2009-10-01 Mayor's Climate Protection Committee AgenCitizens Committee on U.S. Mayors Climate Protection A�2reement
Mission:
1. Encourage citizens to be a part of the solution
2. Encourage City staff and citizens to conserve current resources
3. Work with the City Council to implement ideas
4. Effectively address the future impacts of climate change
Committee Members:
Members: Steve Bernheim, Carolyn Chapel, Wes Gallaugher, Wayne Grotheer,
Hank Landau
City Staff. Mayor Gary Haakenson, Steve Fisher, Sally Lider, Noel Miller,
Rob Chave, Jen Machuga, Jim Stevens, Linda Carl
MeetYAg enda
The October 1 meeting has been cancelled.
Meeting Notes
September 3, 2009
1. Update on EECBG program
2. Sustainability element of the Comp Plan
Items # 1 and #2 were not discussed because the committee wanted to make sure there was
enough time for the presentation and discussion regarding the draft Climate Change Action
Plan.
3. Reusable bag education program
Jen Machuga stated that the City Council recently adopted an ordinance that bans single -use
checkout bags at retail establishments. She provided the committee with a copy of the
ordinance and explained that the ordinance includes a one-year implementation period in
order to allow time for retailers to prepare and to allow time for an educational/outreach
program to take effect. Jen explained that the campaign should be positive in nature by
encouraging the use of reusable bags instead of being negative in nature by narrowly
focusing on the fact that single -use plastic bags are being banned. She also provided
examples of various methods for outreach used by other cities, such as press releases, flyers,
and newsletters. Rob Chave explained that staff does not have enough time to head an
outreach program/campaign and that he hoped it would be something the committee would
be interested in working on. Strom Peterson stated that Westport, Connecticut has passed a
similar ordinance, and that the cost to Westport has been virtually zero. He also offered to
assist with the outreach program. Janice Freeman suggested that Sustainable Edmonds might
be able to help as well. Rob and Jen suggested that the committee members think of ideas for
an outreach program on their own and be prepared to discuss these ideas at the next
committee meeting. A table was provided to the committee to assist with brainstorming ideas
and considering the impacts and costs of these ideas.
4. Presentation of draft Climate Action Plan
Steve Fisher stated that the subcommittee worked very hard over the summer on a draft
Climate Change Action Plan. Jeanne Blair and Wes Gallaugher gave a PowerPoint
presentation regarding the draft plan. Jeanne explained that the plan is divided into five
categories: transportation, lifestyles, buildings, environment, and economy. After creating
the five categories, the subcommittee identified problems and made strategies for each
category. Wes reviewed the building section of the plan as an example. He explained that
they started with strategies, such as improving energy efficiency of buildings, then they came
ClimateProtection/MeetingNotes090309.doc
up with action items to achieve the strategies and made plans for implementation of the
action items. Wes also explained how the greenhouse -gas reduction calculations were done.
Jeanne stated that the subcommittee will be ready to distribute the draft plan to the
committee next month. She asked for feedback from staff on where to go from here. Mayor
Haakenson explained that the next step would be to take the draft plan to the City Council in
order to get their support and so that the Council can incorporate the Climate Change Action
Plan in with their plans. He suggested waiting until after January to present to the Council
due to the November elections. Rob Chave also suggested that the subcommittee should make
a presentation to the Planning Board before presenting to the Council in order for the Board
to make sure that the Plan is consistent with what they are working on. Rob also stated that
the City is finalizing the Energy Efficiency Block Grant, and that some of the action items in
the Climate Change Action Plan might be covered by the grant. Rebecca Wolfe addressed
concerns over waiting until January to present the plan to City Council. Rob explained that
the plan should be adopted by Council in order to formalize the City's commitment to it, but
that it doesn't mean the committee can't start talking to other groups and/or residents about
the plan in the meantime.
5. Miscellaneous
Carolyn Chapel stated that there is a new green column in The Enterprise. She wrote an
article in the latest paper regarding composting food scraps, and she complimented Richard
Bisbee for writing the first article.
ClimateProtection/MeetingNotes09O3O9.doc