Sustainable Environmental Advisory Commission

Memorandum TO: Sustainable Environmental Advisory Commissioners FROM: ______________________________________________________________________ Andrew D. DeCanniere, Commissioner, Sustainable Environmental Advisory Commission DATE: May 16, 2023 SUBJECT: April 25, 2023 Sustainable Environmental Advisory Commission (SEAC) Meeting Minutes Meeting was called to order at 7:07 PM in Conference Room D/E at Skokie Village Hall. This meeting was also streamed live on YouTube. A recording may be viewed online by visiting the following web address: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDOkvioB88Y Present: Chairperson Jennifer Grossman, Vice Chair Jim McNelis, Commissioners Christopher Buccola, Andrew DeCaniere, Michael Gershbein, Lisa Gotkin, Emily Okallau, Robert Render, Charles Saxe, Trustee Liaison Ralph Klein, Assistant to the Director of Public Works / Staff Liaison Elizabeth Zimmerman Absent: Commissioners Olivia Mahoney, Rick Moskovitz I. Approval of Minutes Minutes from the March 21, 2023 meeting of the Sustainable Environmental Advisory Commission were unanimously approved. II. Old Business a. Library Seminars Commissioner Saxe provided an update on upcoming seminars that will be taking place at the Skokie Public Library. He noted that he still needs to confirm a description for the upcoming Niles Township program, which will be about food scarcity in Niles Township, and which will be taking place at the Niles Township offices on Lincoln Avenue. He also noted that the program on Native Plants, which was done by the Beautification and Improvement Commission, was a big success. It was very well received and there was a lot of genuine interest. Staff Liaison Zimmerman noted that they will be giving away the new buckets that they’ve gotten in, in which people will be able to transport their compost to the compost drop-off sites around the community, during the library seminar that she will be participating in on June 6th. They finally got the stickers in, which are to be applied to the buckets, to provide additional information/guidance in terms of what is compostable. She noted that they are ready to go. They just wanted to have an event of some sort at which to launch them. Additional discussion ensued. Page !1 of !12 Commissioner Saxe noted that the seminar Staff Liaison Zimmerman will be a part of will be taking place on June 6th at the Skokie Public Library in the Business and Community Center on the second floor. The May 23rd seminar on geothermal will also be in the Business and Community Center on the second floor. He thinks that both will also be on Zoom. So, there will be an opportunity to virtually participate in those two seminars. b. Spring Greening Staff Liaison Zimmerman thanked Vice Chair McNelis and Commissioners Gershbein and Saxe, who volunteered to help out at this year’s Spring Greening. She said that she thought that traffic control was better, which helped. They once again accepted a lot of material, which included more than 19,700 pounds of documents that were shredded, something like 22,000 pounds of electronics. They had to get a third trailer to be able to accommodate all of it, so it was above and beyond what they were expecting. Additionally, there were 360 pounds of fire extinguishers and 300 pounds of lithium batteries. She went on to note that lithium batteries are a big one that they like to collect, as it helps prevent fires from occurring inside recycling trucks and at recycling facilities. They also collected 300 pounds of holiday lights. There were 1,068 vehicles that went through the electronics recycling and document destruction stations that were set up in the parking lot. They had 627 vehicles go through the other recycling stations, which is a big number for the other parking lot, where the other stations were set up. The textile recycling was also very popular. Even though we do not get weight information from them, they did have to bring in a second truck. Some other vendors had to shut down their stations, because they were full. It was a good event. Vice Chair McNelis said that it seemed to him Spring Greening was busy compared to previous years, and that he would be curious to know how this year’s attendance compares to years past. Staff Liaison Zimmerman said attendance was about the same. The number of vehicles for electronics recycling and paper shredding was down just a little bit, which is to be expected, as last year was the first year for the event after COVID. Therefore, she thinks there were some people who came to the event who had saved up some material, and that accounts for the slightly higher totals for last year’s Spring Greening. She also reiterated that this year’s event was really successful, they took in a lot of material, and they had good weather. Staff Liaison Zimmerman also went on to note that residents can also go to any other Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County (SWANCC) community event, which is messaging that they put out there. If someone missed the Spring Greening event, all Skokie residents are invited to participate in any of the SWANCC collection events. For example, Evanston has a big event later in the summertime. They will be getting messaging out where that is concerned as well. Page !2 of !12 Commissioner DeCanniere noted that if people were made aware of these other SWANCC collection events, it may help them spread it out a bit, so that they aren’t amassing all of these items in their house all year long. They can then bring smaller amounts of stuff with them, rather than feeling compelled to bring everything with them to this one event. Staff Liaison Zimmerman said that