaboration with the City of Carbondale (3/3) - Attended final MIF Budget touch base (3/4) - Submitted the Municipal Investment Fund Public/Private Partnership Application ($250K) to ICLEI USA/The Coalition for Green Capital in concert with the Carbondale Community Housing Not for Profit and Illinois Clean Energy Jobs & Justice Fund. (3/5) - Hosted Chris Benda, the Illinois Botanizer for a presentation of his final report on the Inventory conducted for City of Carbondale Parks to complement the Parks & Recreation Master Plan, attended by Public Works Director Robert Hardin, Parks Director Mark McDaniel, and Community Development Services Manager John Lenzini (3/5) - Attended and presented at the internationally attended SMAART Symposium, hosted at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (3/6 – 3/7) - Organized At the Table Dinner & Dialogue for the month of April, focusing on climate anxiety and climate grief, including table materials (3/11) - Provided recommendations regarding PLAN Carbondale Goal F: Resource Stewardship (3/12) - Met with Steve Sommers, a new Approved Vendor for the Illinois Solar for All Program upon request (3/14) - Held onboarding meeting with new Executive Director of the Carbondale Community Housing Not for Profit, LeeAnna Meadows (3/17) - Hosted March Communities LEAP Core Team Meeting (3/17) - Attended C-LEAP connection with Johanna Jamison, Scott Carron, Justin Harrell, and Gregory Norris (3/19) - Held March Sustainability Commission Meeting (3/20) - Tabled with educational materials regarding pollinator-supportive landscaping at the Touch of Nature Maple Syrup Festival (3/22) - Finalized community events for Earth Month 2025 (3/31) The following will serve as my Sustainability Coordinator report of progress for the month of April 2025. As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out with questions and comments. Recurring: - Continued regular check-ins with Justin Harrell, SIU Facilities & Energy Maintenance - Continued regular check-ins with Wade Halva, Faith in Place - Continued attending weekly “Federal Funding Fridays” by the Midwest Climate Collaborative - Continued attending monthly “Complete Streets” meetings, which encourage interdepartmental collaboration for well-designed cityscapes - Continued regular monthly check-ins with the Village of Dowell team - Continued regular Pleiades Strategy Check-ins - Continued regular C-LEAP 2 Check-ins with Justin Harrell, Gregory Norris, Scott Carron, and Johanna Jamison Chronological: - Released Earth Month 2025 Calendar of Events developed in partnership with SIU Sustainability Office and community organizations. (4/1) - Met with Ellen Esling, local videographer, to discuss prospective subcontract with Pleiades Strategy to create video content for strategic communications plan (4/2) - Met with SIMMS landscaping design team to confirm locations of urban tree canopy (4/2) - Drafted 2025 Mayors Monarch Pledge at the request of Mayor Harvey (4/3) - Delivered guest lecture at SIU Carbondale for introductory sustainability course (4/3) - Attended Municipal Investment Fund Public/Private Partnership Program ($250K) in concert with the Carbondale Community Housing Not for Profit and Illinois Clean Energy Jobs & J ustice Fund update meeting (4/4) - Met with Pleiades Strategy Team and Ellen Esling to discuss prospective videography subcontract (4/4) - Met with Kevin Clark to discuss Energy Sovereignty Proposal/Our Energy Project timeline due to federal funding shifts (4/7) - Coordinated low-waste dishware rental from Ace Hardware for the April at the Table (4/8) - Completed Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Q3 Report (4/9) - Met with Foodworks of Southern Illinois Executive Director Jennifer Paulson to dis cuss regional Agrivoltaics updates and opportunities (4/9) - Coordinated and hosted children’s programming for the PLAN Carbondale (Comprehensive Plan) Open House, featuring sensory activities and visioning exercises (4/9) - Hosted April At the Table Dinner & Dialogue Series | Climate Anxiety & Climate Grief (4/15) - Attended NREL Carbondale Municipal Buildings EnergyStar Portfolio Manager Check-in with Amanda Kirkeby (4/16) - Represented the City of Carbondale at the Fourth Annual Family Ecofestival (4/19) - Hosted the April Communities LEAP Monthly Team Meeting (4/21) - Coordinated Mayors Monarch Pledge Resolution, Earth Day Proclamation, and Summary of Findings Presentation by Chris Benda (Plant Inventory) at City Council (4/22) - Attended Carbondale Ongoing TA Tag-up, NREL (4/22) - Attended NREL Carbondale Municipal Buildings EnergyStar Portfolio Manager Check-in with Amanda Kirkeby (4/23) - Represented the City of Carbondale at the Carbondale Unitarian Fellowship Eco-Fair and First Christian Church EV Car Show (4/26) - Successfully entered Civic Center and Public Safety Center data into EnergyStar Portfolio Manager (4/28) - Attended Village of Dowell planning meeting for solar ribbon cutting to be held in June (4/28) - Represented the City of Carbondale at the 2025 Midwest Climate Summit, hosted by the Midwest Climate Collaborative (4/29 – 5/2)