Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023_12_05 Sustainability Collaborative Minutes Town of Mamaroneck Sustainability Collaborative Meeting Notes— December 5, 2023 Attendees: Karen Khor, Mark Kramer, Kevin Crowe, Robin Nichinsky, Sue Odierna, Arlene Novich, Mark Manley, June Wallach, Karin Weisburgh, Denise Dunn, Nick Zuba, Andrea Hirsch, MHS Collab Member Sebastian Gold Via Zoom: Judy Caputo,John Zox We welcomed new"Collabs" Harriet Barish and Anne Moriarty Meeting notes from the November meeting were accepted. 2023 Year in Review and 2024 Goals In 2023 we: • launched an EnergySmart Home program, working with Sustainable Westchester • participated recently in the Larchmont Fall Festival among other community events this year. Nick, volunteer at the festival, mentioned that working with Mark and Arlene, they touted EnergySmart homes and explained that program. Many people came over to the tables to get details. People were very excited about free energy assessments. Many had 50 — 100- year-old homes, some even older so this appealed to many. They may be new homeowners, but they have older homes. Based on feedback from the Building Department, 20 permits for residential clean energy technology have been filed already. • Sebastian reported that he worked on the Climate Smart Community (CSC) certification this year, garnering more points for our Bronze-level status. Also, on Earth Day, he volunteered at Central School talking with parents and students about programs such as Food Scrap Recycling. He also worked at Maxwell Avenue Recycling Center for the Compost Giveaway program and played in a band at the Town's Repair Café. Looking ahead to 2024: • Karin W. mentioned that in 2025, NYS is paving Route 1 and she is proposing that we should have a bike lane along this Route 1 (Boston Post Road) and since road will be paved, this will be a good time to do it. • Arlene discussed New Rochelle's Electric Bus shuttle and that we should have something like that here in the Town. Update: Mark forwarded an email from 2022 with the information and contacts to Arlene. • Denise would like the Town to continue working on the Government Operations Climate Action Plan (GOCAP) and asked what are specific goals within each dept, what is happening here?Starting in January, Hudson Valley Regional Council (HVRC) is hosting another training series for municipalities on how to develop a Community Climate Action Plan (CCAP). Karen mentioned we need volunteers to participate in this. Developing both the GOCAP and CCAP are important actions for the Town to fulfill its commitment to its November 2021 Climate Emergency Declaration Resolution. One activity—as part of the Sanitation/Recycling sector, was to find out how much trash Town Center makes. OCRA students are working on this and another OCRA group is piloting food scraps collection from Town Center weekly. • Can we make another announcement to encourage more food scrap recycling at the Town Center? Can we have a second bin on first floor? Sue said she would ask. Update: Effective today, 12/12/23, there is a second food scrap bin at Town Center so that we now have two bins available for food scrapy recycling, one on each floor. • Comprehensive Plan Update—Robin suggested it should be ready early in 2024. • Questions were asked about the grant we submitted to NYS DEC (Mitch/Howell Park). Liz submitted in August 2023—what is the status? • CPACE — Nick said he is not done pursuing this with the Town Board, will truly make a difference in reducing our carbon emissions. Karen added that it is a priority action as well (maximum of 15 pts.) Correction: CPACE or PACE Financing is a high impact action under NYS Energy Research & Development Authority's (NYSERDA's) Clean Energy Communities (CEC) program and yields substantial points in both CEC and CSC programs in which the Town participates. • Robin mentioned -- in her other liaison role to the Town's Housing Authority -- that they are doing renovations to Hommocks Park Apartments and Meg Despande, member of Housing, wants to know if anyone has suggestions for someone who can design a landscape master plan, using native plants for the Hommocks Park Apartments exterior. Mark Kramer asked if it is going out to bid, Robin said she didn't think so. Robin suggested Collabs get back to her with any ideas they have. (RNichinsky@townofmamaroneckny.orq and cc Karen Khor and Mark Kramer. Karen announced she will be stepping down as Co-Chair of the Collabs, and that Mark Kramer will need a Co-Chair. Karen said she will stay on as Member through 2024. Both Karen and Mark had reached out by email to have a meeting with Jaine and Meredith but reported they haven't heard back. Discussion that there is a disconnect on Collab expectations on their role as an advisory committee, they felt they were treated like "any member of the public"not as a collaborative, consultative body, especially with regard to the New Tree Law. They said there would be more goodwill if there was a better consultative process with Jaine and TB. They also feel there is need for the Town to improve communication with the Collab to enable more effective partnership and support on environmental-related grants to the Town as directed under the Town's Climate Emergency Declaration Resolution. For example, the Collab doesn't know what are the Town's priorities for their grant writer nor what environmental grants the grant writer is working on as they don't get updates on this. Update: A meeting has been scheduled with Meredith and Jaine, Mark K. and Karen for Dec. 14tn Trees— Next Steps on Amended Tree Law & Update on Tree Planting Prospects Mark K. says all permits for cutting down trees should be posted because if someone is cutting down a tree on a weekend or holidays, who does a concerned resident call to verify if it is legal? Arlene mentioned she had emailed Elizabeth Aitchison, Environmental Planner for the Town, to ask about this and Liz said they should call her office or the Building Department. However, on a weekend, this isn't effective and Liz is not always in the office during the week as her job requires her to be out in the field often, especially in spring/summertime. Arlene reiterated that tree permits need to be posted and neighbors'notified, Johnny Zox and others agreed. The only resource on weekends is the TMPD, but this may not be effective to call the Police Department as trees could be