Sustainable Environmental Advisory Commission

Memorandum TO: Sustainable Environmental Advisory Commissioners FROM: _______________________________________________________________________ Andrew D. DeCanniere, Commissioner, Sustainable Environmental Advisory Commission DATE: July 10, 2022 SUBJECT: June 29, 2022 Sustainable Environmental Advisory Commission (SEAC) Meeting Minutes Meeting was called to order at 7:05 PM in the Council Chambers at Skokie Village Hall Present: Chairman Jennifer Grossman, Commissioners Christopher Buccola, Andrew DeCanniere, Michael Gershbein, Lisa Gotkin, Trustee Liaison Khem Khoeun, Trustee Liaison Ralph Klein, Alma Likic, Olivia Mahoney, Jim McNelis, Emily Okallau, Robert Render, Charles Saxe, Director of Public Works / Staff Liaison Max Slankard, Assistant to the Director of Public Works / Staff Liaison Elizabeth Zimmerman Also Present: Mayor George Van Dusen Absent: Commissioner Rick Moskovitz I. Guest Speaker — Mayor Van Dusen Mayor Van Dusen thanked Chairman Grossman for inviting him to attend tonight’s meeting. He said he wants to reiterate to the Commission that the Village Board is committed to our project. As soon as our report has been completed, and is delivered to the Village Board, they will begin their deliberations with the intent of passing a comprehensive Sustainability Plan for the Village of Skokie. His expectation is that this will affect all 25,000 households within the Village, in addition to the 1,500 to 2,000 businesses within the community. What he is hoping is that we are going to be able to engage the public, so that when the Village does adopt the Plan, we will have the community participating. He wishes the Commission the very best, and would be happy to try to answer any questions that Commissioners might have. He said that he also wanted to once again reiterate the Village Board’s commitment to the project, and that the Village Board will be taking it up. Commissioner Gotkin inquired as to whether Mayor Van Dusen could talk to us about our role, not in crafting the Environmental Sustainability Plan, but apart from that. She asked what our Commission’s role is in Skokie. She said that even though she has served on the Commission for many years, she feels that it is not exactly clear how they would like to see us take part in Skokie, in the things that go on, and in the things that get approved. Page 1 of 12 Mayor Van Dusen said he thinks that is an excellent question. He anticipates that the role of the Commission will be more precisely defined. As the Village Board begins to re-evaluate a lot of how they do business — such as economic development, job creation — he believes that the Village must do a better job of including sustainability in that process. A number of years ago, as part of the Plan Commission process, they included the Appearance Commission. They thought it is important that, when a project were being proposed, that there be some kind of objective overseer, who could take a look and advise the Plan Commission as to whether the architecture fits in with the neighborhood, or whether it would be counterproductive to the neighborhood. He feels as though that has worked out really well. The Appearance Commission is an excellent Commission, and the work they do is very important. What he has been discussing with the Village Manager, John Lockerby, as well as with the Village’s former Community Development Director, who will be returning to work for the Village, is how we incorporate the Sustainable Environmental Advisory Commission into that process. It’s difficult to figure it out, because what does one include, where sustainability is concerned, and what does one not include? There are some sustainability-related things that we cannot possibly have any control over. We are neither the U.S. nor Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. At the same time, he thinks it would help the Plan Commission to incorporate some of this in its deliberations. He went on to say that he has said this repeatedly, and has been discussing this with the Village Manager and staff, but we do have to figure out a way to include the Sustainable Environmental Advisory Commission. One of the things that does have him concerned is that we need to do that without it becoming yet another layer of bureaucracy. We have a system in place that generates a lot of economic activity. As a Village, we’ve done very well in terms of job creation — the creation of new businesses, whether those are large businesses, small businesses, “mom-and- pop” businesses, and one wants to encourage that. At the same time, we want to ensure that the five-year Sustainability Plan is incorporated in those deliberations. That is something that will be taken up, and that is something that they will try and better define than they have so far. Skokie is not the only municipality that is going through this kind of agonizing. He went on to say that when they get together at the Northwest Municipal Conference, or at the Illinois Municipal League, or the Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County (SWANCC), this is always one of the topics of conversation before or after the business meeting. He went on to say that Commissioner Gotkin hit the nail on the head. Mayor Van Dusen then asked whether Commissioner Gotkin is familiar