Committee for a Better Environment

Approved: 022420 Committee for a Better Environment Davis Hall, College Park January 27, 2020 7:00 PM Members Present Absent Suchitra Balachandran X Alexa Bely X Pablo deOliveria X Matt Dernoga (7:20pm) X Oscar Gregory X Alan Hew X Todd Larsen X Andrea McNamara X Cameron Thurston X Daniel Walfield X Caroline Wick X Also Present: Janet McCaslin, City Liaison; Sheryl DeWalt, Contract Secretary; Scott Somers, City Manager; Candela Cerpa, SGA Sustainability with UMD The meeting began at 7:05pm by Todd Larsen, chair. 1. The agenda was reviewed with amendments made. Mr. Larsen motioned to accept the agenda with the changes. Ms. Bely seconded. Motion carries 8-0-0. 2. The December 2, 2019 minutes were reviewed; the copy given to the committee was not the amended copy done by Ms. Bely, however, Ms. DeWalt did have a copy with Ms. Bely’s amendments. Ms. Bely made a motion to accept with suggested changes. Ms. Wick seconded. Motion carries 7-0-1. 3. City activities:  CBE currently has a budget of $8,336.50.  There will be an additional drop off location in Old Towne by the community garden playground for the food scrap program. There has been 12 tons of food scraps collected since April 2019.  Spring shredding will be done on April 18 along with the four clean up Saturdays in April.  Sustainable Maryland Route One Corridor Green Team Summit will be meeting on February 13 at 6:00pm at the Community Center in Colmar Manor. 4. Copies of Council and Mayor’s resolution and information concerning the Committee on Committees were distributed. Mr. Somers presented the information to the committee and explained the thought process and reasons behind Mayor and Council’s decision. Committee members were reminded to follow the Maryland Open Meetings Act. Members cannot attend political events as a CBE member, but as an individual.  Committee members were given the opportunity to ask questions. Mr. Somers invited the committee to send any further questions or comments through Ms. McCaslin, the committee liaison. 5. There is a Project Drawdown presentation in Berwyn Heights on February 16 from 3:00 pm -5:00 pm. The committee decided to host a workshop and Ms. McCaslin will inquire about using the Parish House in late March. There was a motion from Mr. Larsen to spend $100 on food and beverage for the presentation. Second by Mr. Dernoga. Motion carries 9-0-0. 6. This is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Ms. Cerpa is happy to be able to participate with CBE on marking this important celebration. 7. The Trash to Treasure pilot program is being proposed by Public Works, and presented in March to the Mayor and Council. If approved, there will be donation pods placed in Old Town along with roll-offs for large bulky trash. The program would be in mid-to-late May for the students to bring their items. 8. It was agreed that the Property Owners Association President would be invited to a CBE meeting to try and work with them on renting furnished units to re-use items rather than discarding them. 9. Ms. McCaslin distributed the CBE brochure. Mr. Dernoga volunteered to write a section on Climate Change Solutions. Any other changes should be directed to Ms. McCaslin. 10. The letter asking for food scrap curbside pickup has been sent to Mayor and Council. 11. The letter for the ground cover for Duvall Field has been sent to Mayor and Council. 12. Reminder that there are four Green Awards to give out prior to the end of the fiscal year. Please send any nominations to Mr. Larsen. 13. Discussed having another Rain Barrel workshop. With the lack of meeting space, Ms. Wick volunteered to contact Greenbelt, UMD, and Berwyn Heights to inquire about doing a joint workshop with one of them. 14. Tree and Landscape Board meeting had a consultant from Prince George’s County attend to discuss the drainage project for Calvert Hills from Knox to Calvert Hills playground. This mitigation should help with the flooding; it will be underground and should not attract mosquitoes. There was a brief discussion about the upcoming Arbor Day program. 15. The committee was reminded of the budget remaining for this fiscal year which ends June 30, 2020. Ms. McCaslin stated that there are virtually no marketing materials for CBE and asked the committee to consider purchasing some items. They would be used at various workshops and other events where CBE would have a presence. Members brought up ideas: Bee workshop, compost bins, magnets, Guilford Run cleanup, Natural Pesticide workshop, GAT mosquito traps. This will be further discussed at the February meeting. 16. Mr. Hew stated that Andy Fellows will be available to attend the February CBE meeting. 17. The next meeting is scheduled for February 24, 2020 at 7:00pm in Davis Hall. Ms. Bely motioned to adjourned. Ms. Wick seconded. Motion carries 9-0-0. The meeting adjourned at 9:00pm. Respectfully submitted by Sheryl DeWalt, contract secretary.