Sustainable Environmental Advisory Commission

Memorandum TO: Sustainable Environmental Advisory Commissioners FROM: _______________________________________________________________________ Andrew D. DeCanniere, Commissioner, Sustainable Environmental Advisory Commission DATE: August 27, 2025 SUBJECT: August 26, 2025 Sustainable Environmental Advisory Commission (SEAC) Meeting Minutes Meeting was called to order at 7:03 PM in Conference Room D/E at Skokie Village Hall Present: Chairperson Jennifer Grossman, Vice Chair Jim McNelis, Commissioners Andrew DeCanniere, Michael Gershbein, Lisa Gotkin, Alma Likic, Olivia Mahoney, Emily Okallau, Robert Render, Charles Saxe, Sustainability Coordinator Lisa Sanzenbacher, Assistant to the Public Works Director / Staff Liaison Elizabeth Zimmerman, Trustee Liaison Lissa Levy Absent: Commissioners Christopher Buccola, Rick Moskovitz Also Present: Lauren Grodnicki, Skokie Resident Howard Sproull, Skokie Resident I. Approval of Minutes A motion was made by Vice Chair McNelis to approve the minutes from the July 15, 2025 meeting of the Sustainable Environmental Advisory Commission, seconded by Commissioner Gotkin. The minutes were approved as presented. II. Old Business a. Community Solar Campaign Update Sustainability Coordinator Sanzenbacher informed Commissioners that the Village of Skokie’s Illinois Shines application has been successfully submitted. Once approved, a Press Release that will be going out. Additionally, Joule will proceed with their community outreach plan. Vice Chair McNelis inquired as to when this will proceed. Sustainability Coordinator Sanzenbacher stated it should be within the next week or two, after Labor Day. Page 1 of 4  b. IDOT Lincoln Avenue Project It was noted that the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) hosted a presentation regarding the Lincoln Avenue Project at Lincoln Junior High School on July 15th and, as was promoted in The Scoop, had been accepting public comments until August 8th. The project is currently in Phase 1 (preliminary engineering and environmental study). Commissioner Mahoney inquired as to the latest regarding Oakton Street. Discussion ensued. c. Compost Update Sustainability Coordinator Sanzenbacher updated Commissioners on composting rates. Composting hit a record in June, at 26.3 tons. July also saw a high at 23.9 tons, which is similar to May. Furthermore, there is nearly twice the tonnage at free drop off sites versus the amount composted through the subscription service. The compost program has been promoted in the Village’s e-newsletter, The Scoop, noting that the promotional countertop bin program is over, and informing residents of how to properly engage in backyard composting so as to avoid pests. d. EV Chargers Installed at Village Hall The Village of Skokie recently installed 13 new Level 2 electric vehicle (EV) charging ports for municipal vehicles at Village Hall. The Village is to replace 10 gas-powered vehicles with EVs over the next year. This, in turn, will save 2,300 gallons of fuel and $6,000 per year. Including other anticipated vehicle purchases, this will bring the total number of EVs in the Village’s fleet to 34 by May of 2026, representing about 15 percent of the total fleet. The Village currently operates 20 EVs across several departments, including seven Police vehicles, three Fire Department vehicles, six Public Works vehicles, and four Village Hall Motor Pool Vehicles. Discussion ensued. III. New Business a. Welcome New SEAC Trustee Liaison Lissa Levy Commissioners introduced themselves to newly appointed Trustee Liaison Lissa Levy, who subsequently introduced herself and spoke about her professional background. b. Backlot Bash i. Pancake Breakfast Commissioners Render and Mahoney discussed composting at the Backlot Bash. WasteNot Compost indicated that there was hardly any contamination. Page 2 of 4  Chairperson Grossman inquired as to whether there is any sort of primer on composting for vendors who participate. Staff Liaison Zimmerman noted that there is some coaching on what vendors are to do. For instance, when Collective Resource starts a new business/vendor, there is a sort of onboarding process. WasteNot is more signage-based. Additional discussion ensued. ii. Summer of ’25 The Village of Skokie launched the Summer of ’25 campaign to inform residents of the upcoming reduction in the speed limit on most residential streets, from 30 mph to 25 mph, effective March 1, 2026. Village representatives and the campaign’s mascot, Cruz the Turtle, were in attendance at Skokie’s Backlot Bash to help further promote this upcoming change. c. Electric Bills Staff Liaison Sanzenbacher said that residents have been calling about their bills. It was noted that the Village of Skokie does not set electric rates. However, there are resources out there that may be available to consumers. Staff Liaison Zimmerman stated that the rate increases have to do with the available capacity on the electric grid. d. Solar webinar recap: Switch Together (Wilmette) + Grow Geo Power Hour (DuPage) Commissioner DeCanniere said that he recently attended the Wilmette Solar Power Hour and DuPage County Geothermal Power Hour Zoom webinars (held on August 12th and August 19th, respectively), and proceeded to recap both for those who were unable to attend. e. Illinois Solar for All Advisory Committee Opening It was noted that there is an opening on the Illinois Solar for All Advisory Committee. The application period will run until September 26th, with an information session on September 16th to register to learn more about Illinois Solar for All and the committee. Discussion ensued. f. Bike Friendly Community survey Commissioners were encouraged to participate in the survey to help the Village of Skokie understand bicycling conditions and potential areas for improvement. They were also encouraged to share this survey with others. Deadline to submit survey is October 5th. Page 3 of 4  g. Skokie Strategic Plan Survey Chairperson Grossman noted that much talk has occurred regarding the update to Skokie’s Strategic Plan. There is a Community Visioning Session set to take place at Niles West on October 5th. Survey includes items that are in the Village’s Sustainability Plan, and will remain open through Saturday, October 11th. Trustee Liaison Levy noted that the Strategic Plan is very important and will inform Village policy going forward. Discussion ensued. h. Open Water bottles at National Night Out Sustainability Coordinator Sanzenbacher noted that they didn’t want to give out plastic water bottles at National Night Out. Open Water was selected as an alternative, based on both the sustainability of sourcing and the recyclability of the aluminum bottles. Chairperson Grossman inquired whether there is some sort of portable water truck that could be brought in for use at such events, which could be an alternative to single-use plastic water bottles as well. Discussion ensued. IV. Other Business Sustainability Coordinator Sanzenbacher spoke about the Evanston Repair Cafe. Evanston Repair Cafe also provided flyers which could be shared within the community. V. Public Comment Skokie resident Lauren Grodnicki spoke about composting and recycling at the Pancake Breakfast. She also spoke about the issue of idling vehicles at Backlot Bash and similar events, suggesting a more sustainable alternative to provide the necessary power at these events. Skokie resident Howard Sproull shared his idea for a potential source of water at events, and thanked the Commission for its hospitality. VI. Next Meeting On August 29, 2025, it was determined that the next meeting of the Sustainable Environmental Advisory Commission will take place on Monday, September 29, 2025 at 7:00 PM. The meeting is to be held in Conference Room A at Skokie Village Hall. VII. Adjournment There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 9:01 PM with a motion from Commissioner Okallau, seconded by Commissioner Gershbein. Page 4 of 4