with the Appearance Commission. Commissioner Gotkin stated that she is, as she had been before the Appearance Commission in the past. Mayor Van Dusen stated that she knows what he is talking about, in that case. They review the architectural plans for projects and so on, and advise the Plan Commission. He said that they still want the Plan Commission to be the body that funnels the projects to the Village Board but, as with the Appearance Commission, he thinks that the Sustainable Environmental Advisory Commission can have a role in that as well. He feels as though it should be defined in Ordinance form. Page 2 of 12 Commissioner Saxe said that he worked with Matt Brandmeyer (the Village’s former Director of Community Development) prior to his departure. Is he saying that Mr. Brandmeyer may be returning? Mayor Van Dusen clarified that Peter Peyer will be returning to his former role as the Director of Community Development for the Village, and noted that there is a lot of institutional knowledge there. Commissioner Saxe concurred. He went on to say he was working with Mr. Brandmeyer. He drafted a chapter which is intended to be amended to the Comprehensive Plan. What is the status of that? Is that in the pipeline to be incorporated into the Comprehensive Plan? Mayor Van Dusen confirmed that it is. As a matter of fact, that was a question he had for the Village Manager. Mayor Van Dusen stated he was aware of Mr. Brandmeyer’s progress with the amendment to the Comprehensive Plan. He spoke with him a day or two before his last day on the job about that very thing. He said he hadn’t quite polished it, but he was close to having a product he wanted to share with the Sustainable Environmental Advisory Commission and with the Village Manager. He thinks they have to get that done before the Environmental Sustainability Plan is done. Commissioner Saxe said that because it draws from the previous plan, and he thinks that will be revised substantially when the new Environmental Sustainability Plan comes out, he does not think that it is dependent on that timing. He said one thing he wanted to articulate is that he feels that there needs to be a greater sense of urgency about this. We’ve been talking about a number of things for a number of years. A lot of things got derailed with the arrival of COVID-19, and we seem to have taken several steps back in recent years, and the climate change situation continues to worsen. He said that he feels as though we have to be deliberate, and we have to be intentional, but that we also need to act. He said he thinks it is really important for us as a Commission, and for the Village as well, to take that seriously. Mayor Van Dusen concurred. Though it is not an announced deadline, his expectation would be that the Village Board will have received our report by the end of summer or early fall. His commitment, and he thinks Trustee Khoeun and Trustee Klein’s commitment, and the commitment of everybody on the Village Board as well, is that as soon as they receive the report, they will begin their deliberations. They will organize an Action Plan for the Village Board to take up the individual items. They do need to be deliberate. Because of the impact, they need to make sure that the 25,000 households et cetera are aware of what is being done. He said that from what he can tell, as a result of going to block parties and different meetings, the community will probably be very receptive. Looking back, he can recall when the Village of Skokie began recycling. The residents of the Village — and not just here in Skokie, but throughout the SWANCC catchment area — were ahead of the public officials. They were not sure they would ever get the bins filled, even though they had Minnesota as an example. They were behind the ball. He thinks that on climate change, there are a substantial number of people who are receptive. He is concerned about those who might be outside of our bubble. He thinks there’s a bubble within a bubble. Page 3 of 12 He went on to say that he thinks that there are people like us, who believe in the urgency of climate change, and doing something about it. At the same time, he thinks that in the post- COVID era, there is another segment of the population that says that we do have to do something about climate change, but then they are also focused on other issues. For example, they have to get their kid into camp, and they don’t know if they’ll be going into the office or working from home. There has been a lot of disruption in our family lives, and in our thinking. Then he also thinks that there is a segment — though he does not have an idea of how large or small it may be — who really just aren’t paying very much attention to it. We have to figure out how we get all of these different bubbles engaged. Just as with recycling, it has become successful because it has become part of our lifestyle. So, there are some questions that we are all going to have to answer. He noted that he says “we” because it is going to have to involve all of us. Between now and the time that the report is received, and the time that the Village Board begins to take action, one of the things that we will have to think about a great deal is how we reach out to the entire community and get everybody’s attention. He feels that we are going to have one