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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes CITY OF OSHKOSH SUSTAINABILITY ADVISORY BOARD Minutes August 6,2018 PRESENT: Margy Davey, Michelle Bogden Muetzel, Lurton Blassingame, Pat Dwyer Hallquist,Vic Oliver, Adam Maslowski,Jake Krause, Robert Turner EXCUSED: Jason Kalmbach ABSENT: None STAFF AND OTHERS: Steven Wiley, Scott Williams (Oshkosh Media), Tom Ekvall,Alicia Alsberg I. Call to Order Chair Margy Davey called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm and a quorum was declared present. II. Oshkosh Civility Project-Information Chair Davey mentioned that August was Civility Month and she gave a brief overview of the Oshkosh Civility Project. Chair Davey provided some materials on the Oshkosh Civility Project and mentioned the Facebook page on the project as a source for more information. III. Public Comment Chair Davey asked if there were public comments. Alicia Alsberg explained that she was working on a project to reduce the use of plastic silverware. She stated that oftentimes students are provided with plastic silverware whether they need each utensil or not. She asked the SAB if she could get support from the board to pursue an initiative. Chair Davey stated that the board could support the initiative and asked Ms. Alsberg if she could get the contact information for the person in charge of the lunch program at the schools. Ms. Alsberg stated that she had been in touch with a person at Traeger. IV. Approval of Minutes,July 2,2018 Chair Davey asked if any Board members had any revisions to the May meeting minutes. No board members had any comments so the board approved the minutes as written (Blassingame/Turner). V.UW-Oshkosh Environmental Studies Projects -Update Mr. Wiley explained the Chair Davey and he had met with Professor Jim Feldman of UW-Oshkosh on July 17th at City Hall to discuss fall 2018 collaboration. Mr. Wiley explained that the students from the previous spring had laid the groundwork for the Green Infrastructure Audit and that the next step would be for the students to start examining city ordinances and determine where the ordinances could improve to allow green infrastructure in the city. Mr. Wiley stated that he would meet with Professor Feldman on Thursday, August 91h and further discuss the Audit. He explained that he and Chair Davey would meet the students sometime in September and give them the charge for the semester. Chair Davey mentioned that she and Mr. Wiley had provided a copy of the Audit tool, Comprehensive Plan and Imagine Oshkosh Plan to Professor Feldman for him to use during preparation for the semester. VI. Environmental Leadership Award -Update Mr. Wiley explained that previously he had sent the draft award proposal to the City Manager so the City Manager could include the proposal in a weekly Council packet for input from Council members. Mr. Wiley explained that the City Manager had not received any input from Council members. The City Manager had given the approval to proceed and had asked the SAB to have its Council liaison make an announcement regarding the awards at an upcoming Council meeting. Mr. Wiley explained that the City Manager envisioned the awards as being similar to the Landmarks Commission's Acanthus Awards and that the SAB could present the awards at a Council meeting. Chair Davey explained that she and Mr. Wiley had revised the timeline for the awards and that the SAB could present the first awards in February 2019. VII. Terrace Tree Proposal-Update Mr. Wiley stated that he had followed up with Community Development Director Allen Davis and Mr. Davis had directed him to flesh out the policy's substance. The memo that previously came to the SAB was a draft proposal to create a policy. Mr. Davis wanted to have more analysis on the policy and understand the fiscal impact better. Mr. Wiley explained that he was following up with City Forester Bill Sturm on this and that he would submit the revised memo to Mr. Davis. VIII. 2018 Oshkosh Farmers Market-Update Chair Davey asked Mr. Turner how the previous Farmers Market went. Mr. Turner stated that it had gone well but that the SAB had a small presence. His attention-getting device worked well in his experience but he suggested that perhaps a more prominent sign or an elevator pitch could work well to get people engaged more. Ms. Dwyer Hallquist suggested interactive activities. Mr. Turner stated that the SAB booth could benefit more from more table space. Ms. Bogden Muetzel stated that the SAB needed a takeaway or something for people to do after leaving the booth. Chair Davey suggested an exhibit involving straws. Ms. Oliver volunteered to create a jar of straws as an exhibit for the booth. IX. Vehicle Idling Proposal-Vic Oliver-Discussion/Action Chair Davey asked Ms. Oliver for an update on the idling proposal. Ms. Oliver explained that she had drafted a letter for the school district to send to parents regarding the issues posed by vehicle idling in school zones. She explained that the SAB had obtained the necessary approvals from the City Manager and a cover letter to submit to the school district with the idling letter she had drafted. She stated that she had sent the letter to the school district the previous Friday afternoon. The letter would then go out in the welcome packet parents receive at the start of the school year. Mr. Krause asked Ms. Oliver if any other school districts did an idling education effort like Oshkosh. Ms. Oliver stated that some universities had but no local school districts. X. Menominee Shoreland Restoration-Update Ms. Bogden Muetzel explained that the Menominee Shoreland Restoration was going well,but that volunteers were starting to see more weeds. She stated that some plantings were doing well and that some had not come back. She explained that the volunteers had observed six species of butterflies and had taken pictures. Her goal was to work more on the trail during the upcoming month. She mentioned that an upcoming volunteer day would occur on Wednesday,August 15th from 3-6 pm. Additional workdays would occur on Saturday,August 25th from 9 am-noon and on September 121h. XI. September 6 Sustainable Communities Network (SCN) Meeting-Update Mr. Wiley explained that Oshkosh would host the Sustainable Communities Network's next quarterly meeting. Wiley stated that he was asked to present on some of Oshkosh's initiatives and he would focus primarily on the Green Infrastructure Audit and UWO collaboration. Mr. Wiley explained that East Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission helped spearhead the SCN and that the SCN consisted mostly of Fox Valley communities and some private sector members such as Evergreen Credit Union and Thedacare. Mr. Wiley stated that he would follow up with the SAB on the meeting time and location. XII. Agenda Items for Next Meeting Mr. Blassingame mentioned that he would look forward to Chair Davey's report on plastics and straws. Mr. Wiley explained that the next formal SAB meeting was planned for Monday, October 1St since the September meeting date fell on Labor Day. Chair Davey explained that a Doodle poll had gone out to the SAB to ask about potential dates for a workshop in September to continue work on the Sustainability Plan. Mr. Wiley stated that the City Attorneys were tentatively scheduled to come in and give a presentation on Robert's Rules, procedural considerations and other items pertaining to the board as a public body. Other ongoing items would be included on the agenda. XIII.Adjourn The board voted 8-0 to adjourn at 6:34 pm (Blassingame/Bogden Muetzel). Recorded by: Steven Wiley,Assistant Planner