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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes M I N U T E S Energy & Environmental Advisory Board Monday, March 10, 2008- 4:00 p.m. City Hall, Room 406 The Monday, March 10, 2008, Energy & Environmental Advisory Board was called to order by Chair Dani Stolley. Members present included: Steve Barney, Ronald Hardy, Robert Poeschl, Jessica King, Margy Davey and Justin Mitchell. Also present were Purchasing Agent Don LaFontaine and Media Services Director Jon Urben. Call to Order, First Item: No public comment. Call to Order, Second Item: Acting City Attorney Lynn Lorenson provided a brief overview of parliamentary procedures including board roles and responsibilities. Ms. Lorenson reviewed Section 2-42 of Oshkosh Municipal Code which defines Energy & Environmental Advisory Board’s scope and responsibilities for the City of Oshkosh. She also highlighted Section 2-36 of the Oshkosh Municipal Code defining general provisions for any City of Oshkosh board or commission. Ms. Lorenson noted that City of Oshkosh board and commission meetings follow Roberts’ Rules of Order protocol. She also noted that a majority of membership present and voting will pass a measure. All regular meetings or subcommittee meetings must be publicly held for all citizens to attend and must be noticed. Discussion of the Open Meetings Law followed on special considerations such as written correspondence, telephone conference calls, electronic communications and multiple meetings. To place items on the agenda, members must notify City staff (Don) at least 24 hours in advance. Ms. Lorenson also presented and reviewed materials from Section 19.59 of the Wisconsin Statutes regarding the Wisconsin Code of Ethics for local elected and appointed officials. She encouraged members to contact her with any questions on the materials she presented. Ms. Lorenson clarified that the City of Oshkosh has no specific set policy as to how agenda setting is determined, and in most cases this is left to each board or commission. Old Business, First Item: Approve February 11, 2008, minutes. Corrections: Mr. Mitchell noted the minutes (under new business) should be corrected to reflect that he was “to simply meet with Tony discuss possibilities for creating a website.” Mr. Barney noted the minutes (under old business) should be corrected to reflect correct website: www.uwosh.edu/earthcharter. It was motioned by King, seconded by Davey that the minutes be approved with the corrected items. Motion carried unanimously. Second Item: Advisory Board Roles, Responsibilities & Structure. Third Item: Identify 2-3 priority issues for the board. Discussion ensued as to why each individual board member was interested in sitting on the advisory board. “Water” issues emerged as a common theme, as did the need for more education and collaboration among and between public and private parties, including the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. It was agreed the first item of priority would be to establish a baseline process for measuring what the City is currently doing in the name of “energy and the environment.” In order to create a baseline, the board must gather information from each of the various city staffers. Stolley suggested holding a meeting to introduce the advisory board and it mission to City and County personnel. Once a baseline is established, then the board will set goals and objectives, and a means to measure the success of each individual initiative. It was agreed that the Board would like to follow the five milestones of the Council for Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) process. Fourth Item: ICLEI discussion. It was agreed that the board would delegate 1-2 members to conduct a teleconference with an ICLEI representative to provide an overview of the ICLEI initiatives and program. It was suggested by King that once the date and time was set for the teleconference, board members could email their questions for the ICLEI representative to address. Fifth Item: The Natural Step Process study circles update. King will establish online scheduler for setting times for this group to meet, and has invited a representative from the (UW) Oshkosh Student Association (OSA), a member of the UWO administration, and a representative from the Oshkosh Northwestern (or Gannett) to join in the process. Catherine Neiswender, UWEX, will facilitate the Natural Step Process study circles. New Business, First Item: Creation of subcommittees. Subcommittees will be established later once priorities have been set. Second Item: Update on Website. Mitchell suggested this item be tabled until a later date. Third Item: Establish procedure for adding potential Agenda items for future meeting consideration. It was suggested that any items for the agenda be sent to LaFontaine at least 10 days prior to meeting. LaFontaine will then forward such items to the chair for consideration. Requests to forward information via email from board members to the full board must a) be related to items on the upcoming agenda and b) be sent to LaFontaine who will forward such items for consideration to the chair. Fourth Item: Set regular meeting date. It was motioned by King, seconded by Hardy, that beginning in April, 2008, the Energy and Environmental Advisory Board will meet regularly on the first Monday of each month at 4 p.m. in Room 406. Motion carried unanimously. It was noted the next meeting date would be Monday, April 7, 2008. It was motioned by King, seconded by Davey that the meeting be adjourned at 5:51 p.m. Motion carried unanimously. Respectfully submitted, óÎÏöèËÛØÏ Secretary, Oshkosh Energy & Environmental Advisory Board cc Don LaFontaine, Purchasing Agent John Fitzpatrick, Acting City Manager