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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSCMinutes_2017_03_08 Sustainability Council March 8, 2017 A meeting of the Sustainability Council was held on Wednesday, March 8, 2017 at 4:00 p.m. at Brookings City & County Government Center with the following members present: Holly Tilton Byrne (via phone), Norma Nusz Chandler, Ben Kleinjan, Nels Granholm, Mike Lockrem, Stephanie Aure, Paul Peterson, Bob McGrath, Jennifer McLaughlin, Betty Beer, and Jane Hegland. Riley Larson was absent. Others present: Shari Thornes and Bonnie Foster. Vice-Chair Nusz Chandler called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. Jennifer McLaughlin was welcomed to the council, filling Garcia’s vacancy. A motion was made by McGrath, seconded by Aure, to approve the agenda. All present voted yes; motion carried. A motion was made by Peterson, seconded by Aure, to approve the February 8, 2017 meeting minutes. All present voted yes; motion carried. 4:04 p.m. Lockrem arrived. Conservation Reserve Program – Transition Incentives Program (CRP-TIP) McGrath and Granholm attended a USDA-Farm Service Agency (FSA) meeting in February. The CRP-TIP program is set up to combine landowners with young farmers. Part of the presentation was given by Jessica Kruse, a young female farmer from Deuel County, who partnered with an older farmer with the CRP-TIP Program. The incentive of this program for land owners is extending their CRP contract for 2 years. However, the payment for the CRP does not greatly exceed the tax costs for the land (e.g. CRP payment of approx. $85/acre; tax costs of approx. $80/acre), so extending CRP contracts does not serve as a big incentive to land owners. Beer questioned if there would be any outreach connection with the Farmer’s Market. She also questioned if 2-3 people could be identified as interested in this program, if then a farmer could be located to partner with. McGrath sees this as a difficult task because land owners with CRP contracts are taking the land out of CRP due to prices. Tilton-Byrne suggested Jessica Kruse, who also sells beef at the Shell Gas Station and Farmer’s Market in Brookings, would be a good place to start. Nusz Chandler stated this is something to remember for the Local Foods Subcommittee. Updates / Reports: Committees Smart Energy: Wind Turbine Beer and Tilton Byrne will provide a plan at a later date. They will contact Sioux City and Dubuque staff for their pros and cons. Tilton Byrne would like to have examples of existing energy policies and perform an inventory to determine what the City of Brookings requires. Earth Day 2017. Earth Day will be held Saturday, April 22 at the Dakota Nature Park. The schedule will include introductory remarks on the City’s Sustainability Council, with presentations on pollinators and the Bee Box Group. Tilton Byrne stated the subcommittee will be meeting one more time prior to the event. Beer is working with Pollinator Gardens, Inc., which will install pollinator gardens on private property for a fee. Beer shared a brochure with the council. Thornes stated advertising has started for Earth Day, and they are partnering with the Landfill Spring Clean-Up Project for funding. Green Building Policy Nusz Chandler advised the draft plan is currently being reviewed by City building officials. Additional reviews will include the City Attorney, City Manager and architects. The Sustainability Council will do a final review before submitting to the City Council. The next subcommittee meeting is March 22. Pollinator Initiatives Tilton Byrne is working with the Parks & Recreation Department, US Fish & Wildlife Service and Dakota Rural Action on signage for the pollinator plots, focusing on cohesive signage for public or residential locations. The goal is to have signage created by Earth Day to help promote the Dakota Nature Park and Pioneer Park Log Cabin locations. Tilton Byrne will be speaking to the Optimist Club on March 28th regarding the pollinator plots. Local Food Promotion Tilton Byrne is talking to Farmer’s Market representatives about their involvement in the Earth Day event. Thornes will be meeting with Kirsten Gjesdal to review amenities being added this spring from the Farmer’s Market Kickstart Grant and the benches being built with that funding for the promotion of local foods. Thornes will also be visiting with local restaurants and the Chamber/CVB to help with promotion. Storm Water Thornes met with City Engineer Jackie Lanning to review the Council’s proposed 2017 work plan pertaining to storm water. Lanning is interested in the permeable pavement project and will serve on the subcommittee. Nusz Chandler mentioned an SDSU architecture student who is working on the passive house near the Lutheran Church and the possible use of permeable pavement for the driveway. Bowes Construction has a permeable pavement product. Beer questioned the maintenance of these products over time. Nusz Chandler clarified they are supposed to be self-sustaining. Peterson questioned if freezing was detrimental to the permeable concrete. The consensus was to find a project and see how it stands up to weather and time. Thornes commented she knew of a residential block in Davenport, IA who has used this product and will see if she can find some data to share. Nusz Chandler advised that Chicago has done some permeable alleys. Green Drinks There was a great turnout for Mark Cochrane presentation