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HomeMy WebLinkAbout7.7.15 Minutes  Agenda   Tuesday,  July  7,  2015   6  PM,  Robert  Gilliam  Municipal  Complex,     City  Hall,  First  Floor  South  Conference  Room,  150  Dexter  Ct.     *Note:  Meeting  date  &  room  differ  from  normal  meetings     A. Call  to  order  (chairperson)     B. Roll  Call  (staff  liaison)   Commissioners  Frazier,  Hernandez,  Jacobs,  Knoerr,  Masterson,  and  Segel  all  present.       C. Approval  of  previous  meeting’s  minutes   The  June  2015  minutes  were  approved.     D. Discussion  Items     1. Partners  for  Places  &  Grand  Victoria  Foundation   Kyla  Jacobsen,  Water  Director  for  the  City  of  Elgin,  will  discuss  community  projects   related  to  water  to  consider  when  applying  for  the  Partners  for  Places  grant.     Kyla  explained  storm  sewers  and  separate  sewers.  She  also  mentioned  the  six  minimum   controls  in  management  of  storm  water:  public  education  and  outreach,  public   involvement  and  participation,  illicit  discharge  detection  and  elimination,  construction   site  storm  water  runoff  control,  post-­‐construction  storm  water  management,  and   municipal  pollution  prevention.  Kyla  explained  where  the  City  of  Elgin  gets  its  water,   primarily  from  the  Fox  River,  but  from  10  wells  also.  She  said  the  city  has  a  grant-­‐writing   agreement  with  Baxter  &  Woodman,  which  provides  they  will  write  a  grant  for  us  under   the  condition  that  if  we  receive  the  grant,  they  get  the  job.    There  are  two  grant   opportunities,  Partners  for  Places  and  319  grants,  which  Kyla  can  work  on  with  Mark   Phipps  from  Baxter  &  Woodman.  The  community  of  Elgin  is  still  growing,  and  it  would   be  good  to  start  looking  into  conservation  efforts.  It  would  be  nice  to  provide  an   opportunity  for  people  to  get  low-­‐flow  devices,  or  give  out  vouchers  for  such   conservation  products.  It’d  be  beneficial  to  provide  education  on  both  water   conservation  and  storm  water  management.  The  City  of  Elgin  owns  124  detention   ponds.  The  newer  subdivisions  have  their  own.  What  we  need  to  do  with  some  of  our   detention  basins  is  take  out  the  concrete  channels  and  mowed  turf  grass,  and  install   natural  and  native  prairie  plants.  We  have  several  storm  water  marketing  materials   developed  by  Baxter  &  Woodman  ready  to  distribute  electronically.  Commissioners   discussed  ways  to  reach  people  and  make  education  personal,  so  they  are  likely  to  take   action.  Commissioner  Hernandez  stated  her  support  for  applying  the  grant  to  address  a   water  project  need.  It  will  be  easy  to  give  people  something  tangible  to  learn  from  just.     Commissioner  Segel  mentioned  the  added  perk  of  saving  energy,  as  nearly  70%  of  the   cost  of  water  is  in  the  energy  to  move.  Commissioner  Knoerr  asked  for  a  report  on  the   cost  of  the  rain  garden.  A  neighborhood  or  park  rain  garden  project  with  educational   signs  may  be  an  option.  Commissioner  Hernandez  also  suggested  looking  more  at  a   composting  project  on  a  vacant  city  lot.  A  motion  was  passed  for  each  commissioner  to   come  up  with  three  project  ideas  to  go  over  with  the  commission  next  meeting.       2. Mighty  Acorns  contract  renewal  review   Review  budget  for  the  2015-­‐2016  year  of  Mighty  Acorns  programming  at  Hawthorne   Hill  Nature  Center.  The  budget  provides  scenarios  for  expansion  of  the  program,  with   potentially  two  additional  classrooms.     Liaison  described  the  budget  presented  for  the  Mighty  Acorns  contract  renewal.  The  cost   for  five  classrooms  would  still  cost  less  than  the  previous  year’s  three  classrooms  now   that  there  is  one  less  instructor  to  pay.  There  would  be  a  small  cost  for  supplies,  as  there   will  be  more  students  served.  The  commission  would  pay  for  five  classrooms,  and  if  five   classrooms  are  unable  to  participate,  remaining  funds  will  roll  over  into  the  next  year.   The  commissioners  expressed  that  they  want  to  continue  to  support  this  program  and  its   expansion.  The  budget  was  approved  unanimously.       E. Old  Business     1. Sustainability  Honor  Roll   Review  any  new  nominations     Liaison  presented  her  nomination  for  Carl  Missele.  The  commission  will  vote  in  August,   so  that  awardee  can  be  notified  and  award  ordered  in  time  for  the  October  meeting.       F. Commissioner  comments/announcements   1. Commission  survey  status  update   Liaison  updated  the  commission  that  the  survey  was  still  being  developed.     2. Commissioner  Masterson  provided  two  potential  dates  for  a  Freedom  Field  fieldtrip.  The   group  decided  that  Saturday,  July  25  would  work  best.  The  plan  is  to  leave  the  Centre  at   8:30  a.m.  Liaison  will  reserve  a  bus.     3. Commissioner  Masterson  said  that  Wanxiang  New  Energy  isn’t  likely  to  donate  any  solar   panels  or  offer  discounts.  However,  there  is  a  school  grant  program  that  is  worth  looking   into.       G. Adjourn      The  City  of  Elgin  is  subject  to  the  requirements  of  the  Americans  with  Disabilities  Act  (ADA)  of  1990.  Individuals  with  disabilities   who  plan  to  attend  this  meeting  and  who  require  certain  accommodations  in  order  to  allow  them  to  observe  and/or  participate  in   this  meeting,  or  who  have  questions  regarding  the  accessibility  of  the  meeting  or  the  facilities,  are  requested  to  contact  ADA   coordinator,  at  (847)  931-­‐6076,  or  TTY/TDD  (847)  931-­‐5616  promptly  to  allow  the  City  of  Elgin  to  make  reasonable   accommodations  for  those  persons.