Sustainable Madison Advisory Committee

Sustainable Madison Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes February 21, 2023 Chairperson Kathi Caccavale called the meeting to order at 1:07 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) 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 Mary Ellen Hennessy-Jones, Resident/Regular Member Lisa Jordan, Resident/Regular Member Angelique Devost, Resident/Regular Member Pamela Hogan, Resident/Regular Member Marilyn Musielski, Resident/Volunteer Deanna Schmidt, Resident/Regular Member Grace Kim, Resident/Madison Public Schools Liaison Absent: Rachel Ehrlich, Borough Council Liaison/Regular Member January minutes were approved. New members were introduced. Grace Kim joins us as Board of Education liaison. She has degrees from Berkeley and NYU where she studied food policy. She has lived in Madison 10 years, has three kids and is passionate about helping people understand food issues. Kathi read the Council liaison report that had been submitted by Rachel. Peter summarized recent Climate Action Activity including a talk he gave yesterday to the Mendham Environmental Commission about Madison’s Climate initiatives. Kathi described the resiliency recommendations. School business was shared. We will focus on Sustainable Schools and ways we can support their actions at the March meeting. Kathi read the Shade Tree report. One item was an announcement for a webinar, “Wasps”, to be presented this evening (Feb 21) by the Friends of the Great Swamp Association. Kathi shared the chair’s report. She is meeting with a committee on anti-idling today at 4pm, HDM. Action item: Kathi will be away for the April and May meetings – we need to decide on someone to chair those meetings at the next meeting. Mary Ellen volunteered to lead the April meeting. Kathi reported that the seed swap event Feb 18 run by Joan Maccari at the Methodist Church was a great success as over 50 people attended. PSE&G Grant Submitted for Green Infrastructure Planning and Implementation for Madison, New Jersey $20,000 (with Chris Obropta), Funding Bicycle Racks for Parks on Designated Bike Routes, $2,000. We reviewed actions on the 2023 Sustainable Jersey Master Action Tracking Sheet. Peter shared an update on DPW concerns about replacing an aging HVAC system in the DPW garage. Ken reviewed options for EV shuttle buses. They are significantly more expensive ($300K - two times the price of a gas powered bus). Peter plans to apply for a grant. Upcoming events include: ● the EV Expo, Wednesday April 19 1-5 pm at the Sunday Motor Company Café ● the Energy Fair organized by the EC and Climate Action in the evening on April 20 at the Community Arts Center (contact Kirsten Wallenstein) ● “Green-Up Madison” an all-day fair Saturday April 29 (formerly called “May Day”) ● The Town-Wide Yard Sale conducted jointly with the Chathams. Remember: The deadline is this Sunday, February 26, for submitting actions in the first SJ review cycle. Rolling action items are as follows: Action Item: Peter Fried would like information on upcoming events in order to share information to the Madison Eagle. Jersey Green column volunteers are needed on an ongoing basis. The next SMAC meeting will be on March 21 at 1:00 P.M. The meeting was adjourned at 2:26 P.M. Minutes respectfully submitted by Lisa Jordan.