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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes CITY OF OSHKOSH SUSTAINABILITY ADVISORY BOARD Minutes March 4,2019 PRESENT: Margy Davey, Pat Dwyer Hallquist,Vic Oliver,Jason Kalmbach, Lurton Blassingame EXCUSED: Michelle Bogden Muetzel, Adam Maslowski, Robert Turner,Jake Krause ABSENT: None STAFF AND OTHERS: Steven Wiley, Scott Williams (Oshkosh Media), Lynnsey Erickson (Winnebago County Health Dept.), Casey Hicks (Wisconsin Conservation Voters),Jelissa Burns (UW- Oshkosh) I. Call to Order Chair Margy Davey called the meeting to order at 6:01 pm 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,February 41h,2019 Chair Davey asked if any board members had any revisions to the minutes. No members had revisions so the board approved the minutes 5-0. (Blassingame/Kalmbach) IV. Wisconsin Conservation Voters Lobby Day-Casey Hicks Casey Hicks, Northeast Organizer from the Wisconsin Conservation Voters spoke regarding the Conservation Lobby Day on March 271h. He stated that a group would travel to Madison to talk to state legislators regarding issues of conservation. He stated that his organization and partner organizations worked to engage voters to protect the environment. His group was non-partisan and worked with legislators, activists, and volunteers on both sides of the aisle. He stated that his aim was to promote good environmental policy. His group provided help through legislative efforts at the state level and resolutions and ordinances at the local level. He mentioned that a number of recent bills had passed with his organization's efforts. Areas of focus included protection of drinking water,encouraging communities to invest in renewables, and contamination. He stated that clean energy and potential job creation was a major issue for his organization. His group was also looking at public lands and addressing them with legislators. The Knowles Nelson Stewardship program was a major source of funding for much work involving public lands. Mr. Hicks mentioned the low interest, forgivable loans available at the local level for removing lead pipes. He stated that his group addresses various issues at all levels. He asked the SAB members to consider participating in Conservation Lobby Day and mentioned that there would be multiple keynote speakers for various topics. He stated that to register, SAB members could go to conservationvoters.org and use the "Events' link. The board thanked Mr. Hicks and he left at this point. V. Urban Beekeeping and Chickenkeeping Ordinances -Discussion/Action Chair Davey asked Mr. Wiley to share with the board what revisions staff was proposing for the ordinances. Mr. Wiley explained the revisions and that the ordinances were changed to make them more intuitive and easier to read. Each of the two ordinances would become its own section. Staff had expanded upon the purpose and definitions for each ordinance. Staff had also expanded upon the standards of practice for each ordinance and clarified elements of the standards of practice. Emphasis was placed for example on sanitation for chickenkeeping. Some requirements of the previous ordinance, such as the flyway barrier for bees were relaxed. The maximum dimensional size for hives was changed to a maximum volume requirement to permit top bar hives which were supposed to be more sustainable. The notification and consent requirements were removed and a single streamlined process for permit approval would occur for bee and chickenkeeping. Staff would review an application, and if the applicant met all standards prescribed in the ordinance, staff would issue a permit. If not, staff would deny the permit. The ordinance drafts contained provisions for applicants to appeal permit denials. There was also a revocation provision that laid out the methods by which permits would be revoked. Staff would be tasked with enforcement primarily on a complaint basis. Ms. Oliver mentioned the wording"African honey bee' in the Definition section of the beekeeping ordinance and contrasted it with the wording"Africanized honey bees" in the Prohibitions section of the ordinance. She asked Mr. Wiley to ensure consistent wording for both sections. SAB members asked if the City could create a database on which property owners had bees to inform potential new property owners who might be interested. Mr. Wiley stated that the City did have permit information but not currently a publically-accessible database. He said that staff would have to discuss the database further. Discussion concluded and the board voted to recommend the ordinances with the word changes discussed 5-0 (Oliver/Blassingame). VI. Environmental Leadership Award -Update Mr. Wiley provided a brief update. He explained that the award nomination period had finished and that Rotary members wished to see the award presented at State of the City if possible. Mr. Wiley explained that a selection group of SAB and Rotary members had decided to approve Paul Fowler's nomination and award him posthumously for Environmental Leadership. Chair Davey stated that the selection group had not met physically but that they could in the future if necessary. She supported presenting at State of the City. VII. 2019 Oshkosh Farmers Market Handout-Update Ms. Oliver provided an update on the Farmers Market Handout. She explained that she had added an item on rain barrels. She asked how the handout would be printed. Chair Davey stated that the City could print the handout. Since the handout contained information on SAB meeting times and location, Mr. Kalmbach asked how many times the SAB had cancelled or moved a meeting in the last five years. Chair Davey stated that it had occurred a handful of times and usually staff would send out or post a notice regarding a cancellation. VIII. Social Media-Discussion/Action Ms. Oliver explained that since the February meeting, the City Manager had shifted the administration of all City Facebook pages to staff rather than board members. Mr. Wiley mentioned that staff had met and determined that for any staff-originated social media material, staff could post as it came up. For any board or board member-originated material, the staff liaisons would hold on to the material and propose it to the board at the next board meeting. If the board approved, staff would post the material. Ms. Oliver would still assist in originating Facebook material. She proposed picking a chapter from the Sustainability Plan and posting regarding the chapter. The board was supportive of this proposal. Chair Davey suggested clean water and Ms. Oliver agreed to examine and post on water. IX. Agenda Items for Future Meeting Chair Davey stated that she would include a guest speaker for a portion of the meeting. The speaker would talk on PAHs. The meeting would also include ongoing items such as 2019 SAB goals,updates on the Facebook page, updates on the bee and chicken ordinances, and the Menominee Shoreline Restoration project. X. Next Meeting, Monday,April 1,2019-City Hall Room 404 Chair Davey reminded the board of the next SAB meeting. XI. Adjourn The board voted 5-0 to adjourn at 6:54 pm (Oliver/Blassingame). Recorded by: Steven Wiley,Assistant Planner