she is aware that Morton Grove reached out to the Village, and they are thinking of starting an event. They would be a part of that SWANCC group, and Skokie residents would be able to go there as well. Chairperson Grossman noted that it seems to her that when other communities do hold a collection event, what is accepted at the event is not as broad as what is accepted during Spring Greening. Commissioner Saxe said he had been to an event in a nearby suburb, and they accepted both paper and electronics. It was convenient. However, Spring Greening is probably the most comprehensive of all of the collection events that he can think of. Staff Liaison Zimmerman noted that she thinks that with the location that they have for Spring Greening now, it works pretty well. She said that some of the confusion as far as where to go to drop off which items could be attributed to the switch from the Niles North High School property to Westfield Old Orchard Shopping Center. It took some time for people to learn the new traffic patterns, and so it has been nice for it to have been in the same place. Commissioner Saxe said that there was some confusion among those who had multiple things that they wanted to drop off. For example, if you had electronics, paper and some other things, there seemed to be some uncertainty as to where to go. He went on to note he is not aware whether that was a prevalent problem. They had a few people coming through the station that was intended for paper, asking what they should do with their other stuff. Staff Liaison Zimmerman said that they do go through the lessons learned afterward. If there are any other comments regarding the event, Commissioners can feel free to email her. Additional discussion ensued. c. Plan Commission Drive-through Agenda Item Staff Liaison Zimmerman said that she was curious as to whether any Commissioners attended the Plan Commission meeting. Commissioner Saxe stated that he could not attend the meeting. He tried to follow online, but it seems that it was not streamed or broadcast. Consequently, he is unaware of what actually occurred. Staff Liaison Zimmerman said that, just to provide everyone a brief update, the Community Development Director, Johanna Nyden, has been working with her team Page !3 of !12 to develop some policy changes regarding drive-throughs in the community. As a reminder, it is not legal for the Village have an outright ban on drive-through facilities. Ms. Nyden came up with a memo, which Commissioners have hopefully already had a chance to read. She went on to say that she feels that the memo is very thorough and thoughtful. It presents some ways to mitigate the impacts of drive-throughs. She said that she did provide Ms. Nyden with the minutes from our March meeting, at which we discussed the issue of drive-throughs in the community, along with the document that Commissioner Saxe produced. Staff Liaison Zimmerman said that she felt as though all of Commissioner Saxe’s ideas were thoughtful and good as well. The Plan Commission did get all of those comments/documents before voting on the matter. She is not sure what happened after that, but she will try and get Commissioners an update as to what happened at that Plan Commission meeting. Commissioner Saxe said, generally speaking, he feels that Ms. Nyden’s recommendations are good. He obviously has his point of view, but he thinks that she is approaching the issue in a very constructive way. Commissioner DeCanniere noted that he recently found a news article that is somewhat related to this topic, and that he emailed the link to the article to all Commissioners. The article concerns how a number of fast food chains and some convenience stores have begun to add electric vehicle (EV) charging stations to their parking lots. Staff Liaison Zimmerman noted that Commissioner Gershbein just checked, and the link to that Plan Commission meeting is now up on the Village of Skokie’s YouTube channel, so perhaps they just posted it. Commissioner Saxe said that he will take a look at it. d. Compost Week Staff Liaison Zimmerman noted that Compost Week is coming up. They’ve done a soft opening of three more compost drop-off sites. These three new sites are Hamlin Park, the Niles Township government offices, and Central Park. These are all pilot programs. If any sites isn’t working, they can always look at different locations, etc. They will be advertising those on Tuesday, May 2nd. The program, in general, has really taken off. In March, the numbers came in, and in March of 2022, 5.4 tons were composted. This March, 10.8 tons were composted. She said that she couldn’t ask for a better start. There have been a few contamination issues here and there, and there are a few locations that will become full once in a while, but it has been manageable and the program has been going really smoothly. Additional discussion ensued. Chairperson Grossman said that she thought we originally discussed locating these compost drop-off sites at places where they could be monitored (e.g. at facilities). Staff Liaison Zimmerman said that there is some concern over how this is going to go. This is a pilot program, and they are keeping an eye on these locations. Park District staff is out in the parks, and they still send Village staff over on Fridays as well. Collection Page !4 of !12 days are Mondays and Thursdays. So, they are monitored for a majority of the week. That said, we’ll see how things go with these locations. Staff Liaison Zimmerman went on to say that she thinks that the program has become more successful a bit faster than they anticipated, and when it comes to finding new locations for additional sites, you kind of run out of these “perfect” locations (e.g. locations that are at facilities). Chairperson Grossman inquired about the potential to add compost drop-off sites at schools. Staff Liaison Zimmerman said that she initially thought that we should partner with the schools. However, she had some concerns about the traffic flow at the schools, and how it may be adversely impacted by people trying to drop their compost off. Chairperson Grossman indicated she talked to some parents at Highland School, and they indicated that they would be interested in having a site there, because that whole area doesn’t have a compost drop-off site nearby. The Devonshire location is not that far, but if the drop-off sites are not right on your way, you may be less inclined to participate. Staff Liaison Zimmerman said that if a school has a site they think will work well with their traffic, etc., they can talk about it. Additional discussion ensued. Commissioner Gotkin said that the postcard that was sent out by the Village regarding what can be composted and what goes where was excellent. She put it up in her kitchen, so that everyone in her household can see it. Commissioner Saxe said that he put it up on his refrigerator as well. It was an excellent piece. Commissioner Gotkin said she doesn’t know who designed it, but she thanks them for it. Staff Liaison Zimmerman thanked them for the comments/feedback, and said that she will pass that on to Communications Manager Meredith Gioia. Trustee Liaison Klein asked whether there was any thought about putting that on the recycling bins. Staff Liaison Zimmerman noted that there is some recycling information on the recycling bins. Trustee Liaison Klein said he is aware, but that this has more information. Staff Liaison Zimmerman asked whether we think it should go on the recycling bins or on the refuse toter. Chairperson Grossman said she thinks it should go on the refuse toter, because other than with certain exceptions (e.g. hazardous waste), the refuse toter is sort of this first step or catch-all for many people. Trustee Liaison Klein said he was thinking it should go on the recycling bins, because of the potential for the recycling to be contaminated. Commissioner Okallau said that she likes the postcard as a means of communicating this information. Commissioner Saxe said that he feels that the heads-up that has been provided regarding the refuse collection changes has been pretty good. Chairperson Grossman said she also likes that when you go to the Village website, www.skokie.org, there is a pop-up that comes up informing visitors to the site of the upcoming changes to refuse collection. Staff Liaison Zimmerman said she has to give Page !5 of !12 credit for that to Village Manager John Lockerby. It was his idea to put that up there. Additional discussion ensued. Commissioner DeCanniere said that while he is not aware of how the schools may feel about it, it does seem to him that locating compost drop-off sites at schools as well as at these other locations throughout the community is a good idea — as long as it can be done safely, and without impeding normal operations at the schools. He went on to note that he was also thinking of reaching out to the schools to get some sort of baseline assessment in terms of what green initiatives may already be in place at the schools, what their curriculum looks like in terms of what they are teaching students about climate change / environmental sustainability, so on and so forth. A compost drop-off site at a school could certainly fall under the heading of “green initiatives” or programs, and could be one way the school districts could be involved in these kinds of things in the community. He also noted that the updated version of the Refuse and Recycling Programs brochure, which may be found on the Commission’s webpage as well as on the Village’s recycling webpage, contains some information about the transition to once-weekly refuse collection. Chairperson Grossman said that during one of the budget hearings that was held recently, there was some discussion of videos regarding composting and recycling. She went on to inquire who would be producing these videos for the Village. Staff Liaison Zimmerman stated that Ms. Gioia would be doing so. Additional discussion ensued. e. Regional Leaf Blower Report Staff Liaison Zimmerman said she isn’t aware whether Commissioners saw the messaging that went out last week, but Village crews have essentially completely transitioned to electric landscape equipment. It has been really successful. The only situation in which one might hear a chainsaw running is if they have to take down a really big tree or if there has been a storm, because as the wood chips get wet, sometimes the electric landscape equipment won’t do as well. Other than in those situations, they are now fully electric, and the Village crews are very excited about it, including about how quiet the electric equipment is. Chairperson Grossman inquired as to whether the battery for the electric riding lawnmower holds a charge to do a day’s work. Staff Liaison Zimmerman said that is the thing that they are waiting to see. When you get a new cell phone or something, the battery life is great. They are just going to have to learn how long these batteries will last. Right now, with new batteries, everything is working and going really well. She noted that how the Village operates is definitely different than the manner in which a private landscape company that works 12 hour days would operate. They want to be mindful that it is a hard transition for everybody to make. She went on to say that the other thing we will see the Village doing is rolling out more of the zero-emission robot mowers. The only