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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-11-20 PACKET 04.A.i.REQUEST OF CITY COUNCIL ACTION COUNCIL AGENDA MEETING ITEM # • DATE 11 /20/2013 ♦ • • PREPARED BY: Community Development Jennifer Levitt ORIGINATING DEPARTMENT DEPARTMENT HEAD ***�**�*************�*********************����** COUNCIL ACTION REQUEST Consider accepting and placing on file the May 8, 2013 and September 16, 2013 Environmental Commission Meeting Minutes. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Accept and place minutes on file. SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS ❑ MEMO/LETTER: ❑ RESOLUTION: ❑ ORDINANCE: ❑ ENGINEERING RECOMMENDATION: ❑ LEGAL RECOMMENDATION: � OTHER: Draft Meeting Minutes. ADMINISTRATORS COMMENTS: � � � -�� > r t� � Administrator Date �**********************************�*��********* Environmental Commission City of Cottage Grove - Wednesday, May 8, 2013 The Environmental Commission held a workshop at Cottage Grove City Hall, 12800 Ravine Parkway South, Cottage Grove, Minnesota, on May 8, 2013, in the Council Chambers. Attendees Members Present: Members Absent: Others Present: Call to Order Ryan Fleming, Rita Isker, Shauna Klug, Patrick Lynch, David Olson, Rosemary Palmer Karla Bigham, Thaddeus Owen Jennifer Levitt, City Engineer Derrick Lehrke, City Councilmember Acting Chair Olson opened the meeting at 7:00 p.m. Approval of Agenda Isker made a motion to approve the agenda. Palmer seconded. Motion passed unanimously (6-to-0 vote). Open Forum/Additional Agenda Items None New Business 5.1 Environmental Displav — Review and Comment Levitt summarized the memorandum and displayed the updated versions of the environmental banners. Staff is looking for additional feedback prior to authorizing the banners' production. Lynch suggested that the second bullet on the rain garden banner should be more in line with the second bullet on the rain barrel banner where it says "70 percent of pollutants come from stormwater runoff" and then say "rain gardens capture stormwater impounding the pollutants." That second bullet does not follow the line of cleaning up water; it just says we use less water on rain gardens. Olson agreed with the suggestion. Levitt stated that there has been some dis- cussion on the rain barrel banner, especially about the heading; it does not stay consistent with the trend on the other banners. There was a recommendation to change it to "Buy a rain barrel today; save money and lakes tomorrow." Lynch stated on the "sip today, slide tomorrow" banner, he does not like the waffling between water bottles and milk cartons. He suggested the second bullet should say "playground equipment made from recycled materials includes bench slats, slides, etc." and then "nationwide, millions of water bottles and milk cartons are de- posited in landfills." Fleming stated that the only comment that does not resonate with him is "start today, recycle more" and suggested "enriching tomorrow's youth by recycling today." Environmental Commission May 8, 2013 Minutes Page 2 of 5 Cevitt stated fhat staff had similar comrr►ents regarding ffiose stafements as fliey do not portray a strong enough message. Olson asked if the banners would be ready by the Strawberry Festival. Levitt responded that the final proof should be done by Monday and the banners would be into production by Memorial Day. She has also approved the proof for the display table skirt. 5.2 GreenStep Cities — Presentation bv Emilv Schmitz Schmitz summarized the staff memorandum regarding the GreenStep Cities Inventory. She reported that the City of Cottage Grove is a Step 2 City and displayed the GreenStep Cities' website to the Commission. She passed out information showing what the City needs to do to get to the next Step. Olson asked if there was anything the Commission could to do assist. Schmitz responded that she can provide ideas on how the City can continue to improve and about different policies. The Commission could also help communicate to the public. Olson asked how Council feels about this progress and if there is anything additional Council would like from the Commission. Lehrke stated that the GreenStep Cities has not been discussed since his tenure started, but it sounds like something the City would just implement. Levitt stated that Schmitz could come back in the fall to outline which benchmarks have been achieved, talk about which ones are most achievable, and develop a work plan for those goals. That work plan could then be shared with the Council for their endorsement toward the next step in the GreenSteps City cycle. The Commission concurred. Levitt also noted that following the presentation of the second step award, staff will be publicizing this achievement. It was asked if a banner could be created for the booth at Strawberry Fest. Levitt responded that Strawberry Fest is the weekend prior to the award ceremony. She suggested putting together an informational piece showing the First Step cities and the Second Step cities and how Cottage Grove compares. 