Committee for a Better Environment

Committee for a Better Environment Via Teleconferencing through Zoom June 27, 2022 7:00 PM Members Term Expires Present Absent Alexa Bely 6/30/2022 X Brendan Hall 6/30/2024 X Alan Hew 6/30/2023 X Wentao Guo 6/30/2024 X Todd Larsen 6/30/2023 X Alec Lynde 6/30/2024 X Nikki Pancho 6/30/2022 X Donnie Scally 6/30/2023 X Don Schmadel 6/30/2022 X Holly Simmons 6/30/2023 X Stacy Teng 6/30/2022 X Cameron Thurston 6/30/2024 X Daniel Walfield 6/30/2023 X Caroline Wick 6/30/2023 X Also Present: Susan Whitney, Councilmember, District 2; Sheryl DeWalt, Contract Secretary The meeting began at 7:11pm by Todd Larsen, chair. Officially welcomed Wentao Guo as the newest member. 1. The agenda was reviewed. Mr. Lynde made a motion to accept. Mr. Hall seconded. Motion carries 13-0-0. 2. The May 23, 2022, minutes were reviewed. Mr. Scally made a motion to accept. Ms. Wick seconded. Motion carries 12-0-1. 3. City activities – Ms. McCaslin was on vacation, but Mr. Larsen went through a few items: a. Curbside compost is moving forward. The City sent out information to all residents. b. The Green Award ($100) set aside for the Girl Scout Troop 96 will be allocated to a different cost. The Girl Scout Troop 96 will be nominated for a Green Award in FY 2023. c. The tree ordinance goes into effect on July 1, 2022. The committee made a suggestion to have TLB put the ordinance into layman’s terms and translate into Spanish. Ms. Whitney will confer with Brenda Alexander and the City’s communications department. 4. Brief discussion on Project Open Space. There will be a 50/50 split between development and acquisition. One project will be the College Park Swim Club and the  other will be Roanoke Place and improving the property once the acquisition is finalized. 5. The Trolley Trail tree labeling. Ms. Bely has received proofs of the new signs and given her approval. They will be reviewed by Brenda Alexander and once she approves, the signs will be ordered. Some updates to the website have been made and the GIS engineer continues to work on the QR codes. There is still anticipation to have a tree walk in the fall. 6. Storm Drain update. Ms. Simmons and Ms. McCaslin have reached out to a UMD professor who has students interested in painting five (5) drains along Terrapin Row. There will be continued support through CPAE for other artists to help with Lakeland and College Park Woods sites. The site at Duvall Field will not been done until the field renovation is completed. The artist, who painted the drain at Lackawanna, had damaged done to her tent. Ms. Wick made a motion to reimburse up to $145 for a tent replacement. Mr. Larsen seconded. Motion caries 13-0-0. Mr. Larsen showed the medallions that were ordered (82) in English/Spanish to place on storm drains that will not be painted. He will coordinate with Ms. McCaslin upon her return. Volunteers will be needed to assist in placing the medallions on the drains. It was suggested that assistance could be obtained from the sororities and fraternities at UMD or high school students. The information about the storm drains and the painting of them will be shared on social media and in City publications. 7. Plastic Bag Ban. Councilmembers in Districts 1, 2, and 3 have agreed to the plastic bag ban. Councilmember Riggs would be interested in hearing what other localities in Prince George’s County are doing about the plastic bag ban. Mr. Larsen mentioned that he will ask Martha Wainwright to discuss this information with Mayor and City Council. All of the councilmembers were in agreement to charge 10¢ per paper bag and the merchants can keep the paper bag money. FYI that Mom’s is charging 25¢ per paper bag, but donate the money to charities. It was also suggested that one canvas bag could be given to each household, perhaps with the City logo and CBE logo on it. 8. Bee City Committee. The Bee Hotel building project on June 25 was successful. Approximately thirty (30) people attended, and nineteen (19) bee hotels were built. Thanks to Craig Beatty, Bee City member, who really did a lot of coordination and material gathering for this event. CPAE was also instrumental in making this event successful. The Girl Scout Troop 96 did plant their pollinator garden at the semi-circle in Berwyn. Mr. Hew shared several pictures of the garden and the girl scouts. The committee is working on additional signage for the pollinator garden at Cherokee Street. 9. Municipal Scene: a. August – Poison Ivy and invasive vine removal – Brendan Hall b. September – Audubon Program – Alec Lynde c. October – Energy retrofit – Wentao Guo 10. Green Awards – was tabled until the July 2022 meeting.  11. TLB Update: a. Digital application for trees on the City website. b. There will be fall vine removal workshop and CBE has been asked to assist. c. Tree ordinance goes into effect July 1, 2022. Mr. Larsen will also attend the July TLB meeting. 12. Councilmember Kabir would like CBE to investigate a ban on gas powered leaf blowers. Mr. Scally, Ms. Simmons, and Mr. Larsen volunteered to research and follow up with Councilmember Kabir. 13. Councilmember Kabir would like CBE to investigate Big Belly trash and recycling compactors. The committee will be declining this request. 14. Discussion on Sustainable Maryland and the Climate Action Plan. The current plan needs to be updated. Mr. Lynde, Mr. Hew, Mr. Guo, and Ms. Teng volunteered to go through the current plan and work on following up and updates. 15. The next CBE meeting will be on July 25, 2022, at 7:00pm. Instructions will be sent out via email prior to the meeting date. Mr. Larsen motioned to adjourn. Mr. Hew seconded. Motion carries 13-0-0. The meeting adjourned at 8:57pm. Respectfully submitted by Sheryl DeWalt, contract secretary.