Sustainability Committee

Sustainability Committee Minutes Thursday, August 8, 2024 8:00 A.M. VIA ZOOM PURSUANT TO CHAPTERS 113 AND 115 OF THE CODIFIED ORDINANCES (AS AMENDED IN ORDINANCE 22-28), AND RESOLUTION 22-29, ENACTED ON MARCH 22, 2022 Members Present: Kim Bixenstine, Council Member, Committee Chair Tenille Kaus, Council Member Nancy Moore, Council Member Shanna Keown, Citizen Member Heather Weingart, Shaker Heights City Schools Board Member, Ex Officio Others Present: Jeri E. Chaikin, Chief Administrative Officer John Barber, Friends of Lower Lake Joshua Romig, Shaker Heights Public Library Community Engagement Librarian Michael Peters, Sustainability Coordinator The meeting was called to order by Committee Chair Kim Bixenstine at 8:03 A.M. * * * * Approval of the July 11, 2024 Meeting Minutes The draft meeting minutes were presented for approval with the motion moved by Tenille Kaus and seconded by Nancy Moore. The acceptance of the minutes was unanimously passed. * * * * Update on Air Quality Monitors Michael Peters presented an update on the air quality monitoring program, one of the goals of the Sustainability Committee for 2024. The City entered into an agreement with Clarity, an air quality monitoring as a service provider, to install three of Clarity’s Node-S sensors in the City. They were installed late in July in three locations. Two are mounted to City-owned traffic signal poles (Chagrin Boulevard and Lee Road and Chagrin Boulevard and Warrensville Center Road) and the third was installed at The Nature Center at Shaker Lakes at the picnic shelter near the main building and parking lot. Each sensor is about the size of a shoebox and completely self-sufficient as they are powered by solar panels and have cellular data modems to send the data through the Internet. The data is publicly-available at Clarity’s OpenMap site and we are working to have this data included on the City’s website. The Ohio EPA has also been asked for permission to co-locate an additional device, provided by Clarity, at the Interstate 271 reference monitor site and we are awaiting feedback. This would be to refine the calibration settings for our devices by comparing them to the accuracy of the reference monitor site. Detailed data from the monitors is available to any Department that would like a login, which has also been provided to the staff at The Nature Center. Next steps will be to monitor the data to determine overall trends and results and then develop additional actions or programs based on this data. Questions included: • Kim Bixenstine suggested including information on the program in the Mayor’s eNews. • If the data shows that the air quality is poor, in the red zone, how can this data be shared with the community? • John Barber noted that in Cleveland Heights, which also has a monitoring program, a notice is sent to residents to reduce exposure but an idea being discussed is to ask the City to not operate gas blowers and other emitting equipment on that day. Blowers also disturb the ground and stirs dust and other particulates that aggravate the situation. • Heather Weingart asked about how schools might participate; prior conversations have included Hathaway Brown who has shown interest and Michael Peters will follow up with the Shaker Heights City Schools. • Tenille Kaus noted how this information could be proactive on the health side, especially for scholars who experience asthma and other conditions. The question was also posed about how much of the City each sensor covers, and while this is dependent on a number of factors such as air speed and direction, it is roughly 50 to 100 meters around the sensor, but picking particular locations that are suspected to be contributing sources is the recommended strategy. They can also be easily moved over time. Additional funding can also be allocated in the future to grow the network, which was noted by Kim Bixenstine. • Nancy Moore commented that she sees seasonality in the data she monitors form another source with summer heat inversions being particularly severe. Michael Peters agreed and noted how other regional events such as forest fires will impact the data and noting this will help in the analysis. * * * * Subcommittee Updates Stormwater & Greenspace (Julia Larouche) • Subcommittee member John Barber provided the annual update to the Grown Not Mow program. o The program is working to return the sits to watershed forests, starting with two pilot sites (South Park Boulevard and Courtland Boulevard and South Park Boulevard and Lee Road). The program works closely with The Doan Brook Watershed Partnership which advises the subcommittee. A third site is the White Oak at Lower Lake Park, a Moses Cleaveland tree, where many native plants and pollinators have emerged on their own. o Over 125 species of trees, shrubs and flowering plants planted over the past four years, with considerable help from volunteers including Nancy and John Moore, Nick Fletcher, and Tim Kalan. Funding has been from the Sustainability Committee budget and grants from the Cuyahoga Soil and Water Conservation District. Sustainability Committee August 8, 2024 Page 2 of 4  o Public planting days have organized groups to maintain the sites which has been a great public engagement opportunity. There has been much positive publicity including in Shaker Life magazine and the Plain Dealer gardening section. A repository of pictures is maintained on the City’s Dropbox site. o Continued coordination with Public Works demonstrates that the sites are intentional, including with signage. o