Environmental Advisory Council Meeting

EAC September 19, 2023 Minutes Members in Attendance: George Mullikin, Grant Alger, David Reidel, Dan Ford, and Building and Zoning Director Karyn Hyland. Also, in attendance were Planning Commission Chair James Lannon, Council member Dennis Livrone, and Council member Wendy Margolis. Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 6:30 pm Approval of Minutes August 15, 2023: Minutes were approved as submitted. Green Points: Karyn updated the new members of the EAC on the Green Points System. The Green Points system needs updating. It is an incentive which results in a building permit fee reduction, based on building materials that exceed the requirements of the building code. There is a point system structure set up that allows for a percentage of the building permit to be reduced up to 50% of the total cost of the building permit. Not many people take part in the program since it is getting more difficult to comply in any meaningful way. People who are doing solar improvements automatically receive discounts and the electrical permit fee is waived. After a discussion and further explanation from Karyn, George suggested to the EAC that there is no action that needs to be taken by them right now. Open Area Index: There is an ordinance that oversees the EAC. The EAC has been tasked by the Borough Council to keep track of all the open areas within the Borough. There is a question about how detailed the index needs to be. Grant believes the index is a necessary tool for the Borough to have. Wendy and Dennis agree this is an important list to keep and since we are in the middle of a Comprehensive Plan update, it may be a useful tool to include in the plan for future planning and development purposes. Karyn suggested it could be referenced in the Comprehensive Plan, even if it doesn’t exist when the Plan is adopted. There is a need to have criteria defined before the EAC moves along with this project. It was noted several times, a lot of the information used in an Open Area Index is already available from the County Inventory list. George and Grant would like to move forward with this task. The other members present agreed. 2023 and 2024 Purchase/Budget Requests: There is $230 left in the 2023 budget for the EAC. The previous year’s overages did not come out of this year’s budget. The remaining money needs to be spent by the end of the current year. A trifold or portfolio may be useful and serve multiple purposes for use at the Farmer’s Markets. The members had a lot of good ideas of how to spend the money that is currently available and started discussing how they can use next year’s budget. Reports LCAP (George): There was another meeting of the Steering Committee. We discussed our goals, targets, objectives, and visions. We will narrow down those ideas in the next meeting. We want to continue to discuss greenhouse gas emissions. We have an open proposal with Drexel for a student to work alongside the EAC and help with whatever tasks we need. Farmer’s Market (Dan): We have 2 remaining Farmer’s Markets to attend. Members will be needed to attend and staff our table. Outreach and Communication (Grant): Lights Out Doylestown initiative was well received. There was an article in the Cardinal that highlighted the Lights Out program. The County is turning off the lights when their second shift of custodial staff leaves for the evening. The stairs are lit for safety of the Sheriff’s Department.  Bird Town (Grant): Bird strikes are still a concern at the Justice Center. Grant will see if there is a way to enlist volunteers to help count the strikes and how many birds are affected. The EAC can apply for grant money that could be used for bird habitats or something along that line, to help with the bird strike problems. Comprehensive Plan Update (P.R.): Tentatively, there is a workshop scheduled for October 10. Once we have that set, the information will be distributed. Tick Awareness (P.R.): The document is one page and is very concise and informative. She provided some links to further information at the bottom of the document. We would like to post this to our webpage. Old/New Business: Wendy invited all the members to go to the Township where the pond was recently renovated in Central Park near Kutz. It is very nice, with a tribute garden that honors the area’s Lenape heritage using plantings that were important to the Native American tribes from the region. Adjournment: There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:27 pm. Respectfully Submitted by: Erika Fellman Minutes Secretary