Environmental Commission

Madison  Environmental  Commission   Meeting  Minutes—June  28,  2012     Call  to  order  and  Open  Public  Meetings  Statement  at  7:30pm.   PRESENT:  Missy  Durham,  Jim  Greene,  Susan  Niculescu,  Roy  Redmond,  Stephan  Stocker,  Betsy  Uhlman,   Claire  Whitcomb.   ABSENT:  Jeff  Gertler,  Jeff  Sarrett,  Don  Links  (Council  Liaison).     Minutes:  The  minutes  of  the  meeting  of  May  31,  2012  were  approved  with  changes.   Guests:    None.   Mail  received:    DDC  Letter  on  Bottle  Hill  Day.   Discussion:   1. Green  Fair  Recap:    S.  Niculescu  presented  a  brief  outline  of  the  Green  Fair  as  requested  at  the   previous  meeting.  The  first  Green  Fair  was  held  in  2010.  It  was  done  primarily  by  Jim  Burnett   and  Boy  Scout  Vijay  Prabakaran,  with  minor  assistance  from  the  DDC,  and  the  MEC.  The  $2,100   net  was  used  by  MEC  for  the  ERI.  The  second  Green  Fair  was  done  primarily  by  Scout  parent   Andy  Bennett  with  the  help  of  the  Boy  Scouts  and  Jim  Burnet,  and  with  a  little  assistance  from   MEC.  The  approx  $3,500  net  funds  raised  were  split  50/50  with  the  Scouts.  The  MEC  portion  was   used  to  complete  payment  for  the  ERI,  along  with  another  donation  from  T.  Haralampoudis.  The   total  amount  of  work  involved,  as  per  a  summary  from  Jim  Burnet  is  about  285  hours.  My   impression  was  that  it  was  a  little  more  this  year.  I  spent  about  195  hours,  plus  there  was  time   from  Betsy,  Missy,  Claire,  Linda  Faletto  (a  scout  parent),  Andy  Bennett,  and  Jim  Burnett.  This   year  the  total  net  funds  earned  were  $4,856  (printing,  etc  was  $309,  much  was  donated).    The   funds  are  being  held  by  the  Scouts,  since  they  have  a  checking  account.  However,  they  have   agreed  to  honor  our  previous  agreement  that  50%  is  for  the  MEC.  We  need  to  develop  a  specific   idea  of  which  projects  we  want  to  use  it  for.    Discussion  followed  in  which  some  items  were   suggested:  We  should  all  have  name  tags  so  that  if  we  are  at  a  meeting  representing  MEC  we   can  be  “official”;  we  should  set  up  a  501C3  to  establish  and  bank  account  to  keep  funds  in  the   future;  some  grants  require  matching  funds  so  these  funds  should  enable  us  to  apply  for  such   grants.   2. Storm  water  Management  at  the  MRC:       a. After  some  discussion  of  the  issue  of  possible  pollution  from  the  new  turf  fields  into  the   adjoining  wetlands  it  was  agreed  that  the  run-­‐off  should  be  tested.  There  was  a  motion  to   1      “Approve  the  testing  of  the  runoff  water  at  an  appropriate  time  (after  a  storm  event)  within   the  next  60  days”.  Move  by  S.  Stocker,  seconded  by  C.  Whitcomb,  all  agreed.     b. S.  Stocker,  Sandy  Kolakowski,  and  B.  Uhlman  visited  the  site  after  a  rainstorm  on  Friday.  The   stormwater  management  system  is  not  functioning  properly.  Silt  has  filled  the  large  basin   and  spread  into  the  wetlands,  due  to  the  lack  of  silt  fences.  The  mosquito  control  officer   complained  to  B.  Vogel  twice  that  one  rain  garden  does  not  drain  and  breeds  mosquitoes.   The  Rockefeller  representative  is  also  dissatisfied  with  the  rain  gardens.  The  repairs  to  the   rain  gardens  that  were  specified  by  the  Rutgers  expert  have  not  been  done.  The  invasive   species  were  still  planted  there.  Discussion  ensued  and  it  was  proposed  that  a  letter  should   be  written  to  the  Borough  Administrator,  R.  Codey,  and  cc’s  to  Links,  Vogel,  and  Maines   stating  what  we  believe  should  be  done  and  asking  why  it  is  not  done  yet.  Further  discussion   ensued  and  it  was  agreed  that  such  a  letter  should  only  be  sent  if  the  issues  were  still  not   resolved  after  the  ramp,  which  is  currently  in  construction  and  may  be  the  reason  that  the   silt  fences  were  removed,  has  been  completed  and  there  has  been  adequate  time  to  replace   the  silt  fences.     3. Solar  Power:  B.  Uhlman  reported  that  there  was  unanimous  approval  by  the  Council  of  net   metering  for  residential  solar  installations.  