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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09.8.2022 MinutesCITY OF OSHKOSH SUSTAINABILITY ADVISORY BOARD Minutes July 18th, 2022 PRESENT: Eric Degroot, Pat Dwyer Hallquist, Lisa Marone, Vic Oliver, Ken Osmond, Bob Poeschl, Bradley Spanbauer, Aaron Wojciechowski, Margy Davey EXCUSED: ABSENT: STAFF AND OTHERS: Brandon Nielsen (Staff Liaison), Staff (Oshkosh Media), I. Call to Order Chair Margy Davey called the meeting to order at 6:00pm and a quorum was declared present. II. Public Comment Chair Davey asked if there were public comments. No public comments occurred III. Approval of Minutes, July 18th, 2022 Ms. Dwyer Hallquist motioned to approve the minutes. Mr. Spanbauer seconded the motion. The board approved the July 18th minutes 9-0 (Hallquist / Spanbauer). IV. Election of Officers A new Vice-Chair was needed to be elected as the prior elected Vice-Chair had left the board. Ms. Davey asked if there were any nominations for the Vice-Chair position. Mr. Poeschl nominated Mr. Spanbauer and Ms. Oliver nominated Ms. Marone. There were no further nominations. Each nominee explained why they would be interested and honored to serve as Vice-Chair. Mr. Spanbauer offered to concede his nomination and the board was okay with that. Ms. Marone was voted anonymously to be Vice-Chairperson. V. No Mow May Report – Discussion Mr. Nielsen went through the report, highlighting certain items and data points and then opened the table for discussion of the report. Mr. Poeschl stated his opinion of the report and would like SAB to have the ability to add their input to a report in the coming years. Mr. Nielsen explained that the data used in the report is from the software system that is in place and used to track permits, inspections, projects, and code enforcement cases. The board agreed that earlier education and notification about what no mow may accomplishes would be helpful, along with an email reminder to all registered participants informing them that once the month of May is complete it is time to mow their lawns. A potential mailer for next year was also discussed. VI. Weed Cutting and Lawn Care Ordinance (Native Plants) – Discussion / Action Mr. Nielsen explained that the ordinance in front of the board is the final draft and had been reviewed by all necessary departments. He proceeded to go through the document explaining certain items that were new to the board. Ms. Hallquist asked for clarification on native grasses and if those are exempt from this ordinance or not. Mr. Nielsen explained that if grasses, native or not, are planted in a traditional fashion this ordinance does not apply. Mr. Poeschl motioned to accept the ordinance. Mr. Osmond seconded the motion. The board approved the Weed Cutting and Lawn Care ordinance 9-0 (Poeschl / Osmond). VII. Sustainability Manager Position – Discussion Mr. Davey explained that the document in front of the board (job description) was put together by Mr. Osmond of the board and that what it entails may not be exactly what is potentially created and approved by the common council. She further explained that it is more of a proposal to give council an idea of what the job could accomplish if approved. Mr. Osmond shared his logic in the creation of the job description, along with the “Success Scoreboard.” Mr. Wojciechowski shared that typically when council reviews budget requests for new positions they are not accompanied by a position description so he believes this document helps to solidify the support of this position. Ms. Davey stated that she believes a position such as this could really help the City of Oshkosh dive in to all of the federal funding that was recently approved. The board discussed details within the job description and potential changes that could be made and Mr. Wojciechowski said that he thinks the board should work on a letter of recommendation, signed by all members of the board, to accompany the job description as he believes this will greatly help his arguments during the budget meetings. Mr. Osmond motioned to recommend creation of a Sustainability Manager/Director position. Mr. Poeschl seconded the motion. The board approved a recommendation to create a Sustainability Manager/Director position 9-0 (Osmond/Poeschl). VIII. Agenda Items for Future Meeting i. Review Spring 2022 student report ii. Native Plant Brochure iii. Environmental Leadership Award iv. 2023 SAB Calendar IX. Next Meeting, Monday, October 3rd, 2022 X. Adjournment The board voted 9-0 to adjourn (Osmond/Poeschl) Recorded by: Brandon Nielsen, Assistant Planner