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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutesMINUTES SUSTAINABILITY ADVISORY BOARD NOVEMBER 6, 2017 PRESENT: Margy Davey, Robert Turner, Lurton Blassingame, Pat Dwyer Hallquist, Jason Kalmbach EXCUSED: Tom Pech Jr., Ryan Hamann, Michelle Bogden Muetzel, Adam Maslowski STAFF: Steven Wiley (Assistant Planner) OTHERS PRESENT: Ken Friedman (Oshkosh Southwest Rotary), Art Rathjen (GO-EDC) CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 6:02 p.m. and a quorum was declared present. PUBLIC COMMENT Mr. Friedman introduced himself and spoke briefly on the Environmental Leadership Award. He stated that the next steps were to devote a couple hours towards determining the specifics of the award. Questions to address were whether it would be one award or several, what the criteria would be, and who to seek nominations from. Mr. Friedman asked for volunteers. Chair Davey asked what the timeline was on this. Mr. Friedman stated that he would see meeting after the first of the year and give the award(s) in spring. Chair Davey asked if this award originated from Mr. Friedman’s Rotary or all of them. Mr. Friedman stated that his Rotary proposed the award. Mr. Friedman explained that he was with the Southwest Rotary. Chair Davey explained that she was sure Mr. Friedman would see volunteers from the SAB step up in time. The SAB agreed to continue discussions with the Rotary on the award. Mr. Friedman emphasized that the award is not the Rotary Environmental Award but rather the City’s and SAB’s award with the Rotary there to help and support. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion by Mr. Blassingame and seconded by Mr. Turner to approve the October 2nd minutes as written. Motion carried 5-0. LAKESHORE MUNICIPAL GOLF COURSE – DISCUSSION / ACTION AS NECESSARY Mr. Rathjen of the Greater Oshkosh Economic Development Corporation introduced himself and mentioned the special Common Council meeting scheduled for November 8th as the drop dead date on the golf course issue. He stated that ideally the week of Thanksgiving the proposal would go to Oshkosh Corporation. He stated that currently, much of the discussions were conjecture. He was not certain how many sites Oshkosh Corporation was considering beyond the golf course. Chair Davey explained that City Manager Rohloff mentioned many sites and Mr. Rathjen stated that there were 19 in total within Oshkosh that were considered. Chair Davey emphasized that she wanted SAB included in the golf course discussion. Ms. Hallquist asked how quickly Oshkosh Corp would decide where they wanted to go. Mr. Rathjen said hopefully by the end of the year. Mr. Rathjen stated that if 80 acres of the course flipped then John Q. Public should be able to use the development. Chair Davey asked for clarification on development. Mr. Rathjen stated that he meant open space or park space. He stated that if the company will have access to the site within 2 years, the public should too. Chair Davey asked Mr. Rathjen if since he was with GO-EDC he was always for commercial development. Mr. Rathjen stated that yes he supported such development and could not deny the impact of Oshkosh Corporation but that development of the park infrastructure would still be necessary. He stated that plans still remain to be seen and that nothing was finalized. Chair Davey asked Mr. Rathjen how long he had been in Oshkosh and he replied 12 years. COMPLETE STREETS – UPDATE AND DISCUSSION Mr. Wiley gave the board an update on Complete Streets and explained that he had looked through the Pedestrian and Bicycle Circulation Plan, the Imagine Oshkosh Plan, the Vision Oshkosh Plan, and the Corridors Plan. Wiley explained that he found much overlap between Complete Streets and the plans. The plans address the same general problem and include strategic interventions to address conflict areas. Oshkosh plans recognize that different streets call for different designs similar to Complete Streets. Wiley explained that Complete Streets would really involve consolidating all of the recommendations listed in the various plans under one umbrella and that a Complete Streets policy could be seen as the next step towards implementing many of the street recommendations listed in the plans. Mr. Blassingame stated that he could imagine a Complete Streets approach taking the form of any step below an ordinance. He stated that an ordinance would be more difficult to obtain support for. LIVE GREEN – UPDATE Chair Davey provided an update on Live Green and stated that she and Mr. Wiley had met with the event coordinators from Silver Star who were in charge of planning the event. She explained that dates in May and June had been proposed but that the Convention Center had limited availability on those dates. She and Mr. Wiley were set to meet with Silver Star within the following couple of weeks and further discuss the event. Chair Davey informed the board that she had the idea of potentially hosting the event in March. UW OSHKOSH SENIOR SEMINAR COLLABORATION FOR FALL – UPDATE AND DISCUSSION Mr. Kalmbach stated that students from the senior seminar had spoken with him regarding vehicle idling. He mentioned that he gave the students some insight on the final presentation. Mr. Kalmbach explained that he had told the students of the requirement for Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval prior to conducting surveys regarding idling at schools. Mr. Wiley updated the board and explained that he had continued to communicate with the students. He told the board members that he had put the students in touch with additional stakeholders for input regarding their projects. Chair Davey and Mr. Wiley reminded the board that the students were set to give their presentations at the December 4th SAB meeting and that the Common Council would be invited as in the past. Chair Davey asked Mr. Wiley to inform Mr. Davis and Mr. Burich of the invitation for Council for December 4th so that they could include the event on their calendars. MENOMINEE SHORELAND RESTORATION - UPDATE Chair Davey provided an update on the Shoreland Restoration project in Ms. Bogden Muetzel’s stead. She stated that five people from different entities involved showed up for a meeting to further discuss the project. A chart with dates for events was created and Chair Davey stated that Ms. Bogden Muetzel had been very proactive with the whole project. The Friends of Menominee Shoreland were asked to attend the Advisory Parks Board meeting on November 14th at 6:00 pm. Discussion at the Parks Board meeting would address the potential of extending the project to 3 years. Chair Davey concluded discussion by asking anyone on the SAB who would be available to attend the meeting on November 14th. OSHKOSH SUSTAINABILITY PLAN UPDATE / TIMELINE - DISCUSSION Mr. Wiley provided an update to the board and explained the timeline he had drafted for the plan update. He explained that Chair Davey and he had included a public participation component because the plan update was not including a steering committee. In lieu of a steering committee it was determined that the SAB would work on the update and hold an open house to allow members of the public to provide input. Mr. Wiley stated that if any board members wanted revisions to the timeline he would incorporate them. AGENDA ITEMS FOR FUTURE MEETING Mr. Wiley and Chair Davey stated that the UW-Oshkosh Senior Seminar class would be on the next meeting’s agenda to present to SAB and the Common Council. The Shoreland Restoration and Environmental Leadership Award were to be included on the agenda. An introduction of a new SAB member was also to be included on the agenda as well. ADJOURN Motion by Mr. Turner and seconded by Mr. Blassingame to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 5-0. Meeting adjourned at 6:54 pm. Respectfully Submitted, Steven Wiley Assistant Planner