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HomeMy WebLinkAboutApproved Minutes - 2012-04-16 CITY OF LAKE OSWEGO Sustainability Advisory Board Minutes April 16, 2012 Call to order / Roll call Co-chair Bruce Brown called the April 16 2012 meeting of the Sustainability Advisory Board (SAB) to order at 6:30 p.m. in the Conference Room of the Main Fire Station, 300 B Avenue, Lake Oswego, Oregon. Members present: Gregory Monahan, Co-Chair, Lisa Adatto, Arjun Mehra (Youth Member), Mikaela VanEaton (Youth Member), E. Jay Murphy, and Vidya Kale Members excused: Co-chairs Bruce Brown, Sarah Asby, Daniel Gottlieb, Suzanne Spencer, and Andre DeBar Council Liaison: Councilor Mike Kehoe (absent) Guest(s): Jeff Gudman, Mary Ratcliff, and Craig Holmes Staff / Consultants: Susan Millhauser, Sustainability Coordinator; Jordan Wheeler, Assistant to the City Manager; Beth Otto, Sustainability Intern Announcements from Board and Staff Ms. Millhauser said that on April 28 there is a Drug Take-Back Event; Shred Day is Saturday, April 21; Clackamas County is having an Energy and Sustainability Fair on April 28. Co-Chair Monahan said he and Co-Chair Brown have been meeting with other chairs of HRAB, NRAB, PRAB, and are trying to get the Planning Commission and TAB involved in order to discuss the Luscher Area Master Plan. So far, the area behind the athletic field has been looked at for a potential golf driving range. Co-Chair Brown has determined that two full-size fields with parking access could fit there with very small encroachment on the ag lands. They had a meeting with Kim Gilmer. Parks Director, to show her the drawings and she will run a reality check on it. After that, they will pass it among the Board chairs again, and then go public with it. Approval of Minutes There was no quorum so approval of the minutes was postponed until the May meeting. Review City Council Draft Upcoming Meetings Schedule The Board reviewed the schedule of upcoming Council meeting topics. City of Lake Oswego Sustainability Advisory Board Minutes  April 16, 2012  Page 2 of 3 Ms. Millhauser said that on April 24 the Council will be having a study session on redevelopment in the Lake Grove area; Foothills development alternatives; and code amendments regarding the reduction of off-street parking downtown. Public Comment None. Regular Business A. Review Agenda Co-chair Monahan went over the agenda. B. Allied Waste Update Mr. Holmes said in 2010 the Council asked them to look at how what they could do to improve their business in sustainability with little or no cost or affect to rate payers. He said they saw several things they can do better. This year they had to replace two trucks in the commercial fleet and five residential collection trucks. They were able to eliminate one of the routes on the street as the new trucks can pick up glass and other recyclables at the same time which they could not do before. All of the new trucks came with Tier 4 emission systems. Eight of the existing trucks have been retrofitted with diesel particulate filters. They made a lot of routing changes to reduce miles and pickups. Waste recovery has increased in the last couple of years. Yard waste decreased, but that is weather related. In Portland, having garbage service every other week forced a lot of changes, so people who habitually put green waste in their garbage cans no longer do that. There are no real barriers to Lake Oswego doing this other than the City being willing to do it. There would be a rate increase of about 50 cents a month. The commercial food waste program was implemented over a year ago but is going slow. The small decrease in fees has not been enough of an incentive to most businesses to utilize the program. Also, site access and lack of space to store additional food waste containers have made it hard for some businesses to participate. All schools in Lake Oswego are green schools, which are schools that have certain programs in waste reduction and recycling education. The Neighbors Helping Neighbors program is working well. This is a group of people who volunteer to do yard work and take that waste and garbage containers to the curb for elderly or disabled people who struggle to maintain their yards and waste receptacles. City of Lake Oswego Sustainability Advisory Board Minutes  April 16, 2012  Page 3 of 3 C. City Financing on Capital Improvement Projects Mr. Gudman said that it is a Council goal to complete a variety of major projects in the city that need to be repaired or replaced. The financial filter is the first filter in making a decision about the priority of the projects. Some of the capital improvements are needs and some are wants. The three major sources of revenue are property taxes, utility bills, and intergovernmental transfers. Mr. Gudman said he has ideas that are different from a majority of the Council. One is that he thinks they should sell the West End Building, but the majority of the council does not believe they should do that right now. Mr. Gudman said a bond measure of some kind will have to occur to cover all the capital improvements. The Council has not determined whether they will go with a single bond measure or have one bond measure now and another later for specific projects. Co-Chair Monahan said that SAB wanted to introduce the idea that if the city spends more for highly sustainable buildings, they will save money in the long run because the life cycle is longer and utility bills are less. D. Sustainability Action Month – Update and Volunteer Recruitment Ms. Millhauser said the calendars are at printer right now. She will be obtaining a poster about the kickoff event which is May 5 from 4-7PM. There will be a community mixer, information tables, a SAB table, and a councilor from Metro will do a presentation about his travels through Europe where he saw how communities are addressing climate change, creating more energy efficient businesses, creating jobs, and community livability. Ms. Millhauser said that they will need volunteers to help out with some of these events. She will pass around a signup sheet for the events and send an email to those members not in attendance at this meeting. E. Liaisons/Board Work Plan Check In Postponed until the June meeting. Adjournment The next meeting was scheduled on May 21, 2012. There being no other business Co- Chair Monahan adjourned the meeting at approximately 8:23 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Susan Millhauser Sustainability Coordinator