Green Tier Leg. Community Com

1 AD HOC GREEN TIER LEGACY COMMUNITY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES 2 Thursday, November 13 2025 3 (Approved Version) 4 5 1. Roll Call 6 The November 13, 2025 meeting of the Green Tier Legacy Community Committee was called to 7 order by Chairperson Louise Howson at 1:02 P.M. 8 9 Present: Louise Howson, Mary Smythe, Lisa O’Hearn, Paula Anschutz, and Jill Wiebe. 10 11 Staff: Administrative Assistant Sarah Bertges 12 13 2. Approval of the Agenda 14 Motion to approve the agenda by Wiebe, second by Smythe. Motion carried – all ayes. 15 16 3. Approval of the Minutes – February 19, 2025 17 Discussion ensued regarding the February 19, 2025 minutes. Anschutz and O'Hearn noted they 18 couldn't remember specific details due to the time that had passed, but confirmed the topics 19 discussed in the minutes were accurate. 20 Motion to approve the minutes by O'Hearn, second by Anschutz. Motion carried – all ayes. 21 22 4. Comments, Correspondence, and Concerns from the Public 23 Howson noted there were no members of the public present on Zoom and no correspondence had 24 been received. 25 Howson referenced minutes submitted by Smythe from the September 29, 2025 Green Tier Legacy 26 Committee state meeting, which would be referenced throughout the meeting as needed. 27 28 5. Discussion/Action Items 29 30 a. Recap of 2025 Activities 31 Anschutz summarized the committee's activities in 2025: 32 ● Anti-Plastic Campaign: The committee had planned to encourage reduction of plastic bag usage, 33 as they couldn't ban them outright due to state restrictions. Plans included: 34 ● Research into non-plastic bag alternatives led by O'Hearn and Anschutz 35 ● Collaboration with Ryan Miller for local artwork designs for reusable bags 36 ● Plans to distribute reusable bags at Piggly Wiggly (with preliminary discussions with 37 management) 38 ● Research on plastic straw alternatives and eco-friendly product options for local businesses 39 ● Educational Materials: O'Hearn had developed poster concepts about environmental actions 40 that weren't implemented. 41 ● Earth Day Activities: The committee successfully distributed approximately 162 trees (9 flats of 42 18 trees each) through coordination with the Climate Change Coalition. Trees were primarily 43 distributed at the Barney Fun Run. 44 The committee discussed the need to determine the current budget balance and 2026 budget 45 allocation. 46 Smythe raised questions about previous initiatives mentioned in February's minutes, including: 47 ● LED light conversion project and its impact on the International Dark Sky Park at Newport 48 ● A potential joint meeting with the Parks Committee 49 ● Research into recycled rubber surfacing for playgrounds 50 Howson clarified that the Parks Committee had reviewed street lights but the joint meeting hadn't 51 occurred, and that the playground surfacing issue hadn't been brought to Parks.  Minutes of the November 13, 2025 Meeting of the Green Tier Legacy Community Committee - Approved 1 2 b. Planning for Volunteer Day(s) 2026 3 The committee discussed potential volunteer day activities for 2026: 4 ● Timing: Members agreed that more advance notice and planning were needed than in previous 5 years. The committee discussed avoiding scheduling conflicts with other community events like 6 the Barney Fun Run. 7 ● Potential Projects: 8 ● Committee members noted that beach cleanups weren't necessary as Sister Bay beaches are 9 generally well-maintained 10 ● Highway or street cleanup was suggested as a possibility, with particular focus on Highway 57 11 ● Anschutz suggested possibly adopting a section of highway for ongoing maintenance 12 ● The committee also discussed weeding projects, though noted this might fall outside their 13 mission 14 ● Alternative Volunteer Activities: 15 ● O'Hearn suggested organizing a reusable bag exchange event 16 ● Discussion of potentially collecting plastic bags for proper recycling, though Anschutz 17 emphasized the primary goal should be reducing plastic use rather than recycling 18 19 c. Planning for Earth Day activities 2026 20 The committee discussed continuing and potentially expanding their tree distribution program for 21 Earth Day 2026: 22 ● Tree Giveaway: Members agreed to continue the program given its past success, with 23 suggestions to: 24 ● Maintain or increase the quantity from the previous 9 flats (162 trees) 25 ● Consider the best distribution location (downtown Sister Bay was suggested for visibility and 26 accessibility) 27 ● Explore potential timing and coordination with Climate Change Coalition 28 ● Additional Earth Day Ideas: 29 ● Smythe mentioned the Climate Change Coalition might add perennials to their offerings and 30 would provide more information at the next meeting 31 ● The committee discussed potential locations including downtown Sister Bay, Piggly Wiggly, 32 NWTC, or Corner of the Past 33 ● Anschutz suggested coordinating with a community cleanup day to encourage participation in 34 both activities 35 ● Reusable Bag Campaign: 36 ● The committee revisited their reusable bag campaign idea, with Anschutz sharing artwork 37 designs from Ryan Miller 38 ● Discussion about making the designs more clearly tied to Sister Bay's identity 39 ● O'Hearn explained the bags would be fully customizable but would require lead time for 40 production 41 ● Smythe asked about budget approval process, and O'Hearn clarified the committee had 42 previously approved spending $3,000 on bags within their existing budget 43 ● Marketing/Awareness Ideas: 44 ● Howson suggested creating seasonal posters related to the committee's environmental initiatives 45 ● Wiebe suggested more prominent signage for the village's water bottle filling stations 46 ● Smythe proposed publicly recognizing businesses making environmentally friendly improvements 47 ● The committee discussed potential window clings or other recognition for businesses 48 implementing green practices 49 50 6. Matters to be Placed on Future Agenda, Referred to a Committee, Official or Employee 51 The committee established the following items for future agendas: 2  Minutes of the November 13, 2025 Meeting of the Green Tier Legacy Community Committee - Approved 1 ● Review of the 2024 annual report 2 ● Discussion of filing the 2025 annual report 3 ● Detailed planning for the reusable bag program 4 ● Planning for the Earth Day tree giveaway 5 ● Volunteer day planning 6 ● Review of current funds and 2026 budget 7 ● Scheduling a joint meeting with Parks Committee (target February/March) 8 ● Marketing/awareness initiatives 9 ● Tree canopy discussion (added by Smythe) 10 The committee agreed to meet on Wednesday, December 10, 2025 at 1:00 PM. 11 12 7. Adjournment 13 A motion was made by Smythe, second by O’Hearn to adjourn the November 13, 2025 meeting of the 14 Green Tier Legacy Community Committee at 2:20 P.M. Motion carried – all ayes. 15 16 Respectfully submitted by Sarah Bertges, Administrative Assistant 3