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HomeMy WebLinkAboutGreenleaf Commission 2019-09-18 th MINUTES OF THE 15 REGULAR MEETING OF GREENLEAF COMMISSION ON SUSTAINABILITY On Wednesday, September 18, 2019, the above meeting for the Greenleaf Commission on Sustainability of the City of Livonia was held in the West Conference Room of the Livonia Department of Public Works,12973 Farmington Road, Building 12, Livonia. Vice Chairperson Michael Shesterkin opened the meeting at 7:00 p.m. Members present: Katherine Bone Elizabeth Calhoun Terry Cullum John Grzebik Nicole Mehelich Michael Shesterkin Members absent: James Baringhaus Also present: Jacob Rushlow, Superintendent of DPW Victoria Krause, Secretary I at DPW 1. 2020 Greenleaf Award This is the sixth year for the Greenleaf Award. Chairman Baringhaus will start promoting the award in September on Facebook and having it posted on the City of Livonia Website, while Commissioner Calhoun will promote it through Friday Musings, the Observer and the Chamber of Commerce. 2. Simple Recycling Update Jacob Rushlow, the Superintendent of the Department of Public Works, gave the Greenleaf Commission an update on the Simple Recycling launch. He informed the Commission that Simple Recycling had been supplied with all the needed information to launch the program and they had sent over the proof of the mailer for approval. Once the mailer is approved, they were targeting early November as a start date. Mr. Rushlow had spoken with Dave Varga to have information on Simple Recycling placed in the Newsletter and Kristin Houchins to have information placed online. Commissioner Calhoun informed the Commission that she was provided with two large stacks of flyers containing information about the program. She suggested dropping off flyers at the library and asked Mr. Rushlow for other locations. He recommended bring some to the Department of Public Works (DPW) and City Hall. Greenleaf Commission on Sustainability th 15 Regular Meeting of September 18, 2019 Page 2 Commissioner Bone asked if there was one person on the Commission that posted to Facebook. Commissioner Calhoun referred her to Chairman Baringhaus if she wanted to help with online posting. 3. 2020 Greenleaf Commission Initiative Ideas Vice Chairman Shesterkin asked the Commission for initiative ideas for next year. Commissioner Calhoun informed the Commission that the Detroit Zoo had put in charging stations for electric vehicles and she would like to see some installed on City properties. Commissioner Cullum asked if there was funding and Commissioner Calhoun responded that sometimes Consumers Energy does funding, or they could ask Ford to donate stations. Commission Mehelich asked if there are grants they could apply for and Commissioner Calhoun replied that sometimes there are grants. Commissioner Mehelich would like to see the promotion of native plants as a City initiative. Commissioner Bone mentioned the list of Recommended Tree Species used by the DPW that was provided to Commissioner Mehelich. The Commissioner replied that she would like to see the list reorganized with the native tree species on top of the list, then following up with the non-native species. She would also like to see a list of suggested native alternatives for common plants. Commissioner Cullum would like a pollution profile by zip code to encourage intelligent traffic signals being utilized. Commissioner Calhoun suggested their use at traffic lights pulling out of a subdivision onto a main road. She then stated that if traffic lights are handled by Wayne County, then they should put together a presentation to plant that seed. Commissioner Cullum suggested looking for grants since this would lower emissions and Commissioner Calhoun stated that they should collect hard data on cities that have initiated intelligent traffic signals. Commissioner Bone mentioned starting recycling in the parks which was brought up in the last meeting by Commissioner Calhoun. She suggested starting simple with a double-barrel bin, one for plastic and one for landfill and starting at larger areas such as Ford Field, Bicentennial Park and Greenmead. Commissioner Calhoun recommended the plastic side having an opening only large enough for a plastic bottle. Commissioner Bone stated that one concern was pickup, and Commissioner Calhoun replied that she had heard the Rec Center started picking up big bins weekly. She then asked Mr. Rushlow who was doing the pickup. He responded that would be a question for Ted Davis at the Rec Center. Commissioner Bone would like to see this started in the spring. Mr. Rushlow was concerned about contamination. This could be a big problem if people do not recycle properly. Vice Chairman Shesterkin reminded the Commission that a new administration would be coming in and they should have a meeting with the new Mayor to get a sense of what she has in mind going forward. #6-19 RESOLVED, that the Greenleaf Commission on Sustainability does hereby make a motion to have a meeting between the Chairman and the new Mayor to discuss sustainability initiatives. Greenleaf Commission on Sustainability th 15 Regular Meeting of September 18, 2019 Page 3 A roll call vote was taken on the foregoing resolution with the following result: AYES: Bone, Calhoun, Cullum, Grzebik, Mehelich and Shesterkin. NAYS: None. ABSENT: Baringhaus Vice Chairman Shesterkin informed the Commission that Chairman Baringhaus had education being a part of the initiatives. This is something the Commission has discussed several times, especially regarding the Nextdoor App. In Castle Gardens, a subdivision south of Five Mile and west of Newburgh, it started at 200 members and is now over 1,000 in a neighborhood of approximately 1,600. The discussion had revolved around a meeting to explore residents’ feelings around recycling. This would be a grassroots engagement because it is important around recycling to collect input. Commissioner Mehelich expressed concern over improper education, as the sticker adhered to the large recycling bin that they raffled off at the Old-Fashioned Corn Roast incorrectly states that Styrofoam is still recyclable. Mr. Rushlow informed the Commission that that was an older bin with an old sticker. He impressed on the Commission their ability to educate the residents through the Nextdoor App as recycling is an industry and therefore changes. Styrofoam is no longer recyclable in Livonia although it is recyclable but is not worth the cost, just as plastic bags were recyclable but are not any more due to them getting tangled in machines. In addition, if a resident fills a plastic bag with recyclable