Committee for a Better Environment

Approved: 010416 M&C Somers Gardiner Committee for a Better Environment Davis Hall, College Park November 23, 2015 7:00 PM Members Present Absent Suchitra Balachandran X Matt Dernoga X Karen Garvin X Susan Keller X Janis Oppelt X Kennis Termini X Donna Weene X Guests Present: Steve Beavers, City Liaison; Scott Somers, City Manager; Bob Stumpff, Director of Public Works; Loree O’Hagan, Recycling Coordinator; Mike Hunninghake, Sustainable Maryland; Sheryl DeWalt, Contract Secretary The meeting was called to order at 7:05pm by Ms. Oppelt. 1. Review and approval 10/19/15 meeting minutes Ms. Oppelt made a motion to approve the draft minutes from the October 19, 2015 meeting with the corrections stated. Ms. Weene seconded the motion. All in favor; no opposed. 2. Fencing Ordinance Recommendation Ms. Weene made a motion to approve the recommendation from CBE on front yard garden fencing. Discussion took place on fencing including that it cannot be chain link and it must be removed when the garden is over. Possibility of on doing a fencing brochure discussed. Ms. Oppelt seconded the motion after discussion was completed. All in favor; no opposed. The recommendation will be sent to the Mayor, City Council and Advisory Planning Commissioin. 3. Sustainable Maryland presentation Mike Hunninghake made a presentation regarding recertification for College Park which is due in 2016. He started with a brief overview and history. Sustainable Maryland is a certification program for municipalities in Maryland that was launched in 2011 that want to go green, save money and take steps to sustain their quality of life over the long term. Sustainable Maryland Certified is a collaborative effort between the Environmental Finance Center (EFC) at the University of Maryland and the Maryland Municipal League. The Mission of Sustainable Maryland Certified is to enhance livability for all Marylanders by helping municipalities choose a direction for their sustainability efforts, improve access to resources needed to implement action, measure their progress, and gain recognition for their accomplishments. Currently there are 60 communities registered and 30 communities certified. Sustainable Maryland Certified helps municipalities: • Gain access to training, tools, and expert guidance; • Realize cost savings and improve the bottom line; • Conserve resources while promoting community viability. Sustainable Maryland Certified features: • Menu of options lets communities choose actions that fit their needs; • Holistic vision helps communities plan across community priorities; • Free and voluntary makes participation easy. Possible new actions needed for recertification; all actions can be completed on the Sustainable Maryland website – www.sustainablemaryland.com o Participation in a Maryland Green School o Green Purchasing Policy o Community Garden o Pet Waste Education Program o Stormwater Management Program o Tree City USA o Water shed stewardship projects It was suggested that the CBE take over from the Green Team which was disbanded upon completion of Sustainable Maryland certification. The Committee tabled any further discussion of the re-certification until it can be done with all committee members present. 4. Ongoing Business a. The movie “Tapped” is scheduled for showing on December 5 at City Hall Council Chambers at 4:00pm. This is about the bottled water industry. This is being co- sponsored by the Prince Georges County Sierra Club. 5. New Business a. Pay as you Throw Program. This is a solid waste management program. Ms. Balachandran will send out the power point presentation. Mr. Somers stated that this will be a controversial program. He also stated that we would need an actual cost per household to determine if there could be a reduction in the tax rate. What percentage of each household’s tax goes to trash? Mr. Stumpff stated College Park has the cheapest rate for trash in Prince George’s County. He also stated that the tipping fee will be increased each year on July 1. In order for the Mayor and City Council to consider this program, a recommendation letter will be needed from CBE outlining the program in a positive way with accurate data: advantages – recycle rate increases, amount of trash will be reduced, additional revenues could be spent on an attractive project, perhaps property taxes could be lowered. Explain how other municipalities promoted the program and handled the bag fees, tipping fee. b. There will be a composting workshop scheduled for the spring. Compositing bins, currently available in storage, could be given out during this workshop. 6. Next meeting date  The next regularly scheduled meeting will be Monday, January 4, 2016 at 7:00pm. A motion was made by Ms. Weene to adjourn the meeting and seconded by Ms. Oppelt. The meeting was adjourned at 9:00pm. Minutes recorded and submitted by Sheryl DeWalt, Contract Secretary