Sustainability Commission

Sustainability Commission Meeting Minutes February 15th, 2023 Attendees: Mark Graf, Wayne Hofmann, Nathan Inks, Jonathan Matthews, Alexis Richards, Dr. Kelley Skillin, Michael Tabbert Speech attributed to speakers is paraphrased unless quoted. City Council, Department of Public Works, Green For Life, Sterling Heights, and Sterling Heights Sustainability Commission may be abbreviated as CC, DPW, GFL, SH, and SHSC, respectively. Call to Order – 18:00 Pledge of Allegiance – 18:00 Roll Call – 18:00. Graf, Inks, Matthews, Skillin, Tabbert. Also in Attendance: Alexis Richards, Planner II Wayne Hofmann, Wade Trim Approval of Agenda Motion: Tabbert. Second: Skillin. Ayes: Graf, Inks, Matthews, Skillin, Tabbert. Education Session – 18:02. Presented by Wayne Hofmann from Wade Trim. Mr. Hofmann presented a summary to the SHSC of the services Wade Trim is providing to the City, primarily focused on grant funding. Wade Trim’s goal is to identify grants to apply for before they become grants, to ensure the City is prepared to apply for them. Wade Trim also consults with the City about funding strategies and assists with the grant application process. Wade Trim tracks legislation as well, assisting the City with ensuring they apply for and receive funding from federal and state grants about a range of topics. Mr. Hofmann also explained that there is a philanthropic component to their efforts as well. Mr. Hofmann explained that their consulting team consists of three team members: Wayne Hofmann (presenting) – Client Funding Director Nicole Horn – Grant Writer Adam Young – Recreation and Community Development Specialist Mr. Hofmann discussed the different funding cycles for state and federal programs. Wade Trim also takes into account funding programs for the Southeast Michigan Coalition of Governments (SEMCOG), as well as philanthropic programs and grants. Mr. Hofmann also explained some of the work Wade Trim had recently completed. Wade Trim was the consultant that created the City’s Electric Vehicle Charging Station Master Plan, and has worked to secure Electric Vehicle related funding for the City. Wade Trim is working on securing funding for Charging and Fueling infrastructure grants, grants to assist with the maintenance of City vehicles, and the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program. Wade Trim assisted the City is securing $176,580 from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG), which the City will be required to create an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy (EECS) in order to utilize. Eligible uses for the funding include:  Renewable energy evaluations/ feasibility studies  Non-motorized transportation studies  Residential/ Commercial energy audits  Financial incentive programs   Energy efficiency retrofits  Traffic signal synchronization  Lighting replacement  Energy-focused building code and inspection services  Recycling and source reduction programs Mr. Graf asked if the grant funding could be utilized to create a conduct a study to assess the City’s carbon footprint. Mr. Hofmann explained that such a study may be within the scope of acceptable uses for the EECBG funding. Mr. Tabbert expressed some concern that a full time employee conducting the study may use up a majority of the grant’s funds, and other studies may run out the funding from the grant. Mr. Hofmann explained potential opportunities provided from the following sources through the Inflation Reduction Act: Environmental and climate justice block grants: $2.8B Neighborhood Access and Equity Grant program: $1.8B Zero Emission Technologies Grants: $7B Green House Gas Reduction Fund: $20B Mr. Hofmann explained that Wade Trim is looking into a program called “Healthy Homes” provided by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This could be utilized to clean up dilapidated homes and hoarder homes in the City. Mr. Graf asked Mr. Hofmann about the process flow for grant funding, and Mr. Hofmann answered that typically a grant needs a department to champion the grant going forward. Discussion was had about grant funding timelines. The Commission discussed communication between itself and Wade Trim about grant funding going forward. Mr. Tabbert asked if SHSC could share its priority action items with Wade Trim. Mr. Hofmann was open to the idea, but clarified to the commissioners that funding may not be available to assist with all of the Commission’s goals. Mr. Inks asks about the status of funding a pedestrian bridge on Kleino Road. Discussion was had regarding Representative Shannon and the City’s relationship with him to get additional funding. Considerations A – Pavement Ordinance Ms. Richards provided an overview of the proposed changes to the Zoning Ordinance, and the accompanying regulatory ordinance change. Single family residences will not be able to pave more than 40% of their front yard, with some exceptions. This is to ease the burden on the City’s drainage infrastructure, as well as promote green space in the City. Residents applying for a concrete permit that do not have street trees will need to plant street trees through the Department of Public Works. Pervious materials will be allowed outside of concrete. Mr. Inks asked what type of pervious surfaces will be allowed. Ms. Richards is unaware of the full list, the Office of Engineering will curate a list of acceptable materials. This is to allow for administrative allowances of materials as the City sees fit. Discussion is had about the size of the trees that are permitted to be planted, and if residents would be allowed to plant their own street trees. The ordinance is written so that DPW would have to plant all right-of-way trees. Currently DPW charges $275 per street tree, and