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Mike Lukes started the meeting at 6:30 pm with the following members participating
Sherry Fieber-Beyer
Mary Anderson
Charlene Kotts
Leah Rae Amundson
Mike Fugazzi
Dexter Perkins
Matt Bonzer
Todd Feland
The first part of the meeting discussed the Urban Forest commission to maintain healthy urban forests; promote tree planting to increase shading and to absorb CO2. The following ideas were brought up:
1. SFB--Hold a yearly .Plant a Tree. day . This is being done but targeted to elementary schools. Need to expand to the general public. Refer to Fairfax ReLeaf as an example program.
2. MF--Description of current city program. Arbor Day geared to 3rd graders. Program to target teen Job Service members, High school student service projects and Greenway GPS Work
3. TF--Phase II flood control tree planting project by Belmont. Received a $20k grant from EXCEL.
4. SFB--Limit the use of Herbicides and Pesticides w/in city limits (e.g., mosquito spraying).
5. ML--Prairie restoration opportunities. MF—Possible area on Hwy 2 median coming into town.
6. DP/TF--Publicize GF tree planting. Participate in the commodity market by trading our carbon credits on Chicago Carbon Exchange.
7. TF--Promote our efforts to the community and outward.
After about a half hour on Urban Forestry, the subcommittee shifted to discussing the Recycling commission to increase recycling rates in City Operations and in the community. The following ideas were brought up:
1. CK--Require apartments to have recycle bins. Special problem with cardboard waste on moving day.
2. LRA--New containers for apartments can co-mingle recyclables.
3. MB-- Bonzers recycles cardboard. We can use this as a good example for other businesses to follow
4. DP—Start .Pay As You Go. dumping or give reduced rates if you recycle. We could increase the recycling rate for door-to-door pick up if the recycle pick-up point was at the same place as the garbage pick up (e.g., street and alley pickups).
5. TF--.Pay per Throw. may be here as soon as =09.
6. SFB--Top 10 issues survey. Start a bottled water ban (e.g., San Francisco). UND could increase its recycling rate by 30-40%. Start a GF school-based recycling education/awareness program.
7. Concentrate on the new commercial and apartments and other urban development activities
G3 Resource Committee – Recycling and Urban Forest Sub-committee
8. TF--Getting the public to recycle more by making it easier (e.g., to buy recycling containers similar to current garbage container would cost $700-800k). If GF not able to handle garbage it may have to make recycling mandatory.
9. ML—Plan now for the eventual massive recycling of Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFLs). LRA—can turn them in now on electronics turn-in day but may be able to get some return cartons that are now available from some commercial recycling services.
10. Require a .Green Clause. in agreements for special events held on city property (e.g., vendors must provide for recycling containers on event site).
11. Address the other .R.s –Reduce…Reuse…Re-purpose.
12. Start a plastic bag ban.
New Business:
RUF Sub needs to work up some goals…timelines...plans.
The next meeting in Jan.