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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSCMinutes_2025_06_11City of Brookings Sustainability Council Meeting Minutes Wednesday, June 11th, 2025, 4:00 PM City/County Government Center; Room 300 Sustainability Council Members: Anthony Shanks, Louis Hesler, Albert Patin, Robin Buterbaugh, Emily Abele, Kiley Rath, Kyle Jamison, Conner Evers, Alicia Heich, and SDSU Student Representative Madalynn Graham, City Staff: Samantha Beckman Assistant to the City Manager & Joshua Bauman 1. Call to Order T. Shanks 2. Approval of the Agenda Motion to Approve: A. Patin Second: L. Hesler Aye: All Opposed: None 3. Approval of Minutes Motion to Approve: R. Buterbaugh Second: M. Graham 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 Update - Samantha Beckman ● Josh Bauman, Assistant Parks, Recreation & Forestry Director will be the new City Staff Liaison for the Sustainability Council. Sam will help with the transition moving forward ● Hiring for new Deputy City Manager and Deputy Police Chief ● 5th Street Gym - 8am-1pm M-F all summer no entry fees ● Slurry Seal project currently going on around town ● Landfill is paving their parking lot ● Six Mile Creek maintenance work should be done in about a week ● Parks and Public Works Staff attended a design workshop at McCrory Gardens to discuss their future plans 6. Update Bylaws ● E. Abele: Motion to update section VII, sections (a), (b), (c) to replace “Secretary” with “City Staff Liaison”. ○ Second: A. Patin Aye: All Opposed: None 7. Update: Garden Discovery Festival ● R. Buterbaugh: ~200 in attendance. Roughly the same or less than previous years. ● L. Hesler: Perhaps needed more publicity for the event in general. 8. Update: Food Forest Mulch Party & Fence ● R. Buterbaugh: Very successful! Volunteers showed up and brought cardboard. Planted 4 aronia shrubs, and some rhubarb, etc. ● Fencing: $3,210 quote for materials. ● J. Bauman: Fencing - Parks Dept. will set stakes and an SDSU group for potential volunteers on June 21st will finish fence labor. ○ Spring hinge gate ● R. Buterbaugh: Motion to approve up to $5,500 total for fencing costs (amended from $4,000). ○ Second: K. Rath Aye: All Opposed: None 9. Pollinator Day at Brookings Farmers Market - July 19th or Aug 9th ● M. Graham: ○ “Pollinator Passport Adventure” ○ Interactive Stations around the market ○ Children’s Activities ○ “Buzz on Down to The Farmers Market” ● R. Buterbaugh: Great opportunity for Bee City promoting 10. Eastern SD Soil & Water Research Farm Annual Field Day - July 9th ● 3714 Western Ave. - USDA Research Farm 11. Follow Ups from Last Meeting 12. Updates/Reports from Subcommittees a. Education and Outreach ● No Updates. b. Climate (Biodiversity) ● No Updates. c. Waste ● A. Patin: discussed options for drinking fountains “Pack in Pack out” ideas ○ No grants found ○ List of educational/promotional ideas - signs reminding people to stay hydrated, etc. d. Energy ● E. Abele: Letter sent off requesting electric vehicle charging station at new Marketplace addition. e. Local Foods ● No Updates. 13. Updates from LIaisons a. Parks and Recreation Board i. S. Hartung: many volunteer groups doing cleanups at Dakota Nature Park, etc. b. Planning Commission - K. Jamison i. Reclassifying areas with historic homes on “future land use map. ii. New ordinances created about grinding up demolished concrete to be reused for new concrete - requiring a certain distance from residential areas, etc. c. Historic Preservation (Vacant) d. Local Emergency Planning Commission i. No Updates. e. BATA (Vacant) 14. Continuing Items a. SDSU Student Project Ideas i. M. Graham: Downtown Brookings met with Parks & Rec Dept. about replacing landscaping along Main Ave. with native plantings. b. Mayor’s Awards Planning i. Potential for only one singular nomination instead of 3 categories. 1. Kool Beans - Kurt/Erinn Osborne - new reusable cup initiative 2. City Project - Ameresco Energy Saving (LED//HVAC Updates etc) ii. All nominations are due August 1st. (Finalize at the July meeting.) c. Downtown Brookings Brainstorming 15. Call for Future Agenda Items ● None 16. Adjourn Motion to Adjourn: E. Abele Second: L. Hesler Aye: All Opposed: None Respectfully submitted by Kiley Rath.