Economic Development Commission

DeKalb Municipal Building Glidden Conference Room - Second Floor 200 South Fourth Street DeKalb, Illinois 60115 AGENDA Citizen Environmental Commission January 7, 2016 4:30 p.m. A. Roll Call B. Approval of Agenda -- Additions/Deletions C. Public Participation D. Announcements E. Old Business 1. Clarification of Legal Requirements Related to Conduct of Commission Business Guest: Dean M. Frieders, City Attorney 2. Chair Updates a. Mayor's Meeting b. Commission Contact Information 3. Proposed Green Living Festival 4. Sustainability Plan Progress Reports F. New Business 1. Letter to the Mayor on Climate Change Directives 2. Commission Reports a. City Liaison: Jennifer Diedrich b. Cooperative Effort: Melissa Burlingame c. DeKalb Co. Health Department: Michelle Gibson d. DeKalb Park District: Jason Mangum G. Adjournment  MINUTES CITY OF DEKALB CITIZEN ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION December 3, 2015 The Citizen Environmental Commission held a meeting on December 3, 2015 at the DeKalb Municipal Building, Haish Conference Room, 200 South Fourth Street, DeKalb, Illinois, 60115. Chair Oleckno called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. A. ROLL CALL Jennifer Diedrich called the roll and the following members of the Citizen Environmental Commission were present: Bill Oleckno, Linda Yates, Sharon Skala, Dan Kenney, Ken Koch, Clare Kron. Members Absent: Hein Also present were: Jennifer Diedrich, City of DeKalb, Jared Heyn, City of DeKalb, Melissa Burlingame, NIU, Mike Holland, DeKalb Sanitary District, Michelle Gibson, DeKalb County Health Department, and Nancy Proesel. B. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA – ADDITIONS / DELETIONS MOTION Ms. Skala moved to approve the agenda, seconded by Mr. Koch. Motion carried by voice vote 6-0- 1. Chair Oleckno declared the motion passed. C. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION None D. APPROVAL OF MINUTES MOTION Mr. Kenney moved to approve the November 5, 2015 minutes, seconded by Ms. Yates. Several language changes were requested which Ms. Diedrich made. VOTE: Motion carried by voice vote 6-0-1. Chair Oleckno declared the motion passed. E. OLD BUSINESS 1. Progress on CEC Webpage Ms. Diedrich shared the modifications to the CEC website. Ms. Skala advised that she would like to remain the commission member responsible for website changes/additions. 2. Proposed Green Living Festival Chair Oleckno advised that he wanted to keep this item on the forefront to make sure the planning for the event doesn’t fall behind. Discussion continued regarding the formation of a subcommittee to plan the event. Mr. Kenney reviewed possible presentations and workshops that could take place at the event, noting that community education was a large component of the sustainability plan. Ms. Burlingame noted that the event would provide an opportunity for other environmental organizations to work together and learn about one another. This could be a good opportunity to network with other organizations. Ms. Kron suggested the Commission staff a booth that would provide info on the small, easy things that people could do to improve the environment. Discussion regarding the event continued between all present. Chair Oleckno suggested that a steering committee be created. Ms. Kron, Ms. Gibson, Ms. Skala, and Mr. Kenney agreed to participate. Ms. Proesel inquired about the date for the festival. Mr. Kenney advised April 23, 2016. Discussion continued between all present concerning the DeKalb Farmer’s Market. It was suggested that the Chamber consider holding the market on Thursday or Friday nights i.e. Rockford’s Friday Night Market. Mr. Kenney reported on the green leaf initiative discussion he had with the Chamber restaurant group, noting that those present were very receptive. F. New Business 1. Commission Reports a. City Liaison: Jennifer Diedrich Ms. Diedrich introduced Jared Heyn, Management Analyst, to discuss Waste Management’s Recycle Bank Program which was now available in DeKalb. He advised that residents can track and report their recycling amounts and receive points to purchase merchandise. Mr. Heyn continued by reviewing the link to the program on the City’s website. Ms. Burlingame asked if Mr. Heyn had heard about the next door program. Mr. Heyn advised that he had not. Ms. Burlingame shared how the program works and discussion continued between all present. Ms. Burlingame noted that the program was a great way to share local neighborhood info with residents. Chair Oleckno asked if Waste Management or recycle bank track details. Mr. Heyn advised that he would check on it and report back. Ms. Diedrich reviewed and reported on the list of items Chair Oleckno had sent to her prior to the meeting: 1. The proposed internship(s) for the Commission – Ms. Diedrich advised that the status of this item had not changed from the November 2015 meeting where this was discussed with Management Analyst Lauren Stott. She advised at the November 2015 meeting that the City’s Internship Program was put on hold until the new Human Resources Director was hired. 2. Potential access to members' emails under FOIA – Ms. Diedrich reviewed the contents of the email from City Attorney Dean Frieders which was previously distributed to the Commission. 3. Status of the proposal to change residency requirements for the Commission – Ms. Diedrich advised that this item would move forward with other changes to Chapter 50 of the City of DeKalb Municipal Code when ready. 