Sustainability Committee

Minutes of the regular meeting of the Natural Resources and Sustainability Stewardship Advisory Committee held Thursday, Aug 26, 2021, at 4:00 p.m. at the Ogden City Municipal Building, 2549 Washington Blvd., room 310, Ogden, Weber County, Utah and via electronic web conferencing in accordance with Utah Code 52-4-202. Members Present: Adam Tobey Bill Hackett Bonnie Christiansen Joe Linford Aimee Urbina Makenzie Truong Riley Allen Bridget Barkema Members Excused: Heather Root Ex-Officio: Jay Lowder Ross Watkins Leesa Brinkerhoff Guests: Jenn Bodine - WSU CALL TO ORDER / WELCOME / ROLL CALL Adam welcomed the committee members and called the meeting to order. He welcomed new members, Aimee Urbina, Makenzie Truong, Riley Allen, and Bridget Barkema. Leesa called the roll. APPROVAL OF APRIL 22nd AND JUNE 24TH MEETING MINUTES Joe motioned to approve the minutes and Bonnie seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous and both meeting minutes were approved. NOMINATION OF NEW COMMITTEE VICE-CHAIR Adam asked if there were any nominations for the new vice-chair. Joe asked if there was anyone that would like to volunteer. Aimee volunteered to be vice-chair. Adam asked if there were any other members who wanted to volunteer. Joe nominated Aimee as vice-chair and Bonnie seconded the nomination. Adam put it to a vote and the committee voted unanimously in favor of Aimee taking the role of vice-president. STRATEGIC PLAN UPDATE Bill with the initial survey, so he went over them: 1. Strengthen and acquire a further relationship with the mayor and council. 2. Strengthen and acquire a further relationship with stakeholders, specifically Weber State University and the Ogden business community. 3. Continue to encourage the hiring of a city administrator to manage sustainability initiatives. 4. Stick with HB 411. If the decision is ever made to leave, have an alternative plan in mind. Joe said his ideas all coordinate with what everyone else has submitted. Bill said he prefers to table the prioritization process until the new committee members have an opportunity to participate in the questionnaire. He went on to explain the purpose and process of the survey. Adam asked if there was any other input from the committee members. Aimee asked if the current members have taken the survey. Adam said yes. Bill motioned that the questionnaire be issued to the new committee members so they could provide input, then review the combined results it at the next meeting. The motion was seconded by the committee. 1|Page  Adam will send the survey to the new committee members to give them the opportunity to participate in it, with September 16th being the deadline for responses. He will compile the information with that of the other committee members and send it to Leesa. She will include it in the agenda email for review. It will be presented at the next meeting with the intent of prioritizing the goals for the strategic plan. SUBCOMMITTEE RESTRUCTURING DISCUSSION Joe explained to the new members the history of the subcommittees and their purpose. The committee agreed that this should be postponed until the strategic plan is in place to provide direction to the subcommittees. Bonnie made a motion to table the subcommittee restructuring until the strategic goals are in place. Bill seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously. COMMITTEE OPEN DISCUSSION Air Quality Recommendations will be presented at City Council by Bonnie on September 7 th. Leesa will send the correct pdf report to Bonnie that Heather had worked on, so Bonnie relays the correct information. Jay reminded Bonnie that the Council limits the entire presentation to 45 minutes, including questions and answers from the council members. Jay recommended the presentation be no longer than 20 minutes so there is time for questions from Council. Bonnie asked if others that were involved in creating these recommendations could be invited to the council work session to answer further questions from the Council. Ross stated that others can be invited to present, he just needs to know beforehand so he can send a link for the Zoom meeting. If they are going to be there in person, then Ross does not need to know beforehand. Leesa will send the air quality recommendations out to all the new members so they can review the document. Jonathan Melton has submitted an application to replace Steven St. Peter on the committee. Jonathan will not be representing a district as all districts are currently represented. Bill asked if a vote is required to recommendation to the city council who will make the final determination. The mayor recommends and appoints the new member, and the city council approves that appointment. Jay and Leesa will put together the paperwork to submit the nomination to the mayor for approval. The committee feels that Jonathan Melton would be a great addition to the committee and recommends his application to city council. A standard application for committee members has now been approved and is on the city website under boards & commissions, which then goes to the Recorders Office for review. Once a week the recorders office will let Leesa know if there have been any applicants. There have not been any