CFS February Meeting Notes

Introductions

Meeting with Mark Casey and Jay Hartmann

  • Parks Commission Meetings
    • Do our Tuesday morning meetings just before their meetings. Invite Parks Commission members to them or our Saturday meetings
      • March 6, 2017
      • June 5, 2017
      • September 5, 2017
      • December 4, 2017
  • Earth Day cleanups (April 22, 9-11am)
    • Locations
      • Salo Park: 9:15am – noon (Clif & Bettye)
      • Trillium Park: SAV gardeners need help pruning if we could help organize
      • Central Park: get help from an NHS student
      • Faith: Rain garden cleanup. Should check with MWMO about master water steward volunteer hours or cub scout
    • Tasks
      • Village Note article
        • Bring work gloves
      • Write emails, too
  • GreenStep Cities Step 5 criteria is just out
    • Can city order street signs like you can order Tree City USA signs? Also, order those?
  • Adding “Sustainability” to the name of Parks Commission
    • Receptive to this change, but will have to check
  • Sustainability coordinator position?
    • No
  • Ice melt?
    • Salt/brine
    • Don’t use sand as much due to watershed
    • Staff are up to date on training
  • Organics Collection
    • No plan until demand
    • When pressed on a central option, they asked us where it should be
    • Notes from the CFS group:
      • There is a student from U of M interested in using organics collection as their capstone project
        • Nate, Dan, Mark, Lona to meet with student
      • Hennepin County has funding to expand organics collection
        • How has Minneapolis decided this
  • City water use
    • Stick with Odd/Even watering ban
    • Splash pads may run a few days this year
    • Can CFS help reach out to kids about water conservation contest?
      • Lona will check with ecology clubs
    • Can CFS look into neighbor comparison on use like Xcel does?
      • Lona is working on this, too
    • Rain Barrel offerings again in April
  • Lowry Grove
    • City has not gotten involved
    • Notes from CFS discussion:
      • PUD could be used to specify green space minimums
      • Feb 17: Affordable Housing discussion surrounding Lowry Grove re-development–could we bring up lack of green space?
      • Can CFS help organize help to preserve affordable housing
  • Silver Lake Carp removal
    • Success, but allowed more weeds to grow
    • Did DNR re-check lake?
      • Don’t know
  • Mirror Lake dredging
    • It’s ongoing
  • Water treatment project
    • It’s ongoing
  • 25% of city energy comes from Chisago County solar garden
  • Pollinator pathway signs are available–ask Jay
  • We received a copy of the Comp Plan
    • Send feedback to Mark

Legislative updates

  • Education legislation
  • Environmental legislation

Kristin will provide update on grants

  • Kristin was not present–we’ll have to follow up
  • Water Stewards could use projects

Next Parks Commission Meeting- prepare update/proposal for Park Clean Up for Earth Day?

  • What to talk about at March 6 Parks Commission meeting
    • Request the name change
    • Pollinator Pathway next steps
    • Bike/walk component? Kathy has
    • 37th Ave sidewalks
    • Bring up organics to place in a park
      • Works at Minneapolis parks
    • Liaison to our meeting

Notes/Agenda items for next time

  • Nativity redesigning their outdoor learning environment
  • Wilshire Park’s rain garden
  • What to add to the Village Notes before April 1
    • Promote SAV sustainability section on their website
    • Earth Day cleanups
  • Faith: Solar panels are going up in June
  • Nativity: could make only 2% of power through solar
  • CERTs has a “Right Light” guide
  • Make better use of the CFS Facebook page
  • When do we start planning VillageFest topics? Potential ideas:
    • Kid-friendly activity
      • clippings
    • Feature LEDs?
    • Feature solar?
    • Get sponsorship?!

Upcoming Events

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By Dan Kunitz

Dan Kunitz is a Minnesota native interested in decarbonization. He is a business analyst at the University of Minnesota and volunteers his website and design skills to Citizens for Sustainability.

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