Environmental Improvement Commission

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENT COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES WHEATON CITY HALL, 303 W WESLEY STREET, WHEATON, ILLINOIS 60187 Tuesday, April 25, 2023 7:30 I. Call to Order: Chairman Ted Witte called the meeting to order at 7:30. Present were Susan Bachraty, Cathy Coleman, Brian Malone, Kay McKeen, Tony Pope, Stephen Siemer, Jim Wozniak, and Bob Young. Absent were Nancy Flynn, David Popham, Allison Torrence, and Seema Wadia. II. Approval of Minutes: Bob moved that the minutes from the March meeting be approved. Kay seconded. The minutes were approved by unanimous voice vote. III. Budget Report: Bob reported that expenses totaled $2,487.98, leaving $23,012.02 open to spend. IV. Public Comment: None V. Reports: 1. Proclamations: Mayor Seuss signed and presented the Earth Year and Arbor Day proctamations at the April city council meetings. 2. Recycling Extravaganza Report (April l): Kay reported that the DuPage County Fairgrounds location worked really well, and all members were in agreement. Most numbers are not in yet, but 23,320 pounds of paper were shredded and 420 pounds of househotd batteries were collected. 3. Electronic Recycling (April 8): Tony reported that he, Bob, and David from EIC, volunteers Jim Truesdale and Loni Liene from Schaumburg High School, and 7 E-Works employees manned the event. Traffic was steady, and a large amount of electronics, textiles, and scrap metal were collected, plus about 100 fluorescent bulbs, 5 gallons of cooking oil, and 3 smoke detectors. VI. Upcoming Projects: 1. Electronics Recycling (May 13): Bob and Tony will work this event. 2. Adopt a Highway: Nancy sent a reminder that the next clean up will be May 6. 3. Native Plant Sale (Apr. 29): Tony reported that they havelS volunteers for Friday and 20 for Saturday, not counting EIC members and Park District employees. 4. tllinois Prairie Path Clean Up (Apr. 29): Bob has picked up all the materials from Seema. Volunteers are still signing up. 5. Arbor Day (Apr. 28): Kay reported that the event will be at 9 am at Edison Middle School. She recommended arriving by 8:45, because parking is scarce. VII. Unfinished Business: 1. Business Composting: Kay suggested a series workshops/presentations/city newsletter articles on topics including composting for businesses, composting for residents, native plants and rain gardens, environmental lawn care, proper preparation ofgarbage and recyclingfordisposal.  ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENT COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES April25,2023 Perhaps the Wheaton Park District would like to work with EIC on these events. Maybe we could ask on City of Wheaton social media what topics residents would like to hear about. 2. No Mow May: tabled 3. Sustainability Award: Cathy presented a possible timetabte for the steps to do this. Several suggestions were made for possible criteria for nominations. Cathy will check with Susan Bishel and Andrea Rosedale about feasibility ofdates and changes to forms, and then ask Andrea to send the proposal to the City Councit for approval. 4. Light Poltution—EnergySaving: tabled 5. Single Use Plastic Bags—FactFinding: Steve reported that most communities made their law applicable to large stores, which are mostly grocery and drugstores. Contact with affected merchants helped to pave the way. Many ofthese stores are chains, and are already required to charge for ptastic bags at some of their stores. Steve plans to contact these stores and see what has worked well at their other locations. 6. Bio-swate Public Awareness: This coutd be combined with the rain garden/native plant presentation. 7. Erosion Control Blankets: tabled 8. Ballasted Plastic Bag Advertising: Kay reported that they are thrown on lawns and can be dangerous to the person mowing the lawn, in addition to contributing to litter. 9. Scented dryer sheets and pollinators: tabted VIII. New Business: 1. Funding for EIC Events: none needed at this time 2. Wheaton Police Department participated in a national drug take back day on April 22. EIC is gratefut to see them bring back this valuable program even on a very limited basis. IX. Adjournment: Bob moved that the meeting be adjourned.Kay seconded.The meeting was adjourned at 8:40 The next regular EIC meeting is scheduled for May 23, 2023, at 7:30 P.M. Respectfutly submitted, Cathy Coleman