Green Team

Minutes Morgantown Municipal Green Team April 3, 2018 Meeting I. Attendees: Pam Cubberly (team secretary), Jing Zhang (planning chair), Karen Kalafat (small business owner), Joe Kanosky (NETL), Ella Belling (Mon River Trail Conservancy), and Bill Kawecki (City Council). II. Updates and Old Business Recycling  Republic Services trash and recycling flyer (Karen, Pam, and Jing) The City Manager had sent the team a proposed trifold brochure on trash, litter, and recycling by Republic Services to be mailed in an envelope to residents and businesses. Initial team reactions were negative: too small a point size for type, too much handled in one flyer, little space on how to properly recycle waste, too short list of recyclables/nonrecyclables with little detail on proper recycling, etc. Ella Belling expressed concern that Republic would once again remove or add items midstream without notifying the City, so public info would quickly become outdated. Paul Brake had heard this concern at our March meeting and said he would look into it. Ella also suggested that the team continue to find ways for residents to ask questions on recycling, such as at public meetings or events. The team has long prioritized adequate and specific recycling info for residents and businesses to prevent “contamination” of recycling bins with nonrecyclables; the City Council has also made this a high priority. Jing Zhang volunteered to rework the brochure into a postable self-mailer with key information on recycling on one side in large enough type to be easily read. [Note: Jing, Karen, and Pam are now in the last stages of providing Paul Brake with comments and an alternative mockup.] Actions: Pam will clarify with Greenstar (1) if recyclable plastic includes #1–7 (except 6); (2) if clean portions of pizza boxes are okay; and (3) if the maximum size of glassware can be illustrated by a more familiar object (not a 5-gallon bucket as used before). Action: Jing will include a recycling flyer at the team table at Earth Day event at Farmer’s Market sponsored by Mountaineers for Progress and others answer questions from citizens on correct recycling.  New: City manager request for Green Team research on recycling and composting. At the team’s March meeting, Paul Brake encouraged the team (as had Jenny Selin in the past) to take the initiative to research any concerns the team has on these topics and provide evidence- and data-based proposals for the City Council and him to consider. Pam noted she should have time in coming months to take up some of this research, unless a more technical consultant is needed. It is possible the intern handling a  City application for WV funding on recycling could contribute to this research, but Holly needs to agree.  Deferred to May: State recycling grant application and City funding request. As Holly Purpura could not make this meeting, it was agreed to defer discussion on these matters until May. [Note: The City later sent Joey a letter making $500 available for team expenses on an as-needed basis.] Long-Range Planning  Deferred to May. The team presentation of its 2017 Annual Report and its long-range plan and strategy were well received at the March Council of the Whole meeting, attended by at least Joey James and Jing Zhang. Further discussion on the plan was deferred due to a lack of time. Energy and Climate Change  Employee sustainability handbook (Karen Kalafat) City Communications Director Andrew Stacy said he would post the handbook on the City’s Green Team webpage and that the City’s new employee newsletter has info from this energy policy guide.  Funding of Climate Action Plan (CAP) consultant (Joey James and Jim Kotcon) Both Joey and Jim could not attend the April meeting. Joey, however, told Pam that the most expensive part of the CAP—the GHG inventory—had already been completed in 2014, paid for with $50K from the Appalachian Stewardship Foundation (ASF). He is confident the team could get Downstream Strategies or similar consultant to complete the CAP for about $12,000. However, the team had assured the City it would not ask for money to complete it. Worst comes to worse, the team could apply for ASF funding in the summer, but it would be nice to get the CAP done before then. Joey will follow up with Jim on other funders to approach. Bill Kawecki commented that City funding would be difficult. The team should pursue other funding. The City Council might revisit funding should the team fail to obtain other funding but the team would need to make compelling arguments on why, when, and how much in any proposal to the council.  Updates on IAC and LED studies implementation (Joe Kanosky) Joe had not yet seen a written report from Abby Cayton on her 2017 summer internship on LEDs and her energy audit of the county health department building. Abby had presented results to the team of the LED and the energy audit study in PowerPoints in January and February respectively. She had also presented results of the LED study at the City Council’s Committee of the Whole on January 30. Action: Joe will follow up with Abby to obtain the written version and then invite City Manager Paul Brake to attend a Green Team meeting in order to discuss implementation of the report’s recommendations for the City to obtain LED streetlights.  