Committee for a Better Environment

Approved: 042417 Committee for a Better Environment United Methodist Church, College Park March 27, 2017 7:00 PM Members Present Absent Suchitra Balachandran X Matt Dernoga X Sarah D’Alexander X Alan Hew X Susan Keller X Todd Larsen X Janis Oppelt X Daniel Walfield X (arrived 7:15pm) Donna Weene X Guests Present: Steve Beavers, City Liaison; Sheryl DeWalt, Contract Secretary The meeting was called to order at 7:10 pm by Co-Chair, Mr. Larsen. 1. Mr. Dernoga made a motion to accept the agenda. Ms. Weene seconded the motion. All in favor; no opposed. 2. Mr. Dernoga made the motion to accept the minutes of February 27, 2017 with the corrections discussed. Ms. Oppelt seconded the motion. All in favor; no opposed. 3. There is $8,110 in the CBE budget. Mr. Beavers reminded the committee that the fiscal year ends on June 30, 2017. Unless the money is encumbered, it should be spent on CBE related projects. Mr. Beavers also stated that it is budget time for the City of College Park. With a new Finance Director, the spreadsheet used in the past will probably not be used any longer. Mr. Beavers presumes that CBE will receive their usual $11K budget. Ms. Oppelt and Mr. Larsen asked the Committee to come with a list of potential items that the CBE could do with the remaining budget for the April meeting. 4. Mr. Beavers announced a new community garden in Hollywood on the corner of Rhode Island Avenue and Edgewood Road behind the dry cleaners. The owner has given the City permission to use for this purpose. It will be raised beds. Each plot will cost $15. The beds will be mapped out on April 8 from 1pm-4pm. About 20 volunteers will be needed for this project. Ms. D’Alexander stated she would reach out to the student sustainability committee at the University of Maryland. 5. Mr. Beavers stated the City Tree Canopy program has been approved by City Council. College Park residents can be reimbursed up to $150 per tree for planting in their yards.  Ms. Alexander, the City’s horticulturist, has a list of recommendations for trees that can be planted. The committee will have a flyer with information available for the Good Neighbor Day on Saturday, April 1. 6. Ms. D’Alexander discussed Good Neighbor Day which is scheduled on April 1 from 9:00am-1:30pm. Headquarters will be at the College Park Community Center. There are currently 640 people registered. It is a zero waste event. Table set up begins at 10am and will last until 1:30pm. Mr. Larsen and Mr. Dernoga will arrive at 10am to set up the table. Ms. Oppelt will be there at 11am. Ms. DeWalt also volunteered, if needed, to help at table or at least bring the brochures for the table by 10am. Brochures/Flyers for the table will be:  City booklet (4 pages) on recycling  Intro to CBE  Green Awards  Noise  Mosquitos  Composting/Grass clipping  LED light bulb quiz Mr. Dernoga also suggested we give away the leftover composting bins at the event. Mr. Hew agreed to pick up the bins from DPW and coordinate with Mr. Dernoga for dropping them off. 7. Brief discussion on the Green Awards. Mr. Hew thought it would be a good idea to hand them out at College Park Day, but the committee decided it would be better to have the brochure/application available at Good Neighbor Day and encourage the attendees to nominate someone. As in the past, a committee of three people will review all applications and choose four winners. 8. Mr. Hew heard back from the State of Maryland. Based on the soil testing numbers received, the arsenic in the soil at the permaculture garden poses no issues for poisoning or contamination. The committee will discuss the type of plants and estimated costs for the permaculture garden at the April meeting. Mr. Hew stated we will need volunteers to help with the mulching of the garden. 9. Copies of the LED quiz were distributed. It was suggested that we add that the CFL bulbs can be recycled at Home Depot and IKEA; Ms. DeWalt will handle the revision and print out 100 copies of the quiz. With the LED light bulb quiz at Good Neighbor Day, the committee would like to give each person one LED light bulb – A19. Mr. Dernoga made a motion that CBE should spent $500 on purchasing LED light bulbs for Good Neighbor Day. Ms. Weene seconded the motion. All in favor; no opposed. Mr. Beaver stated since it is a large amount of money that at least three different price quotes should be obtained. The committee suggested IKEA, Costco and Home Depot. Mr. Beavers stated that the City has an account with Home Depot and the bulbs, if  cheapest, would be tax free. Ms. DeWalt volunteered to research price quotes and send to the committee in the morning. 10. Bike to Work Day is scheduled for Friday, May 19 from 6 am - 8:30 am. Mr. Beavers requested $300 for refreshments for the event. Mr. Walfield made a motion to spend $300 on Bike to Work Day. Mr. Dernoga seconded the motion. All in favor; no opposed. 11. CBE will co-sponsor with the Prince Georges County Sierra Club the movie “Before the Flood.” The movie, which is 90 minutes, will be shown on April 19 at 7:00 pm in Council Chambers. The movie will be advertised on the Sierra Club list serv, all College Park Civic Association’s list serves, City of College Park website, and a flyer will be at the table for the Good Neighbor Day event. Mr. Dernoga agreed to lead the discussion after the completion of the movie. Ms. Weene made a motion to spend $100 for refreshment. Ms. Oppelt seconded the motion. All in favor; no opposed. 12. The City’s annual Financial Disclosure Statements are due by April 30. All committee members are required to complete the statement. 13. Mr. Beavers showed a flyer about a textile recycling program. He will email the information out to the committee on Tuesday. 14. The next meeting will be held on April 24, 2017, at the United Methodist Church at 7:00 pm. Ms. Weene made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Ms. Oppelt seconded the motion. The meeting ended at 8:30 pm. Respectfully submitted by Sheryl DeWalt, contract secretary.