partially or cut down when they arrive. Mark Kramer asked Robin if there was anything she'd like to add before she needed to leave Collab meeting to go to special Town Board meeting and she said she couldn't think of anything but wanted to reiterate that whenever they ask her to relay message(s) to Jaine and/or the Board, she does. Arlene asked if the Board would consider looking at the new Tree Law again and she said it's a two- year process so they'll want to see how it goes, but the "posting"issue is not in the law, so she will bring that up. Mark Kramer asked if Robin knows whether she'll be the Collab liaison in 2024 and she said she doesn't know yet but would not refuse if she was asked to stay on. Arlene reported that there will be a Zoom that several people will participate in dealing with next steps regarding tree law. She also reported that Ralph Engel, Chair of Town Planning Board, got a grant for the Town to plant 100 street trees plus 10 more on Town property. Mark Kramer said there's discussion about targeting certain non-controversial ideas and hoping the TB will update certain points. Proposed Resolution for Town to Support NYS Legislation to Reduce Packaging/Improve Recycling Mark Manley informed the Collab that the Village of Larchmont has passed this resolution. The resolution requires companies to help pay for packaging costs, instead of having the consumer solely pay the price. Legislation also raises the bottle return amount from 5 cents to 10 cents. The proposed law is currently on the Governor's desk, so the environmental groups/activists are suggesting municipalities pass the resolution so the Governor sees there is support for this. State Senator Shelley Mayer and State Assemblyman Steve Otis are co-sponsors of the bill. Update: The Town Board has the resolution to review, and it is expected to pass this at the next TB meeting on 12/20/2023. Food Scrap Recycling—Curbside Mark Kramer reported on the last sanitation meeting. He said that when VoM's curbside pickup of food scrap program was mentioned, VoL Mayor Sarah Bauer pointed out that this program is not a success everywhere, such as Rye City which discontinued it. Liaison Robin N. has said before that it is unlikely curbside pickup of food scraps will begin prior to the Commission's future being determined. Review of MHS SLICE Draft Ideas for Town Collab Logo Mark Kramer said in response to Jaine asking for the Collabs to come up with a logo for the Collaborative, the MHS "SLICE" group was asked to come up with some ideas. June explained that she was asked to talk on the SLICE team's ideas of a Collab logo due to her long marketing background. Several liked the logo with the water and the logo with the yellow sun and leaf in center. June explained that with a logo, you want it to be very simple. They're both eye catching, but they don't serve our objective—representing the Collabs'vision and that it is important for the SLICE team to have an explanation of what the Collabs are looking for so that they can more accurately create logo ideas. Update: June and Mark zoomed with SLICE MHS students on Wednesday, 12/6. They reviewed the Collab's initial reactions, informed them that the current Town of Mamaroneck logo and shape should not be utilized for the Collab, and that the Town does not really have extensive public waterfront. June and Mark agreed to provide SLICE with an explanation of what should be incorporated in the logo after the holidays, if not sooner. Mayor's Monarch Pledge Thanks to Kevin Crowe, Elizabeth Poyet, and LMPP efforts, reporting was done regarding the Town's Mayors'Monarch Pledge for 2023. Our reporting was approved by the National Wildlife Federation Mayors'Monarch Pledge Team on December 4, 2023. Propose Artificial Turf Fields in Tri-Municipal Areas Mark has discussed this subject w/Fields for Kids at Larchmont Fall Festival. Michelle Lewis and Beth Radow, among others, are opposed to these types of fields for public health reasons. The NFL is now against using them. Fields for Kids are well funded and are generally not concerned with the ecosystem and the impact on the environment these fields cause. Mark Manley says even the "organic"artificial turf fields are mostly not organic. Also, the chemicals that drain into LI Sound are an issue. A zoom is being planned that will include Katherine Pannell and LEC members as well as Collabs and Fields for Kids to discuss Fields for Kids'plans for turf fields in both ToM and VoL. Next Collab meeting will be Tuesday, January 9, 2024. The 2024 Collab meeting calendar is being emailed with these notes. The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 pm. Karen and Mark, Co-Chairs, thank you for your interest in improving our Town's sustainability and commitments to climate action in 2023, ongoing endeavors of the Sustainability Collaborative. We truly appreciate your time and contributions, whether an email, a phone call, working on a program, such as Climate Smart Communities, attending and speaking at our monthly meetings, and/or volunteering at our community education/outreach, such as our winter and spring tree walks,Compost Giveaway Day, Repair Café, HOW Green-Rooting for Trees, Earth Day, or Fall Festival. You could have participated/volunteered in other tri-municipal events, such as the No Dig Garden Tour, Pollinator Pathways,the Monarch Festival, the Going Green at Home- Energy Smart Homes event, and/or mentored MHS OCRA students. We give special thanks to Sue Odierna, our dedicated Town Sustainability Coordinator, for always being there as the glue between the Collab and the Town to answer Collab questions,draft meeting notes,email our Collab on upcoming events and informative webinars, post sustainability-related updates/news in the Town Supervisor's e-newsletter, Town website, and Town Environmental Facebook page, and more. In addition, we also thank our Town Board liaison, Robin Nichinsky, for her punctual attendance, attentive listening in our meeting discussions, and thoughtful feedback, insights, and advice. We truly are grateful to have you both as active team members of the Collab. In 2024, the Sustainability Collaborative looks forward to continuing our efforts in improving the environmental sustainability and climate actions of the entire community with your continued participation and cooperation. We wish one and all a happy, fun-filled holiday season and all the best for 2024!