5.3 Industrial Facilitv Summary Assessment Jesse Carlson, WSB, summarized the memorandum in the packet, which provides an over- view of the industrial permitting process to provide background on how it relates to the busi- nesses in Cottage Grove. Levitt asked how 3M's permit works because there are two benchmarks and they have six different sectors. Carlson responded all the different sectors they fall under have a list of parameters that need to be sampled for, and 3M's list of what they need to sample for is pretty large. He only listed the one they exceeded. Olson asked how the Commission would know if an industrial facility needed a permit. Carlson stated that Appendix D in the memo identifies sectors of industrial activities that are authorized and identifies all the different industrial facilities. There are different 29 sectors. Levitt noted that Appendix C has the MPCA's list of potentially unpermitted facilities, which are probably the ones Olson is interested in. Carlson stated that Appendix D identifies all the potential SIC codes. Olson stated that if they want help tracking them down, the Commission needs names and addresses. Carlson responded that part of the outreach effort is Appendix C. MPCA provided a list of potentially unpermitted facilities. Levitt asked if gas stations are exempt. Carlson stated that gas stations fall under a different category as their tanks have to be licensed but the gas stations themselves don't need indus- trial permits. Levitt stated that it seems counterintuitive that a business with a fueling station Environmental Commission May 8, 2013 Minutes Page 3 of 5 needs an industrial permit but gas stations do nof fall under that category. Carlson is not sure why gas stations don't have to have an industrial permit. MPCA told him that gas stations are designed with canopies over the fueling area and typically the fueling area is raised or con- structed in a way that water is not able to flow across that surFace so it can't mix with storm- water and discharge down the stream. Levitt stated that the group could look at the permitted list and figure out which businesses should be classified as an industrial facility and have to obtain this permit, such as Aggregate Industries, the tank farm, and transport hauler at the marshaling yards. Olson asked abouf municipalities. Carlson responded that because of the way the SIC code is written, cities are not required to have a permit except for wastewater treatment plants. Golf courses are also not required to have one. Olson asked if the City should do it anyway. Levitt stated that, as part of the MS4 permit, the City is meeting many of the regulations that are out- lined in this permit and we have our SWPPP on file. Carlson agreed. Palmer asked about areas that are being developed and graded, such as Walmart. Levitt responded that they have an NPDES permit for their site and a SWPPP on site, so it is being monitored. The City, as the local unit of government, is also inspecting the site to ensure they are in compliance with their NPDES permit and that the SWPPP is being adhered to. Any site over one acre of disturbance has an NPDES permit. She described the inspection process. Lynch asked if the permit process is in a constant cycle of modifying and sampling or is it a five-year permit that starts over again. Carlson responded that it is a five-year permit cycle. This industrial permit expires in 2015. In year five they would have to make modifications to their site, but the new permit will spell out the new requirements for facilities that did not meet the threshold and timeframe. The new permit typically is a little more stringent. Lynch asked if they expect another gap between permits. Carlson responded that is always possible. Olson asked if the City would have exposure from facilities that are illicitly discharging and what the penalties are. Carlson stated that there is no language in the current MS4 permit that specifically states that cities need to regulate industrial permittees, so currently there is no ex- posure. The new draft permit also does not have that language but it will require prioritizing, identifying, and tracking illicit discharges. Levitt stated that staff is bringing this to the Commis- sion because the City is interested in working to identify other businesses in the community as an incremental step because permit regulations may tighten in the future. Staff is looking for a recommendation from the Commission on whether this is a worthy goal to work towards. Palmer asked how the sampling is done and how the locations are selected. Carlson explained the process. He also discussed ways to search for sites that need to get an industrial permit. The Commission believes that outreach is necessary. There was a question about enforce- ment for those who don't apply for the industrial permit or don't comply. Carlson described the MPCA's enforcement policy, which includes escalating fines. Levitt stated this report was a starting point to make the Commission aware of the situation. She asked if the City