Green Committee Minutes 2009 02-23-09 Minutes APPROVED
YORKV►►.L E GREEN COMMITTEE 3-a3 tjq
February 23, 2009
7:00 P.M.
Yorkville City Hall — Council Chambers
Mission Statement: To advise the City Council of the United City of Yorkville, Illinois on ways to enhance the
community environment and ways to equip and encourage citizens and businesses to participate in sustainable
ecological practices.
Call to Order:
Marta Keane, chairperson, called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m.
Welcome Members and Guests:
Members: Marta Keane, Mariann Manthei, Al Green, Richard Scheffrahn, and Cheryl Lee
City Staff: Stephanie Boettcher and Travis Miller
Guests: Susan Kritzberg, Larry Cooper, Chris Oberste, and Debra Ness
Marta Keane welcomed guests that were in attendance. A quorum was established at 7:08 pm.
Marta introduced Susan Kritzberg who attended to speak to the committee about the protection of the
Blackberry Creek and green space along it. The commercial property housing Jimmy Johns, Legends,
Pearle Vision and Amici's are requesting a variance to add additional signage to their property.
Kritzberg's concern is that the Zoning Board had denied this variance twice, once last year and then last
month, however the City Council might vote in favor of it to be seen as "pro-business." Kritzberg's
desire is to protect the value of the environment which is a viable part of the green infrastructure of the
community. This unique open space will be degraded if add signs facing this space. She asked the
committee to support her cause and ask City Council not to vote in favor of the variance at their meeting
on February 24. She was appreciative of the opportunity to speak to the committee. Al Green asked
when one could comment at the City Council meeting. Stephanie Boettcher replied that there is a citizen
comment section at the beginning of the meeting which would be the appropriate time. Keane also
mentioned if members could email their alderman if they were unable to attend the meeting. Green said
that it would be too late for a recommendation, so if people felt strongly about this issue they could
speak as a citizen, not on the behalf of the committee. This was agreed to by Keane and the rest of the
committee.
Approval of Minutes
A motion was made to approve the January 26, 2009 minutes by Mariann Manthei and seconded by
Richard Scheffrahn. Minutes were approved—no amendments.
Committee Reports
1. Education Committee: Keane provided a report from the Education Committee. They are still
working on establishing a signup sheet for members to do educational articles. Keane's thought
is that as opposed to having a member signup for a month, collect a number of these educational
articles from the committee and submit them to Glory, who at her convince could provide them
to the newspaper. Keane to email the committee this month to get this established.
2. Environmental Fair Committee: Cheryl Lee provided an update on the Environmental Fair.
There are 38 exhibitors who have signed up. There was some difficulties in preparing the
application for the exhibitors and given the City is requesting the exhibitors list the City as an
additional insured, the number of exhibitors might decrease. A new application, one agreed
upon by the Chamber of Commerce and City, has be sent to exhibitors last week. Applications
are due this Friday, February 27, 2009. Lee has set up a database to chart if the exhibitors are
speaking, are non-profit or for-profit, and if they are requesting electric. The fees charged to
exhibitors will be collected by the Chamber of Commerce. Some of the exhibitors include Ron
Westphal who will display hybrid vehicles and also have exhibit space, Sci Tech, Home Depot,
and FE Wheaton. There is a potential to have a ReMax balloon launch from 4:00— 6:00 pm,but
they need a large grass area to land, not a parking lot. All of the speaker spots have been filled.
Lee has been contacted by a potential presenter who wants to speak to the exhibitors about
"marketing green." Lee is looking into the logistics of this. The logo contest deadline is
February 27"i. A meeting will be held on March 3`d at City Hall for environmental fair planning
and preparation and also choose the winner of the logo contest. Lee mentioned that a science fair
should be incorporated into next year's program. Manthei commented that 150 reusable bags
have been donated by Aldi, Walgreens and Jewel (50 from each) and that 1 bag should be
handed out per family. Food will be provided and set up in a corridor going towards the pool.
Chairs will be available in this location. The Green committee will be located at the entrance.