chance to do so. He said that, usually, in this business, you don’t get two or three chances. You get one chance when you are going to do something as comprehensive as we are proposing to do. He feels we will get the public’s attention, but we have to make that preparation. That is on everyone. He went on to say that is on him, the Sustainable Environmental Advisory Commission, and on Village staff. We must think of ways beyond the conventional. Usually, the first suggestion has to do with social media. He understands, but feels that we also have to figure out other inventive ways of doing it. Therefore, he is hoping that will be a part of our deliberations, though he went on to note that he is not trying to put it all on our shoulders. Commissioner Okallau said she is happy to hear that he shares our sense of urgency. She went on to say that she wants to strongly second what Commissioner Saxe said. We absolutely need to take action. She fully understands and agrees that adding a layer of bureaucracy is not anything that anyone wants, and she fully agrees with that, but what is confusing is that we were able to add the Appearance Commission — which is fundamentally aesthetic — versus something like a sustainability input, which deals with climate change, which is here. Climate change is happening as we speak. We are feeling the impacts already. Mayor Van Dusen said that he does not disagree with Commissioner Okallau. He reiterated that he believes the Sustainable Environmental Advisory Commission has an important role, that we now need to define as part of the planning process. At almost every meeting, if not every meeting, the Village Board receives a recommendation from the Plan Commission about some economic development. He thinks part of that process has to be sustainability, and we need to figure out a way to define it. Part of the reason for defining it is so that when businesses approach the Village, and they say they want to create a business and will bring such-and-such number of employees, and asks what they need to do, we have to be able to let them know that they will have to appear before the Appearance Commission. They let them know what documentation they need, etc. We need to be able to say we will review their plans, we have an Environmental Sustainability Plan for the Village, and here are the steps you must take in order to comply with that plan. That way, businesses are aware, ahead of time, what is expected of them. One of the worst things is when you have a business come in, apply, spend around $50,000 on traffic engineers, architects, and the like, and then you spring something on them. Page 4 of 12 He noted that, first, it would be legally dubious as to whether you can do that. Secondly, you do not get a good reputation that way. Your reputation gets tarnished. His experience with the development industry is that they want to know, upfront, what is required. They want to know the hurdles, and what they have to do, so they can calculate their expenses to get their project before the Village Board with a positive recommendation. That means our Planning staff, our Public Works staff, our Police and Fire Departments, and so on, all need to have input where it is necessary. Obviously, the Village tries to get our first responders’ input. For instance, if this building is erected, will it be safe? Can you get in and out of the building if there were an emergency? We have to do a better job in terms of figuring out how we’re going to include the Commission in that process. Commissioner Saxe noted that Mayor Van Dusen mentioned the review process. He went on to say that there are tools and instruments that are out there that are used for purposes related to sustainability, which could be incorporated into the process. He was looking into some of that, and trying to craft something the Village could use. He said that he has spoken with the Village’s Planning Supervisor, Carrie Haberstitch, and, prior to his departure, with Mr. Brandmeyer as well, about integrating a tool into the process. It’s a fairly sizable body of work and he feels that, given where we are in the planning process, it is probably best to hold off until we have the new Environmental Sustainability Plan. We will then be able to take various elements of that Plan and codify them in a review process, similar to what has been done with Complete Streets. Similarly, there would be a set of criteria presented upfront. It would be an opportunity for developers to know what they are required to do, and something that the Plan Commission and Planning staff could use to evaluate projects. He said that, in this way, the sustainability objectives/criteria could be front-and-center. Mayor Van Dusen said that he works with businesses in a lot of different respects, development being one of them, and his impression is they’re aware that this is on its way. When the former administration backed out of the Paris Accords, the Village Board passed a resolution saying they disagreed with the administration, but that it now became incumbent on municipalities to take up the cause, because the national government was not going to do it. He is hopeful, given the current administration, but still thinks the moderation of climate change is really going to start with the municipalities. He stated that