should first send out educational material to inform businesses of the permitting process. Palmer expressed concern about possibly driving businesses out of the city. It was noted that the permitting system is statewide. Olson asked if it is the City's respon- sibility to determine if a business should have a permit. Levitt stated that the first step is to Environmental Commission May 8, 2013 Minutes Page 4 of 5 educate businesses about this issue. Olson asked if the Corrimission could receive a copy of the letter that is sent out to the businesses. Palmer asked what the timeframe is for businesses to make changes so they are within the limits. Carlson responded about a year to make changes. Palmer asked for an update on the businesses that are currently not in compliance. Lynch asked if this would help the City reach Step 3 in the GreenStep Cities Program. Schmitz will check to see if that is covered. 5.4 Strawberrv Festival — Environmental Commission Booth Discussion Levitt reported that the Environmental Commission will have a booth at the Strawberry Festival on Saturday, June 15, from at 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. It will be in a 10-foot by 10-foot tent with three sides that could be dropped if the weather is poor. Inside would be the three banners and an eight-foot table to hold items to give away including color books, wrist bands, recyclable bags, pencils, and hacky sacks. She asked if there are other handouts or pieces of information that the Commission wants to have available at the booth. Lynch suggested a handout on in- stalling rain gardens and how to apply for a grant to do so. He asked about offering rain barrels at a discounted price. Levitt stated that has been done in conjunction with Arbor Day and the Public Works Open House. She will send out an email asking for volunteers to staff the booth throughout that day. She stated that staff would set up and take down the display and asked that there be two Commissioners working each shift. Introductions Olson welcomed the two new members to the Environmental Commission, Ryan Fleming and Shauna Klug. They both provided background information on themselves. Levitt offered a proposed schedule for the next four meetings: the June meeting is the Straw- berry Fest event, the July meeting would be cancelled, The August meeting would be a tour, and in September it will be the joint meeting with other Environmental Commissions in Washington County. The Commission agreed with the proposed schedule. Approval of March 13, 2013 Environmental Commission Minutes Isker made a motion to approve the minutes of the March 13, 2013, Environmental Commis- sion meeting. Palmer seconded. Motion passed unanimously (6-to-0 vote). Reports Citv Council Update Lehrke stated that if any of the Commissioners have questions regarding anything on the City Council agendas, which are included in the packet, to call or email him or ask him questions at Commission meetings. He highlighted that there will be a bike park in the West Draw under the utility lines, which was started by an outside group who will do most of the maintenance. Olson asked that the Council agendas continue to be sent to the Commissioners during the hiatus in the meeting schedule. Response to Commission Inquiries None Environmental Commission May 8, 2013 Minutes Page 5 of 5 Environmental Commission Comments and Requests — — Isker asked where prescriptions drugs are being collected. Levitt responded that they can be dropped off at the Washington County South Service Center, 13000 Ravine Parkway. It was suggested that information on that program be included as a handout during Strawberry Fest. Palmer suggested providing a hand out encouraging people to take action on the topics noted on the banners, such as how to plant a rain garden, where to find rain barrels, and general re- cycling information. Adjourn Lynch made a motion to adjourn. Fleming seconded. The motion passed unanimously, and the meeting adjourned at 8:28 p.m. WASHINGTON COUNTY ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSIONS JOINT MEETING September 16, 2013 Meeting Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, a meeting was duly held at the Woodbiuy City Hall, 8301 Valley Creek Road, on the 16 day of September 2013. CALL TO ORDER Ms. Jennifer McLoughlin, Sustainability Specialist for the City of Woodbuiy called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. INTRODUCTIONS Following are the names of the individuals who attended the meeting: Cotta�e Grove Mahtomedi Oakdale Woodburv Shauna Klug Kevin McCalib AJ Moses Ken Scott Rosemary Palmer James Persoon Roger Splinter Ryan Fleming Mike Saarela Nanette Ewald Rita Isker Daniel Krier Jim Muehlbauer ICarla Bigham Jen Hassebroek Steve Kernik DerrickLehrke Caitlin Bergh Jennifer McLoughlin Jennifer Levitt Stephanie Wang COMMISSION O&A A. MAHTOMEDI Mr. Kevin McCalib stated that one highlight from the City of Mahtomedi in 2013 was that they received a grant from Washington County for multi-family recycling. Once they received the grant, they met