HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019_07_16 Sustainability Collaborative Minutes Town of Mamaroneck Sustainability Collaborative
Meeting Notes,July 16, 2019
Attendees: Jeffery King, Mitch Green, Frank Owens,Arlene Novich, Sue Odierna, Mark Kramer,
Karen Khor,June Wallach, Karin Weisburgh, Chris Hofstedt, Susan Orand, Beatrice
Weinberger, Interns Lily Shein and Adriana Alvarado
Minutes of June 10th meeting were accepted.
Mitch started the meeting by welcoming newest volunteer, Susan Orand as well as two of our summer
interns, Lily and Adriana. (A third intern, Peter, couldn't make the meeting but is working with Nancy
and Sue as well.) Mitch also explained that we added something new to the agenda; a listing of
programs that the Collaborative has worked on in the past, all focused on resilience, sustainability and
quality of life. Mark K. suggested we list these items either alphabetically or by category.
Mobility/Complete Streets/Electric Vehicle (EV)Charging Stations
Karin W. explained to the newer volunteers what a "sharrow"is: a road marking in the form of two
inverted V-shapes above a bicycle, indicating which part of a road should be used by cyclists when the
roadway is shared with motor vehicles. They serve as a reminder to motorists to share the road. Sue
added that,per Steve A., the sharrows will be painted on the approved roads in August, and signage will
be added to go along with them and she reminded all that the Town Board approved the Traffic
Committee recommendations of painting sharrows on the following Town roads;North Chatsworth
Avenue, Rockinqstone Avenue, Forest Avenue and Myrtle Boulevard. Suggestions were made of various
biking events the Town could participate in to promote the new sharrow'ed roads such as Tour de
Larchmont's bike ride or the Mamaroneck School Foundation's Triathlon. Other ideas were to produce
laminated flyers and/or poster boards with bike routes containing sharrows to hang in libraries. There
was discussion regarding giving prior notice to residents whose streets would be painted. Jeff suggested
a robocall or mailing to residents. Jeff and Mitch suggested sending message out by end of July and said
if it's a mailing, it should be one page focusing on improving community safety, with a map and a photo
of someone using a sharrow. There was also discussion about creating a biking video.
Sue updated the group that three of the EV Charging stations(Town Center, Myrtle Blvd and Baldwin
Ave.)are in process of being installed and installation should be completed by mid to late August. The
Hommocks Ice Rink/Pool parking lot station is delayed until after Labor Day because electrical
connection would disrupt pool usage. Electrical charging will be complimentary for the first few months,
appropriate fees to be determined.
There was discussion as to whether we should blend an event for the coming bike sharrows with the EV
Charging Stations.
Update: Nancy's July E-Newsletter mentioned the sharrows,the specific roads on which they will be
painted and showed a photo of a resident riding on a current sharrow in VoL(thank you Karin W for
modeling!) Steve A. has summer intern,Adriana drafting a one pager for the residents on the coming
sharrows,to be finalized later in month. The final version will either be mailed or"robo-called"to
affected residents in August prior to sharrows being painted.
Healthy Yards
June reported we have close to 75 people who have taken the HY pledge. June asked Sue to check if
there's a way to see how many views the HY page has received. (Update: IT Dept. looking into as Sue
doesn't have access to these metrics.) June updated group on questions residents have asked and
explained that these topics have often led to content added to HY webpage. Regarding schools, interns
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have confirmed that schools don't use pesticides and we would like to put plaques or banners up at the
schools so parents/students/teachers are aware of the HY program.
HY subcommittee has also looked at films(possibly combining the themes of healthy yards and food
waste) to plan for in October, in particular"The Need to Grow,"an award-winning documentary. Mark K
asked if we'd consider a plant swap, "bring a plant, get a plant." Since not all pledge takers have taken a
sign, despite pledging, request was made to email all of the pledgers and remind them we can deliver the
signs. Interns are researching what chemicals are in pesticides and herbicides using the MSDS(Material
Safety Data Sheet). Jeff suggested they could also contact a Clinical Hygienist to find out chemical make-
up.
Update: Summer interns, Lily and Adriana, have emailed all HY pledge takers and many have taken
advantage of the sign delivery service our interns have provided. Also HY webpage has been updated;
click here to see new content http://www.lmhealthyyards.org/522/LM-Healthy-Yards (thank you,June
for supplying content)
Wasted Food Reduction Grant
Karen K. reminded the group that the Town of Mamaroneck, in partnership with the Villages of
Mamaroneck and Larchmont was awarded the grant for Food Waste Prevention (now known as Wasted
Food Reduction since that more accurately reflects the grant's purpose). The$127,000 grant is a three
year grant and we were one of eight award-winners(there were 28 applicants in all). About half of the
$127,000 is to be used in the schools. There is a concern because the school district hasn't been very
involved from the start and we are not sure who the point person there is. There was discussion to make
use of PTA and MSF volunteers to help in this regard, or to have Nancy/Steve talk to Dr. Shops and
explain that there needs to be more support/input from the schools. Sue mentioned there is a TVS
(Town/Village/School)meeting in August and Nancy can bring it up then to Dr. Shops. Regarding the DEC
requirements,Sue mentioned that all documents are being uploaded prior to the August 30th deadline.
Update:There was a Food Waste meeting on July 19th at Town Center.The consultants, Drew and Tamar
arrived from California to meet with Beth, Karen and the group and get a tour of relevant places in our
community, such as the Farmers Market. At our meeting, Drew and Tamar received input and feedback
from Nancy, Steve, Beth and others regarding marketing materials, branding documents, and next steps.
Next meeting with all involved will be on August 22na
Reusable Bag Initiative(RBI)
The Town Board is moving forward on legislation especially since there is some concern that NY State will
not complete the regulations,policies,procedures and detailed guidelines for implementation in time for
the intended March 2020 start date. The Town Attorney has rewritten the NYS law to reflect the state's
requirements in our local law. In our law, merchants would keep the 5 cents, rather than have to pay
into an environmental fund. A public hearing will be set for August. However, as so many people are on
vacation in August, there will likely be a second hearing in September.
Update: At the July 24th Town Board meeting, public hearings were set for the next two TB meetings on
Wednesday,August 21'and Wednesday, September 4t". Nancy and Sue need to discuss whether or not
it is necessary to have a large group at these meetings in support of the Town's Reusable Bag Law. To
be determined....
Sustainable Energy-Community Solar
Frank O. and Steve A. will be meeting later in week to review last bits of the agreement and the
agreement will probably be approved at the August 21st Town Board meeting.
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MHS Summer Internship Update
Adriana and Lily updated the Collabs on the projects they are working on during their summer internship
which include the Healthy yard program, the Recyclopedia,Sharrows and the Recycling Rate for the
Town vs other municipalities. Peter is working on upgrading the Town's Climate Smart Certification from
bronze to silver. More specific, detailed report to be given by Sue on behalf of the interns at the
September Collaborative meeting.
The meeting was adjourned at 8PM.
The next meeting is Tuesday, September 10th, at the TOM Senior Center/VFW on the Boston Post Road
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