Committee for a Better Environment

Committee for a Better Environment Via Teleconferencing through Zoom February 22, 2021 7:00 PM Members Present Absent Alexa Bely X Dylan Burns X Pablo deOliveria X Matt Dernoga X Alan Hew X Todd Larsen X Andrea McNamara X Nikki Pancho X William Scally X Don Schmadel X Emily Shohfi X Holly Simmons (d. 8:00pm) X Stacy Teng X Cameron Thurston X Daniel Walfield X Caroline Wick X Mitchell Wyllins (a 7:57pm) X Also Present: Janet McCaslin, City Liaison; Sheryl DeWalt, Contract Secretary The meeting began at 7:02pm by Todd Larsen, chair. 1. Welcome to Stacy Teng, new CBE member. Stacy lives in District 2. 2. The revised agenda, which had been emailed earlier in the day, was reviewed. Mr. Dernoga motioned to accept. Mr. Burns seconded. Motion carries 15-0-0. 3. The January 11, 2021 minutes were reviewed. Mr. Larsen motioned to accept the minutes. Mr. deOliveria seconded. Motion carries 14-0-1. 4. City activities: a. CBE has a current budget of $2088.98. (NB – The Spanish translation only cost $225 and not $250). b. The survey has been completed in Spanish. It will be posted on all City social media sites. c. Ms. McCaslin was informed that no CBE member attended the Tree & Landscape Committee meeting. It is a requirement to have a CBE member present for all TLB meetings. Ms. McNamara and Mr. Walfield will try to ensure that one of them attends the TLB meetings. Mr. Burns stated he would be a backup if neither Ms. McNamara or Mr. Walfield could attend. Ms. DeWalt stated that she has a copy of the draft TLB February minutes and would email the CBE committee. d. Ms. McCaslin sent out an email for the Prince George’s County Climate Action Plan. If you are interested in attending, please register using the link in the email.  e. Restorative Justice Steering Committee. Mayor and Council have established a Restorative Justice Commission. As a first step toward this goal, the City is establishing a Steering Committee to help guide the process. The Steering Committee will be asked to: • Draft a proposed purpose, scope of work, and goals for the Restorative Justice Commission. • Recommend the composition of the Restorative Justice Commission. • Draft a proposed framework and timeline for the Restorative Justice Commission. • Identify resources and facilitators that the City Council could consider to help ensure this process will be successful. The Steering Committee will be asked to complete its work within a short period of time, and its work will be done upon the presentation of its recommendations to the City Council. Members will be drawn from the Lakeland community (including former Lakeland residents) and the community at large. We are particularly interested in identifying people who have experience with restorative justice processes. For more information, please contact citymanager@collegeparkmd.gov or call 240-487-3501. If you are interested in serving on the Steering Committee, please complete the application at: www.collegeparkmd.gov/boardapp and submit it to Janeen S. Miller, City Clerk, at jsmiller@collegeparkmd.gov. f. Ms. McCaslin has been working on a list of all past Green Award winners. The Green Awards started in 1985 as a Beautification Award and changed in 2003 to Green Awards. Once completed, she will have it posted on the CBE page on the City’s website. FYI – there were three “religious” organizations who received Green Awards in the past: i) College Park Wesleyan Church, ii) Hope Lutheran Church, and iii) Holy Redeemer School. Ms. Bely indicated that she spoke to the students who are involved with the “Friends of Guildford Run” and associated with Hope Lutheran Church. Both students are living in College Park. Ms. McCaslin stated she will confer with the City Clerk’s office on the validation of this group for a Green Award nomination. g. Ms. McCaslin will be sending out the information on the ACEEE (American Council for Energy Efficient Economy) City’s Challenge Scorecard. The one item noted is there is no information on transportation. This will be further discussed at the March meeting. 5. Labeling trees on the Trolley Trail will be discussed at the March CBE meeting. 6. Tip for Municipal Scene: a. March - Venting for gas stoves/ovens. Mr. Dernoga also suggested this could be an educational workshop and volunteered to write up a proposal. b. April – Tree planting – Mr. Walfield will handle. c. May – 17- year cicadas and using the carcass for composting – Mr. Scally will handle. d. June – Using You Tube to look up repair procedures – Mr. Hew will handle. 7. Discussed potential educational workshops: a. Alternatives to plastics. Mr. Larsen will reach out to a resident in Greenbelt who is very active in this area. b. How to repair appliances. This may be scheduled when in person meetings can be scheduled. c. Lending out tools – set up a “library” website for residents to borrow tools. Ms. McCaslin reminded the group that there is a small amount of storage space for CBE at Davis Hall that could be used for tool storage. d. Composting – food scraps/backyard composting  8. A letter, written by Mr. Larsen, recommending to Mayor and Council opposition to the Maglev train, was reviewed. Mr. Larsen made a motion to send the letter. Mr. Burns seconded. Motion carries 15-0- 0. 9. Mr. Larsen will draft a letter for consideration of Mayor and Council: a. to reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions. b. to support HB82 – creating an amendment to the Maryland constitution on Healthful Environment rights, especially eliminating water pollutants Mr. Schmadel made a motion to have both letters drafted. Mr. Burns seconded. Motion carries 14-0-0. 10. Reviewed the City – University Partnership 10-year plan and the City’s 5-year plan. 11. The Bee City USA Committee asked for support for the initiative of “No Mow May” where residents are not mowing their lawns during the month of May. Signage could be developed and posted online for residents to print and post in their yards to make Code Enforcement aware of their participation. Mr. Hew, Ms. Teng and Mr. Larsen will work on design for the signage. 12. The Bee City USA Committee is exploring the possible idea of a pollinator garden at the new City Hall and Gateway Park. Mr. Larsen and Mr. Hew will draft a letter for review at the March CBE meeting and if approved, it will be sent to Mayor and Council for recommendation. Bee City USA would also like to remind residents to stop using toxic pesticides and herbicides. The City Horticulturist stated that College Park uses a minimal amount of pesticide. 13. The next meeting will be on March 22, 2021 at 7:00pm. Instructions will be sent out via email prior to the meeting date. Mr. Larsen motioned to adjourned. Ms. Bely seconded. Motion carries 14-0-0. The meeting adjourned at 9:00pm. Respectfully submitted by Sheryl DeWalt, contract secretary.