Committee for a Better Environment

Approved: May 18, 2020 Committee for a Better Environment Davis Hall, College Park February 24, 2020 7:00 PM Members Present Absent Suchitra Balachandran X Alexa Bely (7:10pm) X Pablo deOliveria X Chunyang Ding X Matt Dernoga 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; Brenda Alexander, Department of Public Works; Sheryl DeWalt, Contract Secretary 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. Wick seconded. Motion carries 7-0-0. 2. The January 27, 2020 minutes were reviewed. Mr. Thurston made a motion to accept with one suggested change. Ms. Wick seconded. Motion carries 7-0-0. 3. City activities: • CBE currently has a budget of ~$8,100.00. Ms. McCaslin will get an exact figure from finance. • Trash to Treasure concept will be presented to Mayor and Council in mid-March. 4. Mr. Larsen, Ms. McCaslin, Ms. Wick, Mr. Walfield and Ms. Bely attended the Project Drawdown workshop presented at Berwyn Heights. It was not as informative as the group had expected. It was a very broad overview of sustainability concerns and what could be done more in a group setting and not necessarily as individuals. The committee would still like to go forth with their own Project Drawdown workshop on a Saturday in May. Ms. Wick made a motion to host the a Project Drawdown Workshop. Ms. Bely seconded. Motion carries 8-0-0. Ms. McCaslin will check on space at Davis Hall and Old Parish House. 5. Reviewed Green Awards brochure. Need to have more advertisement on social media.  6. Brenda Alexander discussed Bee City and potentially having a Bee City sub-committee to work on the certification process for College Park. Mr. Gregory and Mr. Hew both stated via email indicating they would be like to be a part of the sub-committee. Ms. Wick indicated she would like to be part of the sub-committee. Mr. Larsen made a motion to create a Bee City sub-committee. Mr. Walfield seconded. Motion carries 8-0-0. There was a discussion on the amount and types of pesticides used in College Park with Ms. Alexander. 7. Discussed College Park City-University Partnership on Sustainability: new city hall will be gold certified; bike share program is working. Items to work on: curbside food pickup; more walkable/bikeable streets; lessening the use of gas appliances; reaching netzero on carbon emissions and fossil fuel; refocus on recycling, especially business recycling; more carpooling. 8. Suggested doing a residential survey. A draft survey was reviewed. Ms. McCaslin reminded the group that all social media items, including surveys, need to be handled through the Communications Coordinator and the survey was provided to her. 9. Reviewed a letter to Mayor and Council on Furnished Rentals. Ms. Wick made a motion to send the letter to Mayor and Council. Mr. Thurston seconded. Motion carries 8-0-0. 10. The committee would like to schedule a Rain Barrel workshop in conjunction with the University of Maryland in April. Mr. Larsen made a motion to spend up to $600 on a Spanish translator, food and beverages for the event. Mr. Walfield seconded the motion. Motion carries 8-0-0. 11. TLB report – Trees were cut down near Lake Artemesia for the College Park airport. 12. Reviewed potential items for spending: survey in Spanish ($2000), cotton produce bags, compost buckets, nature plants, seed packets with CBE logo ($200), GAT traps ($1000), electric car-car magnets ($400). Mr. Larsen made a motion to allocated $3600 towards the monetary items listed above. Ms. Bely seconded. Motion carries 8-0-0. 13. Reviewed Climate Action Plan letter. Mr. Larsen made a motion to send a Climate Action Plan letter to the Mayor and Council. Ms. Wick seconded. Motion carries 8- 0-0. 14. Reviewed Sustainable Maryland letter. Mr. Larsen made a motion to send the Sustainable Maryland letter. Ms. Bely seconded. Motion carries 8-0-0. 15. The next meeting is scheduled for March 23, 2020 at 7:00pm in Davis Hall. FYI – Mr. Larsen will not be available for the April 27, 2020 meeting and Mr. Walfield will chair the meeting in his absence. Ms. Wick motioned to adjourned. Mr. Dernoga seconded. Motion carries 8-0-0. The meeting adjourned at 9:00pm. Respectfully submitted by Sheryl DeWalt, contract secretary.