Committee for a Better Environment

Approved: 062419 Committee for a Better Environment Davis Hall, College Park May 20, 2019 7:00 PM Members Present Absent Suchitra Balachandran X Alexa Bely (8:00pm) X Pablo deOliveria (7:15pm) X Matt Dernoga X Oscar Gregory X Alan Hew X Todd Larsen X Andrea McNamara X Jordan Schakner X Cameron Thurston (7:45pm) X Daniel Walfield X Donna Weene X Caroline Wick X Also Present: Mary King, resident; Janet McCaslin, City Liaison; Sheryl DeWalt, Contract Secretary NB.: Cameron Thurston was present via phone and as such, did not participate in voting on any actions. The meeting began at 7:08pm by chair, Mr. Larsen. 1. The agenda was reviewed, and a change was made for additional time for the SMART report. Mr. Walfield motioned. Dr. Balachandran seconded. Motion carries 8-0-0. 2. The April 15, 2019 minutes were reviewed, and several items were amended. Dr. Balachandran motioned with amended changes. Ms. McNamara seconded. Motion carries 8-0-0. 3. City activities: a. Ms. McCaslin stated that the CBE budget is approximately $6600 after spending $350 on mesh bags and $300 on food waste bins. The proposed budget for FY2020 is $8600. b. Month to date, 440 pounds of food scraps have been dropped off. Since the program began on April 1, there has been 1.1 tons of food scraps c. Ms. McCaslin is working on the Sustainable Maryland update of the report which is due June 30, 2019. She may be reaching out to members for additional information and assistance. 4. The Green Clean workshop, held on Saturday, May 11 at City Hall, had five attendees. Dr. Balachandran suggested to start filming and recording our workshops for posting on the CBE section of the City website and on Nextdoor. 5. Mr. Gregory attended the Tree and Landscape Board meeting. The following information was shared from the April 17 and May 16 meetings: a. Arbor Day went well. A 30-year plaque was presented with the tree planting. b. There is a 17% decline in tree canopy in College Park. Healthy forestation takes 40-50 years. There has been discussion with the University of Maryland on tree canopy assessment. c. There is a master plan for vegetation management. d. TLB would like to approach Mayor and Council about a city ordinance change for permitting trees to be replanted at private homes. CBE would be willing to submit this idea. 6. We are still waiting on translations of the approved CBE brochures into Spanish. 7. SMART/PAYT report was discussed. Dr. Balachandran gave a summary that a sub- committee of CBE started working on this three years ago. A tremendous amount of research on trash and bulk waste was done by the sub-committee. Information was reviewed, noting that about 10,000 communities across the United States have changed their ways of picking up and metering trash costs. The sub-committee’s main goal was to ensure that the program remained cost neutral for residents. Following are areas commented on by the committee members: a. Tipping fees are most of the expense for trash. Tipping fees are expected to increase significantly in the next three to four years. b. Discussed addition of a hardship clause for families who cannot afford to purchase trash bags. c. Review numbers in chart for accuracy. Seems to be a concern, especially with the bulk waste numbers, that they are not correct. d. Reduction of waste is crucial. e. Too many outsiders take advantage of free pick up and disposal of bulk waste. f. Bags vs. bins g. How to handle university student move outs in the future. h. Better to change trash policies by 2025. i. Food waste can be removed from trash with the new program. j. There are three areas of reduction: i. Food waste ii. Recyclables iii. Reduction in trash volume k. People really need to be educated and communication will be crucial with any new trash program. l. Curbside food waste pickup should be a free service m. Most people will want money up front and not want a tax rebate.  Taking all comments into consideration, Dr. Balachandran will work with Ms. Janis Oppelt on the final draft of the SMART report. Mr. Walfield motioned to make the SMART final draft report part of the June 2019 meeting minutes. Mr. Hew seconded. Motion carries 8-1-0. 8. Informational piece of mesh bags was reviewed. There are a few corrections: a. Remove specific business names b. Change email address to generic CBE email. Mr. Larsen motioned for acceptance of informational piece with changes. Ms. Bely seconded. Motion carries 9-0-0. Ms. McCaslin will type the final informational piece and make copies for the mesh bags. 9. The wildflower workshop will be scheduled for the summer. 10. Mr. Gregory is still researching the water quality grants and working with school students. Mr. Hew will speak to Andy Fellows about studies being done by the University of Maryland students. 11. Ms. Bely reported that Mr. Eric Olsen is already looking into signage/plaques for the watershed areas. 12. Per Brenda Alexander, the City Horticulturist, the permaculture garden needs to be weeded. Weeding has been scheduled for Saturday, June 22 from 10am-12Noon. Mr. Hew and Mr. Thurston will take the lead. Mr. Thurston will also reach out to the Sustainability Office at the University of Maryland and ask for volunteers. 13. Four nominations were presented for Green Awards: a. Proteus Bikes by Alan Hew b. CIESBD Thrift Store by Jordan Schakner c. Stuart Adams by Alexa Bely d. Jennifer Ivey-Crickenberger by Caroline Wick The committee had discussions about each nomination and decided to table CIESBD Thrift Store until it has been researched for any violations and whether a Non-profit could be nominated and also tabled Jennifer Ivey-Crickenberger. Both nominations would be eligible for submission in the new fiscal year. Mr. Hew motioned for Proteus Bikes to receive a Green Award of $100. Mr. deOliveria seconded. Motion carries 7-0-2. Ms. Bely motioned for Stuart Adams to receive a Green Award of $100. Ms. McNamara seconded. Motion caries 8-0-1.  Ms. McCaslin will request the checks once the May minutes are finalized at the June meeting. In the meantime, she will ask accounting to accrue the monies for FY2019. 14. Reviewed a letter to be sent to the ayor and City Council on the proposal of AstroTurf for Duvall Field. Ms. McNamara motioned to send the letter to Mayor and City Council with corrections discussed. Ms. Bely seconded. Motion carries 9-0-0. Mr. Larsen indicated he will email out a final copy of the letter to the committee. 15. The next meeting is scheduled for June 24, 2019 at 7:00pm in Davis Hall. Ms. McNamara made a motion to adjourn. Mr. Walfield seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 9:45pm. Respectfully submitted by Sheryl DeWalt, contract secretary.