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HomeMy WebLinkAboutApproved Minutes - 2016-05-16Cal IV9912ELI :l41911vd/ cle] Sustainability Advisory Board Minutes May 16, 2016 Call to Order / Roll Call Co-chair Mary Ratcliff called the May 16, 2016 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: Co -Chair Mary Ratcliff, Co -Chair Gary Hanifan, Richard Canaday, Paul Soper, Eliot Metzger, Councilor Joe Buck Members Excused/Absent Lisa Adatto, Karl Friesen, Priya Judge, Sebastian Marin-Quiroz Staff: Jenny Slepian, Sustainability and Management Fellow, Public: Ron Smith Announcements from Board and Staff Farmers Market SAB booth volunteers needed on May 28. Approval of Minutes The Board unanimously approved the April 18, 2016 meeting minutes. Public Comment Ron Smith talked about a walkthrough of his condo complex in Mountain Park that was done by Kevin McCaleb. Kevin recommended water and energy saving upgrades to some fountains and he will look at their sprinklers soon. He wanted to promote having Kevin do water audits. Ron was also looking for a place to recycle electronics. Jenny told him to check with Far West Fibers and Green Century. Ron also had two tickets to Bill McKibben to give away. Regular Business A. Review Agenda Co -Chair Ratcliff reviewed the meeting agenda. B. City Council Update/City Council Goals Update Joe Buck discussed the recently wrapped up budget process. Took $500,000 in street SDCs that have to be used for new street projects and were able to use them on pathway projects that TAB prioritized. Some ongoing concerns about funding for active transportation, tried to push for 5% of street funds to be used for active transportation, but it did not pass. Gary asked if there has been any conversation about moving SDC funds from Parks to Streets. Joe acknowledged that is an ongoing conversation. Going to have a study session on Parks SDC funding. Council also prioritized repairing the skin of city hall. The City will be putting money aside every year to do that project, each department will essentially pay "rent" to get the project done. Setting aside funds to pay for it, but a portion will go to the $500,000 GRP ballfield light pole replacement. The other $250,000 will come from the Parks Maintenance budget. At the last City Council meeting, the Council passed the Lake Grove village center parking plan, as well as some different code amendments. Going to re-evaluate the plan later on if TriMet adds service to Lake Grove. Also adopted SW Employment Area Plan. Envisioning some areas of mixed use and multi -story down closer to 1-5, including some food carts. Also disallowed self -storage. C. Sustainability Dashboard Eliot Metzger introduced the sustainability dashboard concept "Project Knight Rider" to the Board. He discussed a few of the dashboards out there, including the Georgetown competition to see which cities could save the most money. Visual ticker shows how much energy and money is being saved. Some cities do an annual status report, but some provide ongoing reporting and real-time information. Eliot referred to the San Diego Quality of Life dashboard- started off with sustainability measures, and then expanded to parks, land, etc. Some competitions, some sponsors for funding. Have City and citywide numbers presented in their dashboard. The Board discussed various measurements to include in a dashboard- energy, water (quantity and quality), air quality, land (invasives, park acreage, waste (compost). Eliot asked what measurements should be prioritized and what could we most easily start with based on data that we have. The Board discussed whether there should be partners or sponsors. Joe and Gary suggested that the City may even extend invitations to the other boards, chamber, local organizations, Clackamas county - groups who may want to advertise LO as a great place to live. Gary suggested contacting the chamber to promote it. The dashboard will require someone with graphic design skills to assist, and champions to promote it and keep it going over time. Gary recommended starting with positive indicators, such as declining energy usage, water consumption, waste production, parks acreage and volunteers. Water quality issues in Lake Oswego may also be a side story that arises from the dashboard. Jenny and Eliot will continue to work together to identify data and potential partners. D. Solar Incentive Program Mary gave a quick update on the solar conference in Portland last week. Attended sections on community solar and ones run by the Bonneville Environmental Foundation. The most recent House bill put in the legislative support for community solar, but still many areas that are undefined (bill credits, array size, low income target, etc.) Another community solar model is to have solar on a City building, non-profit, church, etc. that can't have tax credits and work with an organization like the Oregon Clean Power Co-op. A group of investors buys the solar panels to put on one of those institutions, and the institution uses the energy. This model would work towards our solar target for the city. Mary suggested that the solar incentive be outreach -based, and asked if the City had identified a supplier yet. No, that has not yet happened. Richard discussed that moving forward, we should simplify the process for homeowners interested in installing solar by identifying preferred vendors. The Board discussed what a program should entail moving forward. That will be determined over the next few months. Gary commented that doing education and outreach may take a lot of SAB time and City of Lake Oswego Sustainability Advisory Board Minutes Page 2 of 3 May 16, 2016 the Board may not be in the best position to do this. May be more effective to identify the players and incentives, make that as a resource, and distribute that resource to the community. Gary didn't envision going "door to door" doing outreach as the best use of SAB time. E. Board Recruitment/Chair Selection Jenny updated the Board on the recruitment process. Recruitment for the vacancies that will be left by Gary and Mary is open until June 15. Sasha's position will be filled by Karl, as first alternate. His position will be approved by Council on June 7. At the June meeting, the Board will need to select a new chair or co-chairs. Members were encouraged to think about whether they would like to chair the Board. Adjournment Co-chair Ratcliff adjourned the meeting at 8:15 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Jenny Slepian Sustainability and Management Fellow City of Lake Oswego Sustainability Advisory Board Minutes Page 3 of 3 May 16, 2016