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Home My WebLink AboutSCMinutes_2022_05_11City of Brookings Sustainability Council Meeting Minutes Wednesday, May 11, 2022 4:00 PM Virtual Sustainability Council Members: Bruce Pengra, Cynthia Kunkel,Ben Vukovich,Louis Hesler, Albert Patin, Samuel Krueger, Anthony Shanks, Robin Buterbaugh, Betty Beer, Emily Abele, Kiley Rath, and SDSU Student Representative Gabrielle Bolwerk. City Staff: Jacob Meshke, Assistant City Manager. 1 Call to Order E. Abele 2. Approval of the Agenda Moved for approval: B. Beer Second: R. Buterbaugh Aye: All Opposed: None 3. Approval of the Minutes Moved for approval: R. Buterbaugh Second: B. Beer Aye: All Opposed: None 4. Open Forum ●B. Beer: Brookings Sunshine Sustainability group will be receiving their transportation report soon. ●R. Buterbaugh: BSC will host a booth and table at the upcoming McCrory garden event - any further input? Additional items to be added to the table? ○E. Abele: Annual report, strategic plan, printed copies along with climate stickers. ○B. Beer: Hard copy of fabric recycling presentation (at least one copy) ●R. Buterbaugh: Final draft of the bioretention sign is complete - moving forward with printing and installing at the site. 5. Front Yard Gardens – Mike Struck, Community Development Director Spoke on the currently and proposed zoning ordancesses dealing with front yard gardens and landscaped areas within a yard devoted for the growing of controlled shrubbery and plants. ●As a college town the city deals with many rental homes and lack of parking spaces. Many rental homes have tried to convert lawn areas into parking areas, the ordinances are put in place to prevent this from happening, ordinances have also been created for the backyard to prevent large areas from being converted into gravel parking lots. Balancing these ordinances with the wishes of the city residents can be difficult. ●In regard to creating gardens on front lawns there are concerns with dust control, run-off to city property, and unsightly exposed areas during the dormant seasons. ○Ways to prevent public complaints include controlled height and proper maintenance along with a buffer strip separating the garden from the sidewalk. ○Flower gardens are exempt from these ordinances as they are considered more of a landscaping feature. ●A couple items of the new ordinance would include: ○Changing the existing 15” max height for plants on the front lawn to a reduced 8” ○Giving the parks and recreation department the authority to designate no mow areas under the discretion of the director. These now mow areas would still be maintained by the city as far as controlling noxious weeds, but would exist as large areas of longer grass with intermittent mowing. ●Tuesday May 24th there will be a public reading of the proposed new ordinance. ●Comments from BSC: ●R. Buterbaugh brought up a discussion about making room for initiatives such as no-mow May within this new ordinance. Continuing with discussions on exemptions from the ordinance, in regards to native grasses, and sustainable factors related to lawn care and gardening. ●B. Beer suggested a motion to support the currently proposed ordinance with a continued discussion on amendments regarding items such as native grasses, no-mow May and other exemptions. Moved: B. Beer Second: R. Buterbaugh Aye: All Opposed: None 6. Fabric Recycling Presentation – Albert Patin Albert Patin organized the presentation into six main areas: 1.Recognizing the source material used within the study. 2.Overall carbon emission due to the industry on the global scale a.4% of total carbon emissions are due to textiles b.The fashion industry produces 1.2 million tone of Co2 per year. 3.Garments put into landfills a.Single / minimal use due to fashion industry b.Discarded clothing is the main source of textile waste in the US landfills. 4.Choice of materials used in textile production and how they affect the recyclability of the clothing items. a.Polyester made from fossil fuels - 70 million barrels of oil used each year. When washed poly clothing sheds microplastics in the wastewater resulting in pollution. b.Blended together materials creates textile which are harder to recycle as they are more time consuming and require a labor intensive and skilled workforce. 5.Challenges a.In general studies show that we are buying more and using less. b.Recycling rate of textiles is roughly 14.7 percent (less than 1% produced) 6.Opportunities to reduce textile waste a.Brands and retailers have a strong influence. Think of was to get the factories and material producers on board and engaged in the recycling process of tectiles. b.As citizens we can purchase second hand clothing items c.Learn proper care to increase leng gevigy of clothing items d.Reacquaint ourselves with unused clothing items we have forgotten. e.Donate and consign with local options 7. City Update Fun fact: the city building is a storm shelter available for the public and their pets during weather emergencies. Introduction of new members: Tony shanks Kiley Rath Gabi Bolwerk 8. Growing Sustainable Communities Conference Attendees and Possible Action (Discussion postponed due to lack of time) 9. Review Climate Action Plan Research Findings and Possible Action 10. Solid 10. Waste Master Plan RFP Selection Committee Appointment ●Working on selecting a committee for master plan development, would like the input of a BAC member, Albert Patin recommended by J. Meshke. Motion to appoint A. Patin as the BSC representative to the Waste Water Master Plan. Moved: R. Buterbaugh Second: B. Beer Aye: All Opposed: None 11. Virtual Meetings (Discussion postponed due to lack of time) 12. Updates/Reports from Subcommittees a. Marketing and Communication b. Waste c. Energy d. Local Foods 13. Updates from Liaisons a. Bicycle Committee b. Human Rights Commission c. CLEAR 14. Call for Future Agenda Items B. Beer: Electric buses / transportation (July?) 15. Adjourn Motion to Adjourn Moved: A. B. Beer Second: S. Krueger Aye: All Opposed: None Respectfully Submitted: Samuel Krueger