They will be directing people to the various locations (exhibit hall and presentation rooms) and
handing out reusable bags. The PR effort has gone well and includes spots on WSPY, two
banners to place at Town Square Park, press releases, and utilizing the marquee at the REC
Center. Keane mentioned that Glory is looking for comments/quotes to use in the press releases
for the event and the committee should email some to her. Set up will need to be finished at 10
am in order for the exhibitors to be complete at 11 am. Will the City be able to provide
assistance on table set up? That was the understanding of the committee. Boettcher to check
with Sue Swithin at Parks and Recreation about this. Green asked if the committee will be
responsible for "dressing" the tables. Lee responded, yes, only if the exhibitor purchased a table
cloth/skirt. Take down will begin at 5:00 pm.
3. Water Conservation Committee: Scheffrahn and Green reported for the Water Conservation
Committee. A water conservation plan was drafted by the green committee in June, and
direction was given to make the plan less vague and specifically address ordinance amendments.
Green said he and Richard reviewed the current water conservation ordinance. That it was not
encouraging the use of sod and that at this time nothing demands revisions. There were some
potential changes they identified to the Landscape Ordinance. In Section 4—lot landscaping—
there are no requirements for single family or duplex. Green said they felt this section should
include single family and duplex development and require 1 shade tree per lot. Lee asked if the
tree will be placed in the front. Green said they had not determined if there is a preferred
location. Keane said that from an air cooling perspective, the south side of the home would be
preferred. Manthei questioned if the tree dies would the homeowner need to replace it? Green
responded no, unless it was in 1 year of planting in which the developer would have to replace.
Manthei asked who would be responsible for the tree's maintenance. Keane responded it would
be the homeowner as they are responsible for the property maintenance. Scheffrahn clarified
that the landscape ordinance is applied to new or redeveloped property and the homeowners are
responsible for property maintenance of the land between the sidewalk and street. Green said the
other section of the landscape ordinance to amend would be section 6 —storm water storage
basin landscaping. Green asked if the recommendation should require or encourage conservation
landscaping as currently the language only requires shade trees. Keane asked what the
difference was between a retention and a detention basin and what native plants are appropriate
in these different locations. Miller stated that a storage basin is designed as either a wet basin
(retention) or dry basin (detention). Native plants can be used for retention basins to develop a
wetland habitat and deter geese. Keane asked what native plants are conducive to a detention
basin as some of these are used as soccer fields. Scheffrahn said that each basin is different and
that the use of native plants should be on a case by case basis. Scheffrahn went on to add that
there is significant savings in the long run if native plants are use. Manthei asked about the
maintenance of the basin. Miller mentioned that the City requires the developer to monitor the
basin for 3 years. Manthei asked what happened after that time. Scheffrahn said that basins are
turned over to the HOA to maintain, however if it isn't properly maintained the City usually
steps in. A motion was made by Green to recommend the Section 4 of the landscape ordinance
be amended to add 1 shade tree per lot and that section 6 be amended to include the language
"encourage native landscaping in the buffer yard." The motion was seconded by Keane and
approved by the committee. Green also mentioned that he reviewed the park development
standards and that sod was encouraged in Section 5F regarding detention/retention basins in
which sod is required within 100 feet of access points. Green said the language should at least
say seed with blanket or sod. Green motioned to write a recommendation amending the park
development standards to state seed with blanket in lieu of a mandatory sod requirement. The
motion was seconded by Scheffrahn and approved by the committee.
Recommendations
I. Tree Survey Recommendation: tabled until April
2. Tree City Recommendation: Scheffrahn reported that the City needs to budget $2/capita in the
upcoming budget to be considered. Given the population increase due to the special census the
City might not be able to reach this even though they did this year. Keane asked if the City had a
3 or 5 year fiscal plan. Miller responded that the finance director had prepared an unofficial one.
Keane thought that the City should utilize this to ensure they are budgeting for this program.
Keane had not heard from the Mayor on the status of this recommendation.
3. Franchise Agreement: Keane had not heard from the Mayor on the status of the recommendation.
Keane did send out an article to the Green Committee about the City of Naperville looking into a
franchise agreement. Lee mentioned that the Chamber of Commerce is developing a green
committee and this issue could be an opportunity for the Chamber to discuss and work with the
City on.
4. Electronic Recycling Permanent Program: Boettcher gave an update that the City Council will be
discussing and voting on a contract with Com2, an electronics recycler, at the February 24`h
meeting, to provide this service at the new public works building. Keane mentioned the
committee still had concerns about providing service on weekends or weeknights. Boettcher
mentioned that the contract was amended in which Com2 will provide a truck and laborer for
mobile collection days at least twice per year, and this could potentially address this concern.
