Citizens' Environmental Commission

MINUTES CITY OF DEKALB Citizens’ Environmental Commission September 2, 2021 The Citizens’ Environmental Commission (CEC) held a regular business meeting on September 2, 2021 in the Second Floor Training Room at the DeKalb Police Department. Chair Clare Kron called the meeting to order at 4:02 p.m. A. Roll Call Roll call was recorded by Management Analyst Scott Zak, and the following members of the CEC were present: Chair Clare Kron, Vice Chair Steve Honeywell, Rachel Farrell, Adrian Lopez, Kyle Moore and Nick Newman. Not present was Sharon Skala. Also present was Management Analyst Scott Zak. B. Approval of Agenda MOTION Ms. Farrell moved to approve the agenda, seconded by Mr. Honeywell. VOTE The agenda was approved by unanimous voice vote. C. Public Comment No public comments were received. D. Approval of Minutes 1. Regular Monthly Meeting Minutes of June 3, 2021 MOTION Mr. Newman motioned to approve the minutes, seconded by Mr. Moore. VOTE The minutes with a few minor changes were approved by a unanimous voice vote. F. New Business 1. Introduction: Courtney Gallaher, Sustainability Coordinator for NIU This item was moved up in the agenda. Courtney Gallagher is the first person at NIU to hold the position of Sustainability Coordinator, and she told the Commission her goal is to look at the sustainability issues the university should have started looking at ten years ago. Gallagher, who is also a professor, believes her new position can be helpful to the City. She said she would be eager to provide students to volunteer on the Sustainability Plan and believes other partnerships are possible. She noted NIU is a part of DeKalb and is interested in leveraging the power of the two. E. Commission Reports 1. DeKalb County Health Department With Emily Sitkie’s appointment not yet approved, no report was given. 2. DeKalb Park District Ex-Officio Member Matt Emken was not present, so his report was read. He reported maintenance of pollinator areas continues, the final stage of the Nature Trail restoration from First Street to Sycamore Road will be considered soon by the Park Board and a buckthorn clean- up will be held in the fall. 3. Kishwaukee Water Reclamation District While Ex-Officio Member Holland was not present, Commissioner Newman reported on the district’s net-zero energy plan. He said a heat and power generator will hopefully be installed by the fall and a company has done a site assessment for a solar field. 4. Northern Illinois University With Ex-Officio Member Sarah Fox absent, no report was given. 5. City Staff Liaison Management Analyst Zak had no report here but said he may have input on later items. G. New Business 1. Community beekeeping: Dan Kenney Chair Kron shared Mr. Kenney has been too busy to prepare a presentation on a bee co-op proposal. 2. September presentation date for beekeeping: Tuesday, September 22 Chair Kron suggested a presentation on this topic wait until Mr. Kenney presents on the bee co- op and instead a presentation on community solar energy be done with the DeKalb County Convention and Visitors Bureau. Vendors could also have tables at the event. MOTION Chair Kron motioned to replace the beekeeping presentation with a presentation on community solar with the DeKalb County Convention and Visitors Bureau and associated vendors, seconded by Mr. Newman. VOTE The motion was approved by unanimous voice vote. Chair Kron suggested offering food and beverages at the presentation to help attract attendees. MOTION Chair Kron motioned to include food and beverages paid for by the presenters at the community solar presentation, seconded by Mr. Lopez. VOTE The motion was approved by unanimous voice vote. Mr. Honeywell suggested moving the beekeeping presentation to March when it can be done as part of a Stem Café. 3. Letter to the City Council regarding construction input Chair Kron shared an e-mail from Mayor Cohen Barnes that said, in part, “Right now we have limited development in DeKalb, and I am not open to creating even more barriers to development in our city. The more obstacles we present, the more we push developers away to surrounding communities. As we discussed, I wish your commission would focus on some easy wins like working together with Trash Squirrels on developing a large group of continued volunteers to pick up trash in our community which is good for the environment and for economic development.” Management Analyst Zak explained the Mayor’s e-mail was in reference to a comment by Chair Kron in an e-mail to Commissioners recommending they suggest City officials require a minimum rating for developments based