4. Mayoral letter status – Ms. Diedrich had no updated information to share. 5. Date and time of P.R.I.D.E. Award presentations – Ms. Diedrich advised that the presentation of the awards was scheduled for Monday, December 14, 2016 at 6pm in the Council Chambers. 6. The CEC Webpage status – Ms. Diedrich advised that this was reviewed earlier in the meeting. 7. How we get our Commission goals approved – Ms. Diedrich didn’t believe that the Committee needed to get their goals approved. She noted that she would be happy to share them with the Mayor once drafted. 8. The status of the Commission name change - Ms. Diedrich advised that this item would move forward with other changes to Chapter 50 of the City of DeKalb Municipal Code when ready. 9. Status of funds for Commission use - Ms. Diedrich advised that $2,200 was approved in the FY16 budget for the Commission’s use. Estimates for expenses would need to be reviewed prior to being spent. b. Cooperative Effort: Melissa Burlingame Ms. Burlingame advised that the Green Team is reevaluating its position on campus. The idea is to eliminate redundancy by reducing the number of committee’s who participate in this initiative. The Green Team has extended an invite to have a member of the CEC attend their upcoming meetings. She advised that a Geography class worked on service learning projects; final presentations were today and they did a great job. Focused on sustainability standards, composting, exporting grease waste to water treatment plan, prairie restoration, and green office initiatives.  Chair Oleckno agreed to serve as the CEC member on the Green Team. c. DeKalb Co. Health Department: Michelle Gibson Ms. Gibson reported that the Solid Waste and Recycling Advisory Committee shared concerns with Waste Management about residents being charged a fee to participate in the compost recycling pilot program. Chair Oleckno agreed that paying seemed to defeat the purpose. Ms. Gibson noted that waste management didn’t give a good reason to charge residents to participate. Discussion continued between all present. Ms. Gibson shared that she and Ms. Kron met to discuss the share a bag program and are working on putting more information together. d. DeKalb Park District: Jason Mangum No report. 2. Comments on the Draft DeKalb Strategic Plan Ms. Kron shared that she felt the plan as presented was a laundry list of what people would like and wasn’t sure if it met the definition of a strategic plan. Ms. Burlingame inquired as to what is the intention of the plan was. Chair Oleckno felt the commission’s goal was to determine if environmental items were adequately represented in the plan. Mr. Koch pointed out that the mission statement didn’t mention anything about the sustainability plan. Discussion continued between all present. The following changes were recommended by Chair Oleckno: A. Reword the Mission Statement (p. 9) to include a commitment to environmental sustainability. We suggest the following revision: a. Collaboratively deliver high quality municipal services in an environmentally sustainable manner to those who live, work, learn in or visit our community through fiscal responsibility, transparency, innovation, and leadership that continuously improve the quality of life. B. Under Core Values (pp. 9-10), add the following value: a. Sustainability -- Seeking to preserve future resources by conscientious attention to the use of current resources. C. Under A.Vision of a Sense of Place, Commentary (p. 11), include the following item: a. Commitment to environmental sustainability D. Under B. Vision of Community Vitality and a Vibrant Downtown,Goals,Strategies, and Actions (pp. 15-18), include an item 5 on p. 18 as follows: a. Facilitate communication between stakeholders to discuss the status, goals, and available resources for a local food market, cafe, and community hub in keeping with the America's Best Community's application and the City of DeKalb Sustainability Plan as adopted by the DeKalb City Council. b. Implement the other elements of the DeKalb Sustainability Plan. c. Encourage a continuing assessment of the Plan's implementation, progress, and effectiveness by collaboration with the Citizen Environmental Commission. MOTION Mr. Koch moved to approve the suggested changes to the Strategic Plan and to forward those changes to the City Council; seconded by Ms. Skala. Motion carried 6-0-1 on voice vote. Chair Oleckno declared the motion passed. 3. Changes in the P.R.I.D.E. Award Nomination/Press Release Forms Chair Oleckno advised that he added a sentence to the pride award nomination form that provides details about Grosklags nominations for individuals. Discussion continued between all present. 4. Announcements Mr. Kenney thanked Ms. Proesel for her support of bringing “this changes everything” film to the Egyptian. Ms. Proesel shared information about a fire hydrant at the south corner of Lincoln and Second street that gushed water nonstop for 8 days. Mr. Kenney advised that the UUFD winter farmer’s market was on December 12th. Citizen Environmental Commission December 3, 2015 Page 6 of 6 G. Adjournment Ms. Kron moved to adjourn the meeting at 6:20 p.m.; seconded by Ms. Skala. Motion carried by voice vote 6-0-01. Chair Oleckno declared the motion passed. Respectfully Submitted: Jennifer Diedrich, Economic Development Coordinator