most of the municipalities on the North Shore are doing similar things to what we are doing — trying to create plans for the future — and the development community is very well aware of that. He thinks that they are trying, as best they can, to incorporate that into their thinking and into the culture of their companies. He says he sees it with companies who will come by and talk about how they’re thinking of developing in the Village, and that they just wanted to make a courtesy call — and that, by the way, they are going to be sustainable. He’s aware that it means different things to different people. He went on to say that he is not a newcomer to this. He did his doctoral dissertation on what, at the time, was referred to as “conservation.” He said that he became enlightened to the subject of “conservation,” which we would now refer to as “environmentalism,” and he spent 26 years working for a man who was the chief environmentalist in the U.S. House of Representatives — someone who created many of the programs that we take for granted. He said that he thinks what the Sustainable Environmental Advisory Commission is doing, and what the Village Board is going to do, is part of that legacy. He thinks of him constantly, and asks himself what Sid Yates Page 5 of 12 would do. When he reiterates the Village Board’s commitment, it is with this in mind — and a lifetime of working on behalf of this cause. Commissioner Render asked Mayor Van Dusen whether the Village supports the idea of hiring a Sustainability Manager, if one of the outcomes of the study were to suggest that one were beneficial/necessary. He also asked if it happens to be difficult to afford, whether the Village would be open to this position being shared with another municipality. He went on to ask whether he had meetings with any other local mayors, and whether they might have thought about sharing such a position. He would be interested in his thoughts on whether such a thing would be feasible. Mayor Van Dusen said yes, he is open to the idea. He alluded earlier to the fact that, when they have their meetings at these different agencies, they do talk about that kind of thing. On the question of a Sustainability Director, he said that he wanted to explain the process, so that everyone is aware. The Village of Skokie operates under the Council-Manager form of government. They would look to the Village Manager to determine if he needs someone to help carry out the Plan, as well as to Staff Liaisons Slankard and Zimmerman. He looks to them to say whether we need a Sustainability Manager to help with the coordination that it takes to carry out the Plan / recommendations. As they would when creating any new position within the Village, they always look to the Village Manager for their recommendation. So, they certainly would be open to that. He doesn’t quite know how one would define the parameters of a shared Sustainability Manager. Commissioner McNelis said he thinks this conversation is a good first step, as he believes we need to have improved dialogue between our Commission and the Village. For example, when questions directly related to our Commission were proposed to be to added to the ballot this coming November, we felt kind of blindsided by it. He says that he feels that it demonstrates we need better dialogue. While we recognize the Village has every right to do that kind of thing, we would like to have a conversation before something like that happens. Mayor Van Dusen said he takes full responsibility for that. He said that he really is concerned that we do everything we can to ensure that all of the residents know what we are doing. In his experience, there is nothing worse in a public discussion than to have someone get up at a podium like the one he is standing at, saying that they weren’t aware that they were even considering taking a particular action. His intent was to get the public’s attention. He is promising us that come the fall, everybody will be paying attention to the ballot. The turnout in this primary was dismal, in the suburbs and in the City of Chicago. That will not be the case in the fall. Come the fall, he thinks that there will be a much better turnout, and there’s nothing to focus people’s attention like the ballot. He went on to say that Commissioner McNelis raised a perfectly legitimate question, and he appreciates that. Commissioner DeCanniere said he thinks that these kinds of conversations are important ones to have. He said that when he and the Mayor last spoke, he had proposed that one means of reaching the public could be through virtual Town Halls, so that people could participate from wherever they are. That way, everyone can feel comfortable taking part — especially right now, Page 6 of 12 given the uncertainty around COVID. He went on to inquire how the Mayor might feel about the Village holding a virtual Town Hall that would specifically be about sustainability. Mayor Van Dusen said he has given it some thought, and he has talked to some people about it. The problem is how you do it, technologically. He hasn’t really found anyone, as of yet, to be able to answer that question. It is more of an organizational question, but it is not out of the question. It remains to be seen but perhaps the Village could incorporate something like that, as we are getting ready