City Council

Chatham Township Environmental Commission Meeting Agenda Wednesday February 1, 2023, 7:15pm 58 Meyersville Rd. Chatham NJ 07928 OPEN PUBLIC MEETING STATEMENT: The meeting schedule for 2023 and January 2024 is posted on the main bulletin board at the Township municipal building, in two newspapers and on the Chatham Township Environmental Commission website at https://www.chathamtownship-nj.gov/environmental. The public is cordially invited to attend all meetings, join the discussions and participate in projects. CTEC'S PURPOSE: To undertake projects and make recommendations concerning the protection or use of natural resources, including water resources and air quality, located within or directly affecting Chatham Township. The Chatham Township Environmental Commission's goal is to provide a responsible environmental viewpoint to Township committees and boards and to undertake projects with a strong educational component in order to inform officials and residents about constructive actions that can be taken to preserve the environment. APPROVED DATES FOR CTEC AND GREEN TEAM FOR 2022 AND JANUARY 2023 The first Wednesday except the second Tuesday in January 2023 and the third Tuesday in May: January 10, February 1, March 1, April 5, May 3, June 7, July NO MEETING, August 2, September 6, October 4, November 1, December 6, 2023 and January 10, 2024. AGENDA ITEMS: 1. Roll Call of CTEC Members: Stacey Ewald (Township Committee liaison), Cara Pacifico Feeser, Amy Mason, Jim Connelly, Matt Palmer, Jessica Romeo, Lisa McHugh, Dan Miller (Planning Board), Sally O’Neil (alternate 1); Celeste Fondaco (alternate 2. Public Meeting Statement (see above) 3. Approve CTEC and Green Team Minutes of January 10, 2023. 4. Green Team updates – Activities that CTEC manages are all part of the Green Team: clean ups, gardens, plant sales and tree seedling giveaways, educational webinars/meetings, etc. Silver Certification received October 2021. We are up for recertification in 2024. 5. Recap of 2022 events and annual report. Pending. 6. 2023 events: -Bear Aware Education Program with the Great Swamp Outdoor Ed Center, 2/9/23 (JR) -EV Expo with Madison and CB Wednesday 4/19/23 (JR) -Spring yard sale set for Saturday 4/29/23 and Fall yard sale for Saturday 9/30/23 (JR) -Tree seeding giveaway, confirmed for 4/22/23 (CPF) -Plant sale with the Great Swamp Watershed Association, distribution date 5/6/23 (JR and CF) *Cultivating Biodiversity webinar w/ GSWA (1/17/23) *Misunderstood Wasps w/ GSWA (2/21/23) *Native Bees w/ GSWA (3/21/23) *Native Pollinator Plants w/ GSWA (4/3/23)  -Spring cleanup: TBD (LM) -Fall clean up: TBC – Shunpike Field clean up -Trail work day (LM) -Rain Garden workshop TBC/up in the air (JR) 7. Review site plan applications for Board of Adjustment and Planning Board and submit CTEC comments – Lisa and Sally have been keeping up to date with all applications and doing a wonderful job. 8. NRI – we need to update our NRI. The last update was 2013. Preference is to keep the name NRI vs ERI. 9. EV Charging Station Update – The EV chargers have been installed and are up and running. Ribbon cutting to be announced. Usage is up, per Ziad. 10. Energy Aggregation and Energy Audits – for 2023 we will investigate offering energy audits to residents and revisit energy aggregation. Amy Mason to update on status of energy aggregation. Jessica Romeo re Energy Audits. 11. Website updates/communication with residents. For now, our point of contact for any updates to the website remains to be Z. 12. Shunpike over flow parking pocket park to include native plant gardens (CF). 13. NJSMA (Jessica) –No new updates. 14. Reports: a. Township Committee – Stacey Ewald b. Planning Board – Dan Miller c. Open Space – Jim Connelly d. Education and Outreach – Jessica Romeo (new ideas: electrify your home and rebates, interactive program w/ GSWA, make your own composer and hands on compost tutorial, Mosquito management, food challenge – reduce meat consumption) e. Invasive Species – Matt Palmer f. Social Media – Jessica Romeo, Cara Pacifico Feeser g. Website – on hold for now h. Pollinator / Native Gardens – Jessica Romeo (see above agenda item/explore new locations for 2023) APPLICATION/ENVIRONMENTAL PERMIT REVIEW – Lisa and Sally have been doing a great job, attending site visits and preparing comments for Board of Adjustment and Planning Board applications. ONLINE RESOURCES - Good NJDEP website for maps, parcels and environmental information at NJ-GeoWeb, http://www.state.nj.us/dep/gis/geowebsplash.htm . Use Internet Explorer. - Very good Morris County mapping utility at https://morrisgisapps.co.morris.nj.us/apps/parcelsearcher/ , hit Map and use the i tool. Gives information about each parcel and has aerials layer. Search for more detailed information about a parcel at https://mcweb1.co.morris.nj.us/MCTaxBoard/. - View open space and Green Acres properties at https://www.state.nj.us/dep/greenacres/ga50/docs/rosi.lite.pdf and https://www.state.nj.us/dep/greenacres/openspace.html.