Energy and Sustainability Advisory Committee

Rockland Energy and Sustainability Advisory Committee (RESAC) AGENDA Date/time: Sept. 7, 2023/5:00-6:30 pm Committee Members: Mary Ellen Eagan, Connie Evans, Todd Schwendeman, Lee Humphreys, Nathan Smith Student member: Joshua Placides Guests invited: Jenny Carter, Sustainability Coordinator Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83553252771?pwd=QlY3ZWpDbi85aUw3QnArSTNaanUyUT09 Welcome and housekeeping Welcome Nate as an official member a. Recording secretary for today: b. Review and approval of Link to minutes of 8-3-23 Not yet available minutes c. Public comment: 5 min.: d. Meeting day for the fall: e. Additions to the agenda: Updates and Business a. Sustainability Coordinator: Jenny Carter 20 min b. City Council Agenda: Here is the link to the agenda for 9/11/23. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1X_fgE6yaBqr_MeN7I_6NUnc whbirNPkP/view?rm=minim If I am reading this right, the cruise ship item will limit the amount of cruise ships docking in Rockland Harbor. Opinion? EcoMaine-Solid waste contract. It states that if there is no market for recyclables, they could go in their landfill. This is probably standard, but I wonder if we could find out how often this happens. Also, can we find out how often, if at all, we are fined for contaminants in our recyclables. Comments? Other: Suggested action/comments? c. City Council Update See document below d. Window dressers 20 min Mary Ellen Joshua Connie: Shift supervisor in person training in two weeks Still need volunteer coord. for food Able to add about 100 inserts and more rewraps due to cancellations  e. Oceanside/RESAC members f. Other 6:30 PM Adjourn RESAC Update to CC - Draft 9 01 23 Should we do a PPT? The purpose of this update is to fill you in about the projects The Rockland Energy and Sustainability Advisory Committee is currently engaged in and to clarify our potential roles in support of the City Council. Introduction of Committee Members: We currently have five ongoing projects. 1. Organization and promotion Bike to Work Day: We are working to forward improved active mobility access to Rockland. Committee members have had a strongly supportive role in the planning, promotion and on site leading of Bike to Work Day, this year on May 20th,. This is part of an overall goal to facilitate increased access in and around Rockland with less carbon emissions and more fun. We will continue to be involved with this project next year. We have also been involved in writing several grant proposals related to the planning and implementation of improved active transportation access in and around Rockland. 2. Coordination of Rockland Window Dressers Build: Window Dressers’ insulating window inserts are quite well known around Rockland, but the regular builds were disrupted by Covid and hadn’t been restarted. When this committee was made aware of the nearly 100 families waiting for inserts to reduce fuel demand to heat their home, we decided to take on the coordination of a Rockland Build this year, in the hopes of restarting annual builds for Rockland. Much of the planning has been done, but we still need a person to coordinate food donations for lunches and snacks and volunteers for the 4 hour shifts who will be trained on site to help actually build the inserts. To volunteer for a four hour shift: Windowdressers.org -> Community Builds -> follow the prompts. To help with food donations, contact me, my contact info is under the Rockland Build on the windowdressers.org website, cevans@gwi.net. ????? 3. Support of the expansion of Community Clean Up programs. This is a new addition to our project list, suggested by a new member. We plan to support the expansion of the ongoing programs of community and harbor clean up. 4. Work with Jenny Carter, SC on Energy Expo she is planning this fall. Members of the committee have been active in the planning process and we will have a booth to promote WD and RESAC. 5. Engagement of the upcoming generations in Sustainability issues. To this end, we started a program to include teacher recommended HS students on the Committee. We reached out to the science teachers at Oceanside HS with our  proposal and have had the pleasure of a HS student actively participating on our committee since mid winter. He has participated in several projects and contributed to our planning and conversations with enthusiasm and insight. We look forward to an additional student joining us this year. Return to Advisory Role of this Committee – Focus on supporting a Sustainability Lens to all decisions • Prior to hiring Jenny Carter as part time Sustainability Coordinator, we were engaged in several long term projects identified in the new Comp. Plan for us to engage in, with a focus on initiating the process of updating the existing CAP proposal. When Jenny was hired and had her footing, she assumed the leadership role in the CAP development while we now play a supportive role in her efforts. This transition put us in a position to return to the more advisory function that was intended for this committee. • We see two aspects to this advisory role. The first relates to the guidance from the Comprehensive Plan to support and advance the use of a “sustainability lens” in municipal decision making. This committee strongly supports you, our City Council, in taking a direct, top down leadership role in prioritizing the sustainability of our community, socially, economically and environmentally in relation to the changing climate and urgent need to reduce emissions produced by our current pattern of resource usage. • The second aspect relates to research support for any sustainability related issue deemed useful by the City Council. This committee is comprised of community members with vast and varied experience related to energy and sustainability from business, science, medical and community perspective and this advisory role is what most members had in mind when they joined the committee. We welcome the opportunity to serve in this capacity.