Sustainability Advisory Commission Meeting

APPROVED CITY OF URBANA, ILLINOIS SUSTAINABILITY ADVISORY COMMISSION Council Chambers, Urbana City Building Tuesday, February 5, 2019 Commissioners Present: Chairperson Stacy Gloss, Dustin Allred, Claire Johnson, Todd Rusk, Andrew Stumpf, Morgan White, Tesfaye Wolde-Medhin, Maddy Garbacz Commissioners Absent: None Staff Present: Scott Tess, Amanda Flores Call to Order, Roll Call, and Declaration of Quorum Chairperson Stacy Gloss called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Amanda Flores called the roll and a quorum was present. Approval of Minutes No minutes was presented for approval. It was agreed to handle the minutes at the next meeting. Changes to the Agenda To accommodate guest schedules, the order of the speakers were changed with the presentation from Lisa Merrifield moved up and the Staff Reporting to be done after. Public Input Chair Stacy Gloss opened up the floor for public input and students from the University of Illinois were welcomed. Students were encouraged to provide public input on the Climate Action Plan and give recommendations and turned in printed copies (see attached). Kayla Myers, a Masters Student in Landscape Architecture spoke about Goal 4: Adapt to Climate Change Impact, specifically Action 3: Including more pollinator friendly species in city landscapes, pesticide spraying to maintain landscape that are toxic to pollinators and lack of overall biodiversity targets in the climate action plan. Scott Tess shared that the City’s Arbor division has looked into the products used in our landscaping and none of them use neonicotinoids. Contract stipulations could be written into contracts to ensure that vendors do the same. The Arbor Divisions uses a lot of cultivars of native varietals that would pose less problematic towards landscape goals. Biodiversity goals have not been addressed in the Climate Action Plan but would be a good point to explore. Tanmay Takle spoke about engaging student communities on campus, design and building of net- zero, energy-efficient buildings, and food security. In the interest of time, Morgan White addressed the food security point, sharing that one of the new City council members is interested in addressing food deserts in the City. Lauren Gramann spoke about food waste collection and how among large housing centers and residence halls so much food goes to waste. The Commission deferred comment, as Food Scraps was on the Agenda, but said that Food Scrap collection was being evaluated and there is still an opportunity for more input. 1  APPROVED Brent Panozzo spoke next about not seeing any Flood Water Management detailed in the Climate Action Plan, particularly flooding. Mr. Tess pointed out Champaign-Urbana is in a fairly decent position being in the headwaters of 3 different watersheds, hence flooding is does not pose a very strong threat. A water survey by the Water District should be published some time in 2019. Jingyi Li discussed about Carbon Emission reduction with suggestions for plastics use and utilization of public transportation and bike-sharing. Isha Kulkarni spoke next about the need for potential improvements in waste management, focusing specifically on the lack of waste segregation and collection. Chair Gloss recommended that if Ms. Kulkarni was interested to pursue this, she could be put in touch with the City’s Recycling Coordinator, Courtney Kwong. Presentation Development of New Community Sustainability Initiative Lisa Merrifield from the University of Illinois Extension came in to present the Sustainability Communities Initiative that the Extension was working on. Ms. Merrifield shared the Initiative’s goals including the expansion and development of partnerships with the University’s researchers, as well as the community. Flyer and directory for the Initiative are available on the City’s website: https://www.urbanaillinois.us/node/7594 Ms. Merrifield shared that the Extension has worked with the Illinois EPA on keeping nitrogen and phosphorous out of water, and how although most of it is agriculture-related, a significant portion of involves storm water. The Extension is working on a study that would give a bigger-picture view to identify needs and gaps in programming within the State. The Extension is also working on bringing together a consortium of networks, such as the Prairie Sustainability Network to foster better communication. Ms. Merrifield shared other emerging programs that the extension is working on the state-level like Conservation finance curriculum, Economics of sustainability, assessment of critical concerns and research needs at a community level, as well as the broader North Central Region, such as diversity, equity and inclusion in green job markets, and regional extension stormwater strategic plan. Recent Work at Illinois Sustainable Technology Center Nancy Holm, Assistant Director of the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center, presented the ISTC’s mission and solutions for a sustainable future. Ms. Holm shared the Center’s applied research focus areas: energy, pollutants, waste utilization and water use and reuse. ITSC informational flyer is available on the City’s website, as well. Public Input (continued) Public input reconvened to allow more students to speak to the Commission. Graduate student, Robert Erbs shared his thoughts on doing a few things well, than spreading the commission too thin by focusing on too many projects. Another student, Bo Pang, shared her suggestion of having a sustainable low-tech urban farm for use by local restaurants and residents, as well as supporting locally grown produce. Chair Gloss invited Ms. Pang to visit Urbana’s own Common Ground Co-op that supports local farmers. 2  APPROVED Staff Report Scott Tess reported on the Solar Urbana-Champaign 3.0 project closing at 574kw across 47 sites, City Council approving a lease option agreement on the City’s closed landfill, the announcement of an opening for invitation to bid for a rain barrel and compost bin sale in May and the awarding of a technical assistance grant for the Adapting Great Lakes Stormwater Systems to Climate Change Pilot Project provided by the University of Michigan. Additionally, Staff is collecting data to compile an annual division report including an update greenhouse gas inventory for City facilities and operations. Mr. Tess also gave an update on Senate Bill 1597, the Carryout Bag Fee Act, which should be reintroduced to the current General Assembly. Lastly, a survey to gage interest and willingness to pay for curbside food scrap service will be sent out with the upcoming U-Cycle bills. The next meeting is scheduled for March 5, 2019 in the Council Chambers. Future Youth Sustainability Conference Chair Stacy Gloss opened the discussion for the next Youth Sustainability Conference. Morgan White commended the youth leaders for a job well done. Scott Tess shared that attendance was great and there speaker line-up was highly impressive. He shared that adult sponsors to support the students in planning would definitely be beneficial to the overall success of the event. Ms. White also commented that most of the student leaders were seniors, so more student volunteers should be engaged. Maddy Garbacz updated the commission that the organizers have had a couple of meetings to debrief the event and find areas that worked and didn’t work so well. Chair Gloss asked the Commission for additional volunteers for the next event. Announcements Morgan White shared that Governor Pritzker signed on to the US Climate Alliance on January 23, 2019. Adjournment There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 8:27 p.m. This meeting was recorded. Respectfully submitted, Amanda Flores Recording Secretary 3