items, that whole bag will be pulled to go to the landfill. Filled plastic bags are not emptied. He also suggested the Commission put together literature for the residents and to advise them to use the rule “when in doubt, throw it out” as that will help cut down on contamination. Commissioner Calhoun thought that residents should be informed that stores such as Target and Kroger will take back plastic bags and wire hangers can be taken to scrap yards. Vice Chairman Shesterkin shared that hangers can also be taken to dry cleaners. He then suggested they could create a video and Mr. Rushlow stated that the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has some good videos. Commissioner Mehelich recommended sharing them on the Greenleaf Commission’s page. Commissioner Cullum felt it would be beneficial to educate the residents by collecting data on how much recycling is diverted to landfills due to contamination. Mr. Rushlow shared that the City does not have numbers on what trucks take to the landfill or recycle. Vice Chairman Shesterkin shared that at SOCRRA they sort and weigh what comes in and over 20% is diverted to landfills. 4. The Last Plastic Straw/Mayor’s Challenge Water Conservation Program Vice Chairman Shesterkin informed that Commission that Chairman Baringhaus discovered the Last Plastic Straw Challenge for bars and restaurants. Instead of bars and restaurants automatically giving out straws, they are available by request only. This cuts down on their use and elevates the awareness of the dangers of plastic straws. Commissioner Bone stated that she refuses straws but is often given them anyways, so this challenge could bring an awareness to businesses as well. She also mentioned the benefit it would be to these businesses. This should cause the businesses to use less straws, therefore they wouldn’t Greenleaf Commission on Sustainability th 15 Regular Meeting of September 18, 2019 Page 4 need to order as many and would save money. Vice Chairman Shesterkin suggested that participating businesses get added to their website. Commissioner Mehelich knows the owners of a couple local establishments and offered to discuss the challenge with them. Commissioner Grzebik recommended waiting until the next meeting where they could get more information from Chairman Baringhaus before putting forth a motion. Vice Chairman Shesterkin revisited the Mayor’s Challenge Water Conservation Program. He would like to propose the challenge to the new Mayor. He believed the program should save money but the DPW may get inundated by calls from residents if cost per unit goes up due to drop in water usage. This is an issue that they would need to figure out how to address as the City still needs funds to fix infrastructure. Commissioner Calhoun wondered if they should talk to Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) about how rates are calculated. Vice Chairman Shesterkin stated that part of the bill is fixed, and funds are still needed to fix the infrastructure. Mr. Rushlow informed that Commission that even if the City does the infrastructure, we are still billed from GLWA, and how their rates are calculated is very complex. Commissioner Mehelich commented that they would need to manage residents’ expectations by making it clear that they would be participating in the challenge to help save the Earth by conserving water and not to save money. Commissioner Grzebik wanted to know if there are any suburbs that use Detroit water or a similar system that is enrolled in the program. Commissioner Mehelich and Mr. Rushlow looked the program up online and saw that Grand Rapids, Royal Oak and Ann Arbor participated. The Commissioner suggested contacting the cities for information. Vice Chairman Shesterkin shared with the Commission that in the meeting with the current administration someone was shocked that we needed to conserve water in Michigan and he shared the example of a neighbor that has his sprinkler system on a timer that still goes off if it rains. 5. New Business Recycling at Community Events through Requests Commissioner Grzebik spoke with Chairman Baringhaus about recycling at community events through requests. Recycling was made available at Passport to Safety, Save Our Youth Run and Music from the Heart events, although Commissioner Calhoun said it was missed at the Old-Fashioned Corn Roast due to miscommunication. Commissioner Grzebik asked if there were additional opportunities for community event recycling or if there were any concerns. Mr. Rushlow responded that he didn’t think they were keeping a matrix and he had not heard any feedback, but he could ask. The Commissioner asked for him to provide the Commission with feedback at the next meeting. Continuous Appointment or Yearly Vote Greenleaf Commission on Sustainability th 15 Regular Meeting of September 18, 2019 Page 5 Commissioner Grzebik asked if the Commission positions are under continuous appointment in the ordinance or if they need to vote yearly like in other commissions. Vice Chairman Shesterkin did not believe that there was anything written in the ordinance speaking on the length of office. Mr. Rushlow mentioned that Chairman Baringhaus had raised the point of documenting how things are done as a matter of policy. Vice Chairman Shesterkin then asked for verification that voting is done by a matter of policy and not part of the ordinance. Mr. Rushlow pulled up the ordinance and informed the Commission that they need to elect the chairperson, vice chairperson and secretary annually but there was not a specific date listed. Old-Fashioned Corn Roast Update Commissioner Calhoun informed the Commission that the Old-Fashioned Corn Roast is sponsored by Friday Musings and other groups and is for new members of the community. This year two hundred invites went out. They fielded lots of questions, many of them about Simple Recycling and raffled off a large recycling bin. Commissioner Mehelich stated that most of the people they spoke with hadn’t heard of Simple Recycling but showed positive support when provided with an explanation. Vice Chairman Shesterkin recognized Commissioner Calhoun for all that she did for this event. Audience Communication None. 1. Approval of Minutes. On a motion by Calhoun, seconded by Cullum, the Minutes of the July 24, 2019 meeting were approved. On a motion by Cullum, seconded by Bone, and unanimously adopted, the meeting of September 18, 2019, was adjourned at 8:08 p.m. Next Meeting – November 20, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. West Conference Room, DPW Administration Office JAMES BARINGHAUS, CHAIRPERSON GREENLEAF COMMISSION ON SUSTAINABILITY