Sustainable Madison Advisory Committee

Sustainable  Madison  Advisory  Committee   Meeting  Minutes-­‐-­‐June  14,  2012   Attendees:  Jim  Burnet,  Kathleen  Caccavale,  Steve  Eget,  Sandra  Gaurin,  Harriet   Honigfeld,  Heather  Shepard,  Jim  Trause,  Betsy  Uhlman   Absent:  Don  Links,  David  Maines,  Bob  Vogel,  Ben  Wolkowitz   Guests:  Melissa  Honohan   Discussion:   1. Centralized  resources.  The  Sustainable  Madison  committee  has  no  budget,   however  the  Project  Porchlight  CFL  bulb  box  sale  by  B.  Uhlman  has  yielded   $600  to  date  for  the  committee.  It  would  be  helpful  to  set  up  a  501(c)3  under   Care  One  Carpet.  It  would  be  similar  to  a  “Friends  of”  entity,  like  the  DDC   Foundation.  It  requires  a  separate  board  (J.  Burnet  suggested  a   representative  from  each  entity  involved  such  as  Open  Space,  Community   Garden,  etc),  two  meetings  a  year,  checking  account  and  IRS  filing.  The   Borough  is  not  set  up  to  provide  checking  account-­‐like  access  to  funds.   For  domain  name,  S.  Eget  will  be  able  to  find  one  through  his  transportation   group.  He  will  look  for  SustainableMadison  or  SustainableMadisonNJ,  after   group  discussion.  B.  Uhlman  will  ask  Howard  Klein  to  design  a  simple  yard   sign,  similar  to  the  one  used  by  HikeChester  to  raise  awareness.  HikeChester   spiked  its  web  traffic  with  the  yard  signs.  J.  Burnet  could  find  budget  for  100   yard  signs  and  make  an  agenda  recommendation  to  Council  to  put  25  on   public  property,  once  the  sign  is  designed.   Sustainable  Madison  needs  to  raise  awareness  as  well  as  develop  an  email   list  of  interested  people  and  a  list  of  interested  volunteers.  This  can  be   accomplished  by  using  Constant  Comment  on  the  web  page,  as  Shop  Madison   does.  J.  Burnet  can  set  this  up.  Also  the  web  page  should  post  projects  for   which  SM  needs  volunteers.  Many  people  would  like  to  volunteer.   In  addition,  the  web  page  should  have  a  photo  and  bio  of  each  member,  H.   Shepard  suggested.   The  group  posed  for  a  photo  to  go  on  the  website.   Press  coverage  is  necessary.  B.  Uhlman  will  submit  the  first  press  release.   2. Potential  projects.  The  committee  discussed  a  list  of  possible  projects  B.  Uhlman   drafted.  To  achieve  silver  certification  with  Sustainable  Jersey,  Sustainable   Madison  requires  an  additional  120  points  by  March  or  summer  2013  (and   ongoing  work  on  the  230-­‐point  activities  already  in  place).  Perhaps  40  points  are   in  projects  that  are  complete  but  not  documented:  Natural  Resources  Inventory,   tree  survey,  and  community  garden.  H.  Honigfeld  pointed  out  that  completing    good  projects  is  more  important  than  getting  silver  certification.  B.  Uhlman   would  like  to  focus  on  projects  that  save  the  borough  money.  Also  she  would  like   to  work  with  borough  representatives  on  “gateway”  projects  that  are  required   “first  steps”  in  the  Sustainable  Jersey  system,  such  as  green  grounds  policy,  fleet   inventory  and  green  purchasing  policy.  All  policy  adoption  requires  a  Council   vote,  whether  for  resolution  or  ordinance.,  which  takes  a  few  Council  meetings   to  accomplish.   The  projects  discussed  were:   Safe  Routes  to  School  (TransOptions  could  assist)  H.  Shepard  was  interested  in  and   public  safety  issues.  J.  Burnet  identified  Jeannie  Tsukumoto  as  the  Council  liaison  for   public  safety.   Carbon  footprint  (municipal  and  community)  S.  Eget  would  do  these.   Composting  of  leaves  and  shrubs  are  transferred  from  Madison  currently,  at  the  cost   of  $70k/year.  May  be  worth  pursuing  a  State  House  Commission  diversion  for  a   small  portion  of  the  Madison  Recreation  Complex  (listed  on  ROSI).  H.  Honigfeld  will   ask  if  any  Morris  Co.  farms  are  approved  Class  C  leaf  mulch  facilities.   Energy  efficiency  in  the  schools  is  being  pursued  by  J.  Trause,  working  with   Donnelly  and  S.  Stocker.   Energy  efficiency  in  the  Hartley  Dodge  Memorial  Building  would  be  enhanced  by   replacing  the  boiler,  which  J.  Burnet  said  is  being  explored.   Municipal  solar  installation  is  a  hoped-­‐for  project,  but  the  Morris  Co.  Improvement   Authority  rejected  the  3  Madison  sites  this  week.  It  will  take  more  work  to  do.   Waste  audit  of  muni.  building  or  school  has  not  been  done  and  a  school  audit  could   involve  students  and  yield  good  information  for  future  improvements.  J.  Trause  was   open  to  this.   A  Green  Grounds  policy  will  be  a  first  step  to  Integrated  Pesticide  Management,   which  J.  Trause  already  uses.  This  project  will  require  the  assistance  of  D.  Maines  of   the  DPW  also.   A  Green  purchasing  policy  will  await  the  new  purchasing  officer’s  arrival,  but  could   represent  5  or  10  points  based  on  whether  it’s  a  resolution  or  ordinance.   Conservation  Easement  Inventory  and  Caring  for  Easements,  small  in  number  (3)   plus  a  single  historical  easement,  seems    doable.  The  Borough  Engineer’s  summer   intern  may  be  able  to  help.  H.  Honigfeld  will  help  due  to  her  professional  experience   in  this  area.   Community  asset  mapping,  the  topic  of  the  June  13  Open  Space  Committee  meeting,   was  described  by  M.  Honohan.  She  will  take  the  lead  on  a  Green  Forum  in  the  fall   with  Shade  Tree  Management  Board.  A  Survey  Monkey  survey  may  be  used  to   enhance  the  process,  especially  as  SM  builds  a  listserv.   The  fleet  inventory,  with  under  fifty  vehicles,  is  a  project  H.  Shepard  can  do  for   Madison,  and  has  done  for  work.  The  discussion  revealed  that  some  waste  trucks   only  get  2mpg.   The  Community  Garden  committee  is  interested  in  applying  for  a  Sustainable  Jersey   grant  for  a  greenhouse.  Quick  deadline  of  July  15.   H.  Shepard  volunteered  to  put  these  items  and  owners  on  a  spreadsheet  to  make   tracking  easier.   Documenting  the  progress  of  projects,  with  press  clippings  and  various  measures,  is   important  to  submit  to  Sustainable  Jersey.  SM  will  set  March  as  a  goal  for   documenting  the  projects.   3.  Calendar  of  meetings:  July  12,  September  12  and  November  14  at  7:30  in  the   Committee  Room.  B.  Uhlman  will  get  meetings  on  the  Borough  calendar  and  ask  L.   Osborn  to  post  them  as  open  public  meetings.  B.  Uhlman  will  participate  by  Skype  in   July.  September  will  be  the  public  launch  date.  SM  will  invite  a  speaker  for   November  14.   The  meeting  adjourned  at  9:16  pm.