Sustainable Madison Advisory Committee

Sustainable Madison Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes August 17, 2021 Due to the coronavirus outbreak, this meeting is being conducted on Zoom. Chairperson Kathleen Caccavale called the meeting to order at 1:31 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 John Hoover, Borough Council Liaison/Regular Member Judy Honohan, Shade Tree Commission Representative/Regular Member Joan Maccari, Resident/Regular Member Special Guest: Claire Whitcomb, Resident/Chair, Madison Environmental Commission Absent: Angelique Devost, Resident/Regular Member Sarah Fischer, School Board Representative/Regular Member Marilyn Musielski, Resident/Regular Member John provided an update on borough activities. The stair reconstruction project at Summerhill Park is progressing well. DPW is working with consultants on an energy audit of the Hartley Dodge Memorial and other borough buildings. Crosswalks are being repainted. The Shade Tree Board received greater numbers of distressed tree reports for private and public trees. Lisa Jordan described plans to contribute to the Environmental Resource Inventory (ERI) update for the Borough of Madison. Her GIS class will engage students in producing narrative, mapping and analytical updates to the Madison ERI. Action Item: Lisa Jordan will develop and share a map template that students can use in contributing to the ERI, in order to receive feedback and suggestions from frequent ERI users. Peter reported on progress to develop a climate action template that can be used across multiple towns. Some chapters have been completed. Completion by the end of the year is anticipated. The North Jersey Green column (the fourth column in the series) is in press. Peter is looking for broader participation (many articles are Madison and Chatham focused). Claire provided an update on MEC activities. The town-wide yard sale is scheduled for September 25. There is now a JAVA subscription compost bin at the DPW. Composters and rain barrels will be on sale again this fall. Joan described the upcoming eco-garden tour. Claire will offer a sign-up sheet for the MEC/SMAC table on Bottle Hill Day closer to the event. Kathi will not be available for the September meeting. Lisa will call the meeting to order next month. The next Sustainable Jersey submission date is September 10th. Peter will push the Sustainable Jersey submission button. Peter described a preliminary idea to produce an insert for the utility bill: something to help people understand their relative energy use. The project would be well suited for an internship. We reviewed the must revise actions from Sustainable Jersey. Lisa agreed to revise and resubmit the Community Education & Outreach action by September 10. Peter will resubmit the solar-friendly town, electric vehicle friendly, alternative fuel vehicles, and community carbon footprint actions. Peter has submitted the municipal carbon footprint. Claire raised concerns about cutting tree roots to repair sidewalks. Kathi informed us that there is now health gold certification status for Sustainable Jersey. Peter shared that Westfield is sponsoring an EV car show on October 2. 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). New: Peter will follow up re the results and recommendations from the recent PSE&G audit of municipal facilities Action Item: Peter Fried would like information on upcoming events in order to share information to the Madison Eagle. Action Item: Sarah will check on the Central Avenue school program where bottle caps were collected and report back. Marilyn, Kathi and the Madison Garden Club continue to collect caps and would like to continue to submit them. The next SMAC meeting will be on September 21 at 1:30 P.M. Zoom information can be found here. The meeting was adjourned at 2:45 P.M. Minutes respectfully submitted by Lisa Jordan.