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HomeMy WebLinkAboutGTF Minutes 2015-02-23DRAFT MINUTES Green Task Force February 23, 2015 Meeting Downey City Hall – 2nd Floor Training Room 11111 Brookshire Ave., Downey CA 90241 I. CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 5:14 p.m. by Chair Ricardo Perez. Members Present: Alex Gaytan, Steve Perez, Ronnie Fernandez, Julio Puma, Chuck Frey, Vice Chair Janet Molinaro, and Chairman Ricardo Perez. Members Absent: Patrick Owens Staff: Juddy Montenegro, Staff Liaison II. CONSENT CALENDAR: It was moved by Member S. Perez, seconded by Member Fernandez to approve the minutes from the November 24, 2014 meeting. The motion passed 7-0-1, with Member Owens absent. III. OLD BUSINESS: 1. Discussion of coordination with the Downey Chamber of Commerce Gail Courtney, Executive Director with the Downey Chamber of Commerce, attended the meeting and shared information about upcoming Chamber events. Ms. Courtney specifically talked about the Street Faire on April 11th and invited the Green Task Force (GTF) to participate, if interested. Member S. Perez and Vice Chair Molinaro suggested it would be a good opportunity for the GTF to participate and suggested getting a booth. Member S. Perez asked if the Chamber could waive the booth fee, or if the City could pay for it. Staff Liaison Montenegro advised that each City department pays for their own booth, and Ms. Courtney confirmed that the Chamber does not waive any fees for specific groups. Ms. Montenegro also advised that there is no budget set for the GTF and therefore, no funds were available to pay the booth fee. Member Gaytan suggested the GTF partner up with Kiwanis to share a booth. He mentioned the GTF could have a banner to display, as well. The group agreed this would be best and decided to move forward with this idea. Chair R. Perez addressed the topic of business sustainability and asked Ms. Courtney how the GTF could reach out to businesses. Ms. Courtney advised it would be a good idea for the group to attend the next City Affairs meeting on March 11th to see if this could be a forum for the group to present more information on this topic. Vice Chair Molinaro noted this would be a good opportunity and suggested AB 939 as a good topic to share with businesses. Ms. Courtney advised that this is something that could be set-up for a future City Affairs meeting. Member Puma suggested the group do some research on this topic and find out how AB 939 specifically affects the business community. GREEN TASK FORCE MINUTES, FEBRUARY 23, 2015 – PAGE 2 Staff Liaison Montenegro suggested inviting Keep Downey Beautiful Coordinator Carol Rowland to the next meeting to do a presentation on AB 939. Chair R. Perez suggested assigning the GTF business sustainability subcommittee to begin attending the monthly City Affairs meetings. Members of this committee consist of Puma, Fernandez and Chair R. Perez. The new Chair of the business sustainability subcommittee will be Member Puma. IV. NEW BUSINESS: 1. Introduction of New Members The GTF welcomed new members Chuck Frey and Julio Puma. Member Frey was appointed by City Council Member Sean Ashton. He has been a long time Downey resident and also serves as Chair of the City’s Keep Downey Beautiful Committee. One of Mr. Frey’s goals is to help educate the public more on environmental issues. Member Puma was appointed by City Council Member Fernando Vasquez. He resides in Downey with his family and works for a marketing firm. Mr. Puma would like to accomplish the following goals: increase education/awareness, promote drought tolerant landscaping, and energy conservation. 2. Review Pending Goals Staff Liaison Montenegro provided members with a copy of the GTF’s completed and pending goals. The group reviewed the list and noted they will focus on completing the last few goals in the coming months. 3. Subcommittee Updates a.) Drought Tolerant Landscaping Guide Staff Liaison Montenegro provided the group with a copy of L.A. County’s Drought Tolerant Landscaping Guide and suggested this would be a good resource for the GTF to use and promote. She advised this could be made available online, on the GTF’s page, as well have copies printed for the GTF to distribute. The group noted the handbook was an excellent resource and agreed it can serve as a resource to distribute to the public. The GTF decided this fulfills their goal of promoting drought tolerant landscaping. Members S. Perez and Frey were assigned to remain as part of the Drought Tolerant Landscaping committee and provide updates when they arise. b.) Promotion of Bicycling Member Gaytan noted he was looking into opportunities for businesses to fund bicycle helmets. He advised he would send information to group to see if they knew of any business that would be interested. c.) Business Sustainability This item was covered under Old Business GREEN TASK FORCE MINUTES, FEBRUARY 23, 2015 – PAGE 3 d.) Green Task Force Branding Member Gaytan advised he would be emailing t-shirt options to the group with new GTF logo. 4. Calendar of Events – Earth Day 2015 (April 22) Chair R. Perez suggested the GTF coordinate an event for Earth Day and a committee should be formed to assist. He noted the event should involve recycling awareness, hands-on activities for kids, and an art competition. Member Gaytan excused himself from the meeting at 6:01 p.m. Member S. Perez stated he liked the idea and the group could take this on this year. Members Molinaro and Fernandez felt it was too soon to host an event and believe that the GTF should do more outreach and prepare better for this type of event. Member Fernandez suggested the group have a plan first. Member Molinaro likes the idea, but feels timing is an issue. She suggested the group consider it for next year. Member Puma noted that the group should first set objectives and then go from there. The group then decided to collaborate with other community organizations to promote Earth Day. The three (3) events that were brought up were the Sanitation District’s community event on April 18th, E-Waste Collection event with the Rotary group, and an art competition with Stay Gallery. Chair R. Perez suggested to disband the GTF Branding subcommittee, since the group already has a new logo, and create an Earth Day subcommittee. Members Fernandez, Frey and Chair R. Perez were assigned to the Earth Day subcommittee. The group decided to discuss “A Day Without a Bag Day” for next month’s meeting and requested it be added to the agenda. Staff Liaison Montenegro advised it would be a good idea to do a proclamation coming from the GTF for Earth Day. This could be done for the first City Council meeting in April. V. PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS: Resident Adrian Correa stated he would like to be considered for the GTF and had spoken to Council Member Sean Ashton. Staff Liaison Montenegro advised she would follow-up. Councilmembers Vasquez and Brossmer each have one vacancy open. VI. GREEN TASK FORCE COMMUNICATIONS: Member S. Perez noted that the Knights of Columbus will be having an upcoming Bingo event. He also asked if there were any bicycle racks installed as part of the Firestone Blvd. Improvement project. Staff Liaison Montenegro advised she would find out and report back. Member Puma asked how many trash cans the City has installed around town. He mentioned he did not think there were enough located, specifically on Firestone Blvd. Staff Liaison Montenegro advised she would find out and report back. GREEN TASK FORCE MINUTES, FEBRUARY 23, 2015 – PAGE 4 VII. STAFF COMMUNICATIONS: Staff Liaison Montenegro stated that the City has purchased new recycling containers and will be located throughout special events. This came about at the request of Member Fernandez. VIII. ADJOURNMENT: The GTF meeting was adjourned at 6:26 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday, March 23, 2015.