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Energy & Environment Advisory Board
Monday, October 6, 2008- 4:00 p.m.
City Hall, Room 406
The Monday, October 6, 2008, Energy & Environment Advisory Board was called to
order by Chair Dani Stolley.
Call to Order: Chair Stolley called the meeting to order and asked for roll call. Members
present included: Breest, Mitchell, Scalpone, Barney, Hardy, Poeschl, and Davey. Also
present were Purchasing Agent Don LaFontaine and Media Services Director Jon Urben.
Public Comment: Mike Lazatt from UW-Oshkosh spoke to their sustainability plan,
noting it took approximately one year for the plan to be developed. He noted they hoped
to hire a Director of Sustainability in the near future. He also encouraged the City to
keep moving forward in their sustainability initiatives.
OLD BUSINESS
Approve Au u.~ st 4, 2008 meeting minutes: It was motioned by Breest, seconded by
Davey that the minutes be approved as presented. Motion carried unanimously.
Website Development: Mitchell noted the City's IT department has about 30% of the E
& E pages up on the test site. He thanked Jason Kunkle from the IT department for his
continued assistance. He hopes to have more done in the next several weeks.
Earth Charter Summit Presentation: Chair Stolley encouraged the public to attend the
UW-Oshkosh Earth Charter Summit on October 13 at 5:30 p.m. at Reeve Memorial
Union.
Subcommittee Reports: Outreach & Education Committee Chair Mitchell referenced the
minutes of their September 9, 2008 Minutes including their website progress, an
environmental forum series, the Earth Charter Summit work and their appearance on
"Eye on Oshkosh" television program.
Municipal Committee Chair Hardy noted the group last met on September 14 and was
focused on the first of the five ICLEI milestones, gathering the baseline greenhouse
emissions inventory. He noted the group was seeking two interns from UW-Oshkosh to
gather and enter data into the ICLEI software. He noted that while the initial goal was to
hire the unpaid interns by mid September the timeframes have been delayed. He noted
the next committee meeting was October 22. Chair Stolley noted that UW-Oshkosh's
inventory process took interns the better part of a full academic year to complete their
inventory. It was noted the status of the interns would be addressed under New Business.
Mr. Barney requested that the committee explore an Energy Star purchasing resolution on
the next municipal subcommittee agenda.
Roles & Responsibilities: Chair Stolley then reviewed her October 3, 2008 memo
proposing the need for a comprehensive strategic plan for board. Chair Stolley then
requested that City Manager Mark Rohloff address the board. Rohloff indicated he
agreed with Chair Stolley's assessment that the E & E Board roles and responsibilities
could be intertwined with a formal comprehensive plan process. He noted perhaps the E
& E Board could benefit from studying the process used by UW-Oshkosh in the creation
of their sustainability plan. He noted that while Facilities Maintenance had been the staff
liaison for the E & E Board for the last several months, it has been his experience from
other communities that holistic sustainability planning and outreach efforts are best
accomplished by staff members with backgrounds in community development and
planning. As such, he announced that he has now assigned Planning staff as the E & E
Board staff liaisons to help the Board explore, create and implement a comprehensive
sustainability plan for both municipal and community efforts. He noted Planning staff
would coordinate both initial and ongoing planning with the E & E Board, including
timeframes, action plans and the internship greenhouse emissions inventory process. He
also noted that Planning staff would include other city departments in any such
sustainability issues or initiatives as they are impacted. Scalpone and Davey noted they
appreciated City Manager Rohloff s leadership for this comprehensive plan and look
forward to working with the Planning staff in the near future. Mitchell reiterated the
Common Council's request of the E & E Board that they further discuss and define their
roles and responsibilities. He suggested this item be placed on the November meeting
agenda, perhaps in conjunction with the comprehensive plan process.
NEW BUSINESS
Winnebago County Landfill Electronics Ban Request: LaFontaine forwarded a request
provided by Public Works Director David Patek on behalf of Winnebago County Solid
Waster Management Board that the City of Oshkosh support a ban of
computers/electronics at the Winnebago County Landfill. The E & E Board was asked to
make a recommendation to the Common Council on this item. After some discussion it
was motioned by Hardy, seconded by Breest that the E & E Board make a
recommendation to the Oshkosh Common Council that the City of Oshkosh support a
ban on electronics and computers in the Winnebago County Landfill provided that
residents are given other electronic/computer recycling disposal options that are publicly
accessible. Motion carried unanimously. LaFontaine noted he would forward this
recommendation to City Manager Rohloff. He also noted he would ask the Winnebago
County Solid Waste Management Board to provide answers to the options and
accessibility issues noted by the E & E Board.
Green Living Collection- Oshkosh Public Library: Davey noted the Library has a
collection of books and resources on a wide variety of "Green Living" issues.
November 3, 2008 Meeting Agenda New Business Items: It was noted the following
items should be added to the November meeting agenda:
^ Discuss setting a Council workshop on sustainability issues;
^ Discuss the ordinance change for the roles/responsibilities of the E & E Board;
^ Review Winnebago County Landfill Ban response materials;
Chair Stolley then confirmed the next regular meeting date would be November 3, 2008.
It was then motioned by Hardy, seconded by Davey that the board adjourns at 5:34 p.m.
Motion carried unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
~'avi. C~. ur~iev~
Secretary, Oshkosh Energy & Environment Advisory Board
cc Don LaFontaine, Purchasing Agent