thing stopping them from doing a much larger rollout is that you need an electricity source. Solar chargers are expensive. Page !6 of !12 Staff Liaison Zimmerman went on to note that they had Village staff meet and talk about the Regional Leaf Blower Report. There’s a code committee that talks about any code changes that are being considered. Right now, they’re just following this report, which at this time is essentially limiting the use of leaf blowers to the seasons in which you really need them —which is that spring and fall season. Again, there needs to be time for the technology to catch up, for more companies to purchase this equipment, and so on. Therefore, they are looking at this as a starting point. There are some things on the enforcement end of things that concern the Village staff. For instance, during the week, the property inspectors would be responsible for handling calls about noise. On the weekend, the police department would be responsible, and obviously it’s low on the hierarchy of their calls. That can create frustration, when someone thinks that their leaf blower is the crisis of their day, and there are other things that the police department needs to handle. This can create some conflicts, so they are working on talking through these kinds of scenarios within their code committee. She is aware that some other communities allow taking a photo and things of that nature, and so they are just trying to work on those sorts of things with the Village’s legal department as well. Vice Chair McNelis inquired whether the battery-powered equipment would be allowed. Staff Liaison Zimmerman said battery-powered equipment truly is quieter, but it is a little different in that it has this higher pitched sound to it. It also doesn’t travel through windows and doors in the same way. The use of gas-powered equipment would be banned, except for during the spring and fall. Vice Chair McNelis asked whether, during this transition from the old equipment to the new battery-powered equipment, the old equipment is kept for some period of time. Staff Liaison Zimmerman said they’re not aware of any programs that are recycling that right now, and it is good for them to have on-hand, in case they have the need for it. They will be keeping the old equipment on-hand for the foreseeable future, until they’re comfortable with the transition. Commissioner Saxe said that, as he sees it, there are a three of issues where the leaf blowers are concerned. One issue would obviously be the emissions generated by the gas-powered equipment. The second issue is the noise. The third issue is that all they do is redistribute debris. He is glad some progress is being made, but he thinks that we ought to keep those three things in mind, in terms of what we are trying to achieve with a leaf blower policy. Commissioner Okallau said that not only are there emissions from the gas-powered equipment, but the particulates in the air as well, that are of concern, in addition to the environmental impacts that exist. She went on to inquire as to whether the ban will just be on gas-powered equipment or whether leaf blowers will be banned entirely. Staff Liaison Zimmerman said that in terms of the Regional Leaf Blower Report, there was a lot of thought that went into it. There was a balanced committee. Not only did it include environmentalists, but it included the landscaping community, and how they Page !7 of !12 can do their work and survive. At this point, that report is recommending to start by limiting those gas-powered leaf blowers. She thinks that what that does is that it provides a sort of heads-up for community members and landscapers to begin purchasing electric equipment. The Village’s Environmental Sustainability Plan actually wants a code change for gas-powered equipment — not just leaf blowers — but when you start thinking about the problems the Village had with getting their one crew set up, it’s just not really feasible to roll that out in the community at this time. However, doing one code change alerts the community that other changes are coming. She thinks it is just the first step in the process. Commissioner Saxe said he thinks that it is an important step, just to normalize the practice. Staff Liaison Zimmerman said that she thinks that the violation part of it is tricky, because at this time they are looking at allowing electric leaf blowers during all seasons. So, are people going to know that the higher-pitched leaf blower that is running is not a gas-powered leaf blower? Additional discussion ensued. Staff Liaison Zimmerman noted that they are also considering requiring the landscape companies to register with the Village, and license themselves. That would essentially provide the Village with an email list, and they could push messaging out when they change the code, and to send reminders out regarding the noise ordinance and things of that nature. Chairperson Grossman noted that many of the landscapers in Skokie are not big companies, such as those you may see in Wilmette or in Evanston. If you are assuming they have somebody who does communications, there may not be anyone in that sort of role. Commissioner Okallau noted that even if this registration requirement seems simple to us, it could be a barrier. Commissioner Gotkin asked who would be considered in violation — the landscaper or the homeowner. Staff Liaison Zimmerman said that’s something they have to work out. They were talking about that a little bit at the last meeting. She said she believes that in Evanston it is the homeowner who would be considered to be in violation. Commissioner Gotkin said that she thinks that it should be the homeowner. She does think people need to