Citizens' Environmental Commission

MINUTES CITY OF DEKALB CITIZENS’ ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION April 5, 2018 The Citizens’ Environmental Commission held a regular business meeting on April 5, 2018, in Council Chambers at the DeKalb Municipal Building, 200 South Fourth Street, DeKalb, Illinois, 60115. Chairman Kenney called the meeting to order at 4:02 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 X Sharon Skala X Ann Shult The following ex-officio members were present (indicated by x): X Amy Doll, DeKalb Park District Mike Holland, Kishwaukee Water Reclamation District Melissa Burlingame, Northern Illinois University X Michelle Gibson, DeKalb County Health Department B. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION - To approve the agenda. Mr. Oleckno would like to move #5 to the beginning of Old Business. Ms. Kron moved to approve the motion, seconded by Ms. Shult. Agenda was approved unanimously by voice vote. C. PUBLIC COMMENT Dave Davis talked on behalf of Merl from 350Kishwaukee. They would like to thank the Commission for signing on to the Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. They have 5 items they would like to add to the Sustainability Plan, the items will be e-mailed to Chair Kenney. D. APPROVAL of MINUTES Linda was informed of several changes to the minutes which will be completed and sent to Mr. Holdeman. Ms. Shult moved to approve the minutes of March 1, 2018 with the noted changes, seconded by Ms. Skala. Minutes were approved unanimously by voice vote. E. COMMISSION REPORTS 1. DeKalb County Health Department: Michelle Gibson Ms. Gibson shared the 2017 Solid Waste Annual Report. The Curbside Recycling Citizen Environmental Commission April 5, 2018 Page 2 of 4 program is will be continuing. There was an increase in hazardous waste collected. While there is usually about 8-9 tons collected, there were over 270 tons collected. Students are receiving education on composting. This year a clothing collection program will be attempted. Volunteers are always needed for all programs. For more information on the recycling event schedule for 2018 call 815-748-2408 or go to recyclemailbox@dekalbcounty.org. 2. DeKalb Park District: Amy Doll Park cleanup is beginning. Prairie Park cleanup will be this Saturday, April 7th, at 9 am. NIU Cares Day is in 2 weeks. On April 14th there will be a cleanup along the nature trail. Ms. Kron commented that NIU is having a hard time getting enough projects for the volunteers for NIU Cares Day. 3. Kishwaukee Water Reclamation District: Michael Holland (absent) 4. Northern Illinois University: Melissa Burlingame (absent) 5. City Staff Liaison: Tim Holdeman Mr. Holdeman reported that monthly drop off at city hall is no longer available on the first Saturday of the month as previously reported in the March 1, 2018 minutes. The refuse survey results were presented at City Council. Residents are in favor of the volume-based program with a lower rate for a smaller bin. People were not in favor of giving up the yard waste collection sites but were in favor of taking savings from an adopted refuse plan and applying it to street maintenance. They were also in favor of at- your-door hazardous waste service. Optional versus mandatory services were highly favored. A Request for Proposal (RFP) was developed. Residents will have 3 options: 1) unlimited volume with one or two city-wide yard waste collection sites managed by the vendor, 2) tiered service; 3) additional option proposed by the vendor. Waste Management had offered an unsolicited proposal. It was a good offer, City Council turned it down as there will be a bidding process that may provide better offers. City Council will review the RFP and possibly approve it at the City Council meeting on April 23. Mr. Koch asked if there was were any changes on to the composting program. Mr. Holdeman said it will continue as a pilot program. On Monday, April 9, City Council will discuss the Bike Share program as the city would like to begin the program on April 23 with City Council endorsement. This will be a 3- month pilot program with the release of 80 bikes. The Kishwaukee Kiwanis path is back under construction. The anticipated completion is mid-June. The airport has been approached by a solar company to install panels. Approval would be required from FAA and the Planning and Zoning Commission. ComEd would add the generated power to the electric grid. Tollway interchanges will be under construction this year. Annie Glidden will be under construction until August, and Peace Rd. will follow. Trucks from I-88 will be rerouted to Rt. 38 and will not be allowed to travel down Fairview Rd. Ms. Shult asked whether there were weight limits on the roads, and this was confirmed by Tim. 2 Citizen Environmental Commission April 5, 2018 Page 3 of 4 Dave Davis asked if we know the proposed wattage of the solar field at the airport, however, Tim didn’t know at this time. F. NEW BUSINESS 1. Illinois EPA Volkswagen Beneficiary Mitigation Plan There will be an open meeting in Will County to discuss how the money will be distributed, with the general intent to offset nitrogen emissions. Railroads and barge operators will receive most of the money. Chair Kenney thanked the Mayor for sending it to the Commission. G. OLD BUSINESS 1. CEC Budget Policy Change Mr. Oleckno reported on the changes he had made. Mr. Holdeman suggested at this point to have Attorney Frieders look at the changes, and then the commission will vote on it. The Commission had no other suggested changes and there was a consensus to accept the changes that were made. 2. Food Security Amendment Update Ms. Kron reported that the next step in changing the DeKalb animal ordinance to allow backyard chickens is meeting with individual Planning and Zoning Commission members to ask opinions on how to approach the revision. Neglect of the chickens may be a concern. Ms. Gibson asked who would do the inspections. Ms. Kron responded that animal control would be involved. She will look into what other cities do. Ms. Shult’s only concern is making sure people have enough space for them. The board commented on a list of concerns compiled by Mr. Oleckno that had caused other cities to reject backyard chickens. 3. Natural Landscape Ordinance Draft Update Mr. Holdeman, Ms. Skala, Mr. Koch and JoEllen Charlton had met and discussed changes to the ordinance. Mr. Holdeman talked about some of the changes they had made. Mr. Oleckno added some final minor grammatical changes. Mr. Koch made a motion to recommend approval of the ordinance with the grammatical changes, seconded by Mr. Oleckno. Everyone was in favor, no one opposed. Mr. Holdeman will send the revised document to everyone after the changes are made. 4. Chapter 50 Revisions Mr. Oleckno talked about the several options he recommended to Chapter 50.05 regarding dismissal of commission members who do not attend multiple meetings, including separate conditions for ex officio members. The commissioners decided to avoid stating dismissal conditions for ex officio members. Mr. Oleckno will send the changes to Mr. Holdeman, and this will be voted on at the next meeting. 5. Other Sustainability Plan Updates None 3 Citizen Environmental Commission April 5, 2018 Page 4 of 4 H. ANNOUNCEMENTS Ms. Kron reported on an article for recycling of organic waste. Most household and bio waste is contaminated by the plastic material. A new study had investigated fertilizer, stating that even organic fertilizer it could have plastic particles in it, which makes it toxic. Mr. Koch reported that Deerfield banned asphalt coating due to toxins. Mr. Oleckno is awaiting a list of restaurants from Jo Ellen Charlton, as he continues doing a survey on the effects of the no smoking ban on the businesses in DeKalb. Chair Kenney announced that DeKalb County Community Gardens is doing a presentation at the Library at 6:30 that evening. Next Meeting: Thursday, May 3, 2018, 4:00 pm I. ADJOURNMENT Ms. Shult moved to adjourn the meeting, and Mr. Oleckno seconded. Motion carried unanimously by voice vote. Chair Kenney declared the meeting adjourned at 5:47p.m. Respectfully Submitted: Linda Odom, Recording Secretary Edited by Clare Kron 4