Committee for a Better Environment

Committee for a Better Environment Via Teleconferencing through Zoom July 25, 2022 7:00 PM Members Term Expires Present Absent Alexa Bely 6/30/2025 X Brendan Hall (a 7:20pm) 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 (a7:15pm; d8:30pm) 6/30/2025 X Donnie Scally 6/30/2023 X Holly Simmons 6/30/2023 X Stacy Teng 6/30/2025 X Cameron Thurston 6/30/2024 X Caroline Wick 6/30/2023 X Also Present: Susan Whitney, Councilmember, District 2; Valerie Hoy, resident; Janet McCaslin, Staff Liaison; Sheryl DeWalt, Contract Secretary The meeting began at 7:03pm by Todd Larsen, chair. Mr. Larsen announced that Daniel Walfield has resigned from CBE. His family has moved to Greenbelt. 1. The agenda was reviewed. Mr. Lynde made a motion to accept. Ms. Bely seconded. Motion carries 8-0-0. 2. The June 27, 2022, minutes were reviewed. Ms. Bely made a motion to accept. Ms. Simmons seconded. Motion carries 8-0-0. 3. City activities: a. The budget for FY2023 is $6,000.00. b. The City is continuing to work on cleaning up from the storm. c. One Mulberry tree sign on the trolley trail was damaged in the storm. d. The tree permitting process for the storm damage has been waived. There is 1 – 3- minute video explaining the tree program. e. October clean up dates are October 8 which will also include shredding and October 22. f. Any damaged trees are being made into mulch and wood chips. The wood chips are available free to any College Park resident. These are fresh wood chips and should only be used for pathways. g. The Curbside Food Scrap Collection program will go out to bid on July 26, 2022. Once the bids are received and reviewed by Mayor and Council, DPW is hoping the program can start in fall. There are 3 – 1-minute videos to help explain the curbside pickup.  Councilmember Whitney also made comments:  The city lost 10% of the tree canopy in about 10 minutes from the storm. Berwyn and Lakeland neighborhoods were the most severely affected.  The last day to put out wood debris on the curbs without bundling is Friday, July 29.  There is a PEPCO grant program that will provide up to $75,000 for open space, tree plantings, recreational outdoor space. The deadline is September 19.  Dog Haus Biergarten has signed with the City and will be moving into the empty space in City Hall. 4. The Trolley Trail tree labeling. Besides the Mulberry tree, a Sycamore and Witch Hazel were also damaged from the storm. There are still 15 additional trees that can be labeled. Ms. Bely and Ms. McCaslin will review the proof for the signs once more and then place the order; all items and invoice must be received no later than August 30 to use the encumbered funds from FY2022. Because of the continuous updates on QR codes, they will not be placed on this new order of signs. 5. Storm Drain update. The three fall locations will be College Park Woods, Lakeland, and Terrapin Row. The Lakeland storm drain will be done on September 17 and 24 (if needed). Mr. Lynde volunteered to prime the drain on either September 15 or 16. There will be 5 drains done on Terrapin Row and the painting will be done by the UMD art students. Medallion placements will be done within the next month. CBE will need to supply the paint and brushes for the drains. Mr. Larsen made a motion to add an additional $1,000.00 for supplies from FY2023 budget. Ms. Bely seconded. Motion carries 9-0-0. Ms. McCaslin submitted an informational piece for the Fall Resident Guide, and this is on the City website. Ms. Teng mentioned there is a lot of sand going down the drain on Cherokee at Route 1 and 48th Street. 6. Plastic Bag Ban. There was an outreach to councilmembers in District 4. Ms. Mitchell is encouraged and has suggested this ban to begin in the fall. Robert Marsilli, Director of Public Works, will be present at the August CBE meeting. Mr. Larsen will reach out to Martha Ainsworth to see if she is also available to attend the August CBE meeting. Brief discussion on how the City of Laurel approached the plastic bag ban and suggestions on what they could have done better. 7. Bee City Committee. Mr. Hew was not present, but Ms. DeWalt offered an update: a. Girl Scout Troop 96 presented a project to make a Bee Hotel in the shape of the Girl Scout Trefoil and it will be placed in Calvert Hills. b. The Bee Hotel workshop for Pollinator Week went very well. There was a good turnout. c. There are final survey results from No Mow Month that the committee is reviewing. 8. Green Award nominations will be reviewed on a quarterly basis. Any upcoming awards will be discussed at the October meeting.  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. TLB Update: a. The majority of the meeting was discussion on the storm and the damage is caused to the tree canopy. b. There will be a free tree giveaway in the fall. c. The Invasive Vine workshop is still scheduled. A speaker from Prince Georges County will conduct the workshop. 11. The subcommittee of Mr. Scally, Ms. Simmons, and Mr. Larsen will give a follow up on gas powered leaf blowers at the August meeting. 12. 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. Prince George’s County has passed their Climate Action Plan. This will be further discussed at the August meeting. 13. Reviewed the draft Three Year Plan for Sustainable Maryland. Additional comments were made by committee members and Mr. Larsen will email out a final to the committee and Ms. McCaslin will submit to Sustainable Maryland. 14. The next CBE meeting will be on August 22, 2022, at 7:00pm. Instructions will be sent out via email prior to the meeting date. Mr. Larsen motioned to adjourn. Ms. Bely seconded. Motion carries 8-0-0. The meeting adjourned at 8:50pm. Respectfully submitted by Sheryl DeWalt, contract secretary.