applicants besides Jonathan Melton. Currently there are two regular vacancies and one high school member vacancy. Leesa will check on this and make sure that is accurate. There needs to be a total of 12 members, including 3 high school members. Adam stated once the subcommittees are setup, there can be community members put on those subcommittees so if someone is interested but cannot make the full-time commitment of a member, they can advise on those subcommittees. Bill stated his work schedule is now conflicting with the committee duties, and he would like to suggest that Jonathan Melton take over as the chair of the water subcommittee if that subcommittee is kept once the restructuring has occurred. Joe stated his work schedule is also conflicting with the committee duties and does not have as much time to give to the committee or sub-committees, but he would still like to continue and do what he can with the committee. Leesa stated that the sunset date for the committee is August 1 st, which has passed. This means that the committee has to make a report to council stating they would like the committee to continue for another year. Leesa will work with Adam on the presentation to council. Leesa has extra copies of the climate action planning books if anyone would like a copy. 2|Page  Jay reccomends that the committee come in line with HB411 so the committee is not duplicating what the state is doing. He assigned the committee to: o Assess how HB411 affects at risk/low income population in Ogden City o Create a communication plan that is tailored to Ogden City o Create a plan B to HB411 Leesa will send out the shared folder of documents to the new members. There is a lot of information on HB411 and other resources from the committee in that folder. Bonnie gave an overview of HB411 to new members. Jay explained there is a state governing board (Community Renewable Energy Board) that Councilmember Choberka and Mara Brown are board members of and represent Ogden City. Jay talked about Momentum Recycling, who is a glass recycling company, doing business with the city. The city is going to help them get into the commercial market and eventually into the residential market. They are currently a vendor with the city and there is no other company currently doing this work. Glass is one of the biggest tonnages for the city and the city would like to hand it over to this company if possible. They also will be doing food waste recycling with local restaurants. Momentum wanted to present to City Council, however Jay explained to them that they could present to the Sustainability Committee and the committee could make recommendations to the council. Jay will set that presentation up. J and will take over duties as of the next meeting. Bridgit talked about the Environmental Awareness Today Club that she started with a counselor at her high school, Ben Lomond High, which will be having its first meeting next Monday. They will gain student input from their school on how at-risk low-income youth are affected. Riley attends St. Joseph High School and will gain student input from her school as well. Jay suggested talking with the Ogden Can group regarding the high-risk population in Ogden. Bonnie informed the committee that she found a Lazard Study on the cost of energy that she will share with the committee. This study shows that renewables may cost less in the lon that needs to be done. Joe suggested at our next meeting that everyone introduce themselves to the new members, so they know Aimee requested that HB411 be placed as a standing item on the agenda. PUBLIC COMMENT Jenn Bodine Jenn told the committee that she is happy with their efforts and the direction they are taking. Jay praised Jenn for her help with the EV Charging Stations. The city does have a substation in place in the parking lot that will handle any kind of chargers put in. Jenn is going to do a study into where the EV charging stations should be placed around the city. DELIVERABLES FOR NEXT MEETING Staff to place HB 411 as a standing item on each agenda - Leesa Obtain student input from attending high schools Riley & Bridgit Send shared committee folder to all members Leesa Prepare the Committee Sunset report and presentation Adam & Leesa Forward Google doc to solicit responses from the new committee members with a due date of no later than September 16th Leesa Forward Climate Air Quality Recommendations to all members Leesa 3|Page  Prepare member recommendation paperwork for Jonathan Melton for administration and council approval Jay & Leesa Check on current committee vacancies Leesa Send strategic goals to Adam - Bill & Joe Set up a presentation from Momentum Recycling - Jay From Jay to the committee: o Determine how HB411 o Develop a communication plan for our city o Create a plan B in lieu of HB411 ADJOURNMENT With no further business, Adam adjourned the meeting at 5:32 p.m. NEXT MEETING Thursday, September 23, 2021, at 4:00 p.m. _________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Jay M. Lowder Adam Tobey, Chair Ogden City Public Services Director _________________________________________________ Mara A. Brown Ogden City Management Services Director September 23, 2021 Date Approved: ________________________________ 4|Pa ge