Citizens' Environmental Commission

MINUTES CITY OF DEKALB CITIZENS’ ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION February 8, 2018 The Citizens’ Environmental Commission held a regular business meeting on February 8, 2018, in Council Chambers at the DeKalb Municipal Building, 200 South Fourth Street, DeKalb, Illinois, 60115. Chairman Kenney called the meeting to order at 4:07 p.m. A. ROLL CALL The following members of the Citizens' Environmental Commission were present (indicated by x): X Dan Kenney (Chair) X Ken Koch Mark Hein X Clare Kron X Bill Oleckno Sharon Skala X Ann Shult The following ex-officio members were present (indicated by x): X Mat Emken, DeKalb Park District (Filling in temporarily for Amy Doll) Mike Holland, Kishwaukee Water Reclamation District Melissa Burlingame, Northern Illinois University Michelle Gibson, DeKalb County Health Department B. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION - To approve the agenda. Mr. Oleckno moved to approve the motion, seconded by Ms. Shult. Agenda was approved unanimously by voice vote. Chair Kenney added the following to the agenda with the consent of the Commission: New Business – Earth hour New Business - Simply Recycling Old Business – Mayors Climate Protection Agreement C. PUBLIC COMMENT Harry, a 4th year biology student at NIU, gave a short review on aspects of the Sustainability Plan related to the effects of Climate Change. He handed out a sheet to the Commissioners on suggested additions. Chair Kenney asked him to send the electronic version to Mr. Holdeman. Harry said the recommendations came from interns & 350Kishwaukee. There are 4 students, 3 of which are interns. There are two additions, one adding a paragraph prior to the “Recommendations” section bringing the plan up to date by emphasizing current climate events, such as hurricanes and wildfires setting all-time records. The second addition suggested was adding to “City Operations” with a goal of establishing in the next thirty days a method of monitoring progress in accomplishing the mission of enhancing the quality of life for present and Citizen Environmental Commission February 8, 2018 Page 2 of 4 future generations. Ms. Kron asked him who would do the work in the community. That was undecided right now. D. APPROVAL of MINUTES Chair Kenney indicated that the minutes should show that Michael Lundgren has resigned not Mark Hein along with another grammatical change on page 4. Linda will make the changes and send them to Mr. Holdeman. Mr. Oleckno moved to approve the minutes of January 4, 2018 with the noted changes, seconded by Ms. Shult. Minutes were approved unanimously by voice vote. E. COMMISSION REPORTS 1. DeKalb County Health Department: Michelle Gibson (absent) Mr. Holdeman reported for Ms. Gibson that the holiday lights program is over, and they collected over 1,000 lbs. of lights. 2. DeKalb Park District: Mat Emken Mr. Emken reported on upcoming calendar events for the Park District. April 21st is NIU cares day, May 5th is the Mustard pull. The bike path is completed to the railroad trestle. 3. Kishwaukee Water Reclamation District: Michael Holland (absent) 4. NIU: Melissa Burlingame (absent) 5. City Staff Liaison: Tim Holdeman Com Ed will be doing an LED street light change out program in DeKalb. This will begin with a survey in April. Com Ed is hoping to replace 900 of the 1900 street lights in DeKalb this year. They will begin in July, and the remainder will be done next year. They hope to be all done in 2 years. This will be a significant savings to the City. Mr. Holdeman reported that one idea for the savings is to retrofit our own city lights. The City will be looking at all the options once the survey is completed in April. Mr. Emken asked if some of the Com Ed lights are in the park. Mr. Holdeman was not positive but thought some might be. Public Works has completed an LED change out in the Water & Street Division buildings. A refuse survey was released today to reach out to the residents for their preferences. It is available on the City website and will be conveyed on social media. It was also sent to a sample 1000 residents. Paper copy surveys are also available at City Hall. It will be posted until March 5th and paper copies will be due March 9th. A group including the Park District, City & NIU are looking for options with the Bike Share Program. The group has looked at a couple of options, the preferred one is a decentralized system. NIU is moving forward with the plan, and they will probably be bringing it to the City Council in March. Veoride is the company's name. The City is evaluating the