Committee for a Better Environment

Approved: 062215 M&C Nagro Gardiner Committee for a Better Environment Davis Hall, College Park May 11, 2015 7:00 PM Members Present Absent Phil Aronson X Suchitra Balachandran X (arrived at 7:30pm) Matt Dernoga X Gemma Evans X Janis Oppelt X Kennis Termini X Donna Weene X Guests Present: Steve Beavers, City Liaison; Sheryl DeWalt, Contract Secretary The meeting was called to order at 7:10pm by Ms. Evans. 1. Review and approval 3/23/15 meeting minutes Ms. Weene made a motion to approve the draft minutes from the March 23, 2015 meeting with the corrections stated. Ms. Oppelt seconded the motion. All in favor; no opposed. 2. Budget The current budget shows a balance of $4924.76. These monies should be spent by the end of the fiscal year, June 30, 2015. The cost of the Memorial Plaque for Dr. Murdoch was paid and some miscellaneous expenses for the workshops. After discussing potential projects and expenses for the remaining monies, Ms. Weene made a motion to put forth up to $2000 to the Tree and Landscape board for wish list items. Ms. Oppelt seconded the motion. All in favor; no opposed. 3. Ongoing Business a. Events  i. Pollinators Workshop. It was outstanding. Esther Mitchell was the guest speaker for approximately 11 people attending from 9am- 12Noon. ii. Bike to Work Day. There are 93 people registered. The Terp Ride Bus will provide music and entertainment. College Park Bike Shop will be there for bike repairs. b. Green Awards. The sub-committee has not yet met, but will be meeting shortly to discuss. c. CBE Charge/Code. Ms. Oppelt read the resolution to the committee. After discussion, it was decided that she will email the resolution to Ms. DeWalt who will convert it to a Word document for the committee to edit and add any comments. d. Permaculture. It is looking very good; plants are growing, not too many weeds. e. Fencing ordinance. Ms. Balachandran stated that they are trying to work on verbiage so it can be presented to City Council. The suggestion was made to work with Mary Cook with APC on the verbiage. Ms. Oppelt volunteered to contact Ms. Cook. 4. New Business a. Community Garden. This has been approved by City Council. It is at the corner of Norwich & Columbia in what was the sand volleyball court. As of now there is not water, but if the garden goes over well, there is a water main line in the street that could potentially be accessed. In the meantime, there should be support from DPW or the Fire Department to help water the area. The cost will be $15 per plot. Please encourage everyone you know to sign up for a plot. Mr. Beavers will send follow-up information via email. b. There will be bat workshop scheduled for next spring. c. Mr. Aronson would like to have the grass clipping brochure revised and updated. The committee agreed that he could work on the revisions to share at the June meeting. d. Ms. Evans announced that she will be resigning from CBE and the June meeting will be her last one. The suggestion was made for a potluck to thank her for her work on CBE. 5. Next meeting date The next regularly scheduled meeting will be Monday, June 22, 2015 at 7:00pm. A motion was made by Ms. Evans to adjourn the meeting and seconded by Ms. Weene. The meeting was adjourned at 8:40pm. Minutes recorded and submitted by Sheryl DeWalt, Contract Secretary