Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutSCMinutes_2023_07_12City of Brookings Sustainability Council Meeting Minutes Wednesday, July 12, 2023 4:00 PM City/County Government Center; Room 300 Sustainability Council Members: Bruce Pengra, Cynthia Kunkel, Louis Hesler, Albert Patin, Samuel Krueger, Anthony Shanks, Robin Buterbaugh, Betty Beer, Emily Abele, Kiley Rath, Kyle Jamison, and SDSU Student Representative Gabrielle Bolwerk, City Staff: Jacob Meshke Deputy City Manager, Samantha Beckman Assistant to the City Manager 1. Call to Order E. Abele 2. Approval of the Agenda Motion to Approve: R. Buterbaugh Second: G. Bolwerk Aye: All Opposed: None 3. Approval of Minutes Motion to Approve: R. Buterbaug Second: A. Patin 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. Millborn Seeds - Alex Halbach, Chief Legal Officer ● Millborn Seeds ■ Founded in 1987 - America’s largest cover crop provider ■ 1200+ species of seed – specializing in cover crop seeds ● AgSpire (Environmental Consulting company ■ Service provider for regenerative agriculture solutions ■ Helped Walmart increase sustainability of supply chain ● Buffalo Ridge Cattle Company ■ Partner in SDSU Climate Smart Grant ■ USDA Climate-Smart Projects ■ Goal in the overall ag industry is to flip the incentives from having a sustainable “premium” to having a discount for being sustainable. ■ Earth Optics is 3rd party that tests/monitors test sites 6. City Update - Jacob Meshke ● $160 mil approved for Phase 1 of 3M renovations ● Interstate interchange completion by the end of the month ● Stormwater Master Plan–presentation for City Council next month ■ A. Patin: working on final reviews for SMP documents for City Council briefing 7. Discussion and Possible Action on Mayor’s Awards ● No nominations ● Caveat with council nominating their own places of work… ● Possibilities: ○ Business: Nominations: Millborn Seeds – for their work with Climate Grants ■ Motion to Approve: R. Buterbaugh Second: G. Bolwerk Aye: All Opposed: None ○ Government/Nonprofit: Dakota Prairie (Bees/Sara Weber) ■ Motion to Approve: R. Buterbaugh Second: G. Bolwerk Aye: All Opposed: None ○ Individual: Kirsten; Carrot Seed/Downtown Brookings/Farmers Market ■ Motion to Approve: R. Buterbaugh Second: G. Bolwerk Aye: All Opposed: None 8. Discussion on Residential Stormwater Best Practices Program ● Incentive for property owners to install stormwater best management practices to enhance water quality of and decrease amount of stormwater runoff ● City to reimburse up to a certain amount ($1,000-2,000) ● Proposal to the City with specific details ○ Motion to recommend to city engineering dept. that we support stormwater best management practices and to work with the city how to proceed with that ■ Motion: : R. Buterbaugh Second: K. Jamison Aye: All Opposed: None 9. Updates/Reports from Subcommittees a. Marketing and Communication i. Friends of the Food Forest social media to come eventually b. Climate Action Plan i. None c. Waste i. See Above SMP d. Energy i. BMU and promoting IRA stuff e. Local Foods i. R. Buterbaugh: talked with city officials about potential liabilities with food forest/ordinance changes needed. “Eat at your own risk.” Talked through with officials about implementation. Start small: 20-30 trees (50-60 total), and continue with smaller, understory plantings in following years. Parks Dept. and Nature Park volunteers both willing to help with maintenance. Some officials are going to take a tour of Prairie Ally in Luverne, MN. ii. S. Beckman: Donor for trees; grant submitted for irrigation; Parks Dept. willing to be in charge of signs as well. 10. Updates from Liaisons None 11. Call for Future Agenda Items Motion to update budget allocation to update table toppers (Downtown Brookings/sponsors) for businesses to promote using less waste: G. Bolwerk Second: K. Rath Aye: All Opposed: None 12. Adjourn Motion to Adjourn Moved: G. Bolwerk Second: A. Patin Aye: All Opposed: None Respectfully submitted by Kiley Rath