same technology. They would like to start off with 80 bikes and do a 3 2 Citizen Environmental Commission February 8, 2018 Page 3 of 4 month period pilot study. Ms. Shult asked if the City would be increasing bike space downtown, Mr. Holdeman said yes. The cost is $.50 for 15 minutes. The first 3 month period the cost will be $.30 for 15 minutes. Mr. Holdeman announced there is a draft of the Vegetation and Managed Landscape ordinance. He will be circulating it to the Commission for their input and consideration. It will be on March’s agenda. Chair Kenney suggested doing a press release about the ordinance. Chair Kenney asked the Commission what they thought about inviting the public in to see a presentation on the refuse survey. He suggested March 1st at 6:00 right after the regular meeting. This is only for information about the survey. Results would not be available yet. Everyone was in favor of doing that. F. NEW BUSINESS 1. Sustainable Urban Food System Presentation by Clare Kron Ms. Kron made a presentation for the Commission proposing that backyard chickens should be an option for residents of DeKalb. After introducing health, environmental, and sustainability concerns, she touched on the benefits of backyard chickens and egg nutrition by comparing pastured and conventional methods of chicken raising. Chicago & Madison allow chickens. If supported in DeKalb, there would have to be models and regulations in place along with inspections. Roosters would not be allowed. Chicago allows unlimited chickens but only for pets & eggs. She presented some samples of chicken coops that could be used in backyards. She wants to know if the Commission would like her to go forward with a local proposal for backyard chickens. Mr. Koch and Ms. Shult would support this. Mr. Oleckno would like to see where the community stands on the issue. He asked Ms. Kron if she has come across any ordinances that require a minimal lot size. He also has reservations about ordinances for backyard chickens because it would be difficult to control property owner behavior. Maintenance and care of chickens and their habitats require good intentions as well as sound practices. Some individuals have good intentions but don't always follow through with sound practices (e.g., keeping facilities in good repair and sanitized and keeping chickens healthy). Ms. Kron indicated that most cities allowing backyard chickens have requirements that neighbors on each side of the property have to approve the use of chickens. Chair Kenney would like to have a forum about this. Ms. Kron will talk to Jo Ellen Charlton about drafting a rule. 2. Earth Hour Chair Kenney will put together a press release about this. With Earth Hour (March 24th) residents are asked to turn off their lights for an hour starting at 8:30pm. This is a yearly event. 3. Simply Recycling This is a clothing recycling program. Mr. Koch will look into this more for the City. G. OLD BUSINESS a. City Sustainability Plan Updates - None b. Discussion and Plan regarding Fundraising for CEC – Mr. Holdeman will look into what 3 Citizen Environmental Commission February 8, 2018 Page 4 of 4 Mr. Frieders is doing with this. c. Communication Committee and Logo – Ms. Kron said Michael sent her all the files. She will look at the logo and bring it to the March meeting. It should not need anymore tweaking. d. Mayors Climate Control – Chair Kenney asked if everyone is okay with this. Mr. Oleckno is okay with the concept but not sure what it requires of the Commission. Ms. Kron encourages the Mayor to adopt the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement (as endorsed by the 73rd Annual U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting, Chicago, 2005). Ms. Shult seconded it. Approved unanimously by voice vote H. ANNOUNCEMENTS The Pride Awards will be presented next Monday, February 12th ,at 6:00 p.m. at the City Council Meeting. Monday, February 26th,, Chair Kenney will give a Sustainability Plan update to the City Council at 5:00 p.m.. Tim needs information to put in the agenda packet. There is a Public Health survey out now, which you can check out at the DeKalb County Health Dept. website. Mr. Oleckno announced that at the February 12th City Council meeting you can still speak on the smoking ordinance. Next Meeting: March 1, 2018, 4:00pm I. ADJOURNMENT Mr. Oleckno moved to adjourn the meeting, and Ms. Shult seconded. Motion carried unanimously by voice vote. Chair Kenney declared the meeting adjourned at 5:53p.m. Respectfully Submitted: Linda Odom, Recording Secretary (Edited by Bill Oleckno on February 19, 2018) Approved March 1, 2018 4