Village of River Forest Sustainability Commission met July 11.
Here are the minutes provided by the commission:
A regular meeting of the Village of River Forest Sustainability Commission was held on Tuesday, July 11, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. in the Community Room of Village Hall, 400 Park Avenue - River Forest, IL.
1. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM. Upon roll call, the following persons were:
Present: Chairperson Simon, Commissioners Charrette, Drury, Kopelow, Veazie, and Student Commissioner Stierwalt.
Absent: Commissioners Cheng, Lennon, and Student Commissioners Raidt.
Also Present: Management Analyst Seth Jansen
2. PUBLIC COMMENT
None.
3. ADOPTION OF MEETING MINUTES
Chairperson Simon made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Charrette to approve the meeting minutes from May 16, 2023, and June 13, 2023.
Roll Call:
Ayes: Chairperson Simon, Commissioners Charrette, Drury, Kopelow, Veazie
Absent: Commissioner Cheng and Lennon
Nays: None
Motion Passes.
4. COMMISSIONER REPORTS
Chairperson Simon introduced the new commissioners. Commissioner Drury introduced herself and provided brief background about her time as a River Forest resident, career, family, and interests in sustainability issues. Commissioner Kopelow introduced himself and provided background on his time as a River Forest resident, careers, and family.
Commissioner Charrette mentioned her attendance at the Greentown Conference and noted the increase in the refuse bill with the start of the new fiscal year.
Mr. Jansen provided a quick overview of the presentation put together by Commissioner Lennon and the previous meeting with Commissioner Lennon and Commissioner Charrette regarding the updating of the Commission Goals and Initiatives. Chairperson Simon provided further background for the new commissioners.
Commissioner Charrette presented the goal framework she and Commissioner Lennon had developed. The strategic road map is based around the Cross Community Climate Collaborative goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 45% from 2010 levels by 2030. The goal is to concentrate the Commission on 3 to 4 high priority objectives with each topic being overseen by a subgroup made up of two commissioners.
Commissioner Kopelow inquired about the scope of the commission goals, whether it was focused solely on Village government operations or applies to the community as a whole; Chairperson Simon explained it applies to the overall community but that the Commission serves to make recommendations to the Board of Trustees.
Commissioner Charrette continued, stating that the plan for each subgroup is reporting to the full commission on their respective topic, increasing the potential bandwidth of the commission. Commissioner Charrette outlined the proposed subgroup topics: solar energy, electrification, waste reduction, and outreach. The proposal suggests one to three goals per subgroup.
The Commission discussed the proposal and how to effectively engage with other stakeholders on the bill. The Commission discussed the topic areas and how the outreach focus would be tied into the other subgroups and how to best track the success of the outreach components. The Commission further discussed measures of success for the other suggested topics and how the goals relate to the regional Cross Community Climate Collaborative. The Commission decided to rename solar energy as renewable energy, the need for the "other" category to cover topics that do not fit in each area. The Commissioners assigned themselves to the various topic areas and Chairperson Simon agreed to cover the topic of green ecosystems and any other topic that may arise and not fit into the subgroups.
5. PROPOSED POLYSTYRENE ORDIANCE
Mr. Jansen provided an overview of the draft ordinance banning polystyrene. Chairperson Simon provided further background on the genesis of the proposed ordinance for new members. Mr. Jansen provided an overview of the outreach attempts to the impacted food service businesses. The Commission noted a few drafting errors but had no substantive changes to the draft ordinance.
6. COMMUNICATIONS
Mr. Jansen provided an overview of the weekly and monthly newsletters for the new commissioners and solicited input for upcoming newsletters. The Commission reviewed the newsletter posts used during the same time period in 2022. Commissioner Charrette suggested writing a monthly newsletter regarding water and the Village water meter usage monitoring program. Student Commission Stierwalt suggested posting a reminder of the community solar program. Commissioner Drury suggested newsletters promoting sustainability items for the start of the school year, specifically reusing plastic reduction. The Commission suggested a post highlighting biking paths and promoting bike baths for the start of the school year. Commissioner Drury volunteered to write a newsletter post on the flag recycling box located in front of Village Hall. Mr. Jansen also solicited input on any potential events for the Sustainable Living events webpage and outlined the existing events on the webpage. Commissioner Charrette volunteered to write a newsletter article on the Repair Café later in August.
7. OTHER BUSINESS
Mr. Jansen briefly noted the Electric Vehicle Network Infrastructure Study and stated the Commission will plan to have discussions on the study at future meetings.
8. SCHEDULE NEXT MEETING - AUGUST 8, 2023
The Commission reached a tentative consensus to hold its next meeting Tuesday, August 8, 2023, with the possible need to reschedule pending Commissioner availability.
9. ADJOURNMENT
Commissioner Charrette made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Veazie to adjourn the meeting at 8:32 PM.
Roll Call:
Ayes: Chairperson Simon, Commissioners Charrette, Drury, Kopelow, Veazie
Absent: Commissioner Cheng and Lennon
Nays: None
Motion Passes.
https://www.vrf.us/uploads/cms/documents/events/2023-7-11_SC_Minutes.pdf
Alerts Sign-up