to present our report to the Village Board (in written form). That might be when we could try and do something like that. Perhaps it could be a virtual report to the community regarding sustainability. What he doesn’t want is to try something like that, and then have it just descend into chaos. That would not achieve the desired objective. Commissioner DeCanniere said that though he is used to this sort of a format, where everyone can be seen on the screen, but he is aware that there also is more of a webinar format that is available. He has, in fact, attended a few webinars himself. You can have a moderator, and people can send in their questions. Perhaps there are pros and cons to doing it this way, and then there may be pros and cons to doing it in a webinar format, but he feels having a Zoom webinar might help — particularly if there were a large number of people anticipated. Mayor Van Dusen said he appreciates the suggestion, and noted that was one of the ideas that they had been contemplating. Chairman Grossman said that there is a webinar setting on Zoom. It’s just a different setting. She said that it wouldn’t really be a dialogue, as we are having now, but as Commissioner DeCanniere said, there would be a video panel and you have somebody who would be moderating, and then there’s a Q&A box through which people can submit comments/questions. Commissioner DeCanniere went on to note that he attended a literary event, which used the webinar setting. There were quite a few attendees for that, and it seemed to work quite well. Mayor Van Dusen said he, too, attended such an event. He then proceeded to thank everyone, and said that he appreciates the opportunity to speak with us. He also suggested that perhaps, as we’re beginning to take up the elements of the Environmental Sustainability Plan, we would invite him back and we could discuss things further. Chairman Grossman concurred. II. Approval of Minutes Staff Liaison Zimmerman stated that she inadvertently sent out a draft of the minutes that was not final. So, there was an addition to that draft, which included a public comment. Commissioner DeCanniere reiterated that the only addition, which appears in the final draft of the May meeting minutes but does not appear in the draft of the minutes inadvertently emailed to Commissioners, is a public comment. The public comment came from a Skokie resident who, in essence, is advocating for a ban on single-use plastic within the Village of Skokie, and who asks what the Commission may be doing where that is concerned. Note that this public comment was Page 7 of 12 originally emailed to the SEAC’s dedicated email address, sustainability@skokie.org, and was then subsequently forwarded on to all Commissioners by Staff Liaison Zimmerman. Minutes from the May 24, 2022 meeting of the Sustainable Environmental Advisory Commission were unanimously approved. III. Old Business a. ESP Team and Public Listening Session Update — Survey / Meeting-in-a-Box Staff Liaison Zimmerman stated she has good news regarding the Environmental Sustainability Plan Survey. She reached out to Ted Redmond, Co-Founder of paleBLUEdot, LLC, and we are currently up to 654 surveys taken. We smashed our first record of 500. The goal of 500 was selected because, out of the 50 communities he has worked with, she doesn’t believe that he has ever received 500 surveys. He gave her a new goal, per capita. In order to receive more responses than Northbrook had received, we would have to receive 800 completed surveys. She said she feels it is a very doable goal, if everyone could think of perhaps one more place to post a flyer or, alternatively, if we have already posted a link to the survey on social media, we could post it again. Commissioners may also want to consider personally reaching out to a neighbor, or those sorts of things. It would be nice if, in the Environmental Sustainability Plan, we were able to state that the Village of Skokie has received the most per capita response. It would be a nice goal to achieve, and demonstrates to the Village Board that we have support for this. Staff Liaison Zimmerman stated that the cut-off date is July 15th. Surveys must be completed/submitted by July 15, 2022. She also said that she has an extra flyer, if anyone has a business in mind at which they would like to post it, or if they want to go to the Farmers’ Market or anything like that. She went on to say that she feels that the Listening Session was pretty well attended. She meant to get the statistics for the event, but there were about 25 people on Zoom, and probably another 25 who attended in person. It was well received. Mr. Redmond received a lot of feedback. He has these master Google documents that he is working with, and so he is taking all of those comments, collecting them, and organizing them, and they will make it into the Plan process. The next thing we want to promote is the Meeting-in-a-Box. What that is, in essence, is the same format. They are asking the Environmental Sustainability Plan (ESP) Team, specifically, as well as the rest of the SEAC Commissioners to find a group (e.g. a block party, a religious congregation) and do a 10-minute presentation. It talks about what climate change is and why it’s occurring. It also talks about the Plan process and Page 8 of 12 provides more opportunity