on February 23 on localized effects of climate change. Tilton Byrne said more people are starting to hear about Green Drinks. She suggested creating a poster listing all 2017 speakers and topics. Nusz Chandler noted the importance of having the articles ready at least one month prior to the presentation. Thornes reviewed the scheduled speakers: March 30 – Tim Hansen, Energy; April 27 – Dr. Jon Lundgren, Blue Dasher Farms, promote regenerative farming practices; May 25 – Jessica Garcia Fritz, Historic Preservation; June 29 – Dan McColley, Habitat for Humanity; July and August – no talks; September – open; October 26 – Brett Owens, Local Foods Education Center; November and December – no talks; January 25, 2018 – Reinaldo Tonkoski, Microgrid Project and Solar Energy. Suggestions given for the September spot were Noelle Pilowski or Kirsten Gjesdal with the Farmers Market, or a speaker on Empty Bowls event, or Heifer International Project. Tilton Byrne has spoken with Seth Koch at Wooden Legs about utilizing their recording equipment. This would increase the number of people able to listen to the talks and benefit from the information being shared. Executive Committee Report Tilton Byrne, Nusz Chandler and Thornes met with City Manager Jeff Weldon and reviewed the goals set by the Council. Nusz Chandler asked for all subcommittees to meet prior to the next Sustainability Council meeting and to identify a chairperson. Nusz Chandler is looking for volunteers to serve on the Public Education Committee. The primary responsibility will be social media (posting, and monitoring). Volunteers from other partner organizations could assist in providing content. Lockrem stated Carissa, SDSU social media staff member, could help with training and serve as a resource. He stated SnapChat would be a good tool to use and is very popular on campus. McLaughlin asked that the adopted plan be resent to the Council. Thornes will send out. Liaisons: Affordable Housing Task Force Lockrem advised the meetings are continuing with much discussion. A Housing Trust Meeting is scheduled for April 19-20. The next AHTS meeting is Thursday at 1:00 p.m. with a speaker from Rapid City. Brookings Bicycle Advisory Committee Lockrem shared the Bike Master Plan was adopted by the City Council on February 28. The next steps moving forward will be education and awareness. The BBAC will adopt goals for 2017 in areas programming, policies, enforcement, encouragement, and education. Comp Master Plan Steering Committee The Brookings City Council will hold a special joint meeting with the Planning Commission on March 13 with RDG providing an overview of the process. The subcommittee will meet on Monday to discuss the citizen engagement process. Thornes will email out RDG’s proposed schedule. There is an Open House scheduled for April 18th and she encouraged all members to attend. Questions which need to be addressed are: how will the stakeholder input process be handled, when will the Sustainability Council have an opportunity to provide comment, etc. Big Sioux River Board (BSRB) Granholm attended the Friends of the Big Sioux River Board meeting in February. The Big Sioux River dam by Baltic, which has become defunct and is threatening nearby lagoons, will be removed in March at a cost of $23,000. The SD Legislative bill for perpetual conservation easements was never introduced. However, the Riparian Bill did pass. This bill offers property tax breaks for land turned into buffer strips of vegetation to help trap fertilizer, pesticides, and sediment before they reach the water. This would be a voluntary program. The Big Sioux River Watershed Project with the Moody Co. Conservation District is creating projects for Seasonal Riparian Area Management (SRAM) identifying areas to have no cattle at times, cannot mow grass at times, and farmers would receive a payment/acre incentive. This has had some success, with the de-listing of Skunk Creek for sediment, but not for its e-coli or nitrogen levels. Comments were made of the possibility to use this model to clean up Medary Creek and other Big Sioux Tributaries, as well as Six Mile Creek. Peterson asked at what point do the payments stop, or would they be continuous? Granholm did not know, but thought there could be ways to subsidize this with convincing farmers it is in their best interest to give up productivity. The FBSR has several PSAs planned for 2017: MIDCO, Oceans Day, River Fest, Water Conference, World Soils Day, etc. as well as one on the late Sioux Falls City Planner, Steve Metley, and Rick Nobe regarding the restoration of the Big Sioux River in and around Sioux Falls. Granholm shared a handout with the Council on climate change and Exxon Mobil. Kleinjan left meeting at 4:44 pm. Legislative Updates Tilton Byrne shared that the buffer bill was not heard. The bill requiring planting of native grasses along certain rest stops and road ways owned by the state died. Tilton Byrne left meeting at 4:46 pm. Announcements/Correspondence/Communications/Calendar  3/14 Consultant presentation to the City Council on the Comprehensive Master Plan  3/28 Pollinator Presentation, Optimist Club, Tilton Byrne  4/12 Sustainability Council Meeting, 4 pm  4/19-20 Affordable Housing Trust Meeting  4/22 Earth Day  5/4 Volunteer Appreciation Event, McCrory Gardens Visitor Center  5:00-7:00 pm Adjourn A motion was made by Peterson, seconded by Granholm, to adjourn at 5:14 p.m. Submitted by Bonnie Foster