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HomeMy WebLinkAboutGTF Minutes 06-29-10 GREEN TASK FORCE MINUTES JUNE 29, 2010 Roll Call Members Present: Chair Mario Guerra Lars Clutterham Bob Ciatti Julia Emerson Sally Flowers Sylvia Southerland Tom Davidson Janet Molinaro Also Present: Desi Alvarez Michael Finn Jonathan Leonard Dan Pruitt Bob Phillips Bill Kalpakoff Gilbert Livas Aaron Lee Ryan Gabbower Eric Pierce Absent: Nancy Swenson Robert Rubio Calvin Davis Vice Chair Luis Marquez The meeting was called to order at 12:10 pm by Chair Guerra. Everyone introduced themselves and provided their association for attending Green Task Force meetings. Chair Guerra reviewed recent State legislative action, such as Assembly Bill 32, low-curbing greenhouse gas emissions, term limits, and legalizing marijuana. He noted last year legislation regarding redistricting for our State Assembly was passed and was supposed to be implemented in 2012. A commission was formed and current legislators are trying to abolish it by putting something else on the ballot. He referred to a measure that requires a two-thirds vote for taxes and defines what taxes are, advising current legislators are trying to put something on the ballot to change the requirement to a fifty percent vote. He said people think being Green costs money and we know that is not true. He referred to Senate Bill 346 which removes copper as a product contained in vehicle brake pads for the potential of runoff of hazardous materials into the water and bill AB 602 regarding how land is zoned. Chair Guerra invited Green Task Force members and participants to attend monthly “Shut Your Tap Meetings” by the Central Basin Municipal Water District. He said meetings are well attended and noted Sally Flowers invited him to speak about Downey’s Green Task Force at the last Shut Your Tap Meeting and also invited Lars to speak about the reusable bag program and other conservation related items. Sally thanked both for attending and said positive feedback was received that it was a great session. Bob Phillips, who also attended, said he thought it was great and publicizes the work in Downey. He said Lars’ presentation focusing on reaching out to young people is a real feather in Downey’s cap. - 1 - Chair Guerra advised he has received several positive e-mails from elected officials in other cities on what we are doing in Downey. Lars presented a short PowerPoint program of what he presented at the Shut Your Tap meeting. It noted how the Green Task Force came about, its goals, mission statement, green website, day without a plastic bag program, green landscaping workshop, preliminary recommendations, etc. He thanked Sally for inviting them to speak. Chair Guerra mentioned looking through his files and said there were a couple of presentations of particular interest; one in particular was from Sylvia Southerland of Southern California Edison Company at the January 2010 meeting and was about the potential of what we can do by education and what we can do from gas, greenhouse emissions, energy use, etc. He said he has been educated by these meetings and wants to be a good steward of the earth by recycling. He said the final product needs to be a reflection of what we want to put across and he passed out a sheet on Earth Day 2009 noting what to do with certain items and also mentioned a sheet from Southern California Edison Company showing a house and how much the cost and usage are for each item and the potential savings. He said one of the most important of all recommendations is to keep the Green Task Force going. Sylvia Southerland asked what Chair Guerra’s vision was as to how often the Green Task Force will meet from this point forward. He said his thought is once a month but the committee itself will decide, as he will no longer be its Chair. He said he does plan to attend as a guest. Bob Ciatti felt it was important to continue to monitor it to see that the recommendations do happen. It was noted the appointed members of the GTF are Janet Molinaro, Bob Ciatti, Lars Clutterham, Robert Rubio and Nancy Swenson. Lars mentioned his yearly electric bill after installing solar panels was $200+. Chair Guerra referred to substitute Page 14 and said they have been working with City staff on the potential savings at City Hall alone which is in the $100,000’s of thousands of dollars per year. He said staff is working on grants and other things and felt we need to set the example and should have done more in making the Columbia Space Science Learning Center a green facility. He referred to Southern California Gas Company’s Energy Resource Center as an example and said we need to change our attitude citywide. Sally Flowers said maybe this is what the Green Task Force has done, “raise awareness.” Bob Phillips turned in a copy of the final report with grammatical edits noted and Lars also turned in a sheet of suggested changes. Chair Guerra advised that Desi Alvarez and Shannon De Long produced the report. Sylvia Southerland noted the correct name for Southern California Edison Company on Page 2 under Industry, School District and Utility Representatives. It was also pointed out that Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Southern California is the correct name and should be changed next to Tom Davidson, Mike Finn, Jonathan Leonard, Robert Phillips and Dan Pruitt on the same page. Lars advised he volunteered to write the introduction for the GTF page on the City’s website and sent it to Steven Yee with proposed links and subtitles but as yet it has not gone up. Chair Guerra and Desi thought it was all on but will check into it. Lars referred to Pages 7 and 8 of the report and said he did a similar presentation at Gauldin Elementary School right before the end of school. He said Agolita Marine attended and made an exceptional presentation. He noted another 400 kids received bags and said they will continue the program in the Fall. He said it was a nice cap to the pilot program. Chair Guerra said the School Board and School - 2 - Superintendent are