Green Tier Leg. Community Committee

1 AD HOC GREEN TIER LEGACY COMMUNITY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES 2 Thursday, MARCH 04, 2026 3 (Approved) 4 5 1. Call to Order & Roll Call 6 The March 04, 2026 meeting of the Green Tier Legacy Community Committee was called to order by 7 Chairperson Louise Howson at 1:01 P.M. 8 9 Present: Louise Howson, Mary Smythe, Lisa O’Hearn, and Jill Wiebe. Paula Anschutz was absent. 10 11 Staff: Benjamin Andrews Village Administrator, Sarah Bertges Administrative Assistant 12 13 2. Approval of the Agenda 14 Motion to approve the agenda by Wiebe, second by Howson. Motion carried – all ayes. 15 16 3. Approval of the Minutes February 19, 2026 17 Wiebe requested an amendment to add target dates of November 2026 for the reusable tote project 18 mentioned in items 5c and 6 of the February 19, 2026 minutes. 19 Motion to approve the minutes as amended by Wiebe, second by O’Hearn. Motion carried – all ayes. 20 21 4. Comments, Correspondence, and Concerns from the Public 22 No public comments were received and no members of the public were present online. 23 24 5. Discussion/Action Items 25 26 a. Work Session; Annual GTLC Report due March 31, 2026 27 Andrews presented the draft Green Tier Legacy Committee annual report, sharing his screen to 28 display the comprehensive document organized in spreadsheet format with multiple tabs. Andrews 29 explained that he and Howson had met with the DNR to discuss submission requirements and gather 30 additional information. Various sections of the report had been assigned to staff members for 31 review and updates with 2025 data. 32 Andrews noted that committee members had received a link to review the document and could add 33 comments. He recommended establishing a deadline of March 18th for all comments to be 34 submitted, allowing staff to finalize the document during the week of March 16th for final review at 35 the March 25th meeting prior to the March 31st submission deadline. 36 The committee conducted a comprehensive review of each section of the report: 37 Narrative Tab: Howson inquired about proper timing for including early 2026 activities. Andrews 38 clarified that activities occurring before the report submission could be included. Howson noted her 39 involvement with the shuttle bus program and confirmed its continued operation in 2025 with 40 improved fuel efficiency from the new vehicle. 41 Transportation (TS) Narrative: The committee reviewed trail study updates from the Door County 42 Trail Group and noted the addition of e-bikes at the beach for summer 2026. The shuttle bus 43 program was appropriately included in multiple relevant sections. 44 Land Use (LU) Narrative: Discussion covered connections between the comprehensive plan and 45 Green Tier requirements. Howson suggested future consideration of the ice rink project, noting 46 water usage reduction from eliminating flooding methods but increased electricity usage from 47 chillers. Andrews noted plans to update lighting around the facility to be more efficient and night sky 48 compliant. Wiebe recommended removing negative language about volunteer event attendance. 49 O'Hearn identified a typographical error that needed correction.  Minutes of the March 04, 2026 Meeting of the Green Tier Legacy Community Committee - Approved 1 Water Quality and Conservation (WQC) Narrative: Andrews confirmed that Utilities Director Megan 2 had reviewed and updated relevant sections. Discussion covered the street sweeping program, with 3 clarification that the village contracts with the county for twice-yearly sweeping. Wiebe inquired 4 whether snow plowing could be considered street cleaning, but Andrews indicated the intent was 5 specifically for removing hazardous materials and toxins. 6 Solid Waste (SW) Narrative: Extended discussion occurred regarding recycling and composting 7 initiatives. The committee learned that no shredding event was held in 2025 due to cost concerns, 8 with the Sunshine House providing alternative services. Administrator Assistant Bertges reported 9 difficulty scheduling electronics recycling events, with availability not until August 2026. Discussion 10 covered exploring earlier scheduling and alternative providers for future events. 11 Significant discussion focused on composting initiatives coordinated by the Climate Change 12 Coalition. A participant noted that Mike Schneider had volunteered to conduct pickups in Sister Bay, 13 working with Mighty Wind Farm for processing. O'Hearn mentioned ongoing discussions with the 14 Sister Bay Historical Society about expanding composting at the farmer's market for 2026. 15 Wiebe suggested adding the composting site map to the village website, noting that the current 16 Green Tier webpage information was outdated. The committee agreed to update website content 17 with current information. 18 Health Equity and Social Action (HESA) Narrative: Review identified potential misplaced comments 19 between sections and discussed the Blue Zones program research that has been ongoing. Several 20 typographical corrections were identified for the farmer's market description, including updating to 21 the new "Open Air Market" name. 22 Andrews explained that the document's "past data" tab contained information exported from 23 previous submissions, providing baseline information for comparison and ensuring continuity with 24 prior reports. 25 The committee agreed to the proposed timeline with March 18th deadline for comments and March 26 25th meeting for final review before submission. 27 28 6. Matters to be Placed on Future Agenda, Referred to a Committee, Official or Employee 29 The committee identified several items for future consideration: 30 ● Finalization of the 2025 Green Tier report narrative 31 ● Continued discussions about Earth Day activities and plant giveaway planning 32 ● Composting facility exploration, including potential field trip to Egg Harbor to study their 33 municipal composting operations 34 ● Discussion of village property on Woodcrest Road for potential composting site adjacent to 35 community garden 36 ● Development of sustainability policies for village landscaping projects, particularly for the new 37 administration building, with emphasis on native plantings and environmental considerations 38 39 7. Schedule Next Meeting 40 The next meeting was scheduled for March 25, 2026 at 1:00 PM. O'Hearn noted she would be 41 absent from that meeting but had provided Sarah with draft Earth Day recycling poster materials for 42 committee review. 43 44 8. Adjournment 45 A motion was made by Smythe, second by Wiebe to adjourn the March 04, 2026 meeting of the 46 Green Tier Legacy Community Committee at 1:53 P.M. Motion carried – all ayes. 47 48 Respectfully submitted by Sarah Bertges, Administrative Assistant 2