Green Team

Morgantown Municipal Green Team Monday, June 3, 2019 5:30–7:00pm Minutes Attendees: Jim Kotcon (chair), Pam Cubberly (vice-chair/acting secretary), Joe Kanosky (NETL), Karen Kalafat, Mark Brazaitis, Bill Kanosky ( City mayor), Jonathan Rosenbaum ( WV LWV), JoNell Strough (Green Space Coalition), Sara Cayton (FODC), and Dan Pan (notetaker). Minutes: Minutes for both May and June will be presented for approval at the July 2 monthly meeting, with apologies from Pam Cubberly. Updates 1. Volkswagen (Jon Rosenbaum, LWV). Jon updated team on progress on getting the WV Department of Highways to distribute more of the VW settlement funds to localities to reduce carbon emissions. The DOH has not yet responded to comments sent to this effect. One recommendation is to add more car charging stations as well as energy-efficient mass transit. 2. White Park (JoNell Strough). After an update by JoNell since the team’s last monthly meeting, the team discussed various alternative routes displayed on a map from MUB, which considers the original route the most cost-effective. JoNell asked the team to urge MUB to add 2 items to the cost matrix: (1) replacement value of trees that will be cut in all of the alternative routes (routes 5/5a don’t go through park though) by a certified arborist and (2) carbon capture and sequestration. Sara Cayton suggested adding a third—recreation value. It also decided to ask MUB to conduct hazardous waste soil borings before, not after, choosing a route in White Park. One can access both the route map and the cost evaluation at: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/4hee3extyf16r22/AACh27kE5VJtVaHwAO3Odso3a?dl=0 Action: Jim will draft a Green Team letter to MUB including these and other relevant points and adding the point that a hasty decision is not good, even though getting a water route is useful. 3. RecycleRight Campaigns (Pam and Jim) The Solid Waste Authority received a copy of the nearly final grant proposal for review. Robyn Hess and Pam Cubberly attended the SWA’s May 28 monthly meeting where SWA signed a form acknowledging grant receipt to include with grant submission to the State, asked preliminary questions, and promised to contact Robyn with additonal comments and questions. The City wil submit the proposal by June 30 and will find out if the grant is approved in October/November. Pam briefly mentioned a presentation at the SWA meetng by someone from SustainU who discussed with SWA a proposal to combine local job creation with a local recycling effort. Action: Pam will get more info on the latter project for discussion by the team’s RRR Committee. The total funding requested by the City’s proposal totals around $88,000 and was ably written and framed by City Grants Writer Robyn Hess in a manner similar to other proposals for these REAP grants. The project would run January 2020 to end of February 2021 with prep for Recycle Right conducted by 1  the RRR Committee, Green Team Coordinator, and ideally by the Reed College of Media (if it accepts as a project in early September) and a hoped-for Vista worker to start in October. The core program is a Curbside Anti-Contamination Campaign (https://recyclingpartnership.org/contamination-kit), supported by broad publicity/media campaign. 4. CAP and Energy Committee (Jim, Kevin, and Joe) Kevin Apreku (WVU engineering intern) recently submitted his final report to Jim and Joe with specific information and data to help the team develop the City’s Climate Action Plan. Action: Jim and Joe will look at Kevin’s report and, after discussing details with Kevin, they will send a final report to City Council within a couple weeks. Now that the City has increased its budget for implementing recommendations from 2016 energy audits from $12,000 to $50,000 this year, it is crucial for the team to discuss priorities with City officials on what to tackle next. Action: Jim/Joe should move to establish dialogue with appropriate City officials on priorities. Bill Kawecki noted that he had been approached by a First Energy’s staffperson about a potential pilot in the city to test LED streetlights that they might blueprint throughout West Virginia; she was aware of the City’s interest in moving in this direction. Details may be expected in the next three weeks; Bill invited Green Team input. Action: Jim will follow up with Bill on team involvement as more info comes in on the pilot 5. Purchase of public display equipment. Pam asked if she could use the remaining team budget for 2019 to buy a display tent and possibly a info display table stand. It is understood that the RecycleRight campaign would also use this equipment if the grant is approved. The team approved these purchases, after Pam supplies final choices and costs, by the end of summer. 6. Leaves of absence for members The team members present agreed to contact three past active team members on their intention to return to active membership after a hiatus of several months to over a year. Action: Pam will contact Joey James (past chair), Alex Davis, Jing Zhang, and Vanessa Reaves. Bill Kawecki recommended an orientation for new members, including written materials. Pam said that material already existed but she had not had time recently to update it or get it to new members. Action: Pam will review all basic team information created during development of the team’s long-term strategy in 2017 and send out to all new members and have available to give to potential members. 7. Recruitment of new members/Secretary. Suggestions for recruiting new members included :  Contact key members for high-quality environmental or other professionals as potential new members, e.g., Joey James at Downstream Strategies, Chris Haddox and Dr. Gopala at WVU, First Energy, green WVU student groups, and local green businesses  Advertise in Green Morgantown and on the City website for new members and a new secretary to replace Pam.  Send out a formal Green Team invitation to potential team members suggested. Next Monthly Meeting: July 1st, 5:30–7:00pm, Morgantown Public Library, Conference Room B. Following meetings include: August 5th and September 9th, same times/place. 2