11-9-22 EC Minutes1
Chanhassen Environmental Commission (EC)
Chanhassen City Hall, Fountain Conference Room
6:00 pm
November 9, 2022
Members Present: Kristin Fulkerson, Leslie Elhadi, Scot Lacek, Julia Adams, Markus Fischer, and
Scott Grefe, Greg Hawks, Kaisa Buckholz
Members Absent:
Staff Present: Jill Sinclair, Environmental Resources Specialist
Visitors: none
Minutes: October minutes were approved.
2023 Focus Topic: Kristin explained the reason why a focus topic is selected and then reviewed what
had been chosen for the last few years. The commission suggested Sustainability or Alternative Energy.
The commission discussed the pros and cons of a broad topic such as Sustainability and agreed that it
would work well because it offers the opportunity to cover a lot of subtopics, such as Alternative
Energy. The commission approved Sustainability as the 2023 Focus Topic.
2022 Media Calendar review and update for 2023: The commission thought the media calendar
worked well in 2022. It allowed everyone to be involved and participate in public education. Markus
wondered if the Communications team could tell the commission what was working, how frequently the
commission should be posting, etc. He will summarize a list of questions about the commissions
outreach in 2022 and Jill will forward it to the Comm. Dept. The commission worked on populating the
2023 Media Calendar with the focus topic of Sustainability. The draft calendar is as follows.
JAN: natural
home cleaning,
Kristin
FEB:
Appliances,
Scott
MAR: Home
energy
efficiency,
Greg
APR:
Laundry,
Leslie
MAY:
Energy
efficient
gardens, Scot
JUN:
Composting,
Markus
JULY:
Sustainable
travel/staycations,
Kaisa
AUG:
Alternative
energy
sources,
Markus
SEPT:
Clothing,
Julia
OCT:
Home/Holiday
waste, Kaisa
NOV: Food
waste, Leslie
DEC: Gift
giving ideas,
Kristin
It was also suggested that maybe Sustainable House Design could be the July 4 topic.
Winter Environmental Trivia Event: Kristin asked if the commission would like to do another event
this winter. The commission agreed that they would. February would be a good time to do it, possibly
2
later in the month. There could be a category of questions on Sustainability to tie in the focus topic.
Prizes could be sustainable items such as dryer balls and microfiber cleaning cloths. Possible dates for
the event include Jan. 31, Feb. 7, Feb. 21, or Mar. 7. Kristin will check with the brewery on dates and
Jill will check with Dave to see if he could emcee again.
Chanhassen Environmental Academy: The commission debated whether to do 3 or 4 sessions and
when to offer them. They decided on 3 sessions for 2023 and moving to 4 in 2024 if they go well. The
classes will be offered in Aug., Sept., and Oct. The tentative schedule would be:
Aug. – tour of West Water Treatment Plant
Sept. – tour of Carver County Environmental Center
Oct . – Forestry workshop on current diseases and pests of trees
2023 Work Plan discussion: The commission did an initial review of the 2023 work plan working on
deleting items known not to be relevant for 2023, updating dates, and adding items necessary for next
year. The commission will review again in December.
Commission Updates: Greg gave an update on the watershed district. He said the projects for Bluff
Creek and Riley Creek were approved as was a 2022 Pond Rehabilitation project for the city. It was
also noted that a dock infested with zebra mussels was introduced into Rice Marsh Lake and action was
talked about by the district. The watershed is still doing zoom meetings but talked about going back to
live meetings.
City Updates:
Jill updated the commission on the Fox Hill subdivision developme nt.
Commissioners discussed the change to the West Fire Station from a firehouse to an ambulance
station.
Jill announced her retirement in January.
General Discussion: None
Meeting adjourned at 7:35p
Minutes prepared by Jill Sinclair