Green Team

Morgantown Municipal Green Team Monday, December 2, 2019 5:30 pm–7:00 pm Minutes Facilitator: Jim Kotcon Note taker: Mark Brazaitis Present: Jim Kotcon (chair), Pam Cubberly (vice-chair), Vanessa Reaves, Bill Kawecki, Jenny Selin, Mark Brazaitis, Lynn Castro, and Caitlyn Lewis After introductions, members approved the November minutes Updates RRR Committee Vanessa and Pam met with Robyn Hess and Emily Muzzarelli on November 21 to discuss next steps in implementing the WV REAP the grant. Emily wanted to defer most decisions until hiring the Recycling Manager (RM). She suggested pushing back the start date of the pilot anti- contamination campaign from April to May to allow the RM time to get up to speed. In any case, action still awaits City receipt of initial grant funds. Emily “wasn’t sold” on the idea of funding an intern for the Reed College of Media. However, late last spring, Paul Brake had given Pam the go-ahead on pro-bono grant-related media work by Reed with the understanding that “funds would be found,” either through Republic’s small contribution or some other City source. Action: Pam agreed to document the history of this decision for Emily as soon as possible. She also will look for any other details of grant development and convey these to Emily and the R M. Vanessa and Pam also reported on their call with John McGoran on November 13. He wished an update on the grant process and expressed Republic’s strong support for implementation. He proposed before and after audits on Morgantown’s recycling (i.e., sorting through contents of random truckload). He easily agreed to organize a tour of the Pittsburgh Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) for team members, City staff, Council members, and others, possibly in January. Pam said that staff at The Recycling Partnership proposed that the same people attend a special “Feet on the Street” Webinar on anti-contamination campaigns, which would include time for us to ask specific questions of TRP staff based on Morgantown circumstances. This would put all on the same playing field before implementation in May. Pam reminded members of the dates of two final Reed student presentations of their fall communication work supporting grant implementation to be held in Martin Hall: December 10, 1:00 pm (writing class) and December 12, 10:00 am (student PR firm). All products presented by both classes will be accessible so the team or Recycling Manager can make changes as needed. CAP and Energy Committee: In 2019–20 budget, City invested $50,000 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions using recommendations from the 2017 IAC study sponsored by the team. Jim said that Paul did not know how the $12,500 budgeted the previous year for the same purposes were spent. Action: Jim agreed to pursue this further with Damien Davis, Chief Engineer. The City is halfway through its budget cycle. On November 21, the team’s Energy Committee discussed what has been accomplished and what needs still to be done. The key issue, Jim said, was obtaining data to quantify the City’s reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Jim noted Mon Power has agreed to offer a tariff for LED street lights. Switching to LEDs would significantly lower the City’s carbon footprint, if not its bottom line. A major holdup for LED streetlights is that Mon Power owns the streetlights. In other news, BOPARC, the City, and the Mills Group, which are overseeing the design of a new ice rink, have seen opportunities for energy efficiency. Annual Report/Presentation 2019 and Long-Range Planning Updates for 2020 At the end of the calendar year before City establishes its next budget year, the team writes an annual report, the chair meet with the City Manager to discuss it and other issues, including the Green Team budget. Once the City Manager approves the report, the chair arranges to summarize the report to the City Council at its late January Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting. Action: Joe/Jing agreed to work on the team’s long-range strategy that Pam has been updating. Action: The team agreed to hold a strategic planning meeting on Tuesday, December 10 at Pam’s house to discuss and approve the updates. New Business  Vanessa asked the team about changing the team’s Gmail account or asking the City for its own email account. Jim suggested she choose what she sees as the best option.  Mark Brazaitis noted a newly released bicycle/pedestrian transportation plan by MMMPO. Action: Mark will draft letter offering Green Team’s support for team member review.  Jenny reiterated the Green Team could give input on the kind of trees planted in White Park. The meeting adjourned at 7:00pm.