City of Lawrence

Sustainability Advisory Board (SAB)

March 14, 2012 minutes

MEMBERS PRESENT:	Matt Lehrman, Chad Luce, Dale Nimz, Kathleen Nuckolls, Andrea Repinsky
MEMBERS ABSENT:	Sarah Hill-Nelson, Megan Poindexter, Ian Spomer
STAFF PRESENT:	Tammy Bennett, Eileen Horn, Kathy Richardson
PUBLIC PRESENT:

Call Meeting to Order (Chad Luce, Chair person)

Take roll call to determine quorum of members.

Approval of Meeting Minutes

Motion and second to approve the February 8, 2012 minutes (Lehrman/Nuckolls).

Vote: Motion was passed unanimously.

Motion and second to reconfirm approval of the December 14, 2011 minutes as written (Luce/Lehrman).

Vote: Motion was passed unanimously.

Discuss Solid Waste Task Force Progress Report

Chad Luce, Ian Spomer and Sarah Hill-Nelson attended the City Commission Study Session with the Solid Waste Task Force on Tuesday, February 28^th. That same evening at the City Commission meeting Commissioners received the task force’s final draft recommendations regarding long-term solid waste options for Lawrence.

Next steps? Tammy Bennett informed SAB that staff is working on the following items:

Drafting an implementation memo on containerization (carts) including analysis, cost, timeline, educational component, etc.
Preparing the 2013 Solid Waste Division budget without an increase to the rate fee that residential customers pay per month.
Analyzing types of RFP’s for curbside recycling and drafting a memo that summarizes policy elements for this type of recycling program.

All items listed above will be sent to the City Commission at the same time.

Tammy Bennett also mentioned that staff is already reaching out to Lawrence citizens who have stated opposition to containerization by offering them a demo cart they can try out at home. Staff will keep track of feedback received.

SAB discussed and asked questions regarding what cart sizes will be selected, how will the City handle extra trash set outside the carts, will there be an option to recycle personal trash carts getting replaced, and when will variable rate pricing be implemented (phased approach). Staff is working on the details of the containerization program and these questions will be answered.

SAB agreed the board should be ready to comment on SWTF follow up items from staff as these become available.

Staff Report: Waste Reduction and Recycling Division

Kathy Richardson discussed program updates included in the Waste Reduction and Recycling Division report.

Staff Report: Sustainability Coordinator

Eileen Horn addressed all items on the Sustainability Coordinator report and she discussed a couple items for SAB feedback:

Clean Air Action Plan – Does SAB have any interest in encouraging the Health Department to pursue this? Background: The Health Department helped produce an ozone report a decade ago and Lawrence was “borderline”. Discussion about drafting a Clean Air Action Plan fell through (lost momentum) at the City Commission level. Wichita and Kansas City both have good Clean Air Action Plan templates. Does SAB want to be involved in this opportunity? Would SAB like to invite a guest speaker from the Health Department to next month’s meeting? SAB agreed that they would like to receive more information from Eileen Horn about this project at their next board meeting and then they would consider inviting Health Department staff to a SAB meeting.

ICLEI Commercial Energy Toolkit Grant / Recommendations for Leadership Team – The City successfully applied to ICLEI for a technical assistance grant to develop energy efficiency policies for commercial properties. Would SAB be interested in reviewing the toolkit and energy efficiency programs and policies? Eileen Horn will provide more information about the toolkit at the next board meeting.