Environmental, Forestry, & Sustainability Commission

Regular Meeting

Winnetka, IL · April 9, 2025

Minutes

WINNETKA ENVIRONMENTAL AND FORESTRY COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING MINUTES APRIL 9, 2025 A record of a legally convened meeting of the Environmental and Forestry Commission of the Village of Winnetka, which was held in the Council Chambers at Village Hall, 510 Green Bay Road, Winnetka, Illinois, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. Call to Order: Chair Hanley called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. Voting Members present: Chair Patrick Hanley and Commissioners Elizabeth Kunkle, Gregory Frezados, David Varca, Peter Eck. A quorum of presently appointed members was present. Voting members absent: Tim Ring, Brandon Andrew. Village Council Representative present: Bob Dearborn. Student Representative absent: Scarlett Harper. Staff Liaison present: Elyse Steiner, Sustainability Coordinator. 1) Introduction & Chair’s Remarks: Chair Hanley remarked that EFC should look for ways to promote sustainability in other areas and incentivize residents to change behaviors. 2) Public Comment: None 3) Review and Approval of Minutes a) Approval of the March Regular Meeting Minutes A motion was made by Commissioner Eck, seconded by Commissioner Kunkle to approve the minutes as presented. AYES: KUNKLE, FREZADOS, VARCA, ECK, HANLEY. NAYS: NONE ABSENT: RING, ANDREW 4) Old Business Updates: a) 2025 Green Award Elyse shared the slides to accompany the award winner presentation. Commissioners Hanley, Kunkle, and Frezados plan to attend and will each present an award at the April 15 Village Council meeting. Elyse will work with Josie on: communicating awards in the weekly email to residents, including a summary in the summer Winnetka Record, and updating the Green Award web page with this year’s winners. Elyse will ask winners if addresses can be revealed. b) Making Music Festival and other public events zero-waste Chair Hanley will reach out to Scott Meyers on ways to include sustainable practices in Music Fest planning (refillable water bottle stations, compostable cups, etc.). Could also talk with SPACE about their practices and suggestions to do more. Commissioner Varca reported that Village has no mention of sustainability in public event permit applications. Fourth of July festivities managed by Park District. Steel drums used for trash and recycling are indistinguishable in the dark and no effort to avoid comingling/ contamination. Some better waste management practices could be adopted and possible grant money could be found to help pay for them. Children’s Fair coming up Jun 6-7 is another opportunity to reduce waste. LRS, GoGreen Winnetka, and Public Works support this event. Elyse to meet with Commissioner Kunkle in a follow up meeting to brainstorm ideas. c) Commission name change Commissioners discussed and voted to expand commission name to reflect Sustainability as a priority and within its purview. Unanimously agreed on Environmental, Forestry, and Sustainability Commission (EFSC) as the new preferred name. The recommendation will be brought before Village Council for consideration. AYES: KUNKLE, FREZADOS, VARCA, ECK, HANLEY. NAYS: NONE ABSENT: RING, ANDREW 5) New Business a) Chicago River Day and Earth Day President-elect Dearborn will give remarks at the Chicago River Day event taking place at the Skokie Lagoons on May 10. EFC Commissioners were invited to participate in the clean-up project. No Earth Day events were planned by the Village for this year, but will consider doing something next year or support/ promote other events in the Village. b) Lawn equipment take-back or rebate program Trustee Dearborn said the Village is still working on enforcing the leaf-blower ban. Unsure how this type of program would work or how to fund. Naperville has started their own rebate program, so could possibly learn more about how theirs is run. c) Additional environmental partnerships or designations Commissioners expressed interest in other certifications or partnership programs like Tree City USA and Mayors’ Monarch Pledge. Elyse mentioned some others such as Bee City and EV Ready and offered to send out a more comprehensive list. Andrew Lueck will give a forestry update at the May EFC meeting. Elyse will invite Friends of the Green Bay Trail representative to also present an update of their plans at the May meeting. 6) Communications: EFC Commissioners would like to resume adding sustainability-oriented communications to the weekly Village emails. Commissioner Eck proposed drafting a blurb to promote biking/ sustainable mobility alternatives for June. Elyse said she would find out if Josie keeps a list of seasonal items and what type of communications would be acceptable. Elyse also said she would develop a list of ideas raised by the EFC for further reflection. She will also attend Metropolitan Mayors’ Caucus Environmental Committee meetings and give read-outs to the EFC. 7) Commission/Staff Reports: With the elections finished and seats filled, Trustee Dearborn said the Caucus may be looking to conduct another Village survey. Elyse Steiner summarized recent activity related to the IMEA contract extension deliberations. 8) Open Forum: None. 9) Adjournment: There being no further business, Chair Hanley asked for a motion to adjourn which was moved by Commissioner Varca and seconded by Commissioner Eck. The motion passed unanimously on a voice vote; the meeting adjourned at 8:15 p.m.

