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2017-07-06 Mayor's Climate Protection Committee MinuCitizens Committee on U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement Mission: 1. Encourage citizens to be a part of the solution z. 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 Climate Protection Committee CPC July 6, 2017 - Meeting Notes In Attendance: Cynthia Pruitt, Steve Fisher, Sandra Distelhorst, Josh Thompson, Dawna Lahti, Jenna Nand, Jen Machuga, Larry Pierce, Shane Hope, Doug Peterson (Tree Board), Stan Gent (Edmonds resident), Councilmember Dave Teitzel, Mayor Dave Earling Call to Order: The meeting is called to order at 8:42 AM. Introduction of New CPC Member: Jenna Nand was introduced as the new member of the CPC. Approval of Minutes: Sandra moved and Larry seconded approval of the May 4, 2017 meeting minutes. The motion was approved unanimously. Taming Bigfoot Edmonds (TBE): Some TBE committee members walked in the Edmonds Fourth of July Parade with the costumed Bigfoot. Doug was among them, he discussed his experience reaching out to the public regarding TBE information. TBE now has a city website presence that will gain content as planning continues. The steering committee met recently and Sandra reported that things are moving forward. Dawna asked about the dates for the TBE competition and Steve replied that a timeline was in place. The team recruitment period starts in the fall and then in January teams will start calculating baseline measurements; then comes two months of the teams' attempts to act on reducing carbon emission activities. Walnut Street Coffee was the first TBE community sponsor and other business pledges are forthcoming. Sandra mentioned that the steering committee is working on advertising and a recruitment strategy. Steve added that volunteers are needed to help with testing and debugging the carbon calculator (an excel spreadsheet). Sandra mentioned that there are currently two computer programmers who are willing to work on an app for Taming Bigfoot. Steve offered that anyone is welcome to the next steering committee meeting at 1:30 on July 14. Stan said that he would possibly draft a short Powerpoint presentation for the next meeting. Bob Binschadler will present at the October 3 City Council meeting. Stan said that at the end of TBE there will be a lot of data that could be useful for education and outreach. Dawna said that Jeff Renner, the local weatherman, will speak at Holy Rosary Church on the topic of Climate Change and she will advise the committee of the date. Western Washington University (WWU) partnership update: Some committee members attended the last set of presentations by the WWU students. Sea level rise, green business outreach, etc. were of interest to the CPC. The city is moving on some of the WWU recommendations. Steve said that the CPC can use the research done by the WWU students for implementation. Councilmember Teitzel specifically mentioned some of the recommendations regarding the Edmonds Marsh project. Shane states that there are some challenges in regards to recycling construction and demolition (C&D) waste. There are fewer facilities close to Edmonds compared to King County that are permitted to handle C&D materials. Further staff discussion will look at what, if any, practical requirements can be instituted. Cynthia said that she didn't see anything in the 2010 Climate Action Plan regarding C&D waste. Cynthia said that the CPC should review the WWU recommendations to see what we can/want to use. Councilmember Teitzel stated that many of the WWU students' ideas need to be fleshed out before they can be practical. Steve added that the amount of staff time and budget considerations can be a barrier to any movement toward implementation. Sandra said that she saw a zero -waste event banner at the Edmonds Summer Market. Recent Council activity: Steve stated that the City Council recently passed a resolution that promised continued support for the Paris Climate Accord. However, 12 amendments to the resolution were proposed at the meeting by Councilmember Nelson. Shane read the full resolution to the CPC. Councilmember Teitzel said that there were only a few hours to review the amendments prior to voting. Some of the amendments may not be achievable, and the resolution may need to be changed in the future. He reiterated that this is not an ordinance, and that the Mayor may refuse to sign. Cynthia said that it was good that a couple of the amendments called for the involvement of the CPC. Subcommittee Reports Sustainable Heroes - Cynthia said that Sandra and Hank Landau interviewed the Students Saving Salmon group at EWHS, with the interview being published in the Edmonds Beacon where it was stated that the group got an "award". This caused some confusion and some students wondered about the award. Sandra said that if the committee wants to discuss changing Sustainable Heroes so it is an award -based series, then there should be more formal criteria. Dawna said that it could be a one-time award of recognition. Shane stated that it is no problem administratively to create an award. Cynthia asked for a quick brainstorm as to what an award would look like. Action would need to be done within the next week, since the student group recognition was scheduled for the July 18 City Council Meeting. Cynthia said that all of the student's names would need to be collected and that certificates could quickly be created and get the Mayor to sign them. Future Agenda Items: Cynthia asked for future agenda items for the CPC. Some responses were: Update the Action Plan; CPC Actions from the recent Council resolution; Taming Bigfoot Edmonds update. Climate Reality Project Report: Sandra attended Al Gore's Climate Reality Project. Al Gore was there with about 800 attendees. Sandra can now access the CRP resources (videos, presentations, data, etc.) and shared some CRP slides with the group. Sandra met many loca people there and said that Al Gore recognized Edmonds as the first city in Washington to ban plastic bags. Announcements: Shane said that the Sustainable Cities Partnership with WWU was recognized at the Association of Washington Cities meeting. Sandra mentioned that Al Gore has a new movie that is a follow-up to An Inconvenient Truth and perhaps the CPC can set up a screening of the movie in Edmonds. Dawna mentions that on the 13tn there will be a tour of Edmonds Wastewater Treatment plant. Also the CPC could organize a tour of the Bullitt building (a green building in Seattle). July 18 is Grizzly night — part of National Parks Awareness. Grizzly bears in Alaska are no longer EensideFed endangered and are being re -introduced to the Cascades. There will be a free dinner. (as noted at 9f 14/17 meeting by Dawna Lahti) Steve stated a need to move the next meeting back one week and the group agreed to September14. Adjourn: The meeting is adjourned at 1o:10 AM.