09-10-15 Meeting Minutes GPCapproved

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www.ucitymo.org Green Practices Commission 6801 Delmar Boulevard, University City, Missouri 63130, Phone: (314) 862-6767, Fax: (314) 863-9146 Meeting Minutes – University City Green Practices Commission September 10, 2015 Location: Heman Park Community Center Attendees Present: Lois Sechrist, Dianne Benjamin, Tim Michels, Jeff Mishkin, Scott Eidson, Steve Kraft (Council Liaison), Jenny Wendt (Staff Liaison) Absent Excused: Richard Juang Guests: Mayor Shelley Welsh Rich Wilson Jana Flora (Resident) 1. Meeting called to Order, Roll Call at 6:00 p.m. 2. Opening Round a) Bob reported that the St. Louis County Building Code Review Committee has recommended weakening the 2015 International Energy Conservation Code. It appears to be dominated by associates of home builders. Bob attended several meetings of a Sierra Club group hoping to get the County to adopt a stronger code. b) Tim has been working with other departments within Washington University toward a Solar Decathalon – a worldwide competition. They are looking for sponsors at this point. It is a 2 year process to do the project. c) Dianne and Jenny staffed a table at the Native Plant Landscaping Open House in the bird garden behind Centennial Commons. The event was a success. d) Jeff represented the GPC at a University City Chamber of Commerce meeting event at Salt and Smoke. He also announced the annual Chamber of Commerce Golf Tournament at the Normandy Golf Club. 3. Approval of Minutes a) July meeting minutes were approved with one amendment b) August meeting minutes were approved 4. Special Presentations a) Mayor Shelly Welsch discussed the International Council for Local Environmental (ICLEI) Compact of Mayors, a global coalition of mayors and city officials committing to reduce local greenhouse gas emissions, enhance resilience to climate change, and track their progress publically. The Compact for Mayors was started the end of 2014. There is a goal to get 100 cities to join, right now there are 50 and none from Missouri so far. The mayor would like the Green Practices Commission to endorse the City joining this program. An updated Greenhouse Gas Inventory would need to be done. The commission suggested budgeting staff or an intern to do this inventory. The commission will continue to discuss. b) Rich Wilson, outgoing Director of Public Works and Parks, thanked the commission for their diligence on green priorities. Rich indicated that Sinan Alpaslan, the current City Engineer, will be the interim Director of Public Works and Parks. Rich also discussed the proposed idea of outsourcing the compost operation for the following reasons: i. The current sight is 1.8 acres, but the operation needs 15 acres to adequately process the materials brought in. This space is not available or affordable within or near the municipal boundaries. ii. Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MoDNR) has pointed out numerous environmental violations at our collection and distribution sites. The City has struggled