Committee for a Better Environment
Regular MeetingCollege Park, MD · December 2, 2019
Minutes
Committee for a Better Environment
Davis Hall, College Park
December 2, 2019
7:00 PM
Members Present Absent
Suchitra Balachandran X
Alexa Bely X
Pablo deOliveria X
Matt Dernoga X
Oscar Gregory (7:30pm) X
Alan Hew X
Todd Larsen X
Andrea McNamara X
Cameron Thurston X
Daniel Walfield X
Caroline Wick (7:25pm) X
Also Present: Janet McCaslin, City Liaison; Sheryl DeWalt, Contract Secretary; Jane
Mett, resident; Lora Rosenthal, PachaMamma Committee volunteer for
Project Drawdown; Carol Nezzo, resident; Andy Fellows, UMD
The meeting began at 7:06pm by Alexa Bely (filling in for Todd Larsen, chair).
1. The agenda was reviewed and deleted discussion of water feature proposal for new City
Hall and several name change corrections were made. Mr. Thurston motioned to accept
the agenda with the changes. Mr. Walfield seconded. Motion carries 7-0-0.
2. The October 28, 2019 minutes were reviewed. Ms. McCaslin offered a few grammar
changes. Ms. McNamara made a motion to accept with suggested changes. Mr.
Thurston seconded. Motion carries 7-0-0.
3. City activities:
• CBE currently has a budget of $8,417.00.
• Ms. McCaslin attended a Leadership Training Summit on Energy and how to save
more energy. She stated it was a very worthwhile event and perhaps members of
CBE can attend the next one.
4. Ms. Rosenthal gave a brief overview on Project Drawdown which shows the studies and
results from 200 scientists for reversing global warming. These are ideas that can be
implemented by citizens and not having to wait for local, state or federal government to
make changes. There is an initial 2-hour workshop that can either be presented to CBE
or to the public which is a free event coordinated by volunteers from PachaMamma.
Members are encouraged to visit the website: https://www.drawdown.org. The
workshop can also be used towards renewing the Sustainable Maryland certification. The
idea of hosting a workshop appealed to the members; Mr. Walfield motioned to host a
workshop. Ms. McNamara seconded. Motion carries 8-0-0. Further discussion was
tabled until the January 2020 meeting as research will need to be done as to what
potential spaces may be available in the City for hosting a workshop and when the
committee would like to host the workshop.
5. Ms. McCaslin is still looking for updated information for the general CBE brochure. Ms.
Bely stated she had suggestions and will email them to Ms. McCaslin.
6. Mr. Larsen had drafted a letter regarding support for curbside food waste pickup. Mr.
Walfield made a motion to send the letter to Mayor and City Council. Ms. Wick
seconded. Motion carries 8-0-1.
7. Mr. Larsen drafted a letter regarding support of not having artificial turf at Duvall Field.
There were a few grammatical changes made to the letter. Mr. Dernoga motioned to send
the letter to Mayor and City Council with suggested changes. Dr. Balachandran
seconded. Motion carries 8-0-1.
8. Mr. Walfield volunteered to write up information about the Pepco program for recycling
working refrigerators and air conditioners for the Municipal Scene.
9. Briefly discussed “Trash to Treasure” program where items could be recycled from
university student move outs of rental housing.
10. Briefly discussed Earth Day 2020. It was decided that the SGA president and Director of
Sustainability for UMD will be invited to a future CBE meeting to discuss partnering on
ways to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day.
11. The committee was reminded that there are 4 Green Awards available for this fiscal year.
Any suggestions should be sent to Mr. Larsen.
12. Mr. Gregory stated that at the Tree and Landscape Board meeting the concentration was
on the Tree Canopy recommendations to Mayor and City Council. Ms. McNamara
indicated she would attend the next TLB meeting.
13. Tabled the discussion on items to work on for remainder for the fiscal year until the
January meeting.
14. Ms. McCaslin was asked to discuss the idea of a subcommittee to work on certification
for Bee City USA. It is a 2 year commitment and the subcommittee would require a chair
and at least two other members. Brenda Alexander would be the staff liaison. Mr.
Gregory indicated he is interested. Other members indicated they would like to have
more information before deciding on a subcommittee. During the Bee City USA
discussion, the committee also discussed the use of pesticides in College Park. Ms.
