Environmental Sustainability Board

CITY OF HENDERSONVILLE ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY BOARD City Operations Center – 2nd Floor Meeting Room | 305 Williams St. | Hendersonville, NC 28792 Tuesday, July 08, 2025 – 4:30 PM MINUTES CALL TO ORDER Meeting called to order at 4:34 p.m. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Emily Davidson motioned to approve first followed by Omar Zafra with the addition of adding more minutes for Hendo Green Partnership update. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Jane Edgar motioned to approve June 2025 meeting minutes first followed by Fiona McColley. PUBLIC COMMENT Public Comment (15 minutes) – no public comments CITY COUNCIL UPDATE City Council Update - Gina Baxter, City Council Member (5 minutes) Councilmember Baxter brought up the recent electric vehicle charging station presentation by Caitlyn Gendusa at last week’s City Council meeting. As of now, Mayor Volk is not wanting to charge a fee to use these stations. Omar Zafra brought up the consideration for the future of charging a fee for vehicles that idle in the electric vehicle charging spot. City Council Topics Pertinent to ESB - Kyla Christensen, Member (5 minutes) Please refer to attachment in meeting packet for City Council topics brought up. OLD BUSINESS Solar Project - Omar Zafra, Member (7 minutes) Omar Zafra gave an update on the solar installation at the Sustainability Demonstration Station. There is one more part being waited on to come in and after that the system can be installed. Land of Sky is also offering to donate a solar panel that can be used for an additional project however, Caitlyn Gendusa brought up that the board currently does not have available funds to pay for the structure the panels would sit on and table and chairs to go underneath. Caitlyn suggested the board revisit this project later in the year if there are extra funds available. Outreach Dates ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY BOARD – July 08, 2025 Page | 1  Jane Edgar having ESB Green Partnership booth at Ecusta Trail Grand Opening event - July 18th at 2pm at the Visitors Center Green Partnership - Jane Edgar, Member (7 minutes) Comments on promotional materials: Caitlyn Gendusa is making recommended updates including looking into an ESB email address, adding dark blue background to logo, and putting a QR code directly to the online application to fill out. Emily Davidson also brought up wanting to know if the questionnaire can send an automated email to anyone that submits. Jane Edgar and Judy Moolten are planning on working together for the Hendo Green Partnership table at the Ecusta Trail opening July 18th at the Henderson County Visitor Center. Sustainability Demonstration Station Farmers Market now dropping off compostable waste as part of new Chef Program Jill Carter and Emily Davidson setting up at the Farmer’s Market this Saturday, July 12th at 7:30 a.m. Alicia Stump is helping to breakdown. NEW BUSINESS Vote on new Chair and Vice Chair - Virginia Tegel, Chair and Caitlyn Gendusa, Staff Liaison (5 minutes) Emily Davidson voted on as Chair Fionna McColley voted on as Vice Chair Hendo Earth Fest 2026 - Virginia Tegel, Chair and Caitlyn Gendusa, Staff Liaison (7 minutes) The board voted and approved the Hendo Earth Fest guidelines with the proposed revisions which Caitlyn Gendusa is updating. Caitlyn Gendusa will organize first Hendo Earth Fest Subcommittee Meeting for August. Chair will be voted on after the first meeting to give a chance for interested members to learn more about how the event is planned. Connection to Warren Wilson College and the Masters of Applied Climate Studies program - Fionna McColley, Member (5 minutes) Fionna McColley brought up the connection she has with Warren Wilson College. If the ESB has any sustainability related topic they would like guidance on from experts in the field, this would be a great contact to explore. Summary of FY26 ESB Budget - Caitlyn Gendusa, Staff Liaison (5 minutes) Waste reduction event - Caitlyn Gendusa, Staff Liaison (7 minutes) ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY BOARD – July 08, 2025 Page | 2  Proposed event to include going over what is/isn't recyclable, recycling audit, and composting overview hosted at the Sustainability Demonstration Station Emily Davidson brought up idea of having the recycling audit activity being a race against two participants and then following up with education on what the participants got wrong and further education on what is and isn’t recyclable. This would be a simplified drop in event format. ADJOURNMENT Fiona McColley motioned to adjourn followed by Virginia Tegel The City of Hendersonville is committed to providing accessible facilities, programs and services for all people in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Should you need assistance or an accommodation for this meeting please contact the City Clerk no later than 24 hours prior to the meeting at 697-3005. ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY BOARD – July 08, 2025 Page | 3