The next event is September 28th, National Public Lands Day, which will also be held in collaboration with The Doan Brook Watershed Partnership and The Nature Center at Shaker Lakes. Volunteers can register at The Doan Brook Watershed Partnership website. • Nancy Moore thanked John Barber for his critical work in the success of this program and for his inspiring leadership. She also noted that the next cycle of grants from the Cuyahoga Soil and Water District is expected, which would be the fourth funding cycle. Energy Subcommittee (Michael Peters) • An update on solar on City buildings was provided. Michael Peters recounted how the City has looked at this possibility starting in 2019 and how the Inflation Reduction Act has greatly improved the economics since that time. Earlier in the year Michael Peters and Law Director William Gruber were approached by AEP Energy about a similar program, which led to conversations with Cuyahoga Green Energy, the County’s utility. Subsequently Michael Peters and Kim Bixenstine were approached by Melink Solar and were given a presentation on possible outcomes from installing solar on three City buildings. • Cuyahoga Green Energy is planning to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) to solar developers on behalf of numerous entities within the County, and the City has agreed to include information on several City buildings as part of that RFP process. There is no commitment or obligation to contract with the chosen developer by participating in the RFP. • A short recap of Melink’s presentation was shared to provide context for what the results of Cuyahoga Green Energy’s RFP might result in. This included historical electricity pricing that shows relatively long periods of stable prices followed by significant increases over a short period, and recent events such as the large increase in the capacity power auction reinforce that increases are expected. The historical average is roughly three percent per year. Three buildings were discussed as potential examples: The Service Center (which is also in a federally defined area that results in a larger federal incentive), Fire Station 1, and a solar canopy at City Hall. o The Service Center is a good candidate with roughly 43 percent of the current electric load being offset by solar production on the rook and a payback period of just over 10 years. This includes not just the power generated but also the savings in lower transmission costs. o City Hall could support a solar canopy but with a longer payback period, roughly 19 years, due to higher costs from the additional steel to raise the panels above the parked cars. An additional benefit of this, despite the longer payback period, is the education and awareness that would result from very visible panels in the City. It would offset about 46 percent of the power needs of the building. o Fire Station 1 is a fairly small roof surface and therefore a smaller portion of the electrical need at 19 percent and roughly a 16-year payback period. Power needs are Sustainability Committee August 8, 2024 Page 3 of 4  expected to increase here as with the Service Center as the City’s vehicle fleet continues to become electrified. • Questions included: o Kim Bixenstine noted that the information on the Cuyahoga Green Energy RFP was shared with the Schools and Library. o Nancy Moore asked about process and suggested that this information be shared with City Council during a work session, it could then be considered at the strategic planning session planned for September. Jeri Chaikin will check with the Mayor and Vice Mayor about it being a work session topic. Kim Bixenstine concurred and Jeri Chaikin will follow up. • A second electric lawn equipment rebate event will be held on September 21st specifically for leaf blowers. It will be at The Service Center form 9:00am to noon. Residents can qualify for a $100 rebate and 20 rebates will be available. • Heather Weingart spoke about the Schools working with a sustainability consultant. There are two different capacities being considered, one for the master facilities plan and the other for the overall goals of the District. While an RFP has not yet been issued, the District did hire a consultant to advise on the RFP and the master facilities plan. • She also spoke about Ludlow School and that the variance approval for the interior work has been received. Nancy Moore asked about the size of the parking lot being proposed and the traffic plan for pickup and drop off. The current drawings are being reviewed again by the architect and construction company for potential changes. Kim Bixenstine shared that she was at the City Planning Commission meeting and how there were many residents who shared their concerns. The engineer is waiting on the arborist report. Shaker Youth LEEDs / High School Advisory Group (Shanna Keown) • The subcommittee is on summer vacation. * * * * Chair’s Remarks/Old Business/New Business • Kim Bixenstine invited Josh Romig from the Shaker Heights Public Library to share more information on the sustainability swap meet on September 21st from 1:00pm to 4:00pm. There will be a Sustainability Committee table there. • The Stormwater & Green Space Subcommittee meeting, which was interrupted and cut short by the storm, will be rescheduled. * * * * There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:03 A.M. The next meeting is scheduled for September 12, 2024 at 8:00am. __________________________________________ Michael Peters Sustainability Coordinator Sustainability Committee August 8, 2024 Page 4 of 4