Revisit idea of upgrading one City building to LEED certification? (Joe Kanosky) Abby Cayton was going to follow her LED work with another study on the LEED-certified firehouse but was not able to get a response from the fire department. Therefore, she performed an energy audit of the Mon County Health Department building. Action: Joe will obtain Abby’s written energy audit report and follow up with her on next steps.  IAC recommendations. How can the team encourage continued implementation of IAC recommendations by City? Dr. Gopala and Alex Davis had offered pro bono assistance but did not receive a response from the City. This might be a good resource, possibly saving money, for the City. 2  Action: Pam will discuss what Dr. Gopala and Alex Davis are offering and follow up with both Jenny and Paul Brake on how the team can be helpful.  Deferred to May: Due to Jim Kotcon’s absence, it was agreed to defer an update, if any, on the Volkswagen settlement and potential funding for energy efficiency efforts in the City, such as electric buses. It was also agreed to defer until the May meeting discussion on team review of Morgantown’s Capital Improvements Plan for Green Team input (see http://morgantownwv.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1813). Public Education  Green Team table at Earth Day event on April 22 (Jing Zhang). Penny Dacks (Mountaineers for Progress) has helped Jing set up a GT table at this event. Jing is preparing various materials that further team goals on public education. It was hoped that the City’s new recycling flyer would be ready but the updated version of the team’s June 2017 handout can be used instead. Action: Jing will share these materials with the team by email two weeks ahead of the event.  LEED for Cities? (Jing Zhang). Chris Haddox alerted the team to the LEED for Cities certification program. After discussion, it was decided that there are a number of such certification programs, which often involve a long process and can be expensive. It was agreed that the LEED program information is worth reviewing for ideas on moving Morgantown toward sustainability and for guidance but did not recommend that the team pursue it with the City. Action: Karen will ask if Chris Haddox agrees with team members’ decision.  New: Go Green, Morgantown! (Pam Cubberly). Although time was limited to discuss this initiative, Bill suggested the team look for a better title for this potential Citywide “umbrella” program on living green as a means to continue a program begun as part of the 2016 “Year to Go Green.” He thought the title might be confused with some kind of sports message. He suggested the team look for keywords in the City’s sustainability strategy in finding a new title. Action: Pam will identify alternative titles for the team, as well as Andrew Stacy, who manages the City website, to consider. [Note: Pam noted that a title used by Aarhus, the Danish city she is currently visiting, for the equivalent type of program reworked for Morgantown might be “Go Green with Morgantown” or “Go Green in Morgantown!”] Communications  Bill Kawecki mentioned that the downtown library had not been informed about the switch of April’s team meeting from the 3rd to the 10th and back again. This meant that other folks who had expected to meet on April 3 had to find a new meeting place at the last moment. Pam took responsibility for not having informed library staff about the second change. Action: Pam will apologize with library staff and reconfirm team meeting dates through August.  Bill also discussed the need to keep the City Council apprised of Green Team activities, especially as the team’s regular meeting date prevents some council members from attending. Pam noted the team had decided not to change its meeting date (unless one-time only) for members temporarily unable to attend the regular time, as the team always had difficulty meeting at other times and it can be confusing to suddenly change the meeting date for a few months. Action: Pam will contact those City Council members who have attended in the past to find out what kind of updates, other than Green Team minutes, they would find useful. She will check to see if Council members already receive team minutes via the team’s “wider” contact list. 3   Deferred to May: Future of various green City webpages, Wi-Fi in City Council and PSC buildings, and team Google Drive folder. Pam Cubberly will send better info to members by the May meeting. Water Resources  Deferred to May: Update on FODC progress on the Richard Mine cleanup and rainwater conservation education (Holly Purpura). Are other groups in town working on other aspects? Is there a priority not being addressed by team or others? III. May through August Meetings The next regular monthly meeting will take place Monday, May 7, 5:30–7:00pm in the Morgantown Public Library’s Conference Room #2. Pam Cubberly will not be able to attend due to the late hour in Denmark (11:30pm). If someone is willing take down summary bullets on the discussion, decisions, and actions, Pam is willing to shape them into minutes using their notes. Please contact Pam or Holly. Pam confirmed that the team has reserved the following dates for May through August. Only the July date was shifted due to the July 4 holiday: Mondays from 5:30–7:00pm on May 7, June 4, July 9, and August 6. 4