know the law where they are working. However, she believes that the burden should be on the homeowner to monitor what their landscaper is doing on their property. Commissioner DeCanniere concurred and said he feels that this would also simplify the whole communications component, as we would then only have to worry about communicating this new regulation to the homeowners. They, in turn, Page !8 of !12  would be responsible for making that regulation known to whatever service they may elect to use. Staff Liaison Zimmerman said that just in terms of the timeline, they would never roll this out in the middle of the season. Therefore, we would be looking at these changes being made after the season. Chairperson Grossman asked what the Village’s preference may be in terms of what the restriction would look like initially. Staff Liaison Zimmerman said she thinks that communities in the area tend to look to one another. They like these regulations to be similar. It just makes things easier for everyone involved, including easier for the landscapers who are traveling between these communities. Right now, they’re really advocating for this to go before the Village Board to do this code change. At the end of the day, she doesn’t think that we can get too drastic with it, because the availability of technology is not widespread. Again, with the companies, there is also this equity issue. You have companies where a family is just trying to make a go of it, and trying to feed their families. When it comes to the Village, it may be that the Village only needs to purchase one battery to make it through an eight-hour day whereas, for someone who is working a 12-hour day six days per week, it may be that they need to purchase triple the amount of batteries. Commissioner Saxe said he thinks that the draft policy addresses that issue by phasing the implementation, allowing for a transition to happen. Commissioner Saxe added that he thinks that a rake is a more effective means of moving leaves than a leaf blower. He rakes the leaves on his property, and he watches those who use leaf blowers, and they spend a lot of time blowing the leaves and debris all over the place. It does not take a significantly longer amount of time for him to rake the leaves. Commissioner DeCanniere concurred, noting that sometimes the lower tech solution actually is the better one. Commissioner Okallau noted that Evanston does not fine the homeowner. There was an iteration of this ban that was going to go after the property owner because that was considered to be more equitable. Additional discussion ensued. III. New Business a. Sustainability Coordinator approved in budget Chairperson Grossman noted that the hiring of a Sustainability Coordinator has been approved by the Village Board. It is in the budget. She went on to inquire if the timeline for hiring this individual is known. Staff Liaison Zimmerman said that the intent is to hire somebody to fill this position soon. The goal is to get the job listing up in May. She brought the budget item that talks about it with her, and proceeded to quote from it. Page !9 of !12 The following is a brief description of the duties of the Sustainability Coordinator that is to be hired by the Village: This newly created position affords an exciting and challenging opportunity to provide sound leadership in advancing the Village's goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in pursuit of carbon neutrality. Under general direction of the Assistant Village Manager, you will coordinate and ensure continued execution of the 2022-2030 Skokie Environmental Sustainability Plan by supporting the Village's Sustainability Action Team in implementing the 189 detailed action items; Provide expertise and oversight of the Village's sustainability initiatives including research, data collection, metric development and monitoring, policy review, grant research and assisting with staff and community partner education and engagement initiatives that promote environmental sustainability; Develops, calculates, tracks, and manages metrics and data to support the Plan; Coordinate with Plan Sector Leads, secure approval of implementation actions, develop policies or programs, manage projects and contracts, identify resources needed, assemble project teams and communicate progress with executive leadership; Must have the ability to garner the support and buy-in of internal and external stakeholders with a positive, can-do attitude; the ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with a diverse assortment of groups and individuals in a courteous, tactful and professional manner is essential; Performs other work-related duties, as assigned. Vice Chair McNelis inquired as to whether this individual would report to Staff Liaison Zimmerman. She replied that they will be reporting to the Village Manager’s Office, which is where it really needs to be. Commissioner DeCanniere said it is good that this appears to be moving forward, because it seems that more and more communities are making this investment. It’s an investment in the community — in the future and in the people. So, it is a good thing that the Village is committing to this position. Commissioner Okallau said that it is good to see that the Village, including the Trustees, have not only accepted this plan, but are on-board when it comes to its implementation. Commissioner Saxe said he also appreciated having that memo sent out regarding the progress that the Village has made thus far. Chairperson Grossman noted that there is a lot in the budget that covers the items in the Environmental Sustainability Plan. There isn’t just a plan without the funding. Staff Liaison Zimmerman said that