McCaslin suggested inviting Brenda Alexander to a future CBE meeting to discuss both
Bee City USA and pesticide usage.
15. Dr. Balachandran announced an all-day climate summit meeting at University of
Maryland on December 14. She will send out the link to the committee.
16. Briefly discussed the idea of a car-free street in College Park. Further discussion was
tabled for a future meeting.
17. The next meeting is scheduled for January 27, 2020 at 7:00pm in Davis Hall.
Mr. Thurston motioned to adjourned. Mr. Walfield seconded. Motion carries 9-0-0. The
meeting adjourned at 9:25pm.
Respectfully submitted by Sheryl DeWalt, contract secretary.
Agenda
DRAFT AGENDA
College Park Committee for a Better Environment
Monday, December 2, 2019
7 pm
Location: Davis Hall
9217 51st Avenue, College Park, MD 20740
• Amendments to and/or approval of this agenda
• Review and approve October minutes (attached)
• Report on City activities and CBE budget – Janet McCaslin.
• Presentation on Project Drawdown (https://www.drawdown.org/). Followed by a
discussion – how can we best apply the solutions in Drawdown to College Park?
Some solutions are more implementable on a city-wide scale than others. For
example, the top solution is refrigerant management. The city can ensure its
buildings are reducing refrigerant leakage and can phase out HFCs in city buildings.
The city can encourage developers to use less-impactful refrigerants in buildings
that are up for permits and offer grants to small businesses to address refrigerants.
And, we can educate residents on refrigerants, starting with coil cleanings to
increase efficiency of refrigerator and HVAC systems.
Ongoing Business
• Follow up on actions promised from the last meetings:
o Revision of CBE brochure – suggestions from members
o CBE support for curbside pickup (see draft letter to review, edit, and approve)
o Report out on bulk trash council meeting on November 12 (Daniel and Alexa)
o Letter encouraging Mayor and Council to adopt clover/grass for Duvall field
(see attached draft to review, edit, and approve)
▪ Note that the issue is being discussed again at the December 3 City
Council meeting, following a presentation by UMD students.
o Educating students on “trash to treasure” (Cameron, Daniel, and Caroloine)
o Earth Day 2020 (coordinating with University) – (Cameron and Janet)
• Green Awards – Nominees (we can nominate up to 4 – can be either individuals or
businesses demonstrating environmental leadership). Nominations should be put in
writing for consideration at the next meeting
• Tree and Landscape Board report.
•
Focus for our coming year:
a. Greenhouse gas and specific recommendations to Mayor and Council.
b. Refrigerant management.
c. Renewable energy.
d. Water quality – invited Andy Fellowes back to a CBE meeting.
e. Rain barrel workshop in Spanish. – Ms. Wick volunteered to find a
Spanish speaker to help with the workshop.
f. Letter to Mayor and council on the water feature in front of the proposed
New City Hall – Ms. Bely and Ms. Wick to draft.
g. Rhode Island Avenue ownership and right hand turn at Greenbelt Road
and University Blvd.
h. Educational workshop on pesticide use and how to avoid using them.
New Business
• CP Woods Clubhouse and land – a new building is being built, but plans do not
currently include green power. CBE can consider making recommendations for
green power as well as how the surrounding land will be used.
• The City Manager has asked if CBE would consider creating a subcommittee for
becoming a “Bee City USA Affiliate” and creating pollinator gardens. One of the
criteria is there needs to be a committee and a chairman.
• CBE has been asked by Sustainable Maryland program manager Mike Hunninghake
to consider participating in a Route 1 Corridor Green Team Summit next year. They
are considering convening Green Teams from Laurel to the north to Mount Rainier
on the DC border, from 6:30-9pm on a weeknight, to share successes and
challenges, either generally, or on 2-3 topics agreed to be of common interest. This
would be an informal setting for folks to collaborate and maybe spark some
regional/multi-municipal planning.
• Should CBE encourage the city to cut down on pesticide usage? See Montgomery
County ordinance information:
https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/lawns/law.html as a potential model.
• Encouraging pollinator friendly gardens in College Park.
• Walkable car-free street in College Park – should CBE support?
Next Meeting: January 27, 2020
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