Environmental Sustainability Council

Minutes Environmental Services Council Thursday, December 18, 7:30-8:30PM Dogwood Room ESC Council Members: Peter Adriance, Raymond Arnaudo, Sarah Bayldon, Andy Crawford, Jackson Jost (student rep), Mary Keenan (student rep), Peter Oppenheimer, William Schellstede, Tim Stevens (chairman), Suzanne Updike Present: Peter Adriance, Sarah Bayldon, Andy Crawford, Jackson Jost, Mary Keenan, Peter Oppenheimer, Tim Stevens, Suzanne Updike, Allison Lohrenz (city staff liaison), Matt Hansen (city staff) It was noted that Allison would be taking a new job with Arlington Public Works as Senior Contracts Manager. All expressed gratitude for her dedicated services to the ESC and the City, and Bill presented her with a card/gift from the ESC members. She in turn distributed cards with personal notes for each member. She will be missed! The Minutes from November 20 were approved. New Business:  ESC Chair Election – The election of a new chair was deferred until Planning Commission appointments are announced next month.  Leaf management city council memo – The letter prepared by Suzanne will be redrafted to emphasize the need for public promotion of a leaf mulching program enlisting homeowners, with the practice of mulch mowing on public lands by the city as part of that. We will add to the rationale the savings realized from reduced equipment maintenance and the freeing up of collection crews for other tasks. o It was noted that it would be good for the city to communicate dates when leaves are being picked up, but the schedule is variable, dependent upon a number of factors, which makes that difficult. Old Business  State legislative agenda. – On Dec. 4th the City’s legislative platform was shared with our legislators. Items covered included several of the points put forward by ESC which were strongly supported by Council member, Dan Sze. We now have legislative patrons for each of our issues: net metering; bag fee; pesticide notification; and plastic micro beads.  Solarize Falls Church – Bob Lazaro has offered to lead a Solarize program in Falls Church, encouraging the installation of solar panels on homes through group purchasing of panel installations. The program will be considered as part of the  City Council work session agenda on Jan 20. Tim will likely do a joint presentation with Bob. If the city approves, we can launch a publicity and outreach strategy. Discussion:  LEED for schools – On Dec. 4 Council discussed the idea of LEED silver at Mt. Daniel. A ten-page citizens’ petition in support of the idea was included as part of an excellent presentation on it. A majority of the City Council members indicated support for the idea, in principle. A recent tour of Dunbar High in DC, which has LEED Platinum rating, was impressive. It felt good to be there, the quality of the construction was quite apparent. It drove home the value of LEED certification. Informational Items:  Fracking in GW National Forest – Eleven jurisdictions (including Falls Church) and the VA governor had actively opposed fracking in the GWNF. A decision to ban all drilling in the GW National Forest was taken by the US Forest Service two months ago.  Annual Report - Tim is preparing the annual report. Next meeting:  The next meeting will be January 15, 2015 in the Dogwood room