Regarding  municipal  solar,  Morris  County  turned   down  the  request  of  Madison  for  three  locations  on  the  grounds  that  the  proposed  locations   were  all  too  shaded.  J.  Greene  proposed  that  we  should  create  some  informative  materials  for   public  distribution—maybe  at  the  Bottle  Hill  Day—regarding  Solar  Power,  the  benefits,  the   importance  of  net  metering,  and  the  impact  on  the  electric  utility  rates  if  we  can  lower  our  peak   rates  by  installing  enough  local  Solar  Panels.   4. Anti-­‐idling  Resolution:  The  resolution  drafted  by  J.  Greene,  based  on  the  Sustainable  Jersey   sample  was  reviewed  and  agreed  to.  It  was  noted  that  it  is  the  law  that  no  more  than  three   minutes  of  idling  is  allowed.  The  aim  of  the  resolution  is  to  raise  the  level  of  awareness   regarding  the  law  and  to  persuade  people  to  comply  with  the  law.  Various  approaches  were   discussed  including  sending  a  letter  to  all  school  families;  post  signs  at  all  schools,  obtain   involvement  and  support  from  the  school  environmental  clubs,  attend  PTO  meetings,  ask  Dr.   Rossi  for  his  support  and  ask  T.  Haralampoudis  for  his  support.  The  resolution  was  moved  by  B.   Uhlman,  seconded  by  M.  Durham  and  voted  on.  Unanimously  approved.   5. Sustainable  Madison:    B.  Uhlman  reported  that  the  first  meeting  was  held.  The  group  is   developing  a  list  of  projects  that  they  would  like  to  accomplish.  Including  setting  up  a  domain   name:  “SustainableMadison.org”.  The  next  meeting  is  July  12th  at  7:30  pm.  The  major  work  to  be   done  is  to  apply  for  the  “Silver”  rank  next  year  or  we  will  lose  our  “Bronze”  rank.  J.  Greene  asked   if  they  are  interested  in  the  bio-­‐diesel  project.  S.  Stocker  mentioned  that  he  had  done  some   basic  research  on  it  and  sent  it  to  Councilman  Catalanello  and  to  J.  Sarrett  (not  in  attendance),   but  had  heard  no  response.  B.  Uhlman  reported  that  one  of  the  members  of  Sustainable   Madison  was  an  expert  in  vehicles  and  traffic  and  that  she,  H.  Shephard,  would  be  working  with   D.  Maines  of  a  “Fleet  Inventory”  which  is  a  necessary  step  in  a  study  of  Bio-­‐diesel.  C.  Whitcomb   2      suggested  that  there  be  a  routine  reporting  (via  email)  between  all  the  groups  concerned  with   the  environment  (Shade  Tree,  Open  Space,  Sustainable  Madison,  MEC,  etc).  it  was  announced   that  Christopher  Daggett,  the  President  of  the  Dodge  Foundation,  Deputy  DEP  Commissioner,   would  be  presenting  at  the  Library  on  July  26th  at  10:30  am.  Please  let  people  know.   6. Community  Garden:    S.  Stocker  reported  that  on  Monday  Councilman  Catalanello  proposed  two   ordinances:  one  to  fund  a  new  greenhouse  and  several  other  items  for  $90,000  from  the  Open   Space  Funds  and  the  other  to  establish  a  14-­‐member  committee  to  run  the  Community  Garden.   B.  Uhlman  noted  that  it  had  been  her  intention  to  apply  for  a  grant  for  the  greenhouse  and  that   such  an  application  should  be  made  before  any  funding  is  committed  by  the  Borough.  S.  Stocker   reported  that  the  likely  air-­‐borne  overspray  of  a  pesticide  in  the  nearby  corporate  park  had   caused  a  temporary  problem  with  some  tomato  and  potato  plants,  identified  by  an  expert  from   Rutgers  that  S.  Stocker  contacted.  The  gardeners  are  learning  about  soil  improvement.  The  plots   are  all  in  use  and  the  community  garden  community  is  off  and  running.   7.  Executive  Session  in  April:  In  the  executive  session  in  April  there  was  discussion  of  the  arsenic   pollution  on  the  MRC  property  at  the  location  of  early  20th-­‐c.  greenhouses.  The  pollution  is  by   the  entrance  (at  Ridgedale),  quite  distant  from  the  new  artificial  turf  fields,  and  the  scope  is   larger  than  originally  known.  The  environmental  consultants  are  putting  together  a  plan  for   mitigation.   8. Meeting  adjourned:    The  meeting  was  adjourned  at  9:30  pm.       3