for input. She noted that she spoke with Staff Liaison Slankard today, and she is hoping to do one of these meetings at Public Works. Chairman Grossman inquired as to the timeframe/deadline for Meeting-in-a-Box. Staff Liaison Zimmerman said that she has to check. Staff Liaison Slankard stated that we can do them as long as we are taking the survey data and comments, which will hopefully be through the third week of July. She also noted that Mr. Redmond had wanted us to get more responses from people 25 years old or younger, as well as the BIPOC communities. Those were two areas with the fewest respondents. She also reviewed some of the results of the survey that were already received. For example, one of the questions was “How concerned are you about climate change?” and 43.4% were “Extremely Concerned,” 36.2% are “Very Concerned.” She anticipates this sort of breakdown of responses to be received for all the questions. Commissioner Mahoney asked whether one has to live in Skokie in order to be able to participate in one of these Meeting-in-a-Box events. Staff Liaison Zimmerman stated that you do not. Mr. Redmond says that, in order to fill out the survey, you simply have to be somebody who cares about Skokie. So, you could be someone who dines in Skokie, somebody who bikes through Skokie, you could own a business in the community, and so on. Next ESP Team meeting is to be held on July 12th. Staff Liaison Zimmerman stated that the mission/topic for that meeting will be roadblocks that we are coming up with. At the last ESP Team meeting, they generated goals. At the next meeting, they will be analyzing roadblocks to those goals. b. Citizens Utility Board (CUB) Solar Forum Update — Charlie Staff Liaison Zimmerman said that the logistics of holding a Solar Forum have proven difficult to work out. The Skokie Public Library has not yet gotten back in touch, CUB also has not gotten in touch. If anyone is interested in taking up the Solar Forum, they can email her or let her know, if they are interested in being a champion for that. c. Solid Waste / Recycling Intern — Progress Report Staff Liaison Zimmerman stated that she received an update from the Village’s Solid Waste / Recycling Intern, Josie Neville. She had already put door hangers on 1,000 carts this summer. That is pretty good. There were some delays that resulted due to problems with the supply chain. The door hangers did not arrive for her first three weeks with the Village. Staff Liaison Zimmerman said she had her doing other tasks during that time. The program was advertised on social media. Alex Franz (Management Analyst for the Village of Skokie) told her that it was the biggest Village post ever on Instagram. Page 9 of 12  She is not on Instagram, but it would seem that post generated a lot of interest. She said that she and Ms. Neville also spent some time out in the field, and that it has been really nice. There aren’t a ton of residents who will come out, but she flipped one cart open, and it was terrible. There was yard waste in there, along with every type of contamination conceivable — foam, bags, etc. The resident came out, they were very nice, and were very interested in learning about how to recycle. She thinks that the cart hangers are a good way to get in front of people. When the Mayor talks about thinking about non- traditional ways or new ways of doing things, this would be a good example of that. What she also realized is that this one is a really easy one for volunteers to do. Once a volunteer is trained, it doesn’t have to be Village staff that does this. As long as we’re keeping track on a map, it could just be done by retirees or by students who are on vacation. The only catch is if it is a carry-out, it has to be done on the day of recycling collection, at a certain time. For those containers that are in the alley, they could be done at anytime. There is a lot of opportunity there, the more she thinks about it, and there have been more people reaching out to them for volunteer opportunities. Commissioner Mahoney spoke about how Deerfield has “Composting Ambassadors,” who are volunteers who go out and instruct people on how to compost. Deerfield has Village-wide composting. She thought that the idea of having these “ambassadors” is wonderful. She went on to say that she’d hope that we could do something similar, in time. Staff Liaison Zimmerman noted that the idea of using volunteers came to her because Ms. Neville has been doing a great job, and is a very independent worker, but we will still only be able to get through about 6,000 households this summer. In addition, it is also just a really good opportunity for those looking to volunteer. Staff Liaison Zimmerman went on to note that Ms. Neville is a graduate student. When she receives her fall schedule, she is going to see if she can still work a day each week or so. IV. Old Business a. Mack Electric Refuse Truck Demo Staff Liaison Slankard said that the good news is that the truck has arrived. It rolled in a week ago. The last customer that had the truck thought that they need to change the adapter on the charger. When it arrived, it did not match the charger that Mack provided for the Village, in anticipation of the truck’s arrival. The Village is waiting for a new charger adapter to arrive. It was ordered it a few days