Committee for a Better Environment

Committee for a Better Environment Via Teleconferencing through Zoom August 22, 2022 7:00 PM Staff Present Absent Janet McCaslin X Members Term Expires Present Absent Alexa Bely 6/30/2025 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 (a 7:07pm) 6/30/2025 X Donnie Scally 6/30/2023 X Holly Simmons 6/30/2023 X Stacy Teng 6/30/2025 X Cameron Thurston (a 7:12pm) 6/30/2024 X Caroline Wick 6/30/2023 X Also Present: Susan Whitney, Councilmember, District 2; Robert Marsili, Director of Public Works; Martha Ainsworth, Dawn Delong, Janis Oppelt – Prince George’s County Sierra Club; Sareesh Rawat, College Park resident; 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. Larsen accepted the agenda without exception. 2. The July 25, 2022, minutes were reviewed. Ms. Bely made a motion to accept. Mr. Hall seconded. Motion carries 8-0-0. 3. Plastic Bag Ban. Mr. Larsen gave a summation of all the research and documentation that CBE has done to ask the City of College Park to join other municipalities in the State of Maryland to ban plastic bags and help reduce litter. The reason that local towns and cities are going through the exercise of enacting legislation on banning plastic bags is the amount of time it will take for the State of Maryland legislature to propose one and eventually vote on it. The Maryland State Attorney General has indicated that municipalities have the right to pass a local ordinance; a letter from the Attorney General was provided to the committee prior to the meeting. Anne Arundel County, Baltimore City, and the City of Laurel have banned the use of plastic bags. Hyattsville and Salisbury are contemplating a plastic bag ban and Easton is about to pass their plastic bag ban. CBE has spoken to City Council and the Mayor, and seven out of eight members  have expressed support for the ban. The usual lead time is about six months to give businesses time. Communication with all businesses is a key. Councilmember Whitney will ask to have placed on an upcoming City Council agenda. Mr. Marsili thanked the committee and the Sierra Club members for their diligence and hard work and is also willing to support the measure. 4. City activities: a. The budget for FY2023 is $6,000.00. b. The curbside food scrap application is out for bid; Mr. Marsili is looking to award the contract in late September/early October. There needs to be 150 people enrolled, ideally the City is looking for 200 people; currently there are 119 enrolled. c. There must be a representative from CBE to the TLB Board; it’s part of the charter. 5. The Trolley Trail tree labeling. The signage has been ordered and will be placed in the fall. Continuing to work with the GIS Engineer on updating the page on the City website. 6. 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; there are 82 medallions and hopefully the sororities and fraternities will help place them on the drains. For the medallions to be successfully placed, the drains will need to be free of debris. Mr. Larsen made a motion to spend $350 for more medallions, gloves, and stiff brushes. Mr. Scally seconded. Motion carries 8-0-0. College Park Woods will be done in the spring. 7. Bee City Committee. Mr. Hew was unable to attend CBE this evening, but sent updates as follows: a. Good Neighbor Day projects: i. The Trolley Trail Permaculture Garden. It would be nice to have some CBE members sign up to volunteer to help with this when registration opens. ii. Conversion of plants to native and pollinator plants in the islands at the end of Lackawanna near the metro. iii. Pollinator garden at the Trolley Trail at Calvert Rd and Rhode Island b. Approval has been granted for painting the yellow curbs at the Lackawanna site with pictures of pollinators. Waiting for approval to do likewise at the Calvert Road/Rhode Island Avenue site and Cherokee Street location. Trying to figure out who will do the paintings and funding. Ms. Wick and Ms. Simmons have put Mr. Hew is in contact with the student art club at UMD. 8. Reminder to think about potential Green Award nominations which will be discussed at the October meeting.  9. Still researching the gas-powered leaf blowers. They are not generally strong enough for the work done by the City. 10. Mr. Guo will reach out to municipalities to inquire what kind of actions plans they have in regard to the Climate Action Plan. He anticipates having a report for the September CBE meeting. 11. Municipal Scene: a. September – Audubon Program – Alec Lynde b. October – Energy retrofit – Wentao Guo c. November – Stormwater drains – Caroline Wick 12. TLB Update: a. Storm damage clean up continues and working on re-establishing lost trees to increase the tree canopy. b. There will be a free tree giveaway in the fall on October 1, 2022. Volunteers from CBE are requested. c. The Invasive Vine workshop is still scheduled. A speaker from Prince Georges County will conduct the workshop. 13. CBE will have a meet and greet on September 17 at 12:00 Noon at City Hall Plaza. Bring your own food. 14. The next CBE meeting will be on September 26, 2022, at 7:00pm. Instructions will be sent out via email prior to the meeting date. Mr. Larsen mentioned that he will not be available for the October CBE meeting. Mr. Larsen motioned to adjourn. Mr. Guo seconded. Motion carries 8-0-0. The meeting adjourned at 8:29pm. Respectfully submitted by Sheryl DeWalt, contract secretary.