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Green Committee Minutes 2007 10-22-07 APPROVED Environmental Ad-Hoc Committee Meeting Second Meeting - October 22, 2007 The meeting was called to order at 7:05pm Present: Valerie Burd, Mayor of City of Yorkville Jill Fleishman, Committee Chair Bill Dettmer, Code Official for the City of Yorkville (guest speaker) Tony Graff, Retired City Manager, Committee Member Anne Engelhardt, Committee Member Marta Keane, Committee Secretary Debbie Horaz, Member of Yorkville Park Board, Committee Member Chuck Roberts, Friends of the Fox River, invited to be Committee Member Alan Green, invited to be Committee Member Mariann Manthei, invited to be Committee Member Not Present: Ralph Pfister,executive director of Yorkville Bristol Sanitary District, invited to be Committee Member The tape recorder malfunctioned and it was agreed that the secretary take notes on a laptop computer. Jill confirmed commitment of those present as members of committee. Jill appointed all attending the meeting tonight as Committee Members, except City staff Review of Minutes Copies of the minutes from the October 11, 2007 meeting were made and passed out to all present. It was agreed that the City should be asked to make copies of the minutes for approval at the next meeting. A discussion of the minutes was briefly held. Anne moved to accept the minutes as presented, Jill seconded. Since only Jill, Anne and Marta were present at the last meeting, other Committee Members abstained from voting. The minutes were approved unanimously. Meeting Dates All agreed that Mondays were workable, if we chose the fourth Monday of the month. Unanimous approval Next Meeting Monday —Nov 26"' will be the next meeting at the Yorkville library. There will be no meeting in December All 2008 meetings will be in the library the 4t` Monday of each month Jill contacted the City of Oswego about their Environmental Committee Jill is awaiting some responses, but learned the number of members and voting rules. Mayor Burd suggested reviewing the Village of Montgomery's website that went into detail on topics such as Green Building and education. Montgomery partnered with the Village of Oswego on this information. Refuse billing enclosure — education efforts discussed Bills are being changed from postcards to envelopes and will continue to be sent every other month. Anne suggested reminding people of what items Veolia accepts; discouraging the use of Styrofoam and letting people know where to take plastic bags. Anne is working with the City on their newsletter recycling information. An insert for the newsletter is planned. Marta asked about measuring the amount of garbage and recycling currently taken monthly. Anne would like to see incentives for the rate to be reduced if recycling went up. Concern was expressed that recyclables are not be taken to a recycling processing plant but being mixed with garbage at the transfer station. The Cool Cities designation was discussed. Mayor Burd stated that the City of Yorkville has adopted the City of Chicago's Green Initiative through the Chicago Metropolitan Mayors Caucus. Because of this, the City should be getting a shipment of CFLs. Anne brought up a concern that the CFLs include mercury and residents should be told what to do in the event that one breaks or burns out. Anne suggested that Inkjet recycling for the City, Park District and Library could bring in a small amount of revenue. The Congressional Church uses AAA Environmental Ink. Debbie suggested that Office Max will pay $2 or $3 per cartridge. Anne passed out the Kendall County Green Pages and told everyone that the Kendall County Health Department takes batteries. Jill and Bill Dettmer met this morning to do an overview of the City of Yorkville's Code related to encouraging green practices. Bill offered to give a presentation to the Ad-Hoc Committee. The City of Yorkville uses the International Building Code. It is a performance code as opposed to the City of Chicago, which has a specific code telling builders how to build. The advantage to the Yorkville method is that is adaptable to various green building initiatives, such as increased energy or some green building materials. A passive radon system is already required for all residential homes because radon is an issue in this area and this allows residents to vent radon. Bill attended a seminar and an international code meeting, taking two courses on green building. The term used is Safe & Green, meaning that the materials are safe for people and the environment. There are municipalities that have additional codes, such as in Aspen where the Green Code is mandatory for all builders, with different levels of achievement. Because many green building projects have a long-term payback period, the code varies for commercial and residential. Builders look at marketing their products as well as structural building options and energy use. Zoning ordinances can be reviewed. The idea is to keep the buildings safe but encourage improvements. Bill shared a story of an existing home in a community in DuPage County that lost a solar panel in a storm. The community would not allow the resident to replace the solar panel because it did not conform to the new building code and roof lines in the neighborhood even though prior to the storm it had been in good working order providing the energy to heat the water for the home. Bill spoke of County ordinances that do not allow wind generated energy due to the height of wind turbines. Bill stated that the Yorkville code is friendly to green energy. A question arose as to how much topsoil is required to be put back in new developments. This is tied to water usage and the speed that the water drains. This water is going to the streams and river instead of recharging our aquifers. We should strive to allow water to remain a few more hours on lawns and use permeable pavements when possible. Jill asked how Aspen treats existing homes. Is there anything required at the time of sale? No, because it becomes very cumbersome and creates more controversy. Bill will send the Aspen ordinances to the committee to review and consider recommendations to the City. Aspen's method is similar to the LEED guidelines with options to choose for different amounts of points. Energy Star has a similar point program. There is a resident that is a representative of the Green Building Council in our area and Mayor Burd offered to contact her to learn if she would be interested in being on the committee. Are any of the new commercial buildings coming in doing any green building? Bill was not aware that any of the new stores, such as Kohl's, Home Depot and Target are currently building to these standards. Mayor Burd said that a commercial development did just contact the City and expressed interest in incorporating some green practices inside and outside the building. Are any of the builders using any alternative insulation? Bill stated that some are using different insulation, including blown-in that has a very high R-value. Some builders are putting insulation that will reduce sound as well. Anne suggested a seminar on the building initiatives, this could be used to market the area as well as be very interesting. The Congressional Church is hosting a solar building presentation in 2008. Mayor Burd offered to designate space for collection of research materials on all the topics this committee will be researching. Tony offered to bring material on an innovative wastewater treatment system. Cortland in Dekalb is using it. Shaffer International sells these systems worldwide. Mayor Burd shared that the Kendall Growth Conference will be discussing this topic. It was suggested that the Committee take a tour of the Bristol Sanitary District. The system currently in use has won awards. Jill asked everyone to work on a mission statement to guide and inspire the group as it moves forward. The Committee agreed to work at home and bring suggestions to the next meeting. Jill announced the Kendall County 7t` Annual Growth Conference to be held on Friday, October 26t` 8:OOam — 12:30pm at Trinity Methodist Church on Yorkville Water & Resources for $15. Anne announced a presentation at Yorkville Congregational Church on how to be a better environmentalist in your daily life on Monday, Oct. 29t` from 7-8pm. Mayor Burd asked for input on the City's tree replacement planting program. The ordinances are being reviewed because there are currently no requirements to replace trees that are removed due to disease, damage or construction (except new development). The Park District has a list of trees but this could be more comprehensive, including flowers, hanging planters, etc. A Canopy Ordinance is currently in the planning stages and it should be reviewed by this Ad-Hoc Environmental Committee. It was suggested that Travis present at our next meeting. There was a concern that we will learn a lot but not be able to take any action. Mayor Burd would like to see the committee focus on green design ordinances for building codes. With commercial development continuing, we could get these in place before much more arrives. Everyone will be e-mailed two types of ordinances already in place, one from Aspen and the other from Seattle. Jill stated that the Conservation Foundation certifies your yard. Anne suggested having a way to certify homes. Mariann suggested placing the material in the library in the room we meet in because it has a number of empty shelves in the meeting area. Items for the Next Meeting • Mission Statement • Name for the Committee • Review and decision on recommended ordinances for green design • Presentation Travis Miller, Community Development Director The meeting was closed at 8:55pm