05-11-2022 EC Minutes1
Chanhassen Environmental Commission (EC)
Chanhassen City Hall, Fountain Conference Room
6:00 pm
May 11, 2022
Members Present: Kristin Fulkerson, Leslie Elhadi, Scot Lacek, Julia Adams, Greg Hawks, Markus
Fischer, Scott Grefe, and Kaisa Buckholz
Members Absent:
Staff Present: Jill Sinclair, Environmental Resources Specialist
Visitors: none
Minutes: April minutes were approved.
Regional Environmental Commission conference review: Greg, Leslie and Kaisa attended the state
conference held at Ridgedale Library in Minnetonka. There were about 30-40 commissioners in
attendance, down from pre-pandemic conferences. Greg said there were 3 speakers. The first spoke
about carbon reduction plans; the second talked about EV chargers; the third talked about MN Cities
Climate Caucus promoting climate change issues. The Commission conference was first held 5 years
ago and took a break for the Covid years. It’s starting up slowly again.
July 3rd Trade Fair table: Greg said that the watershed district has an aquifer display. Maybe the
commission could have a QR code to a video so that people could get more info about aquifers. The
commission could make a poster about aquifers. The display might be too complex for a quick demo for
passers-by. The goal is to educate people on not polluting water and groundwater. The commission
could use different sizes of orbs and different size screens to show how things get percolated through the
soil layers. Could have a QR code to info on that. The commission could also make a water table.
Markus would like a fact sheet on assets and liabilities of how water is used. What’s the message going
to be? ‘Protect our water.’ ‘This is what it takes to get water to you, don’t waste it.’ Maybe the
commission could put a dollar amount on the cost of wells, water towers and treatment plants to show
how it costs everyone. Have a water conservation theme and use a board with vials and separate
activities to show how water is consumed. Make it a game to see if you have enough water. Give
choices such as watering the lawn, cooking dinner, etc. Could have an example of the average use (use
pie charts with percentages). Make a poster with water use – how much each activity uses – and
recommend actions for water savings. Make a display sign with water use, tips on water conservation,
do a game, have a QR code to WaterWise and show where your water comes from. Laminate the pa-
gov. kids test or enlarge and post behind the table - ‘Test Your Water Sense’ questions.
Meeting adjourned abruptly at 7:32? pm for tornado warning
Minutes prepared by Jill Sinclair