Sustainability Committee

Minutes of the meeting of the Natural Resources and Sustainability Stewardship Advisory Committee held Thursday, May 25th, 2023, at 4:00 p.m. in-person at the city offices and via electronic web conferencing in accordance with Utah Code 52-4- 202. Members Present: Daniel Bedford Jonathan Melton Taylor Lee Members Absent: Ericka McDonald Ex-Officio: Lorenzo Long Warren Hallmark Guests/Public: N/A Recording Link: Will be posted here with minutes: https://www.ogdencity.com/AgendaCenter/Natural-Resources-Sustainability-and-Ste-30 CALL TO ORDER / WELCOME / ROLL CALL • Jonathan called the meeting to order. Lorenzo called the roll. APPROVAL OF MARCH 30TH 2023, MEETING MINUTES • Jonathan made a motion to approve the March 30th, 2023 meeting minutes. Dan Bedford seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. COMMITTEE APPLICANT UPDATE • Lorenzo stated that two applicants were currently in the process of being appointed to the committee. He said that it’s not certain that they will be confirmed to the committee, but they are going through the application process. • Jonathan asked why the process takes so long. Lorenzo said that he supposed part of it was due to the number of official City processes and protocols. • Dan asked if either applicant was from District 3. Lorenzo said that both were from District 3, but that we still have open slots to add members from District 2 in the future. UPCOMING COMMITTEE TABLING EVENTS • Lorenzo reminded the committee of two upcoming tabling events: a. Weber Basin Water Garden Fair – Saturday, June 3rd, 7:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.  The committee discussed tabling content, assignments, and shifts. b. Ogden Farmers Market  Lorenzo will provide dates once the info is received. • Jonathan suggested the addition of a feedback box at future tabling events. HB411 UPDATES 1|Page  • Lorenzo explained that there hasn’t been much progress since the last committee meeting. Currently, the Community Renewable Energy Agency (CREA) is negotiating with Rocky Mountain Power on the utility agreement part of the program. • Lorenzo addressed the questions that Dan had asked him regarding Ogden City’s future as a member of CREA. He explained that no decision has been made by Ogden City to withdraw from CREA at this point in time. As to whether the mayor has the authority to withdraw from CREA, Lorenzo said he wasn’t sure. Dan explained that the questions came from a very concerned member of the public. • Dan recalled that the committee unanimously supported Ogden City’s participation in CREA several years ago, and wondered whether the current committee could reiterate its support for Ogden City’s membership in CREA. He mentioned the Weber State survey that showed community support for CREA, and expressed concern that a single person could withdraw from CREA. • The committee discussed that they would need a quorum to approve and send any sort of reaffirmation of support for HB 411/CREA. They also discussed whether it was within the committee’s duties and powers to send something like this to the Mayor or City Council, and ultimately decided it was. • The committee stated their desire to call a special meeting to discuss and approve a letter. • Warren explained that the mayor can opt out of CREA at his own discretion and that the City Council has no power in that situation because it’s an administrative act. The mayor has had discussions with Council leadership because it would affect the Council. The committee is welcome to send a letter to the mayor, but an email would be more effective and likely seen more quickly. He also mentioned that committee members are welcome to speak out as individuals not on behalf of the committee if they desire to do that as well. • Dan asked Warren why the mayor is thinking of withdrawing from CREA. Warren explained that the surface level explanation he had been given was that the mayor doesn’t see it as a good fit for Ogden. • Dan offered to draft the letter for the committee. Jonathan said that after he drafts the letter, the committee could convene a special meeting. • Jonathan emphasized that the committee needed to make sure to not drift into activism, as that is not the committee’s purpose. However, the committee agreed that sending a letter reaffirming the committee’s past and current position on CREA was within the committee’s duties and powers. • Warren stated that the committee could also request to be on the City Council agenda. • Lorenzo stated that any special committee meeting would need to be publicly noticed at least 48 hours prior to the meeting. COMMITTEE STRATEGIC ACTION PLAN DISCUSSION • Lorenzo prefaced the discussion by saying that this strategic action plan should be created by the committee and then sent to him, so that it is a committee-inspired plan that contains focus areas that are important to the committee. • Dan talked about the inclusion of the Energy Wise Ogden Strategic Implementation Plan. He suggested that the committee could focus on that. The plan has several goal strategies where the committee is identified as a lead implementer, including the business goal. • Jonathan agreed with Dan and said that because the City already has this plan, it would make sense for the committee to focus on this area. • Dan asked whether the committee could meet with businesses and others outside of its regular meetings, even with a quorum of committee members. Lorenzo will find the answer. • The committee discussed developing workshops to educate businesses on energy efficiency and benchmarking. • Lorenzo stated that the committee would be better off focusing on the business side of the plan because there is already a residential subcommittee. • Lorenzo stated that the committee could schedule a special meeting if they wanted to work on the strategic action plan together. PUBLIC COMMENT 2|Page  • N/A DELIVERABLES BEFORE THE NEXT MEETING • Send email with details about Weber Basin Water Garden Fair and Farmers Market - Lorenzo • Can the committee meet at events or other places with a quorum without public noticing - Lorenzo • Send email about a special meeting – Jonathan • Draft letter to city council - Dan ADJOURNMENT • With no further business, Jonathan adjourned the meeting. NEXT MEETING Regular Meeting- July 27th, 2023, at 4:00 pm in-person at the city offices and via Zoom. The meeting schedule will be every other month. Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84964612140?pwd=UjZCWEd1Q2xveit0TnZEL2JmN1U2Zz09 Passcode: 784814 Connect via Telephone: 1 669 900 9128 Webinar ID: 849 6461 2140 APPROVAL SIGNATURES __________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Jonathan Melton (Sep 22, 2023 12:48 MDT) Jay M. Lowder Jonathan Melton Ogden City Public Services Director Vice-Chair ________________________________________________ Mara Brown (Sep 12, 2023 08:38 MDT) Mara A. Brown Ogden City Management Services Director Date Approved: July 27th, 2023 3|Page