Sustainability Committee Meeting

MINUTES SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE November 20, 2024, City Hall, 100 W. Woodstock Street, Crystal Lake, IL 1. Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 6:39 p.m. Wednesday, November 20, 2024 at Crystal Lake City Hall by Ryan Oates. 2. Roll Call/Attendance Present were the following Committee members: Amy Olson, Jen Oliver, Stephen Platt, Terry Dieckhoff, Emilie Hoffman, and Vignesh Tiruvannamalai by phone. Members of the public in attendance: Dean Farr and Assistant to City Manager Ryan Oates. 3. Public Comment There was no public comment. 4. Approval of Minutes from the September 25, 2024 Meeting Amy Olson made a motion to approve the minutes of the September 25, 2024 Sustainability Committee meeting. Terry Dieckhoff seconded the motion. Upon voice vote, motion passed. 5. Litter Clean Up Initiatives A. Trash Can Locations The Committee discussed proposed locations on Walkup Avenue for an additional trash can. Amy Olson stated that she sees a lot of trash building up along Walkup Avenue. Jen Oliver asked if there was a space near where Amy sees most of the trash accumulation and further suggested placing a trash can near where the Cottage is. Emilie Hoffman recommended putting a trash can close to Downtown. Dean Farr stated that he sees a lot of trash accumulating in the Crystal Lake Central parking lot. There will be further discussion on an appropriate location to place the trash can at a future meeting. Amy Olson shared that the Crystal Lake Park District recycles Christmas lights and encouraged residents to bring them to the Crystal Lake Park District building. She also asked if the City of Crystal Lake recycled glasses, which a Committee member stated that there is a recycling bin in the lobby of City Hall. Emilie Hoffman had two different ideas for the trash cans that are already placed in town. She first recommended that there should be different colored cans or lids to catch people’s eyes. Right now they are black trash cans that could blend into their surroundings. The other suggestion that Emilie had was to place Crystal Lake on the same line so that it reads better. Ryan Oates stated he will look into these suggestions. 6. Strategic Plan Discussion A. Mission Statement The Committee discussed changes to the strategic plan. The Committee went through each objective and the following items were recommended for change. Amy Olson recommended adding line items to include no dumping into storm drains and providing proactive education regarding litter. Jen Oliver recommended to start an awareness campaign on social media for dumping. She recommended the “if you see something, say something” quote. Emilie Hoffman shared that for Objective #3, the Sustainability Committee is achieving this through the Sustainability Committee webpage. She also recommended that the City promotes the Sustainability resources page on a paper copy for residents to use. There was additional communication about reducing energy consumption and the use of herbicides and pesticides. 7. Mayors Monarch Pledge The Committee discussed the Mayors Monarch Pledge Action Items. The 2024 action items were finalized for the report. Out of the seven action items, five action items were achieved and two made progress. The Committee also reviewed action items for the 2025 Mayors Monarch Pledge. Six items were viewed as currently achievable and four other items were items to look into. 8. New EV Charging Station Ryan Oates shared that the City is working on installing a new EV charging station at the Railroad Street Metra commuter parking lot at 54 Railroad Street. He stated that the plans have been submitted to the Building Division and he hopes to have it installed this year. There was discussion of where it will be placed and Ryan Oates stated it will be in the grass median giving access to the first two parking spots. 9. Discussion of Proposed Time Change to 6:00 P.M. The Committee discussed changing the time of the meeting from 6:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. There was a vote with all in favor of changing the proposed to 6:00 p.m. Amy Olson suggested changing the meeting to lunch time. There was discussion on if this is plausible in the Committee member’s schedules. It was recommended to bring this to the next meeting in January. 10. Open Discussion Jen Oliver shared that she worked with a different community in the summer to create a mural in a crosswalk and she thinks that it would be a great idea to do something like this in Crystal Lake. Emilie Hoffman agreed and asked if the Committee can work with high schools to design the crosswalk mural. It was recommended to work with the Arts Commission to see if a joint project can be done. 11. Next Meeting: January 15, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. 12. Adjourn There being no further business, Amy Olson moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:40 p.m. Terry Dieckhoff seconded the motion. Upon voice vote, all voted aye. Meeting adjourned.