Sustainable Madison Advisory Committee

Sustainable Madison Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes October 19, 2021 Due to the coronavirus outbreak, this meeting is being conducted on Zoom. Chairperson Kathi Caccavale called the meeting to order at 1:36 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 Angelique Devost, Resident/Regular Member Marilyn Musielski, Resident/Regular Member Joan Maccari, Resident/Regular Member Special Guests: Claire Whitcomb, Resident/Chair, Madison Environmental Commission Absent: Sarah Fischer, School Board Representative/Regular Member September minutes were approved. John shared that borough revenues continue to decline, which may mean less spending on capital projects moving forward. Lisa shared progress and updates on Madison ERI. Students are sharing their projects this Thursday, 9-10:15. SMAC member participation via Zoom or in person is welcome. Peter shared an update on the climate action report template. Reviewers are needed. Peter provided an update on solar car ports. The project is in an education and outreach phase to receive public input. Joan provided an update on the MEC. Bottle Hill Day was a success. All the seeds were distributed. Consider joining volunteers October 23, 1-4pm, planting at MRC rain gardens. Kathi was invited by the mayor to meet November 10th at a “Madison Grow Back Better” forum. Sustainable Jersey should respond by November with feedback on our actions. Kathi anticipates that three actions resubmitted in September will require additional revision before being approved by Sustainable Jersey: green development checklist, non-mandated materials recycling and make your town EV friendly. It looks like we have 850 approved points. Claire provided additional MEC updates: ANJEC awarded Mayor Conley for environmental leadership, the MEC also received an ANJEC award for the town Swap and Share (2200 participants in the Facebook group). Drew properties are being appraised. Additional education and outreach is needed: highlighting the importance of trees, aquifer recharge. Green checklist presentation was given to zoning board. Gene will also present to the zoning board on shade trees. ANJEC and Sustainable Jersey upcoming webinars were discussed. New actions for next year were listed: https://www.sustainablejersey.com/actions/program-updates/. We discussed priorities for 2022. Peter would like to focus on the climate action plan template and solar project. Lisa would like to focus on the ERI, complete streets, and health actions. Judy discussed fall plantings and avoiding single species concentrations when planting, especially in the same area. Angelique would like to move forward with a green business recognition program (it was recommended to partner with Ellen and Trina). In addition, Kathi wants SMAC to focus on the following actions: Complete Streets, Conservation Easements, Green Building Training, Integrated Pest Management, ERI. The Borough has hired a consulting company, ETI, to identify areas in the Drew Forest that are not developable. 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. 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. 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. The next SMAC meeting will be on November 16 at 1:30 P.M. Zoom information can be found here. The meeting was adjourned at 2:41 P.M. Minutes respectfully submitted by Lisa Jordan