Citizens' Environmental Commission

MINUTES CITY OF DEKALB CITIZEN ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION June 2, 2016 The Citizen Environmental Commission held a meeting on June 2, 2016 at the DeKalb Municipal Building, Glidden Conference Room, 200 South Fourth Street, DeKalb, Illinois, 60115. Chairman Oleckno called the meeting to order at 4:02 p.m. A. ROLL CALL Tim Holdeman called the roll and the following members of the Citizen Environmental Commission were present: Sharon Skala, Ann Shult, Mark Hein, Ken Koch, Bill Oleckno, and Clare Kron. Members Absent: Dan Kenney Also present were: Tim Holdeman, City of DeKalb, Mike Holland, DeKalb Sanitary District, Michelle Gibson, DeKalb County Health Department B. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA – ADDITIONS / DELETIONS MOTION Sharon Skala moved to approve the agenda, seconded by Clare Kron. Agenda was approved by voice vote 6-0. C. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION Members of the community introduced themselves, including Mike Lundgren, DeKalb Public Library, and Caprisha Williams (resident). D. APPROVAL OF MINUTES for MAY 5, 2016 MOTION Mr. Koch moved to approve, seconded by Ms. Kron. Minutes were approved by voice vote 6-0. E. ANNOUNCEMENTS 1. Chairman Oleckno welcomed new commission member, Ann Shult. 2. Chairman Oleckno announced that the revisions to Chapter 50 of the City 's Municipal Code will be presented to City Council. Tim Holdeman indicated it will be on June 27th at the Committee of the Whole. The meeting starts at 5:00 p.m. Citizen Environmental Commission June 2, 2016 Page 2 of 3 3. Chairman Oleckno asked members to confirm the year that their term on the Commission started and passed around a sheet to update member information. 4. Chairman Oleckno requested Tim Holdeman to get information regarding the Open Meetings Act training to Ms. Shult, our newest member. 5. Chairman Oleckno announced briefly that he had attended the NIU Green Team meeting as its new representative. The meeting focused on the possibility of developing a sustainability plan for NIU. He also announced that he had noted some revisions were needed on the City's Webpage, especially regarding the list of current members. He will follow up on this and report back at the next meeting. He would also like to see the Commission Goals and Mission Statement posted. F. NEW BUSINESS 1. Sustainability Plan – Progress and Monitoring Modifications to the Sustainability Tracking spreadsheet were made by the group. In the future, the spreadsheet will be distributed to contributors for updating prior to each meeting. Updates should be made in red. Tim Holdeman will compile all the updates and present them at the subsequent meeting. Ms. Shult was assigned to report on Goal #12, Housing and Urban Design. She will be teamed up with Ms. Kron. Chairman Oleckno will invite City staff to upcoming meetings to discuss planning (Principal Planner, Derek Hiland), storm water engineering (City Engineer, John Laskowski), and horticulture (Public Works employee, Judy Schneider). 2. Role of the City Staff Liaison Chairman Oleckno handed out a document entitled "Responsibilities of the City Staff Liaison." This was to keep members appraised of the Liaison's role on the Commission. 3. Status of Web Site To be discussed next meeting. G. COMMISSION REPORTS 1. City Liaison: Tim Holdeman The City is working on several street maintenance items including the pervious parking lot at Van Buer Plaza. The Public Works Department has submitted a request for a new street sweeper. It will improve the amount of fine particles picked up during street sweeping and keep those particles from getting in our storm sewers and eventually our waterways. Public Works employees have set estate planters and replenished the fixed planters in the downtown area. Ms. Kron asked about reimbursement for copies made for the Commission. Mr. Holdeman took the receipt and will process the request for reimbursement. Chairman Oleckno asked about the status of an announcement for an intern. Mr. Holdeman will check on the status. 2. DeKalb County Health Department: Michelle Gibson The County has received notice that the electronics disposal vendor will no longer be serving DeKalb County. This information was made public through a recent press release and can be found on the DeKalb County Health Department Facebook page. The County Health Department is working to find a 2 Citizen Environmental Commission May 5, 2016 Page 3 of 3 new vendor. Mike Holland mentioned that the Sanitary District has hired a consultant to assist them in developing a Kishwaukee River – S. Branch watershed protection group. 3. DeKalb Park District: Amy Doll No Report H. OLD BUSINESS 1. Update on Green Living Festival: Michelle Gibson The Green Living Festival will be held on August 4th from noon to 2 p.m. at the DeKalb County Health Campus at 2550 N. Annie Glidden Road, DeKalb, Illinois. Shoe Share distribution will also take place that day. 2. Share-A-Bag Program Update: Clare Kron The program continues to be a success. In some locations customers are not bringing in enough bags to keep the bins full. The Girl Scouts hand decorated several bags and then donated the bags to the program. I. NEXT MEETING: July 7, 2016 at 4:00 PM J. ADJOURMENT Mr. Koch moved to adjourn the meeting at 5:50 p.m.; seconded by Ms. Skala. Motion carried by voice vote 6-0. Chair Oleckno declared the meeting adjourned. Respectfully Submitted: Tim Holdeman, Public Works Director 3