Environmental Advisory Council

EAC December 16, 2025 Minutes Members in Attendance: Grant Alger, Dan Ford, Steve Nelson, Jason Wood, Kirstyn Gudknecht, and Grant Rowe, Sustainability Coordinator. Mark Feingold, community member, also attended. Call to order: The meeting was called to order at 6:35 pm. Approval of Minutes, November 18, 2025: The minutes were approved as submitted. Reports: • DCAP: The Doylestown Climate Action Plan (DCAP) is moving forward in the adoption process. Grant R. shared that announcements related to the DCAP were made on December 1st and 9th, and another announcement is planned for January 16th. He also shared that three comments have been submitted to the online comment portal so far. A joint Environmental Advisory Council (EAC) and Planning Commission (PC) meeting will occur on January 20th at 6:30 pm. • Outreach & Communications: o Website: Kirstyn will check in with Karen Graziano as she works to develop a native plant page on the Doylestown Borough website. Grant R. can help with this initiative going forward and can meet with Kirstyn to discuss further. Grant A. suggested updating the Borough website to include information on the DCAP once it is adopted. o Earth Day Programming: Grant R. shared that EAC will host an Earth Day event on April 25, 2026. He informed the EAC that he will be meeting with the Bucks County Conservation District and Heritage Conservancy early next year to discuss collaboration for the event, and that Exact Solar and the Shade Tree Commission should also be tabling. Steve suggested that EAC reach out to George Mullikin and the Master Gardeners. Dan shared that the Women’s National Farm and Garden Association (Bucks County Branch) and the Borough Water Department were contacted for the 2025 Earth Day event, and Kirstyn suggested that the Master Watershed Stewards and the Neshaminy Watershed Association be contacted. Grant R. offered to reach out to these groups, create a spreadsheet, and share it with EAC. Grant R. is also compiling a list of supplies that the Borough has from last year’s planning and will share his findings with the EAC soon. Grant R. will also email out options for homemade games, called CUSP Kits, that the EAC could create for Earth Day. The EAC confirmed the 2026 Earth Day Event from 10 am to 1 pm. Finally, Grant R. agreed to investigate food options (cooking vs. food trucks) and to discuss kid-focused table and activity options with the Director of Parks and Recreation. • Park Habitat Enhancement: o Chapman Park Sign: Grant R. reviewed an updated draft (printed to scale) of an educational sign for Chapman Park based on feedback from the last EAC meeting and asked for final thoughts. Jason shared that he liked the newest version, especially the added binoculars. Steve shared that he liked the updated sports ball logo and asked about the lifespan of the sign. Grant R. shared the Borough plans to use materials rated for outdoor use/weather conditions. Kirstyn asked for a color change to the binocular graphic. After some discussion related to fishing at Chapman Park, Grant A. suggested slightly editing the Borough Dam logo on the sign. Grant R. noted that these final recommendations would be addressed and that the sign would be printed and installed soon. o Park Enhancement: Steve asked for an update on funding for enhancement projects at Chapman and Veterans Memorial Parks. Grant R. explained that the Borough has included funding for park  habitat enhancement in its 2026 budget and has applied for grant funding through the PECO Green Region Open Space Program. • Index of Open Areas: Grant A. asked Dan to review the open space index he created for the Borough of Doylestown, as he will be leaving the EAC in the new year. Dan shared that he hopes his work could be used in Borough decision-making, offering helpful information for specific ecosystems and habitats. Dan shared that his index of open areas is available as both a spreadsheet and a map in the shared EAC Google Drive folder. Future work could update the spreadsheet; however, coding knowledge would be required to update the map. Grant R. suggested that the EAC evaluate ArcGIS as an alternative mapping option. Dan will send Grant R. a summary of his index work for the Borough's reference. • Bird Town: Grant A. shared that the annual reporting time for Bird Town is approaching. He has emailed a document to Grant R. for review and completion. • Staff Report: o Borough Hall SRECS: Grant R. highlighted the Borough’s newest solar renewable energy credits (SRECs) sale. o PECO Incentive: Grant R. noted that the Borough recently received a check from PECO as part of its solar incentive program. o DCAP Next Steps: Grant R. suggested that the EAC begin thinking about ways to promote and explain the DCAP once it is adopted. He suggested focusing on energy, waste, and battery electric equipment to begin. Old/New Business: • 2026 Budget: Steve asked if the Borough’s 2026 budget included funding towards a complete streets plan. Grant R. agreed to look into it and share specific numbers, but informed the EAC that funds had been allocated to this. • DART: Steve asked why the DART Shuttle schedule was reduced. Grant R. shared that the service reduction was likely due to budget constraints. The EAC then discussed how the DART promotes its schedule and routes, and discussed ways to streamline this going forward. • Plastic Bags: Grant A. informed the EAC that someone at a Bird Town meeting told him they saw plastic bags at the last Doylestown Arts Festival. Grant R. agreed to investigate this. Community member Mark Feingold shared his thoughts on plastic bags. He suggested that leaders at community events offer reusable bags for free or at a reduced price, alongside clear communication in advance. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 7:55 pm. Respectfully Submitted by: Erika Fellman