Chairperson Grossman’s point is well taken. A lot of money was devoted to sustainability-related items in the budget this year. They were asked by the Village Manager’s Office to come up with each Staff Lead on the sectors and to tell them what is needed and, to her knowledge, nothing was cut. It was a back- and-forth of what we need to implement those first stage plans and they supported that. Page !10 of !12 Commissioner DeCanniere mentioned that the totals are actually noted in the memo that went out to all of the Commissioners. Please note that this memo was also made available to the public on the Village of Skokie website, and may be accessed by going to https://www.skokie.org/DocumentCenter/View/8817/SustainabilityUpdateMemo. b. Plan Accomplishments Chairperson Grossman noted that there is a very thorough memo outlining what has been accomplished so far under the Environmental Sustainability Plan. It is pretty impressive. Staff Liaison Zimmerman said that the goal now would be for each Commission liaison to take a look at their specific section, in order to learn what is going on and where they are able to jump in — whether they want to jump into something that is already ongoing or something new. Vice Chair McNelis provided an update to an item in the memo that went out, noting that there is now a draft award form for a Village-wide Skokie Energy Efficiency Challenge. He will be sharing that with all of the Commissioners, and hopefully there can be a discussion about that next time. They’re looking for some feedback, and then they can move forward with that. Commissioner Render discussed foam recycling. Staff Liaison Zimmerman noted that one interesting thing, when it comes to food packaging, is that if a community or a state bans foam food packaging, then there’s less money for grants / opportunities for foam recycling. However, she went on to say that SWANCC has assured her that it has not been affecting the packaging styrofoam at all. So, even if there would be a ban on the food styrofoam packaging, there’s still plenty (e.g. from electronics, like televisions) to run a program. Additional discussion ensued. Commissioner Saxe said he wanted to note that the Village recently received a grant from the Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program (ITEP) for the Church Street bike lane. So, that has some additional funding, and hopefully that bike lane will happen this year. He also said that the Skokie Bike Network has been asked to provide a letter of support for the extension of the Skokie Valley Trail. He went on to mention that the Village of Lincolnwood received a grant for putting a protected bike lane on Pratt Avenue. He said that he thinks it runs from McCormick Boulevard all the way to Niles Center Road. Additionally, the City of Evanston received an ITEP grant to install a cycle track on Church Street between Dodge Avenue and McCormick Boulevard. Commissioner DeCanniere noted that the Plan Accomplishments memo talks a bit about electric vehicle (EV) charger installation within the community. He went on to say that on a recent show he had seen on PBS, they talked about a new type of EV charger that would allow electric vehicles to charge wirelessly, and how wireless charging capabilities will be available on new electric vehicles. There will even be a wireless EV charger that will be able to be integrated into concrete, so that snow plows will be able to go over them without damaging them. He went on to say that he thinks that new technology like Page !11 of !12  this will encourage more people to purchase electric vehicles, particularly as these kinds of chargers become increasingly ubiquitous, simplifying things for EV owners. He doesn't know whether the Village has been looking into the possibility of wireless EV chargers, but it seems like there’s a real potential for the Village to make use of them throughout the community. Staff Liaison Zimmerman said that there’s a team working with the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus right now, and noted that there is a program similar to the SolSmart program, which is the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus EV Readiness Program. They’re working through achieving different accomplishments in various areas when it comes to the chargers, in order to achieve a Bronze-level designation. They can’t go for Gold at the moment, because the Village fleet would have to be comprised of a really high percentage of EVs. Therefore, they’re going for Bronze, hoping to get Silver. She’d said there’s a lot of low-hanging fruit they have to work on before they look into these kinds of things, but she reiterated that there is a team that is working on this / getting updates on EV charging. Additional discussion ensued. Staff Liaison Zimmerman asked whether Commissioners have heard from their Village Sustainability Action Team Staff Liaison. They had asked Staff Liaisons to reach out to SEAC Sector Liaisons via email. She went on to say that what she is going to do is provide each Commissioner their contact for their particular sector. Chairperson Grossman asked if she could send the contact info for all liaisons to all Commissioners. Staff Liaison Zimmerman agreed to do so. IV. Other Business Staff Liaison Zimmerman reminded Commissioners of Chicago River Day, which is an annual clean-up event, and encouraged those who can do so to sign up for the event. V. Public Comment No public comments were received. VI. Next Meeting Based on the expected availability of Commission members, the next meeting will take place on Tuesday, May 30, 2023. VII. Adjournment There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 8:32 PM. Page !12 of !12