with the five multi- family unit managers and were surprised to find out that they already do recycling. They now want to work on how to increase that recycling and asked for information on metrics available or how the City could measure the recycling from the multi-families down to unit levels. The only meh•ics they currently receive is from the haulers themselves; sometimes the hauler measurements are not always accurate or reliable for various reasons. Mr. McCalib continued by sharing that the City of Mahtomedi has a 98% recycling participation and one of the reasons for that is that they charge all of the residents on a city basis for recycling as part of theu contract. They have a single sn•eam hauler for recycling and that contract was just renewed for another five years. So eveiyone pays for it whether or not they use it. He also stated that he would like to know more about Styrofoam recycling; which he heard about at last year's joint meeting. Then• current recycling hauler does not talce Styrofoam and would like to know where that comes fi•om and where to go. 1Vfi•. AJ Moses from Oakdale replied that he was the one who brought up the Styrofoam recycling topic last year. Since that time he has visited the City of Coon Rapids and two private companies who do Styrofoam recycling; one of which is Warner's Stellian. However, Styrofoam recyclers do not take any soiled Styrofoam; i.e. cups or food containers, only packing Styrofoam. The reason is that the Styrofoam gets compressed by the machineiy and is shipped overseas where the appliances are manufactured and it gets re-established as light-weight Styrofoam and molded into new pacicing. He expressed his disappointment that the County was not in attendance as he would like to see them get excited about Styrofoam recycling. -1- WASHINGTON COUNTY ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSIONS JOINT MEETING September 16, 2013 Meeting Ms. Jen Hassebroek mentioned that the City could do some kind of purchasing policy and inform everyone that they would no longer purchase Styrofoam cups. A concern expressed is that compostable cups cost ten times the amount of Styrofoam cups. Another suggestion was to purchase paper cups rather than compostable or Styrofoam. Mr. McCalib was asked where the trash was hauled to. He replied that there are six haulers operating in the City; all operating on the same day; the recyclers go to Wayzata while some of the trash haulers take their trucks to the transfer station, some to Rosemount, and others to landfills. B. OAKDALE Ms. Jen Hassebroek gave a status update of the state solar rebate program and explained that this is important to them because they installed a solar system on their City Hall, which was finished last year. At that time, there were two Xcel Energy rebates available solar awards, and a Made in Minnesota rebate. They would not have been able to install the system without all of these rebates. Last fall, the City approved putting two more systems on the fire station but did not receive rebate funding in 2013. The rebate systems in the state are changing and Ms. Hassebroek listed the positive and negative points of these changes. Incentives being paid out over ten Negative: previous two were either years paid out immediately or over five years — increases the cost to the city Made-in-Minnesota rebate will have Negative: the city takes the risk and Positive: will encourage solar a varied incentive amount puts the investment out there and manufacturers to put out a better (production-based) then if the system does not produce product as anticipated for various reasons, the rebate amount changes, causing uncertainty in the fmancials Statute states: An owner of a solar Negative: locked in rate over the Positive: want to do a rebate that is photovoltaic [PVC] device receiving term of the 20 years structured around the total value of an alternative tariff rate under this that solar and not just the electrical section must bepaid the same rate value — but the envi�onmental value, per kilowatt-hour generated each security value, and the social value year for the term of the contract — they are recormnending a 20 year contract Discussion occuu�ed around how (if possible) to quantify the environmental value of a solar system. Additional information can be found on the Department of Commerce website. Mr. Jim Persoon shared infonnation on the Trillion BTU program, which is available through the St. Paul Poi�t Authority and funded by the Minnesota Department of Commerce and ARRA funds. It is available to all commercial and indusri•ial propei�ties in the Xcel Energy territory. The first part of this program is an energy audit and engineering study which would be done by Xcel. The estimated cost is between $500 and $3,000 and Xcel would cover 75°/o of that energy audit cost. The audit identi�es the project opportunities and the rebates that are potential for the property. The customer gets to choose if the suggested project opportunities are feasible and then they get to choose the project, scope, and the