EC 2018 04 11
Chanhassen Environmental Commission (EC)
Regular Meeting
April 11, 2018
Members Present: Bill Chappell, Keith Butcher, Rachel Popken, Don Vasatka, Wayne Benbow, Greg
Hawks, Kristin Fulkerson
Members Absent: none
Staff Present: Jill Sinclair, Environmental Resource Specialist
Visitors: Tom Preiss
Minutes: March minutes were approved.
Appoint Chair/Vice-Chair: The commission selection Bill Chappell as Chair and Keith Butcher as
Vice-Chair.
Review By-Laws: The commission discussed getting a high school student appointed to the group. Bill
will talk to Todd H about the student member of the Park and Rec Commission. Perhaps by-laws don’t
need to be changed to include student, but at least create a bridge between the school and city. Bill will
also check with school on their thoughts. The commission also talked about adding Green Step Cities to
by-laws if it gets adopted. It would be put under ‘Duties and Responsibilities’. By-laws were approved.
Review Joint Meeting: Meeting went well; went quickly. Mayor mentioned organized collection and
that Chanhassen wants to keep private haulers. Green Step Cities was discussed. The council wants to
know what its impact would be to the city and to staff. The council is relying on the EC to fairly
evaluate the program and make a recommendation. They want to know if the program is something the
residents of Chanhassen would be proud of. The council will be hearing more about it at the June 25
work session. They want to know what is the city doing now, where is it currently, what goals for each
level are, and what the end goal is.
Review Regional EC Meeting: Bill, Greg, Keith, and Don attended the conference. Out of 30 cities
with Environmental or Sustainability commissions, 24 had representatives at the conference. There
were 58 attendees as well as some people from cities without commissions, but are looking to start one.
There were 5 topics covered – Energy, Water, Land Stewardship, Waste, and Community Outreach.
The conference was well received. Attendees said that they’d like to do something like it again. The
workshop was more about what difference cities did than about how cities accomplish things. No two
commissions have the same set of priorities. It was good networking.
GreenStep Cities Update and Project Planning: Keith and Don met with Jill to talk about what steps
to take next. They decided to review the worksheet staff completed last year to learn what’s done and
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what’s currently pending as well as re-review the blank sections. Then look into possible future projects
and costs savings. Don showed the commission that good examples can be found on the GSC website.
Keith and Don will select recommendations for future projects. Jill will re-route the worksheet. There
will be a draft ready for the May meeting. Rachel will prepare an outline (‘road map’) for the
presentation by the May meeting as well.
2018 Arbor Day Planning: Jill reviewed the general work plan for the event. The commission wants
the event promoted on Facebook, Chan Happenings, website, etc. Information on tree planting should
also be posted. A tree planting demonstration will be given before volunteers plant trees at Arbor Day.
Signs with tree info will be made and hung around the park. ‘Plant it high, it will Thrive. Plant it low, it
won’t Grow”
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July 3 Business Expo Planning: The focus for the booth will be Tree Care, Tree Selection. There
should be handouts on planting, pruning and suitable trees for Chanhassen. The giveaway could be
maple candy or stick crayons or tattoos. There could also be bug samples and a tree from The Garden.
Greg has poster board if needed for displays.
General Discussion:
Don inquired as to whether or not the commission would be interested in doing the new
member mentoring again or have a commission socializing event. The commission agreed it
would be a good idea to get together and get to know each other outside of meetings. Rachel
offered to propose a date for a get together. She’ll try to bring suggestions for dates to the
next meeting.
Don and Keith have conflicts for the May meeting. The commission agreed that the May
meeting should include Don and Keith and so the meeting date will be changed to May 16.
Jill has a conflict for the June meeting. The commission agreed to change the date of the
June meeting to June 6.
Meeting adjourned at 7:30 pm
Minutes prepared by Jill Sinclair
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