on A Citizen’s Guide to LEED for Neighborhood Development. Chair Kron said she was concerned about the Sustainability Plan since the green economy will involve additional costs. Management Analyst Zak clarified the Mayor was supportive of the Commission’s previous path to create a list of recommended sustainable building practices but did not support requiring a minimum LEED rating. Mr. Honeywell said the Commission could focus on both easy wins that can be done in the short term along with long-term wins that will take years to accomplish. Mr. Newman suggested adding to the LEED recommendations a public recognition of developers who reach the minimum level, and Mr. Honeywell suggested exploring tax credits with the school district. Mr. Lopez said he did not want to discourage development but noted that at the same, being environmentally friendly is a goal. Ms. Farrell said it would be preferable if the LEED recommendations were met but added the goal of businesses is to make money. Mr. Moore asked if Mayor Barnes would be supportive of the Commission working on long- term goals while at the same time working on other things such as supporting the Trash Squirrels. Commissioners Honeywell and Newman believed he would. Commissioners suggested supporting the Trash Squirrels through the City’s website and Facebook page but admitted these methods usually attract few attendees. To attract more people, Mr. Lopez suggested serving beer and Mr. Newman added a suggestion about a Trashed Squirrel event. Mr. Zak said he could see Mayor Barnes supporting that kind of community event, similar to the community mural that was painted in the Hopkins Park underpass. The discussion then turned to the Unity Mural and other features near Prairie Park. Mr. Lopez noted there is a lot of trash in that area, and a Commission-organized trash pick-up there was suggested. Mr. Honeywell suggested working with the Trash Squirrels on the pick-up, and Mr. Lopez suggested connecting with other environmental-minded groups to expand the community who attend such events. He added events like the pick-up could build comradery and support for other issues the Commission would like to tackle such as a plastic bag ban. Commissioners agreed to contact other groups to participate and send those interested to Chair Kron. The pick-up date was set for Oct. 16. Mr. Newman agreed to create a simplified version of the LEED recommendations. 4. Adopt-A-Park Chair Kron shared that photos of some of the adopted gardens have been sent to the Park District. 5. Next article for Daily Chronicle Mr. Moore will be writing the October article on DeKalb County Community Gardens. Mr. Honeywell said he did not believe the Chronicle was interested in a series of articles on light intrusion, but Commissioners agreed this would make a good presentation topic.  6. Recommendation for new CEC member Chair Kron shared that Ms. Gallaher will be recommending a member and Ms. Skala may be able to rejoin the Commission next month. 7. Grant possibilities Mr. Newman said he looked into 30 to 40 grants. Nearly all of them require the applicant to be a 501(c)(3) organization; although, there are three the Commission can seek. There are an EPA educational grant, a grant from the Illinois Water Environment Association for waterway education and a National Park Services grant for natural habitat education and preservation. Mr. Honeywell notes the grants could provide funding for the Commission’s presentations, and Mr. Newman said he would continue the grant research. 8. Updates on other issues Chair Kron said she was disappointed there were no recycling bins at Corn Fest and that the Commission must continue its education efforts to balance those of the agricultural industry. Chair Kron said 350Kishwaukee is asking the City to approve a commitment to the Paris Climate Accord and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It was agreed more information was needed on how emissions would have to be reduced. Commissioners raised no objections to the idea of doing a presentation next year explaining how climate change will impact DeKalb residents. Mr. Honeywell said he will prepare a news release on Coffee with the CEC. H. Announcements 1. New announcements No announcements were shared. 2. Next meeting: October 7, 4:00 p.m. I. Adjournment MOTION Mr. Honeywell motioned to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Mr. Lopez. VOTE The motion was approved by unanimous voice vote. The meeting was declared adjourned at 6:01 p.m. Respectfully submitted: Scott Zak, Management Analyst Approved by the Citizens’ Environmental Commission on October 7, 2021.