Sustainability Commission

MEETING MINUTES SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION June 20, 2013 The Sustainability Commission met in Community Conference Room of the Village at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 20, 2013. In attendance were: Present: Don Anderson, Chairman Laurie Leibowitz Jerry Witkovsky Brian Wolkenberg Michael Shalen Gloria Threats, Sustainability Coordinator, Walgreens Also Present: Andrew Lichterman, Assistant to the Village Manager Approval of Minutes The minutes from February 21, March 14, April 11 and May 23, 2013 were approved unanimously. Public Comment There was no Public Comment. Appointments/Introductions Chairman Anderson requested that recently appointed Commissioner Michael Shalen introduce himself. Commissioner Shalen reported he has been a Deerfield resident for 7 years and he is a commercial real estate broker and also serves on the Lake County Board of Review. Chairman Anderson welcomed him to the Sustainability Commission. Chairman Anderson noted that he continues to reach out to businesses to solicit members for the Commission and reiterated his desire to have a broad range of backgrounds represented on the Commission. Mr. Lichterman reminded the group that Commissioners Amy Parker, Michael Loeffl, and Glenn Schwartz have all had to recently resign. Goals and Objectives Chairman Anderson led a discussion to formulate goals related to water conservation and energy efficiency that can be achieved in a 2 year timeframe. The Commission proposed a water conservation goal as follows: “Over the next 24 months the Sustainability Commission will help reduce water consumption in the Village by 10%, relative to the 10 year mean.” The Commission proposed an energy conservation goal as follows: “Over the next 24 months the Sustainability Commission will achieve a certain # of home energy audits in order to achieve a benchmark of energy savings” The Commission will refine both of these goals as more information is gathered. The appropriate water conservation percentage may be based on the case history at the Coromandel subdivision following its water detection program. Commissioner Witkovsky reported that the leak detection program at Coromandel resulted in a significant savings. The Commission brainstormed tactics to achieve both goals which include, getting high school students involved possibly by incorporating related materials into the school’s curriculum, hosting Homeowner Association forums, promoting the goals at community events, publicizing information in D-Tales, building case studies, and speaking at service clubs. Chairman Anderson requested that members contemplate objectives that the Commission can review at the next meeting. Water Analysis Mr. Lichterman presented a pie chart illustrating water usage by type of user. TOTAL WATER USAGE BY TYPE Riverwoods Municipal 6% 2% Residential Commercial Commercial Residential 25% 67% Municipal Riverwoods Chairman Anderson noted that this is counter to some of the Commissions previous thoughts, as the schools, park district and Village only account for 2% of the water usage and there is not a big opportunity there to reduce water usage overall. Commissioner Wolkenberg noted the opportunity is with the large commercial users and while, in the aggregate, the residential usage is the largest, each residence is only liable for a small amount of water consumption. Chairman Anderson requested that Commissioner Threats report on the water conservation program currently being implemented by Walgreens. Commissioner Threats reported that an irrigation pilot program is being implemented in Florida at 15 locations. She noted the new program consists of installing sensors in the irrigation systems so that the irrigation system only operates when the atmospheric conditions deem it necessary. The locations with the sensors installed have achieved a 30% water savings over a 5 month pilot program. The sensors reduce over-spray, run-off, and wind drift from the sprinkler heads by only operating when the climate conditions are optimal. Chairman Anderson asked that Commissioner Threats research the cost for installing this type of sensor on irrigation systems. Commercial Franchising Update Mr. Lichterman reported that at the June 17 Board meeting, the Village Board authorized the issuance of a Request for Proposal for commercial solid waste services. Staff will be exploring the opportunity to issue the RFP in conjunction with Bannockburn to achieve greater economies. Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Mr. Lichterman reported that 6 bids were received and they are being reviewed collectively by the consortium members. Evaluation criteria are being developed. Other Items for Discussion Chairman Anderson reported on plastic bag recycling issues. He reported that based on his conversations with SWALCO their opinion is that for any plastic bag recycling program to be successfully it would need to be implemented statewide or regionally. He also noted that currently there are a number of national chain stores that offer plastic bag collection and recycling including Jewel, Dominicks, Target, Walmart, Kohls, some Walgreens locations and even some small local stores such as Sunset. Mr. Lichterman noted that he was requested to report on the cost significance of installing rain barrels. He reported that each time a 55 gallon rain barrel fills up, that equates to approximately a $0.51 savings for a water customer. The Commission acknowledged there are other intangible benefits provided by rain barrels other than a direct cost savings. Mr. Lichterman reported that residents have been inquiring about the possibility of the Village installing recycling bins throughout the downtown. Chairman Anderson concurred that this would be a good initiative for the Commission. He requested that they be placed in highly visible locations and that municipalities with recycling bins currently in their downtown are surveyed to determine the value of the recycling bins and how often they are used. Next Meeting Date and Time The next meeting date will be August 22 at 7PM in the Community Conference Room. Adjournment Commissioner Witkovsky made a motion to adjourn and it was seconded by Commissioner Shalen. The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Andrew Lichterman Assistant to the Village Manager