Sustainable Madison Advisory Committee

Sustainable Madison Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes February 16, 2020 Due to the coronavirus outbreak, this meeting is being conducted on Zoom. Chairperson Kathleen Caccavale called the meeting to order at 1:30 P.M. STATEMENT IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE OPEN 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/Regular Member Peter Fried, Resident/Regular Member Lisa Jordan, Resident/Regular Member Joan Maccari, MEC Representative/Regular Member Marilyn Musielski, Resident/Regular Member Angelique Devost, Resident/Regular Member John Hoover, Borough Council Liaison/Regular Member Sarah Fischer, School Board Representative/Regular Member Judy Honohan, Shade Tree Commission Representative/Regular Member Guest: Claire Whitcomb, Chair Madison Environmental Commission (MEC) January minutes were unanimously approved. Minutes will be submitted to Rosenet. Sarah shared an update of school activities. Kathi reminded everyone to register for the Sustainable Jersey Annual Award Luncheon Action Item, consider registering for the Sustainable Jersey Annual Award Luncheon: https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?oeidk=a07ehjiox6v54f4d658&oseq= &c=&ch= The event is March 11th, 12pm. The Sustainable Jersey summit will be virtual again this year, it will take place in May-June. Attendance for Green Team members is encouraged. Kathi will look into the Integrated Pest Management action. Kathi reported on a meeting with Claire Whitcomb, John Hoover, Rachael Ehrlich, Ray Codey and mayor Bob Conley on the topic of climate action. Her feelings about continued interest and involvement in climate action were positive. Claire added that there was interest in collaborating with Chatham Borough. Kathi described her activities in site plan reviews. Claire identified some volunteers to assist with site plan reviews. Peter recommended including action items in the meeting minutes, and we agreed it would be a good idea moving forward. Sarah suggested including action items in the agenda moving forward too. Claire reported on several upcoming events planned by the MEC, including two master gardener talks. The zoning board members invited presentations from the MEC and shade tree. ANJEC is doing some training on site plan reviews and how to do an ERI (see information attached below). Action Item: Lisa and Kathi agreed to look into attending the ERI training. We discussed how to improve the process for accessing site plan documents for timely and effective review by MEC or SMAC. Action Item: Lisa agreed to review the new NJ environmental justice policy to determine the relevance or implications for site review. Action Item: Kathi will check the known contaminated site list for the dry cleaners on Kings Rd. Peter updated us with energy actions under review. He is looking to identify possible interns to assist with updates. He is open to college or high school volunteers, or assistance from school groups. Action Item: Help identify green team interns for this summer. Peter provided updates on solar canopy work. An application for an electric bus was submitted, but the timeline for information is lengthy. Sustainable Jersey is interested in meeting on climate action in the first week of March. Trina is organizing a working group of the MEC on climate action. Lisa provided information on the “reduce light pollution policy” action. This action requires a policy and/or ordinance to reduce light pollution on municipal facilities. Action Item: Lisa and Kathi will write to Bob Vogel requesting to convene a meeting about forming a working group that would review current policy on reducing light pollution. [Observations worth being aware of are: this action relates to the transition to LED lighting, D. Tallamy recommends motion sensors to promote wildlife health and improve energy conservation. Moving forward, we might consider including information and observations from astronomy professor(s) from Drew.] Action Item: Peter and Kathi plan to go through the LGEA (local government energy audit) audit in the next month to begin prioritizing items for the town to consider. Claire suggested organizing internship recruitment soon, particularly to include requests from others, such as Bob Vogel’s request for an intern to evaluate municipal stormwater ordinance information. John reported that the storm water ordinance had been passed. Action Item: Kathi will get the documentation on the storm water ordinance, within the next two months. This will fulfill a Sustainable Jersey action, and should be ready by June 6th. Rolling actions from last month include: ● Community Education & Outreach (PF/JM) - Peter requested ideas for completing this action - Claire suggested including the EV event ● Diversity on Boards and Commissions (LJ) - LJ will coordinate with JH on next steps ● Lead Education and Outreach (LJ) - will update this fall ● Vulnerable Population Identification for Emergencies (MM) ● Energy Tracking and Management (PF - updates) ● Municipal On-site Solar (PF) ● Fleet Inventory (PF - will update) ● Make Your Town Electric Vehicle Friendly; Meet Target for Green Fleets (PF will read the action) ● LJ agreed to read the Green Development Checklist. ● JH will update the tree maintenance action. ● AD agreed to update several waste initiatives. The next SMAC meeting will be on March 16 at 1:30 P.M. The meeting was adjourned at 2:40 P.M. Minutes respectfully submitted by Lisa Jordan.  2021 Fundamentals for Effective Environmental Commissions Virtual Sessions: Saturdays at 9:30am Tuesdays at 7:00pm Environmental Commission Powers & Responsibilities ● Saturday, February 27th, 9:30am ● Tuesday, March 2nd, 7:00pm Creating/Updating a Municipal ERI/NRI ● Saturday, March 6th, 9:30am ● Tuesday, March 9th, 7:00pm Land Use Planning: The Municipal Master Plan, Municipal Ordinances ● Saturday, March 13th, 9:30am ● Tuesday, March 16th, 7:00pm Site Plan Review ● Saturday, March 20th, 9:30am ● Tuesday, March 23rd, 7:00pm Register: ANJEC Members: No charge to participate Non-Members: $35 to participate in any/all sessions Email ANJEC (info@anjec.org) to register. Please specify sessions you'd like to attend.