ago, but has not arrived yet. They were able to take the truck out and operated it a little bit, but have not yet been able to run it with a full day of operations. Mack has assured the Village that they will be able to run it for a full week, because one of the things that they need to do before they are able to take it out and operate it in earnest, is train crews on how to operate it. Page 10 of 12 They have taken it around the north end of town, and have gotten familiar with it, with at least one of the operators. One of the things that they are interested in being able to do is running it on one of the Village’s full routes, and seeing how the battery charge is able to hold up through the course of one of the routes, and to have the opportunity to have multiple operators get familiar with the truck. It is scheduled to go off to Madison after it leaves Skokie. They hope they’ll get the charger in the next couple of days. Once they do, they will be shooting some video of the truck, and will push some of that out. He said they’re looking forward to the opportunity to put the unit through its paces and see what it is like. Commissioner Okallau asked if there’s anything functionally different about it. Staff Liaison Slankard said that there really is not. The cab is laid out like the cab of a normal truck. It is just battery-powered. Staff Liaison Zimmerman noted that New York City is excited about them, because they can run them at night, as they don’t have to worry about the noise ordinance. b. Block Party Compost Program Go Green Skokie reached out to the Village to start block party composting. On the bottom of the Block Party Application, if people are who interested in composting at their block party, it will instruct the applicant(s) to email Go Green Skokie. Then, if they are interested, Go Green Skokie will receive that email and they, in turn, will coordinate with Collective Resource. A free toter will be provided, as well as free disposal of that food waste. Schedule permitting, somebody from Go Green Skokie will also come out and do some compost education, and will promote the program. Staff Liaison Zimmerman went on to say that she thinks that this will be a good way to get the word out about the program that is available through Collective Resource. She said that they’re looking forward to see how this program will work. She thinks that the first block party that will make use of this new service is scheduled for July 4th. c. Backlot Bash / Rotary Breakfast composting Staff Liaison Zimmerman said that, as far as Skokie’s Backlot Bash is concerned, they are still planning on composting there as well. Though they still have to have a meeting with Collective Resource, they’re contemplating having more of a monitor system at the garbage and recycling stations. They are also hoping to incorporate it into the Rotary Breakfast. The Skokie Park District has been working with the vendors to not allow them to use styrofoam and other things like that. She said that she expects some non-compostable materials could be used, but they are hoping to get rid of styrofoam and some of the other obvious ones this year. Page 11 of 12  Chairman Grossman asked whether the plates and other such items at the event will be compostable. Staff Liaison Zimmerman confirmed that is the goal. Staff Liaison Zimmerman noted that, at some point, they will be looking for volunteers for the event. Commissioner Render inquired when the Backlot Bash will be taking place. Staff Liaison Zimmerman said she believes it is August 25th through 27th. Commissioner Render said that, as a previous volunteer, he had some recommendations, and had sent those to Erlene Howard of Collective Resource. It sounds as though there is some agreement on some of these suggestions. He suggested some meetings/training could be necessary prior to the event. He went on to note that he was a big advocate of monitoring as a means of ensuring that the collection is properly done. He said that he would be happy to help work on it, but that has to be arranged in advance because of vacations and everything else. Staff Liaison Zimmerman said that she will write a note to send him an invite. Chairman Grossman concurred with Commissioner Render. Additional discussion ensued, including the potential for the Commission to have a presence at the Backlot Bash (e.g. having a booth at the event). Staff Liaison Zimmerman said that there is a Community Resource Fair. She said she’d think that they would have to know fairly soon, if the Commission would want a space. She also noted that she cannot commit to us actually getting a space. We would just have to ask about the possibility. We also would need to have volunteers staffing that space, for a significant amount of time during the Backlot Bash. Therefore, she would be interested in knowing whether anyone would be interested in volunteering before she reaches out to the Park District. Staff Liaison Zimmerman noted that Commissioner Saxe’s “Bike to the Bash” will be back this year. V. Public Comments No public comments were received. VI. Next Meeting Based upon the expected availability of Commission members, the next meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 26, 2022. VII. Adjournment There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 8:22 PM. Page 12 of 12