Sustainable Madison Advisory Committee

Sustainable Madison Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes June 15, 2021 Due to the coronavirus outbreak, this meeting is being conducted on Zoom. Chairperson Kathleen Caccavale called the meeting to order at 1:32 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 Angelique Devost, Resident/Regular Member John Hoover, Borough Council Liaison/Regular Member Judy Honohan, Shade Tree Commission Representative/Regular Member Joan Maccari, Resident/Regular Member Absent: Marilyn Musielski, Resident/Regular Member Sarah Fischer, School Board Representative/Regular Member May minutes were unanimously approved. Minutes will be submitted to Rosenet. John Hoover provided an update on Borough activities. The Council approved that an application can be filed for a $500,000 dollar grant to build a handicap accessible playground at Dodge Field. The CFO received notification that Madison would receive $1.8 million from the American Recovery Plan in two installments (2021 and 2022). The Council introduced an ordinance that would allow for Copper Beech condos on Loantaka to be zoned for multi-unit family housing (currently zoned University). Council introduced an ordinance to fund a basketball/pickleball court for Memorial Park (which was subsequently tabled pending a revised lease arrangement between the Madison Community Pool and the Borough). Kathi shared that the police are sponsoring a bicycle safety program, with rewards from McCool’s Ice Cream. Kathi provided a chair’s update. June actions were submitted to Sustainable Jersey. We should receive feedback from Sustainable Jersey in July. In follow up to the department heads meeting, Kathi, Peter and other green group representatives met with Rachel Ehrlich, borough councilwoman, to help develop guidelines for sustainable practices in the borough. In conversation with Kathi, Ray Codey, Borough administrator, described the affordable passive housing project as the first of its kind in New Jersey. Joan shared that there was advanced training for site reviews coming up through ANJEC. Peter shared about the sustainable series column that will be published in the Madison Eagle. He also reported on work with an MHS student on creating a fleet inventory for the school system. They will provide a briefing to the school administrators, demonstrating the potential benefits of transitioning to electric vehicles. Peter and Susan Blickstein, the town planner, met with Sustainable Jersey representatives to discuss revising the solar ordinance to meet Sustainable Jersey requirements. Rolling and new action items are as follows: Action Item: Joan will coordinate with MEC to encourage Green Vision Forum participants to present to the Chamber of Commerce (particularly the 2nd grade group promoting edible native species). Action Item: LED lights and heating systems in Hartley Dodge Memorial are the two key energy efficiency areas the town is working on. Peter Fried will ask Bob Vogel for more information about the key issues concerning heating in Hartley Dodge Memorial (Update: this action is in progress). Action Item: Peter Fried would like information on upcoming events in order to share information to the Madison Eagle. The next SMAC meeting will be on July 20 at 1:30 P.M. Zoom information can be found here. The meeting was adjourned at 2:12 P.M. Minutes respectfully submitted by Lisa Jordan.