EC 2018 11 14
Chanhassen Environmental Commission (EC)
Regular Meeting
November 14, 2018
Members Present: Bill Chappell, Keith Butcher, Don Vasatka, Greg Hawks, Rachel Popken, Wayne
Benbow
Members Absent: Kristin Fulkerson
Staff Present: Jill Sinclair, Environmental Resource Specialist;
Minutes: October minutes were approved.
Community service project review: Rachel had volunteered along Lake Riley Blvd and said their
group worked on a drainage way area that was filled with leaves. They cleaned out two drains rather
than the curb line since it was pretty clear of leaves. Don talked about the Carver Beach Road area that
he, Bill and Greg had been at. He said they did a lot of street frontage and that leaves were pretty thick
in areas. Both groups had residents stop by and ask about the work so it seemed to raise awareness
within the neighborhoods. The commission said it would consider doing it again next year.
GreenStep worksheet review and planning: The commission began the discussion by looking
through the worksheet and briefly asking about specific actions that might already be done but not
checked off, such as item 1.2 – indoor lighting changes. The discussion then turned to what the goals of
the commission were when it came to GSC. Does the EC need to focus on next steps to Step 3 when
choosing actions to pursue? One of the required actions for Step 3 is entering all building information
into a database, which is a lot of work. It was noted that entering data on B3 is tough to start and will
take more staff time, but once populated, it can assist staff in meeting future goals. Other
commissioners recommended that smaller steps be taken in order to lead to bigger steps like B3. The
goal should be to get to Step 3 and the commission needs to work in that direction. It was asked again
what the goal of EC – to get the city using B3 data or analyzing our energy consumption? City goals
should be something like ‘next year we cut our energy consumption by 10%’. The commission would
like to make an appointment with the maintenance people to talk about GSC actions and hear what ideas
they have. They’d also like to meet with the Public Work Director and make suggestions on energy
savings. The EC needs to figure out who’s the right person to work with. They’d also like utility
companies to come and explain everything about energy consumption and savings. The EC could look
for projects they could work on for next and if anyone is passionate about something in particular, they
could work on that. It was suggested that maybe the utility companies could come and give a
presentation to homeowners about energy savings. The city could have someone there to talk about
water conservation. The event could be held at the library. Fall would be the best time of the year to
offer it, probably late September or October. Possible action items to work on would be 24.1, 2.1, 2.4,
18.8, 24.4, 15.1a. Although it seemed that 18.8 and 15.1a have been completed. The EC decided to
possibly focus on 26.2a and 2.1 and include an open house event with city utility staff, building official
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and local utility reps. It could be promoted in the Chan Connection, Villager, FB, etc. The EC also
wants to review the purchasing policy for the city for inclusion of Energy Star recommendations.
2019 Work Plan: The EC reviewed the 2018 plan and removed some items specific to 2018. They
added a possible DemCon recycling tour and a fall Energy Savings education event. Jill will update
dates and send it out for review. The commission will discuss it again next month.
General Discussion:
Jill said the PBS recycling video was put on the city’s FB page and watched/shared.
All past EC minutes and agendas are updated on the website.
Don recently attended a tour in Bloomington of Sustainable Companies. He said it was a
good tour that highlighted local businesses. The Bloomington group presenting it is also
considering starting a Recognition Award program for businesses. They’re inviting other
cities to talk about it and Don asked if anyone would be interested in participating. Bill said
he would.
Meeting adjourned at 8:15 pm
Minutes prepared by Jill Sinclair
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