Committee for a Better Environment

Committee for a Better Environment Davis Hall, College Park June 24, 2019 7:00 PM Members Present Absent Suchitra Balachandran X Alexa Bely (7:30pm) X Pablo deOliveria X Matt Dernoga X Oscar Gregory (7:40pm) X Alan Hew X Todd Larsen (7:10pm) X Andrea McNamara X Jordan Schakner X Cameron Thurston X Daniel Walfield X Donna Weene (left 8:00pm) X Caroline Wick X Also Present: Janis Oppelt, resident and former CBE chair; Janet McCaslin, City Liaison; Sheryl DeWalt, Contract Secretary The meeting was called to order at 7:04pm by City Staff Liaison, Janet McCaslin. 1. The agenda was reviewed, and a change was made to correct the date of the next meeting for July 22, 2019. Mr. Walfield motioned. Mr. Thurston seconded. Motion carries 8-0-0. 2. The May 20, 2019 minutes were reviewed, and one item was amended. Mr. Thurston motioned with amended change. Ms. Wick seconded. Motion carries 9-0-0. 3. City activities: a. Ms. McCaslin stated that the CBE budget is approximately $5700. The proposed budget for FY2020 is $8600. b. From April 1 – June 24, 2.3 tons of food scraps have been dropped off. Ninety- five bins have been given away and approval was just received to order 100 more bins. The cost of the program is $99 per month for pickup. It was mentioned that residents could use cat litter buckets for food scraps and that a sticker could be created, as a giveaway, to put on the buckets. The suggestion was also made that we could survey residents and ask if they compost. Ms. McCaslin indicated she would assist sending out the survey to the civic associations and neighborhood associations if CBE members would send her the dates of their upcoming meetings.  c. Ms. McCaslin is working on the Sustainable Maryland update of the report which has an extended deadline of July 2, 2019. She will share a copy at the July 22 meeting. d. There is a Mosquito Workshop on July 15 from 6:00pm-8:00pm in Davis Hall. e. The City Manager and Director of Public Works will be attending the July CBE meeting. f. Mesh bags are being handed out at the Farmers Markets. Volunteers are needed: Hollywood are Saturdays from 9:00am-1:00pm and Downtown are Sundays from 10:00am-2:00pm. Please email Todd Larsen and Janet McCaslin if you can help. 4. Discussed SMART report. Ms. Weene motioned to send the report to Mayor and Council with the addition of language noting that the city will need to create a process for providing free trash bags to low-income residents (which can be modeled after other utility programs that benefit lower income residents). Mr. Dernoga seconded. Motion carries 10-1-0. 5. The Wildflower workshop is TBD. Mr. Dernoga will work on obtaining an upcoming date and is hopeful to share it at the July CBE meeting. 6. Mr. Hew spoke with Andy Fellows about the water quality research project/Adopt a Stream using students. Mr. Fellows will attend the July CBE meeting for further discussion. 7. Ms. McCaslin will request the two checks for the most recent Green Award recipients and invite them to attend the July CBE meeting to receive them. 8. The CBE letter regarding the request not to have artificial turf at Duval Field was sent to Mayor and Council. Mr. Larsen will email a final copy to all CBE members. 9. The weeding of the Permaculture Garden took quite a few hours with only having 4-5 volunteers. One 95-gallon container was filled with weeds and mugwort. Black landscaping paper was placed with mulching on top. The next weeding will take place in September. 10. We are still waiting on translations of the approved CBE brochures into Spanish. 11. The Tree and Landscape Board is submitting a request to Mayor and Council to require a permit to remove trees on private property. Mr. Larsen motioned for CBE to support the request. Mr. Gregory seconded. Motion carries – 10-0-0. 12. Maps of the College Park green spaces were distributed. 13. The committee decided to cancel the August 26, 2019 meeting as most people are unavailable and the December 23, 2019 meeting since it is too close to the Christmas holiday.  14. At the July meeting, CBE members will focus on projects and priorities for the new fiscal year. Mr. Larsen has given a suggested list and members are encouraged to send other suggestions to Mr. Larsen. 15. The next meeting is scheduled for July 22, 2019 at 7:00pm in Davis Hall. Mr. Walfield made a motion to adjourn. Mr. Hew seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 9:10pm. Respectfully submitted by Sheryl DeWalt, contract secretary.