supportive of the program and 23,000 kids are getting educated. He noted it opens up science questions, discussions, etc. Bob Phillips referred to Page 11 under Special Annual Events and asked how the Holiday Toy Collection Program is an environmental program. He felt it may require additional wording to explain why. Julia Emerson asked to have the Gas Company’s annual Municipal Green Building Conference, which takes place the Thursday of Earth Week, added to the report under Special Annual Events. Sylvia Southerland referred to Page 14, stating the City should consider recalibrating the permit fees related to improving the energy efficiency for anything a business or resident might have planned. She thought this should be covered under No. 6 but said when you go to the “Focus Area: Urban Design,” there is nothing there. After further discussion, Lars suggested adding in Item 6, Line 3, “including for example expediting building permits for sustainable building design.” Chair Guerra mentioned a new Item 4 under Long Term Targets (Page 14) – Establish a city policy for I did not get a copy of the substitute Page 14) retrofitting (…... Chair Guerra referred to the Conclusion on Page 15 and asked if anyone wanted to add more. He suggested recommendations be sent via e-mail to come up with two strong paragraphs. (see the e-mails forwarded after the meeting from Lars Clutterham and Julia Emerson) It was noted the first sentence should begin “The Green Task Force, throughout its 2009-2010 term, ….. Julia Emerson said the conclusion is really the beginning. Bob Phillips suggested language that the GTF be continued, as there is much more to be done. Appendix A – Chair Guerra suggested a better graphic than the green leaf. He asked if anyone finds a better graphic to send it in. He also noted he added Appendix C, City of Downey Recycling Practices. Sylvia Southerland asked, other than the report being sent to the City Council, how else will it be used? Chair Guerra said we can talk to the editor of our local newspaper to reference it and how someone can get access to it. Julia Emerson recommended sending it to other cities. Bob Phillips felt it should be sent to elected officials, such as our Congressional Delegates, State Senators, the Governor, Secretary of Resources, California Environmental Protection Agency, Board of Supervisors, etc., and said it would give a shout out to Downey. Sally Flowers said she could also talk to Sam Olivito of the California Contract Cities Association and the Independent Cities Association, League of California Cities and Southern California Association of Governments. Chair Guerra reiterated how the Green Task Force idea started stating he attended a workshop on behalf of the City and the topic was “Green Task Force.” He noted everyone present has put a lot of time into this committee by meeting as a group once a month and also as two separate subcommittees once a month. He said we will present the final report to the City Council on July 27 and would like everyone to attend to be recognized for their efforts. It will be an Agenda item and the Council will take a vote. He said in the long run it saves money, is doing the right thing and we need to be a leader for our region. Bob Phillips suggested reorganizing the list under the CONTENTS page, “Accomplishments” and explained his reasoning. It was felt it was strategic messaging. The reorganizing is as follows: Recycling Awareness Solar Panel A Day Without a Bag - 3 - School Pilot Program Green Gardening Workshop Downey Green Website High Efficiency Toilet retrofit program – Sally Flowers said she will provide stats to be included in the report Chair Guerra noted he wants to get rid of solar fees completely to send the message that this is important and to send the message that we really are incentivizing people. Assistant City Manager Gilbert Livas arrived at 1:25 pm. Gilbert said it can be a recommendation and we can do it but he noted it will not be the driving factor for someone investing $15,000-$20,000 in solar panels and is more of symbolic issue. He said, from a City perspective, when it becomes the norm and people are putting these in all over, you want a sunset clause included where at some point you ration it back, as it needs to pay for itself at some point. Chair Guerra referred back to substitute Page 14, Item 6, for Mr. Livas, stating the one area we had a problem with, one of our goals, No. 6, was to set up incentives and to talk about sustainable building opportunities and to incentivize implementation. He said Lars added the words, “including, for example, expediting building permits for sustainable building design.” Gilbert advised there are incentives built into the Zoning Code after the recent update done about 6 months ago and people do get expedited permits, density bonuses, etc. Sylvia Southerland asked if Gilbert would say the language was a result of the Green Task Force and, if so, could they list it as an accomplishment? Gilbert said that would not be a problem. Chair Guerra reiterated the report will be presented to the City Council on July 27 for discussion and a vote. He asked Assistant City Manager Livas if staff and others could see it beforehand. Gilbert said he would check and get back. He felt that neighboring cities would also want to see it. Chair Guerra stated he hoped some of the members would still want to be involved in the future and said if it does pass that Council approves setting up a Green Task Force Committee, he will attend often and hoped it would be up and running by September. He invited everyone to attend meetings and said the group has made a difference. In years from now we will have raised awareness and have found that being sustainable and renewable does not necessarily cost money. Minutes It was so ordered by Chair Guerra to approve the Minutes from May 11, 2010, as presented. The final meeting of the Green Task Force was adjourned at 1:45 p.m. _____________________________ ______________________________ Shirley Conte, Secretary Chair, Dn. Mario A. Guerra - 4 -