01-08-2014
Chanhassen Environmental Commission (EC)
Regular Meeting
January 8, 2014
Members Present:
Glenn Kaufmann, Matthew Myers, Katie Mahannah, Bret Borth, Keith Anderson, Amy
Omann
Members Absent:
Amy Wenner
Staff Present:
Jill Sinclair, Environmental Resource Specialist
Minutes:
December minutes were approved.
Sustainability Report:
The commission decided that the due dates will remain the same – rough draft of each
section is due at the February meeting. The commission discussed resources for each topic’s goals. The main and
perhaps sole resource in past years was the city’s Comprehensive Plan. Commissioners wondered if perhaps
other resources could be utilized. It was left up to section authors to compile a draft and commissioners will
discuss again in February. Also discussed was the possibility of going to 2 pages per section. Some thought that
2 pages would provide too much information and thereby lose interest. At one page, the most important items are
included with little extraneous information. One alternative is to go a little longer, say 1 ½ pages, for bigger
topics like stormwater and shorter, say ½ page, for water conservation. The surface water topic, for example,
could use more pictures and graphs to illustrate issues and accomplishments. This, too, will be discussed again in
February. Commissioners agreed that all should be meeting with the appropriate city staff in January to discuss
their particular topic in order to prepare a draft in February.
Establish commission goals:
Commissioners talked about goals for 2014 and thought that the work plan covers
any goals that may be created now. The group could establish goals for each monthly action bullet but could skip
established goals since most items are already in the work plan. Does the commission need goals? It would be
nice to measure the impact of the Environmental Commission. For example, goal is to reach 1000 residents
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through the July 3 or Arbor Day events. The commission could keep track through different means, such as
passing out a survey at the July 3 event. What if the commission made one goal of having interaction with 100
people this year? The commission could ask the council if they want the EC to establish goals. The commission
will discuss (the need to ask council) again in April.
2014 Arbor Day Poster Contest Theme:
This year’s theme will be “Trees are Terrific….Inside and Out!”
Community Partnerships:
The commission listed their current and potential partners for service projects,
education and resources:
MNDNR
Watershed districts
Carver County,
Scouts – boy and girl
Arboretum
Local schools
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General Discussion
: Amy shared that she had seen a TED talk that focused on overabundance in the world,
rather than scarcity, and it was very interesting. She wondered if perhaps each commissioner could share
environmental items they’ve learned over the last month. The commission thought that would be a good idea,
depending on time available at the meeting.
Meeting adjourned at approximately 7:00 PM.
Minutes prepared by Jill Sinclair
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