Agenda

Packet

Village of Winnetka Environmental and Forestry Commission Meeting April 9, 2025 at 7:00 PM Winnetka Village Hall Council Chambers - 510 Green Bay Road AGENDA 1. Introduction & Chair's Remarks 2. Public Comments 3. Review and Approval of Minutes a. March meeting minutes 4. Old Business Updates a. Green Awards presentation b. Zero-waste public events c. Commission name 5. New Business a. Residential solar aggregation b. Earth Day and Chicago River Day c. Lawn equipment take-back or rebate program 6. Communications 7. Committee/Staff Reports 8. Open Forum 9. Adjournment NOTICE All agenda materials are available at villageofwinnetka.org (Government > Council Information > Agenda Packets & Minutes); the Reference Desk at the Winnetka Library; or in the Manager’s Office at Village Hall (2nd floor). The Village of Winnetka, in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, requests that all persons with disabilities who require certain accommodations to allow them to observe and/or participate in this meeting or have questions about the accessibility of the meeting or facilities, contact the Village ADA Coordinator, at 510 Green Bay Road, Winnetka, Illinois 60093, 847-716-3543; T.D.D. 847-501-6041. Page 1 of 13 WINNETKA ENVIRONMENTAL AND FORESTRY COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING MINUTES MARCH 12, 2025 A record of a legally convened meeting of the Environmental and Forestry Commission of the Village of Winnetka, which was held in the Council Chambers at Village Hall, 510 Green Bay Road, Winnetka, Illinois, Wednesday, March 12, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. Call to Order: Chair Hanley called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. Voting Members present: Chair Patrick Hanley and Commissioners Elizabeth Kunkle, Gregory Frezados, Tim Ring, David Varca, Peter Eck and Brandon Andrew. A quorum of presently appointed members was present. Village Council Representative absent: Bob Dearborn. Student Representative present: Scarlett Harper. Staff Liaison present: Elyse Steiner, Sustainability Coordinator. 1) Introduction & Chair’s Remarks: None 2) Public Comment: None 3) Review and Approval of Minutes a) Approval of the January Regular Meeting Minutes A motion was made by Commissioner Frezados, seconded by Commissioner Kunkle to approve the minutes as presented. AYES: KUNKLE, FREZADOS, VARCA, RING, ECK, ANDREW, HANLEY. NAYS: NONE ABSENT: NONE 4) Old Business Updates: a) 2025 Green Award Elyse Steiner shared the Green Award nominations, and the commissioners discussed the merits of each one. They also discussed whether to choose a single winner or multiple winners in different categories. The consensus was to award the following: Sustainable residential building – Kaplan Sustainable residential yard – Collins Sustainable non-residential property – Potterfield Page 2 of 13 Commissioner Varca motioned and Commissioner Ring seconded approval of the awardees. Commissioners Hanley, Kunkle, Eck, Andrew, and Frezados voted in favor of the motion. Elyse will work with Village staff to notify the winners and develop a communication plan to spread wider recognition in the community for these efforts. Village Council will present the awards at the April 15, 2025, meeting b) 2025 Priorities and schedule Chair Hanley asked that commissioners send him topics and volunteer to champion or invite speakers to engage in topics of interest. c) Proclamations Proclamations for the Mayor’s Monarch Pledge and Arbor Day are on the agenda for approval at the April 15, 2025, Village Council meeting. d) Review of website changes Commissioners were invited to peruse the Sustainability web pages and suggest any changes/ improvements. 