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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSCMinutes_2015_03_25Sustainability Council March 25, 2015 A meeting of the Sustainability Council was held on Wednesday, March 25, 2015 at 3:00 pm at Brookings City & County Government Center with the following members present: Trisha Jackson, Norma Nusz Chandler, Bob McGrath, Holly Tilton Byrne, Jane Hegland, Mike Lockrem, Betty Beer and Alvaro Garcia. Absent: Ben Kleinjan, Stephanie Aure and Paul Peterson. Others present included: Shari Thornes and Laurie Carruthers. Chair Jackson called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m. A motion was made by Beer, seconded by Nusz Chandler to approve the amended agenda with the addition of an urban agriculture scan discussion. All present voted yes; motion carried. A motion was made by Beer, seconded by McGrath, to approve the amended February 11, 2015 minutes. All present voted yes; motion carried. Schedule next meeting. April 29, 2015 at 3:00 pm. Updates/Final Reports: Summer Student Intern Program. Beer reported the Oberlin application deadline has been extended to May 1. Hegland explained the SDSU College of Education & Human Sciences has offered a $5,000 scholarship for a summer intern, and there could be a possibility of long term collaboration between the college and city. Applications are due on April 15th. Location of the intern(s) is still being determined, possibilities include: SDSU Communications Center, Wagner Hall and the Administration Suite of the Government Center. April 18th – GreenFest at Habitat ReStore Booth. Nusz Chandler will be covering the 10:00 am – 12:00 pm shift; McGrath and Lockrem will be covering the 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm shift. Lockrem will bring the ice cream and supplies at 12:00 pm. Still need a volunteer to cover the 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm shift or will need to cancel the booth for the event. Brookings Benchmarks Indicator Project 2015 Action Plan. Jackson wanted to focus on outreach and presentations. Nusz Chandler, Kleinjan, McGrath and Tilton Byrne have been active presenters of the project. The Council collaborated on other avenues to pursue for outreach including presentations to the public at the Library or Wooden Legs Brewery, Farmer’s Market, surveys and city departments. Tilton Byrne will contact Wooden Legs to see if trivia night would be a possibility. Strategic Planning Session. The Sustainability Council needs to focus on our purpose, vision and interaction with the City Council and revisit the charter. The planning session will be one entire day. Thornes, Jackson and Carruthers will develop a narrative and work with the potential facilitator. Urban Ag Scan. Thornes provided an overview of an opportunity to participate in a funded project through the Heartland Sustainability Coordinator’s Network. Our role would be to provide a summary of current practices. The network will gather all the information and configure a plan for each community and report back to us. Legislative Updates. Tilton Byrne updated the status of the Methodology Bill (HB 1232). The bill was moved to the 41st day of legislature. There are only 40 days of legislature. The bill was supported by a strong backing, and the hope is to bring it back in 2016. Adjourn. A motion was made by Nusz Chandler, seconded by Lockrem, to adjourn. All present voted yes; motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 4:07 p.m. Submitted by Laurie Carruthers.