Environmental Concerns Committee

Village of Lombard Village Hall 255 East Wilson Ave. Lombard, IL 60148 villageoflombard.org Minutes Tuesday, April 22, 2014 7:00 PM Lorraine G. Gerhardt Community Room Environmental Concerns Committee Trustee Mike Fugiel - Chairperson Trustee Reid Foltyniewicz - Alternate Chairperson Diana Lavaque, Nancy Schukat, Winnie Lyons, Darlene Bartt, Jason Cooper, Dustin Smith, Daniel Richardt and Dana Moreau Staff Liaison: Dave Gorman Environmental Concerns Minutes April 22, 2014 Committee 1.0 Call to Order and Pledge of Allegiance Meeting was called to order by Chairperson Fugiel at 7:06 PM. 2.0 Roll Call Dave Gorman, Asst. Public Works Director Mike Brink, Waste Management Present 5 - Trustee Mike Fugiel, Nancy Schukat, Darlene Bartt, Daniel Richardt, and Dana Moreau Absent 4 - Diana Lavaque, Winnie Lyons, Jason Cooper, and Dustin Smith 3.0 Public Participation Mary Mae Meyer, Lombard Meyer: expressed interest in recruiting Lombard Pride Cleanup volunteers to work on the Great Western Trail. Gorman will coordinate with her. 4.0 Approval of Minutes A motion was made by Nancy Schukat, seconded by Darlene Bartt, that the minutes be approved. The motion passed by an unanimous vote. 5.0 Unfinished Business 050616 Current Solid Waste Contract - Update Mike Brink: presented the monthly solid waste tonnage report. Has talked with Waste Management's Marketing Coordinator about helping the Committee to design a mailer regarding reducing contaminants and increasing recycling. Moreau: suggested that results from the forthcoming survey be compiled and goals set before developing a campaign. The consensus of the Committee was to take advantage of Mike Brink's offer later in the year. 6.0 New Business 140165 Survey - Environmental Attitudes and Behaviors in Lombard Discuss results. Gorman: asked for comments on the draft survey. Did receive a comment from Winnie Lyons that it may be too long. After some discussion, it was agreed that it would not be further Village of Lombard Page 1 Environmental Concerns Minutes April 22, 2014 Committee shortened. Richardt: asked that the "My Age Is" question be moved ahead of "Name and Phone". Moreau: asked that two questions, "Length of Lombard Residency" and "Which Events Have You Taken Advantage Of" be added. Mary Mae Meyer: is the information on the Village grant programs provided to new residents? Gorman: Welcome packets used to be sent, but not sure if they currently are. Will investigate as to whether the packets are still being sent and, if so, will add the grant information. 140166 Proposed Stormwater Basin Naturalization Program Discuss Pilot Program for 5 sites. Gorman: provided an overview of his proposal. Explained that each basin would be evaluated on its own merit as far as its return on investment and the responses from the neighbors. The process would include a significant effort to educate the neighbors beforehand and to place permanent signs explaining that the area was intended to be left unmowed as a best management practice. There was a consensus of the Committee to proceed with the RFP. Any recommendation to proceed would go straight to the Board of Trustees. 7.0 Other Business Gorman: provided an overview of the West Nile Virus update meeting held by the DuPage County Health Department that morning. The El Nino foreseen for this summer will likely produce hot and dry conditions favorable to the Culex Pipiens mosquitoes that can carry WNV. The IDPH discussed the crisis that occurred in Texas in 2012 when over 1800 people tested positive for the WNV infection as a result of many political jurisdictions eliminating their contracts following a mild year. They dropped to 175 last year, largely due to reinstating larvicide programs. By contrast, Illinois had 6 cases. The variability of weather makes any given year very difficult to predict and experts say that climate change has increased seasonal variability. The DMMC Ad-Hoc Committee has recommended that all political entities have a standard minimum-level contract, and possibly a joint-bid contract, for mosquito abatement services. Gorman: will deliver Arbor Day tree tags to Dan, Nancy and Darlene to hang in places of their choosing. A Village press release was included in this packet about ComEd's Smart Meters, which are to be installed starting in May. Schukat: will there be an opt-out option? Gorman: haven't heard of one but if one was offered it would likely include an additional charge for a manual meter reading. Some of the benefits of Smart Meters are real-time notification of power outages, obtaining a better understanding of one's own electric costs, and taking advantage of hourly pricing through peak appliance use - such as timing clothes and dish washers Village of Lombard Page 2 Environmental Concerns Minutes April 22, 2014 Committee to run overnight. Stated that he has saved over $700 since installing a Smart Meter at his own home 6 years ago. 8.0 Information Only Gorman: is coordinating the Cleanup Day. He is also looking for volunteers to paddle down the East Branch of the DuPage River for the River Sweep on May 17th. He will be talking about his solar panels and other cost-saving measures at the Green Earth Fair in Naperville on May 4th. Moreau: met a Lombard resident at a booth recently at a fair in York High School who was talking about installing a saltwater swimming pool at this house. Would like to get more information about this. Gorman: will ask the Building Division about this. 9.0 Adjournment A motion was made by Nancy Schukat, seconded by Daniel Richardt, that this meeting be adjourned at 8:00 PM. The motion passed by an unanimous vote. Village of Lombard Page 3