5) New Business a) Music Festival and other public events Elyse communicated with Scott Meyers on plans to include sustainable practices in Music Fest planning. Scott responded that recycling and composting were already planned. Liz Kunkle suggested that more could be done to eliminate single-use plastic cups and other waste. She also raised the issue of promoting zero-waste for other public events such as the children’s fair, parades, etc. Commissioner Varca volunteered to do further work on practices the Village could expect of public events and what the additional costs might be. Chairman Hanley volunteered to contact Scott about additional zero-waste measures for the Music Festival. b) Dark Skies Initiative The Commissioners viewed a brief video made by the community of Duck, NC explaining their Dark Sky ordinance to preserve the night sky and reduce nuisance artificial light at night. There is some interest in working with neighboring communities on standards. No further action was agreed to at the meeting. c) Sustainability Advisory Group Regional Meetings Page 3 of 13 The Sustainability Coordinator from Highland Park reached out that the chair of their environmental commission is interested in networking and collaborating with other suburbs. Chair Hanley was supportive of the concept. Elyse will report back to Highland Park. d) Commission name The Village Comprehensive Plan recommends expanding the EFC’s responsibilities “from forestry to a more comprehensive approach, including environmental initiatives, sustainability, and climate actions…Changing the name of the Commission to Climate Commission and expanding its scope and authority would give the Commission increased ability to recommend policy and implement its goals.” The Commissioners expressed interest in continued conversation about the EFC’s mission, scope, and whether a name change is warranted. Chair Hanley offered to raise the issue with Council and Village leadership. 6) Communications: None 7) Commission/Staff Reports: Commissioner Kunkle shared information about the Recycle Coach tool that the Village will be incorporating into its website soon and her new role as a Recycle Coach client success manager. Elyse Steiner summarized recent activity related to the IMEA contract extension deliberations. 8) Open Forum: None. 9) Adjournment: There being no further business, Chair Hanley asked for a motion to adjourn which was moved by Commissioner Ring and seconded by Commissioner Frezados. The motion passed unanimously on a voice vote; the meeting adjourned at 8:24 p.m. Page 4 of 13 2025 Green Awards April 15, 2025 Page 5 of 13 Residential Yard Design: Christina and Michael Collins • Designed by: Mariani Landscape • Added native varietals along the driveway and in a small memorial garden • Increased sightings of predators including regular visitations by a Cooper's Hawk, a pair of Great Horned Owls, and a young Red Fox • Removed sod in the back half of yard to add a native plant area designed to provide critters and birds with shelter and native food sources throughout the year • Installation of water source planned Page 6 of 13 Page 7 of 13 Sustainable Residential Design: Erik Kaplan Designed and built by: Mark Golan, Architect and E.D. General Contractors Construction Group New construction features: - Fully hydronic heating system with high efficiency boilers, including DHW heating - Multiple heat pumps for heating and cooling - Fully spray foamed envelope - Led lighting throughout - Electric induction stove - Custom kitchen table made from an old tree removed from the property - Smart controls to automatically dim light when not needed and motion activation when needed inside and out - Smart shade system with insulated shades programmed to follow the sun - Dual EV charging stations - Smart heated driveway and walkway to reduce the use of deicing chemicals. - Community free little library utilized by the public with locking dog treat dispenser - Smart irrigation system - Native plant garden area - Onsite underground rainwater detention system Page 8 of 13 Page 9 of 13 Sustainable Non-Residential Project: April Potterfield • The Backyard Flower Lab is a space devoted to the growing of an abundance of flowers, which are given away to deserving organizations and individuals • Provides habitat restoration for a myriad of wildlife, including pollinators • Produce, including peaches, pears, plums, and apples, is donated to local food pantries in Evanston • Hosts field trips from local schools to educate children on sustainable gardening and growing flowers • Created a community of volunteers to help with the flowers and food harvest and delivery Page 10 of 13 Page 11 of 13 Page 12 of 13 Congratulations to the 2025 Green Award Winners Winnetka thanks you for your sustainable investments in the community! 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