Sustainable Madison Advisory Committee

Sustainable Madison Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes October 29, 2019 Chairperson, Kathleen Caccavale, called the meeting to order at 1:07 pm. STATEMENT IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE OPEN PUBLIC MEETINGS ACT: “In compliance with the Open Public Meetings Act, adequate notice of this meeting of the Sustainable Madison Advisory Committee (SMAC) Meeting was provided by transmitting a copy of the meeting notice to the Madison Eagle and Morris County Daily Record, posting a copy on the bulletin board at the main entrance of the Hartley Dodge Memorial, and filing a copy in the office of the Clerk. This notice was made available to members of the general public.” The following members acknowledged their presence: Kathleen Caccavale, Chairperson Peter Fried, Resident/Regular Member Joan Maccari, MEC Representative/Regular Member Lisa Jordan, Resident/Regular Member Gene Cracovia, Resident/Regular Member Angelique Devost/regular Marylin Musielski/regular Maureen Byrne/Council Liaison Guest Diane Mann, YMCA President Guest Heather Reddy, representing the Board of Education September 17 minutes were unanimously approved, with the correction that Angelique Devost and Marylin Musielski were not present. Minutes with these corrections will be submitted to Rosenet. Guest Diane Mann explained the construction project at the YMCA. NK Architects in Morristown designed the building. • The new construction will be “greener” than the current building. o Heating/cooling system will be more efficient. o Window lights into the center of the building will reduce the cost of lighting. • $12 million project has increased to $16 million. o Need for more and cooler pool space. o 9,000 square foot new gym space. • Government reimbursement to test for hydrocarbons in the soil does not cover remediation. o 18,000 cubic yards dug out for the project (5,000 remain on site, 13,000 hauled away.) Page 1 of 3  o Hydrocarbons from railroad yard previously on the site are deemed stable (i.e., won’t leach or move around) and not hazardous. o Soil will be capped before building on that spot. • Marylin suggested reviewing the 10/29 Sustainable Jersey (SJ) webinar about “Brownfields” that is posted on the SJ website. • Gene and Kathi suggested a sustainability audit. • Peter suggested a “Local Government Energy Audit” (LGEA). Peter offered to follow up with LGEA. • Landscape plans include a rain garden. • Permeable pavement in the parking area was considered, but eliminated for fear that snowplows will tear it up. • The roof is not strong enough to support solar, because the cost involved is beyond the YMCA budget. For Bottle Hill Day, it was generally concluded that having Madison Environmental Commission (MEC), Sustainable Madison Advisory Committee (SMAC) and Friends of Madison Shade Tree (FMST) next to each other or at the same table is helpful to people walking up to the table(s). SMAC intends to have a presence at the Library Green Fair in April. Still to be completed for Silver Certification from SJ by November 25. • Emergency Communications Planning • Non-mandated Materials Recycling • Community Energy Efficiency Outreach – 5% response to outreach letter from mayor reminding residents that energy audits are available. Suggestion to ask Donnelly engineering to contact Chamber of Commerce. • Municipal Energy Efficiency - Windows in the DPW garage must save at least 10% in energy costs to qualify – new windows are within the parameters. • Purchase Alternative Fuel Vehicles – PO for two hybrid police vehicles sent to vendor. • Complete Streets – not yet applied for. Bob Vogel expected to follow up on this. This item must be adopted before it is implemented. • Brownfields action (YMCA and Madison Recreation Complex, MRC) has not yet been considered. The SJ annual awards lunch will be held Novemeber19. Kathleen and Joan will be attending, along with Maureen and Mayor Conley. The Borough will provide tickets. Looking forward to presenting the SJ Plaque, with newest Silver Certification, to the Borough Council sometime after November 13. Borough is considering the feasibility of solar panels over the parking lots at the pool, the MRC, and behind the police building. Borough Council expected to approve a resolution to apply for a $10,000 Gardinier Grant for an engineering study of the feasibility. Page 2 of 3 The YMCA and the Schools are separate from the Borough Government, and would have to consider solar panels for themselves. The borough schools are pursuing state energy audits. A Community Energy Plan would be part of the Borough Master Plan. Is the Borough applying for an energy grant? A recording of the Roots for Rivers grants webinar held on October 16 is available on the SJ website. These grants are for tree and shrub planting on public property in flood plains. The application is due December 13. Drew students may be able to help with site assessment. The Memorial Park Trails Grant that is being applied for may dovetail with tree plantings. Heather suggested that “Safe Routes to School could be combined with the “Complete Streets action item. Possible to get points from SJ for crossing guard training. May be able to get training and support from SJ for the “Walking School Bus” initiative. The “Complete Streets Technical Assistance” Grant application for $10,000 is due December 20. Heather Reddy has agreed to become the school Board Representative to SMAC through year end and pending election results. The plan for the 2020 SMAC meeting schedule is to hold 6 meetings, every other month beginning in February. Extra meetings can be scheduled if needed. Water issues may be a focus for next year. Continuous tracking of energy consumption for carbon footprint and energy action items – it may be possible to have this data input automatically, without typing. Madison Green Connections first meeting is scheduled for January 8 at 7pm. Most members of SMAC said they would be interested in attending. The MEC will be running an outreach event about single use plastics in January or February. It was suggested to contact business owners and the Chamber of Commerce, and invite them all to attend that event. The next meeting of Sustainable Madison Advisory Committee (SMAC) is scheduled for November 21, 2019 at 1:00 pm. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 3:00 pm. Minutes respectfully submitted by Joan Maccari. Page 3 of 3