Sustainable Madison Advisory Committee

Sustainable Madison Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes June 20, 2023 Kathleen Caccavale called the meeting to order at 1:03 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 Pamela Hogan, Resident/Regular Member Mary Ellen Hennessy-Jones, Resident/Regular Member Lisa Jordan, Resident/Regular Member Angelique Devost, Resident/Regular Member Peter Fried, Resident/Regular Member Grace Kim, BOE liaison Rachel Ehrlich, Borough Council Liaison/Regular Member Absent: Deanna Schmidt, Resident/Regular Member We discussed rolling actions. Rolling Action Item - on hold: Peter will correspond with Grace Kim and Steve Tindell, calling for a meeting to discuss solar panel possibilities with school representatives. He will report back to this meeting on the results. >> We discussed the need to delay Sustainable Madison with the BOE discussions until administrative transitions are complete. We will await updates from Grace on how we can help support solar at MHS. 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. >> Pam may contribute to the column in the future. We will maintain this action item as a rolling item. April minutes were approved. Grace reported on the Equity Profile Action meeting. Work on equity and diversity is needed in the schools, especially MJS. Kathi recommended the Board of Health as a possible support organization for work on racial equity and anti-hate. Rachel asked for more information about the K-12 climate curriculum. Grace recommended contacting Donna Gallo, director of curriculum, to learn more. Grace also shared work that they are discussing on the Complete Streets Committee, including increasing access to bicycle racks and locks for children, and making streets safe for students. Rachel reported that the Memorial Park trail reconstruction is underway, including stretches of boardwalk. It was reported that there has been a decline in plastic bag waste. The MRC pickleball court construction will begin in July. There is an Eagle Scout project to construct kiosks at the MRC. DPW is testing an electric bucket loader; battery life is still problematic, but they continue to watch for improvements. MEC report: Claire Whitcomb gave a PowerPoint on the aquifer to the Zoning Board. It relies on GIS mapping from Lisa Jordan’s student, Brett Cheadle, MEC/SMAC intern. The presentation is on the agenda for the Monday council meeting. If you have feedback, please let Claire know. Water ordinance: the MEC would like to be a partner on this. Events: Friends of the Madison Library is planning a house and garden tour on Sept 10. The MEC will be a partner, so that the focus will include some of Madison’s amazing eco houses and native plant gardens. Rachel is on the list. If you have ideas, please let Claire know. Volunteers are needed to help weed the native plant garden at the Board of Ed property on Woodland. Reach out to Bridget if you have ideas. Shade Tree report: ● Rotary and STMB had the 1st tree planted as kick-off of the Rotary100 tree planting program - in honor of their 100th Anniversary. It was at Lucy D. Park where more trees and trees at the library will be planted in the fall. It will be a multi-year program. ● DPW is in the final phase of the spring street tree/park plantings. 83 trees are included in this cycle while another 20-30 will be replacing Main St. pear trees in the fall. If you know of a place that could use a new street tree, please contact DPW to give them the address. ● Lisa Jordan provided a Tree Canopy Assessment update, using recent statistics from USFS. Madison had a decline in canopy cover from 47 to 42 percent (2011 to 2021), a loss of 113 acres. Annual decline was 11 acres. Memorial Park canopy cover declined  from 70 percent to 62 percent. The data do not include the full extent of losses from ash trees. Climate Action Committee: The committee will report to the Borough on Monday with updates on meeting climate goals. Sustainable Jersey Actions Pam described the work on the Community Equity and Diversity Profile: we met with Tanya Van Order, Stuart Sydenstricker, Reverend Dunn, and Grace Kim. Lisa and Kathi agreed to attend the Borough Council meeting on July 10th to support presentation of the committee’s work. Pam provided an update on the Green Infrastructure grant and training. The delayed review and awarding of grants has delayed the start of the green infrastructure assessment project beyond on the originally planned schedule. Peter reported on community garden donations (already 130 lbs of produce to the Interfaith Food Pantry). Kirsten Wallenstein is exploring energy benchmarking for different homes in Madison. The Department of Energy is hosting a nation-wide competition for local action, Peter and others are involved in submitting an application. Angelique described the greening of Taste of Madison. About a dozen people brought their own utensils. Compost was available. Hopefully next year all materials will be compostable. The next and final submission date for Sustainable Jersey is July 27th. The next SMAC meeting will be on Tuesday, July 18 at 1:00 P.M. The meeting was adjourned at 1:59 P.M. Minutes respectfully submitted by Lisa Jordan.