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Home My WebLink AboutSCMinutes_2023_03_08City of Brookings Sustainability Council Meeting Minutes Wednesday,March 8,2023 4:00 PM City &County Government Hall Room 300 Sustainability Council Members:Bruce Pengra,Cynthia Kunkel,Kyle Jamison,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 Deputy City Manager. 1.Call to Order Meeting called to order by E.Abele 2.Approval of the Agenda Moved:R.Buterbaugh with the amendment of adding agenda item number 8 McCrory Garden Discovery Festival Second:B.Pengra Aye:All Opposed:None 3.Approval of the Minutes Moved:B.Pengra Second:G.Bolwerk Aye:All Opposed:None 4.Open Forum At this time,any member of the public may request time on the agenda for an item not listed.Items are not typically scheduled for the end of the meeting;however,very brief announcements of invitations will be allowed at this time. 5.City Updat J.Meshke: -The current charging station lease expires in June,the city is working to get the lease renewed.. -The City transferred the market place land,which is located to the west of Swiftel Center.The development includes a proposed anchor tenant that would have similar square footage to that of Lowe’s.The initial development plan and a rezoning request were recently recommended for approval by the Planning Commission. -The city sold land to Milbourn Seeds west of 32nd -planning to expand their company in that direction.exciting news for ag and innovation. -email from Holly Meyer regarding the EPA climate pollution reduction grant program.At this point the state needs to accept the grant in order for the funds to be made available to the cities. The grant must go through the governor's office,looking for people to encourage the governor ’s office to approve this grant. -Road work and construction open house tomorrow 5:00-6:30 pm for 2023 projects. -The Youth Varsity State Hockey Tournament to be held in Brookings March 10-12 at the Larson Ice Center. -The Brookings Food Pantry has moved to a new location. A.Patin: -Update on solid waste master plan:discussed the layout of the landfill -looking for placement of the next section,community drop of safety,solid waste master plan.First public meeting, overall great opportunity for Q &A,open session was well attended,overall people are very happy with the services,looking into programs for e-waste and hazardous waste. E.Abele -Discussed the potential of methane for energy production -the landfill is currently not mature enough for this type of program but has looked into potential future plans. 6.No Mow May G.Bolwerk: -The city ordinance amendment has been approved by the city council -Sings are being printed -No Mow May city meeting was recorded and published on the radio (information about it and excitement is spreading within the city.) J.Meshke: -Press release publication will be the next step. Potential list of city land to be included in the No Mow May program: -4 acres near Fishback soccer fields -Half acre corner at 22nd ave north of golf course -East side of south Medary ave 6.25 acres -Interstate trail system by CRC 1.1 acres -Interstate trail system also near CRC 3 acres -Sexaur park south of dog park Including these plots of land in the No Mow May create an opportunity for cost savings to the city. -total 15.5 acres of land Milbourn Seeds is willing to work with the city in creating a mix of grass seeds to go along with No Mow May,as well as offering already existing seed mixes for purchase. 7.Earth Day Partnership E.Abele:Earth day partnership with SDSU and the sustainability coordinator:looking to offer an informational class oriented around sustainability.Will take place on earth day the 20th of April.interested in having the BSC be a part of the meeting,potential solar ray demos,and any other input the council has to offer. R.Buterbaugh:Possibly have a booth to share information about current projects happening within the BSC. G.Bowlerk:Will be there for the native plants initiative A.Patin:Potentially available to share about clothing waste and recycling. E.Abele:At this point the BSC is not committing any money to the event looking for someone willing to show and share about their EV during this event. 8.Garden Festival R.Buterbaugh:The Garden Discovery Festival will take place May 21st 1:00-5:00 pm indoors at the McCrory Garden Center.Booths will be geared towards youth and families, with informational items (No sales) R.Buterbaugh willing to be their from 2:30-5:00 A.Patin,S.Krueger,and K.Rath are all willing to attend this event and be at the BSC booth. Motion to attend the festival and approve up to $200 for giveaway materials at the booth. Moved:R.Buterbaugh Second:S.Krueger Aye:All Opposed:None 9.Urban Food Forest R.Buterbaugh: -Continuing to work on finalizing the location of the Food Forest. -The options have been narrowed the site down to two potential locations,most are in favor of the Dakota Nature Park.There are concerns about potential flooding, however flood zone maps do not show great risk and selective plant placement could also mitigate any further concerns about flooding.At this time there is still a need for soil testing to take place to ensure the site is appropriate for planting -looking to check with the Public Works director on this,as well as reaching out to SDSU as a potential soil testing resource. -Current grants related to the Food Forest do not have pressing deadlines. J.Meshke: -The Urban Food Forest has been added as an agenda item on the parks meeting Monday the 13th,it would be helpful if R.Buterbaugh could be in attendance for potential questions. -Regarding the Urban Forest Initiative,this will now be tied to earth day going forward -There was also a question from a resident about including fruit trees to the list of eligible trees.This is likely to be approved with the exception of boulevard planting. R.Buterbaugh:Any updates on the bee ordinance? J.Meshke:The bee ordinance has been written and will be brought to the council on March 28th. 10.Updates/Reports from Subcommittee a.Marketing and Communication K.Rath:Working on Promo for No Mow May. b.Climate Action Plan A.Shanks: -There is a lot to discuss this month.working on meeting the current goals that have been set. 1.Select a company 2.Secure Funding 3.Complete baseline documents:greenhouse gas,land cover,renewable potentials. B.Pengra: -May want to talk with additional consultants,look into writing a letter of commitment for a baseline foundation. -Waste: - c.Waste E.Abele:Zoom meeting with Jennifer -SDSU and composting,they are currently in a learning phase,no commitment at this time,findings include food waste needing to be treated,estimating the quantity of waste weather it be food waste or ag material,previously there was a study done for Brookings and it was not found to be feasible,however the study was completed 5 years ago.trying to work through the challenges faced with herbicide and pesticide oftentimes being found within the waste and how that would affect the potential composting. d.Energy E.Abele:No updates,trying to get together with Rus from BMU. e.Local Foods R.Buterbaugh: -No further updates beyond what was covered in the Food Forest initiative. 11.Updates from Liaisons a.Parks Commission: R.Buterbaugh plans to attend the next meeting. b.Human Rights Commission Human rights Meets tomorrow:B Pengra will plan on attending virtually. c.CLEAR No updates 13.Call for Future Agenda Items J.Meshke: -Potentially invite Kelsey Doom from the Chamber to share information and have a discussion on sustainability in Bookings. R.Buterbaugh: -Garden Discovery Festival hosted by McCrory Gardens,Sunday 12:00-5:00 pm May 21st,2023.Add as an agenda Item for the April meeting. 14.Adjourn Motion to Adjourn Moved:A.Patin Second:A.Shanks Aye:All Opposed:None Respectfully submitted,Samuel Krueger