contractors that will save the eneigy. There is 100% financing available for the project at competitive rates. The loan repayment is structured to have an immediate positive cash flow based on estimated eneigy savings. -2- WASHINGTON COUNTY ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSIONS JOINT MEETING September 16, 2013 Meeting Ms. Stephanie Wang asked how the city is communicating this program. Ms. Hassebroek replied that it was shared in their newsletter, was presented to the Economic Development Commission, and some direct mail campaigns to the business owners themselves. Mr. Roger Splinter asked if there were any criteria stating that a business has to be a pai�ticular size or can an office environment do this as opposed to a manufacturing facility. Ms. Hassebroek relied that it is a very broad program. Ms. Jennifer McLoughlin asked if it was known what the difference is between this program, PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy), and the agreement that was done with the City of Eagan. Ms. Hassebroek replied that she is unsure how they structured the agreement with the City of Eagan. However, there are not a lot of differences; it's just that the city is not involved at all. Additional discussion occurred around the agreement with the City of Eagan, other questions regarding the Trillion BTU program, and whether or not the cities have or could get a listing of their largest energy users. C. WOODBURY Ms. Stephanie Wang asked the others present how they expand the reach of what they do to actually get things done — businesses, schools, neighbors, churches, etc. She mentioned that the City of Woodbury sends out a survey and she was surprised at the number of responses received. • Do a smaller scale project; consistent programs • Cottage Grove had a booth set up at the Sn•awberiy Festival where they shared brochures and information on what the commission was doing • Cottage Grove Public Works has an open house • Public access television • Facebook connection • Twitter connection • Woodbur�� Bulletin, newspapers • Website Ms. Caitlin Bergh asked if anyone has seen any negatives in the use of social media. It was noted that there have been some posts that had to be taken down, inadvertently started a dialog that the community watched (lesson learned), and take into consideration that it is not community exclusive. (continued) • Talk to neighbors and fellow citizens — get the community involved • Host a neighborhood discussion and get input on different projects Ms. Karla Bigham asked if any of the cities have hosted an environmental commission specific open house. Mr. McCalib replied that they have a Rite of Spring Annual Event and that the envu�onmental commission is the lead in that. (continued) • Home Improvement Fair where the commission has a table or booth • Booth at the Business Expo • National Nite Out information pacicet — provide recyclables • Reach out to social clubs, churches, business affiliates, scouts — commissioner speaker Ms. Wang asked the participants what project or activity then• commission is excited about. • Woodbury — GreenStep Cities Program (solid waste recycling, environmental purchasing, green streets) • Water conservation — rain barrels, rain gardens, getting people to want to conserve water -3- WASHINGTON COUNTY ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSIONS JOINT MEETING September 16, 2013 Meeting • South Washington County Watershed District is a resource to share with citizens as they will help design and supplement the cost of developing a rain garden; Washington County Master Gardener Program; University of Minnesota Master Gardener Website Mr. Splinter stated that there is a perception that a city has to have two things in order to look nice — green grass and black asphalt driveways — and asked if anyone has made any headway on convincing people that this perception is not necessarily the best. • The used coal tar issue should take care of itself because of a state-wide ban in 2014. There are other driveway sealants that are acceptable. • No headway made on the grass or the watering thereof. However, more and more lawns have some native plantings or rain gardens. • Education is key and it takes patience — iYs alright and normal to let grass go dormant in the hot summer months • Educate councils and staff that an irrigation system on a commercial property does not have to be a requirement. Discussions occurred regarding automatic sprinklers, rain sensors, and issuance of a sprinkler permit being a good educational contact point. D. COTTAGE GROVE Ms. Jen Levitt shared a public service announcement on Get Caught Recycling Program in their middle school. The school's resource officer `catches' the student recycling and gives them a gift card to a local business (i.e. Jimmy John's, Starbucks) — creates a positive relationship between the student and the officer. Their next step is to get the high school engaged in the same type of program; has to find principals who are willing to sponsor. ADJOURN The meeting was adjourned at 7:53 p.m. �