HomeMy WebLinkAbout09.13.16 Minutes
Minutes
Tuesday,
September
13,
2016
6:15
PM
Robert
Gilliam
Municipal
Complex,
City
Hall
Second
Floor
South
Conference
Room
150
Dexter
Ct.,
Elgin,
IL
60120
A. Call
to
order
(chairperson)
B. Roll
Call
(staff
liaison)
Chairperson
Knoerr
and
Commissioners
Aagesen,
Hajek,
Hernandez,
Keare,
Masterson
and
Segel
present.
C. Approval
of
previous
meeting’s
minutes
August
2016
meeting
minutes
were
approved.
D. Discussion
Items
1. Mighty
Acorns
2015-‐2016
School
Year
Wrap-‐up
Maura
Neuffer,
City
of
Elgin
Naturalist,
presented
a
wrap-‐up
report
for
the
past
school
year
of
Mighty
Acorn
programming.
Mighty
Acorns
now
has
six
classes
of
3-‐6th
graders
at
Hillcrest
Elementary
School
in
Elgin.
The
stewardship
component
is
what
is
unique
to
this
environmental
program.
The
classes
take
three
field
trips
to
Hawthorne
Hill
Nature
Center
on
top
of
all
the
in-‐class
sessions.
The
goal
is
to
create
environmentally
literate
students
who
also
enjoy
time
outside
in
nature.
Hillcrest
Elementary
is
the
perfect
partner
for
this
program,
as
the
students
can
walk
over
to
the
nature
center
through
the
park.
The
principal
is
interested
in
expanding
the
program
to
more
3rd
grade
teachers.
2. Simple
Recycling
Discuss
Simple
Recycling
program
for
free
curbside
pickup
of
clothing,
shoes,
toys,
etc.
Liaison
will
send
all
supporting
materials
to
the
commission.
Liasion
checked
with
Waste
Management
and
they
were
supportive
of
such
a
program.
The
commission
would
want
collections
tracked
to
see
how
much
is
getting
picked
up;
it
would
be
an
interesting
statistic.
Commissioner
Segel
motioned
to
pursue
this
program
to
completion
and
move
forward
to
City
Council.
E. Old
Business
1. Partners
for
Places
grant
proposal
&
Community
Gardens
Continued
discussion
on
community
gardens
projects
in
Elgin
&
meeting
grant
requirements.
Liaison
will
email
STAR
Technical
manual
via
WeTransfer
to
the
commission.
Commissioner
Hajek
suggested
the
cost
may
not
be
worth
the
amount
of
staff
time
needed
as
it
requires
a
lot
of
detailed
research
to
become
a
certified
community.
The
certification
is
based
on
self-‐reported
information
that
requires
a
lot
of
calculations.
It
would
take
a
big,
dedicated
group
of
people
to
accomplish
this
with
lots
of
time
and
research.
Liaison
spoke
with
a
representative
of
the
Urban
Sustainability
Directors
Network
(USDN)
and
it
sounded
hopeful
she
could
be
a
member.
The
basic
membership
costs
$400
a
year,
which
would
need
to
come
from
the
Sustainability
Commission’s
budget.
It
also
requires
liaison
participation
in
several
discussions,
which
could
be
useful
in
bringing
ideas
and
strategies
to
the
commission.
Commissioner
Segel
made
a
motion
to
approve
USDN
membership
fees.
A
second
motion
was
made
to
put
STAR
Communities
on
the
January
2017
agenda
to
revisit
the
idea
once
we
know
the
status
of
Community
Gardens
and
if
there
is
time
to
move
forward.
F. Commissioner
comments/announcements
Liaison
will
provide
an
update
on
rain
barrel
sales
The
program
has
sol
43
rain
barrels
total,
39
of
which
have
been
to
Elgin
residents.
Liaison
will
provide
update
to
solar
initiative
Liaison
will
put
together
a
RFP
for
solar
projects
with
a
Purchase
of
Power
Agreement
(PPA)
so
interested
companies
can
provide
options.
2016
Northern
Illinois
Renewable
Energy
Summit
reminder
Waste
at
City
Events
The
commission
discussed
opportunities
to
reduce
waste
at
events,
particularly
sorting
options,
so
that
waste
could
be
separated
into
a
trash,
compost
and
recycling.
For
this
to
be
successful,
many
volunteers
would
be
required
to
stand
by
bins
and
make
sure
the
right
items
are
getting
placed
in
the
right
place.
The
commission
would
like
to
reach
out
to
local
high
school
green
organizations
and
ask
them
to
involved
and
volunteer.
It
would
be
best
to
try
this
out
in
the
spring
at
the
Fox
Trot.
Liasion
to
look
for
Pumpkin
composting
info
and
send
out
to
all
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.