HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017_07_11 Sustainability Collaborative Minutes TOM Sustainability Collaborative
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Town of Mamaroneck Sustainability Collaborative
Meeting Notes,July 11, 2017
Attendees: Mitch Green, George Roniger, Frank Owens, Arlene Novich,, Nancy Seligson, Steve Altieri, Sue
Odierna, College Intern Ben Morris, Lu Doyle, Karen Khor, Michele Lewis, Mark Manley
Minutes of June 6, 2017 meeting were accepted.
Meeting Dates for Remainder of 2017:
September 12th,October 3rd, November 14th and December 5th(August meeting cancelled)
Zero Waste/Municipal Composting
Zero Waste Co-chair Karen K., reported on the first of the Town Concerts Zero Waste event. The Sustainability
Collaborative has two waste stations for each concert promoting Zero Waste by having bins for paper recycling,
commingled recycling,food waste to be composted, liquids and garbage. The Collabs also have two tables with
the compost kit demo and literature about the program,support letters for the RBI and Bike Lanes and Rain
Barrel info (along with a rain barrel at each table). Volunteers should arrive earlier at subsequent concerts as the
BBQ starts at 6pm. Two volunteer shifts were created: 6-7:30pm and 7:30-9pm. Nancy asked Steve to check
with Gus, the Town's food vendor to see if he uses compostable plates. Frank mentioned that concert goers
thanked him for this initiative and that it was a very professional setup. Karen mentioned that several kids
volunteered to help and were happy to wear"Town of Mamaroneck Volunteer"stickers.
Nancy explained to the Collabs how the food waste composting program will work. The kit contains a small on-
the-counter container and a bigger(six gallon)container for the homeowner's garage which holds 4-6 of the
filled smaller compostable bags. The resident will bring the bags to the Maxwell Avenue Facility. Residents will
probably have to come to Maxwell Avenue once a week. Nancy reported that the Village of Larchmont Board of
Trustees was enthusiastic about the program. She added that the Village of Mamaroneck as well as the
Mamaroneck School District appear to be interested in initiating a food waste program also. Steve A. reported
that a depot area will be built at the Maxwell Facility for the food waste drop offs. Karen gave some statistics
from the Scarsdale program:they ordered 200 kits initially and now have sold 750. Food waste weight for the
first week of the initiative was 741 lbs. and at 19 weeks, the food waste totaled 4100 lbs. Scarsdale suggested
we have a table at the Larchmont Farmer's Market(this has since been confirmed for July 22th and July 29th to
start.) Our budget calls for ordering 400 kits. Nancy reported that the French community and the St.Augustine
parishioners are already composting food waste. Members of the Collaborative are needed to volunteer at the
concerts and Farmers market. Sue and Ben circulated among the crowd with clipboards at the July 17th concert
and received far more signatures for those interested in composting--as well as the RBI and Bike Lanes support
letters--than the week before when volunteers were solely stationed at tables.
Reusable Bag Initiative(RBI)
Nancy reported that the RBI contest was a hit. Three winners came to the Town Board meeting and received
their winning checks and their congratulations from the Board. Nancy said we need a leader for the RBI to work
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on next steps which include a bag design contest for the reusable bags. Ben suggested we reach out to the
summer camps in the community to see if they'd be willing to run a bag design contest. He suggested we have
three winners and we could potentially put their names and designs on our website, or we could put all of the
entries on our website. Ben said he would contact area camps to determine interest.
Clean Energy Communities
1. Nancy reported on the Town's achievement of becoming a CEC, after completing four high impact
actions that demonstrated the Town's leadership in the area of clean energy. We are now eligible for a
$50,000 grant to support an additional clean energy project. Nancy passed around a document outlining
the parameters for the grant. Nancy,Steve A and Sue had a call with the NYSERDA consultant and will
have another call later in July. Some possible ideas for the grant application include:LED lights in
parking lot
2. Solar—carports, sanitation building
3. Wind— sanitation building
4. Electric cars
In addition, Mitch has set up a meeting with a company called Arris that provides lighting using a combined wind
and solar power source. Meeting will be held Tuesday,July 18th at Town Center. (Update: Frank Owens
attended with Nancy and Steve A. Also, Frank and Steve A. met with Frank's contact for community solar).
Electric Vehicle Incentive
Sustainable Westchester has worked to create an EV purchase discount for SW municipal members. Nancy
reported on an offer from Nissan of New Rochelle for the "Leaf,"their electric car. The incentive results in a
$19,000 discount off the MSRP for this car to Town employees as well as Westchester residents. Frank thinks he
has a list of those who installed solar panels and suggested they be contacted directly as they are likely to be
interested in this offer. Nancy suggested the offer go on our Facebook page to alert residents. The Town is
considering buying one electric vehicle. Mark M mentioned it would be great to know how many EV's are in the
Town, but we weren't certain how to get this information. (Update: Ben will be following up with DMV to
research.)
Biking Lane Network
Mitch reported that the process to move forward bike lanes has been bumpy. . The Town Board has not been
enthusiastic about bike lanes and the effort needs another approach. Mitch suggested the following three steps:
1 Much more community outreach. Mitch believes we need hundreds and hundreds of signatures and
need to seriously solicit from residents—at concerts,farmers markets, etc. He suggested we call
Steve M to request his help soliciting support. Ben offered to walk around with a clipboard and
solicit signatures at concerts/markets. (Update: Sue 0 and Ben gathered 55 signatures at the July
17th concert by walking around with a clipboard and asking for support.The tables were less
successful. It is far better to walk around and solicit than stand at tables. There were so many
concertgoers that if there were 5 or 6 more volunteers,we easily could've reached 150 signatures.)
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2 Focus on low hanging fruit such as buying additional bike racks. Hommocks bike racks usage was at
minimum 60%and at maximum, well over 100%(more bikes than spaces).
3 Identify locations to paint sharrows as it can be done inexpensively and shows the Town's
commitment to "Complete Streets". It was noted the downside is these are not as safe as separated
bike lanes, but sharrows do raise driver awareness. Steve A. added that there would be sharrow
signage to further help with awareness.
Nancy reported that Lorraine Walsh, Mayor of Larchmont says the VOL bike lanes are doing very well and
that there is a very positive feeling in the Village about them. Nancy and Steve A. suggested they update the
Board on the above new bike strategy.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:15pm.The next meeting will be Tuesday, September 12th at 6 pm at the VFW.
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