HomeMy WebLinkAboutSCMinutes_2021_04_14Sustainability Council meeting April 14, 2021
Present: Jennifer McLaughlin, Norma Nusz Chandler, Anna Barr, Betty L Beer, Robin
Buterbaugh, Stephanie Aure, Louis Hesler, Ben Vukovich, Emily Abele. City Staff: Jacob Meshke
& DJ Buthe. Community Members: Lawrence Novotny & Albert Patin
Absent Darcy Green, Brianna Kratz
Approval of Agenda. Motioned by Robin/second by Ben. Motion approved.
Approval of Minutes. Motioned by Louis/second by Robin. Motion approved.
Open Forum: We briefly discussed the Bill McKibben lecture sponsored by the World Affairs
Council. Here are some responses that our committee has made or could make with respect to
addressing Climate Emergency: EV Vehicles for City, Charging Stations, BMU Solar array, BMU
100% sustainability program for individuals to opt in.
We Welcome our newest member, Emily Abele!
Report from the City: Jacob introduced D.J. Buthe, our new Public Works Director, who will
supervise the Street Department, Solid Waste Department and Engineering. The Board of
Health has been eliminated because it overlapped with the Sustainability Council’s education
role especially about Solid Waste. It used to meet about once a year. The distinction was
made that Public Health, which involves health and safety inspection and disease tracking is not
a City function, rather a State function.
Other matters:
● Friday, April 16, at 3:15 there will be a ribbon cutting ceremony at Bob Sheldon field.
The park improvements include permeable pavement in the parking lot.
● Spring Clean-up is ongoing with crews out now. They will be done by next week, but
there will be free dumping at the landfill this month (with tires, refrigerators as
exceptions)
● Park and Rec will distribute its first ever Spanish version of their Guide
● June 25-27 will be the First Annual Community Games. Registration by May 10.
● The City is looking to add its first ever EV—a hybrid—which will be primarily a pool car.
● Medicinal Marijuana is coming—we are looking at a July implementation date
Community Gardens: Robin reached out to Craig Pahl, Master Gardener. He wants help with
publicity, promotion of the gardening demo (July 19th/20th) and the Master Gardener
program and other programs they will hold. Craig will present at our meeting next month.
Updates from Committees:
● Marketing and Communication: Louis reported that they have purchased ads in the
Brookings Register and his committee wants us to submit ideas for ads and
communications. Louis wrote an article for the Register on the City recycling successes.
● Waste: no report
● Energy: Our speaker, Dr. McTaggart is our report
● Local Foods: see above regarding community gardens.
Updates from Liasions:
● Bicycle: Ben reported that the city is working on easements for the bike path. There are
also problems for bikes crossing 6th street. Jennifer reported that the crossing at the
pool light is safe. He also reported on the need to educate auto drivers about bike
etiquette. Looking at a bike trail through the Prairie Hills development.
● CLEAR Partners: We are working on a Mental Health Forum that is designed to discuss
the intersection between the police and mental health, and try to discover areas that
need improvement. There are several gaps in service that we know of, such as lack of
insurance or funding for long term care for those who need special counseling rather
than incarceration. In addition, the police are often asked to discern between mental
health and criminal behavior, something they may not be trained for. CLEAR is also
gathering data on traffic stops and persons of color, incidents of violence during traffic
stops, and data on the number and kind of nonviolent cases each year where
intervention is needed but not necessarily by police.
Dr. McTaggart, nuclear and particle physicist at SDSU, gave the program. It was quite detailed
and specific. He spoke on four subtopics, sustainable energy (wind, solar, hydro, EV and
nuclear), recycling, economics and miscellaneous. There is political support for wind, solar and
EV, but not so much so far for nuclear. He believes that public perceptions need to change
about nuclear. He pointed out that when people turn to electric cars there will be a heightened
need to generate electricity. We would need 15 billion KWH/yr for the State. For Brookings’
needs it would mean 64-2 MW turbines or 2-100MW solar arrays or 1 small nuclear plant. He
discussed the economics of each, the recycling problems that come with each. He said Lithium
battery recycling is promising. He said it’s best to make solar cells in the US and use 3-D
printing as the method which uses the least heat, and our labor practices are safe. He indicated
that small wind blades can be made using biodegradable plastics, but large ones pose a
recycling problem. He indicated that he would be free to talk to anyone further.
Respectfully submitted,
Betty L Beer, acting Secretary