this includes the cost of the tree and cost to install. This prices changes with the fiscal year. Mr. Graf questioned how many households this would affect? He believed this would be a very small amount, and that this measure may not be enough to greatly impact drainage in the City. Ms. Richards explained that this is one measure in which the City is looking to curb drainage. Ms. Richards explained that she is aware of three cases in the past six months where individuals wanted to pave their entire yards or a majority, and this to here seems like a significant case study. Motion to recommend approval of the Impervious Surface Ordinance as presented to the Sustainability Commission on February 15th, 2023 to the City Council. Motion: Matthews Support: Skillin Ayes: Graf, Inks, Matthews, Skillin, Tabbert TreeKeeper Subscription – 19:02 Mr. Inks asked Ms. Richards about the concerns Mr. Graf had raised in the past, particularly about updating the environmental value of trees over time. Ms. Richards explained that Macomb County’s TreeKeeper subscription had lapsed between this meeting and the last. Ms. Richards updated SHSC that 28,173 street trees had been counted, and that Davey Trees estimates that 8,000 trees will be left in the City’s contract. Ms. Richards will speak with City Administration to determine where the remaining 8,000 trees will be counted. The commissioners discussed the merits of counting trees in smaller or larger parks. Mr. Tabbert and Mr. Inks discussed the merits of having the fee for a TreeKeeper subscription go before City Council, and if a shorter or long term subscription would be better for the City. Mr. Graf expressed that he wants to ensure that any resolution includes a note to indicate that “Ecological Data be maintained” due to the preservation of that data being an ongoing issue. Ms. Richards agreed to arrange a meeting to discuss tree data tracking with DPW, Parks and Recreation, and Facilities Maintenance. Mr. Graf asked why the City is only focused on reforesting City Parks, and Mr. Inks responded by stating that reforesting City Parks is one of the Action Items of the Sustainability Plan. Mr. Graf expressed concern about how data regarding trees will be made open to the public. Ms. Richards agreed to follow up with Davey Tree to see how information will be made public. Motion to postpone the resolution for the Davey TreeKeeper Subscription to the March Meeting of the Sustainability Commission. Motion: Matthews Second: Inks Ayes: Graf, Inks, Matthews, Skillin, Tabbert Motion to approve the Minutes for the January 18th Sustainability Commission Meeting. Motion: Tabbert Second: Matthews Ayes: Graf, Inks, Matthews, Skillin, Tabbert Correspondence None Committee Reports R^3 Presented as per documents provided by Mr. Matthews. Discussion ensued about recycling contract pending with GFL. Mr. Graf believes DPW is anticipating the agreement will be settled by April. Green energy: No report at this time. Stormwater & Wetlands: Mr. Inks presented per the documents he provided. Mr. Inks identified items within the action plan that would fall within this committee’s purview. Mr. Graf mentioned desire for city to have a plan for recycling peoples’ trash cans if GFL moves to a universally-provided receptacle. Mr. Inks asked what other municipalities have done with those old trash cans during a similar transition. Old Business – 20:16 Recycling Coalition Update: Ms. Richards corrected a previous mistake by the Office of Planning, stating that the City will not join the Coalition until the next budget cycle. The Office has $500 budgeted for education in the upcoming fiscal year, and has $200 additional budgeted to join the Recycling Coalition. Mr. Inks asked how much is left in this year’s budget for education, Ms. Richards agrees to follow up to determine how much is left for this year. Michigan Green Communities Challenge: Mr. Inks brings up that the deadline to apply for the Michigan Green Communities Challenge is March 31st. Ms. Richards agreed to provide the MI Green Communities Questions to the commissioners for their review. Mr. Inks stated that two staff members can attend the Sustainability Conference in October, per the rules of MI Green Communities. Tree City USA: Mr. Inks asked Ms. Richards if the City had applied for the Growth Award from Tree City USA. Ms. Richards was not aware. Mr. Inks asked how to ensure the City applies for the award next year. Ms. Richards suggested that the Office of Planning will be more settled and structured by the next application period. She also encouraged the Committee to keep making the Office aware of different awards to apply for going forward. Mr. Graf asked about a potential Special Assessment for Street Trees that City Council had mentioned during the strategic planning meetings. Discussion is had regarding the possibility of a special assessment. New Business Mr. Inks brought up a video training which may be good for the SHSC to review. This video is entitled Transportation Planning for People and Climate. Mr. Inks discussed how the Planning Commission may find a Climate Action Plan useful during the Master Planning Process. Mr. Inks stated that is may be better for the Sustainability Commission to create the Climate Action Plan that the Planning Commission then uses for the Master Plan. Mr. Matthews agreed with the idea, but believed that the SHSC should be expanded prior to beginning to draft that plan. This is so that all members will have equal buy in to the process. Mr. Inks expressed interest in hiring a consultant to assist with the drafting of the Climate Action Plan. Citizen Participation – None Motion to adjourn at 8:48pm. Moved: Matthews Seconded: Graf Ayes: Graf, Inks, Matthews, Skillin, Tabbert