Boettcher suggested that the committee attend the City Council meeting tomorrow in support of
the contract and raise any concerns in regards to dates and times of collection.
Budget for 2009/2010 Fiscal Year
Boettcher handed out a memo from Glory Spies which tabulated the committee's expenses, which thus
far have been coming out of her departmental budget. Scheffrahn asked if the City would have a line
item in the upcoming budget for the Green Committee. Boettcher said that the expense list was prepared
for the committee to aid in their discussion on if they are going to recommend a line item be created.
Green questioned why the Chamber was collecting the money for the Environmental Fair. Keane
explained that since the committee does not have a line item in the City budget they do not have the
ability to collect funds. The chamber volunteered to collect the money and co-sponsor the event, in
order for the committee to collect fees from those exhibiting. The fees are used for promotional and
marketing items. Keane mentioned that the committee hasn't had funding to do all of the items
associated with the events the committee puts on. The committee is an unfunded group. Keane
suggested that opposed to having Green Committee events that the annual events like the recycling day
or the environmental fair could be city events, which the green committee would support and volunteer
at. Boettcher suggested that the committee ask for a line item for environmental education, which the
green committee could utilize for their events and other educational outreach. Keane mentioned that the
committee should also be forward thinking on what events they want to host, allowing ample time for
discussion by the City Council on the event and time for planning. Lee raised a concern that the City
would not have funding available for a line item and that the committee should utilize fundraising efforts
in order to have a budget. That a line item would still be necessary, but it could be an amount of zero.
Scheffrahn said that the committee should ask for a $3000 line item and to offset this with any monies
the committee brings in. Lee mentioned that the committee should also ask for the authority to fundraise
in addition to the line item. Scheffrahn said that the slate is wiped clean at the end of the year, so the
committee couldn't use it as a bank account which the balance would carry over each year. Keane
suggested creating a revenue line item for the committee's fundraising efforts. Scheffrahn noted that the
budgeted money for environmental education could also assist in the tree city application. A motion was
made by Scheffrahn and seconded by Lee to recommend that the City include a $3000 line item for
Environmental Education, it was approved by the committee. Scheffrahn will write up the
recommendation. A motion was made by Scheffrahn and seconded by Keane to recommend that the
City establish a $3000 revenue received line item. The motion was approved and the recommendation
will be written by Scheffrahn.
ASHRAE to include LEED Standards
Green provided a report to the committee which he summarized for the committee. The following is the
text of this report.
1) Recap— Standard 189.1 for High Performance Green Buildings is being developed by USGBC,
ASHRAE &others as a complement to the USGBC LEED Green Building rating system. The
LEED rating system by itself is not a building standard, so you can't inspect to it and it's hard to
enforce. Std 189.1 will be an ANSI-accredited standard that can be incorporated into building
code.
2) History—Join work on the draft standard started in 2006 and it was issued in Fall 2007 for initial
public review. 900 comments were received, reviewed and incorporated into a second draft,
which was issued for a second public review in Spring 2008. New comments raised concerns
that the Std 189 committee was not broad based enough. Work on the 3`d draft was put on hold
in Fall of 2008. The Std 189 committee was extended from 21 members to 34 with
representatives from additional organizations (AISC, BOMA, etc.). The reorganized committee
held their initial meeting Jan 27, 2009 as the ASHRAE conference in Chicago.
3) What's next—The third draft is scheduled to be issued for public review in April 2009. The
Standard could be approved at the Jan 2010 conference and published thereafter. It could then
be incorporated into local building codes. Inclusion in the next IBC is possible.
Lee asked if this is for residential or non residential. Standard 189.1 is for commercial and non
residential buildings. Lee mentioned that the City currently uses the 2000 building code. Miller
commented that Bill Dettmer, director of the building safety department, informed him that a review
is being done of the 2009 International Building Code. Lee said it will be a drastic change to go
from the 2000 IBC to the 2009 IBC, but it might be a good time as there is not a lot of construction.
Lee mentioned there is a potential hardship with providing low income housing as the construction
cost increased due to the regulations of the new building code. Scheffrahn said that in the long run
the increased standards will decrease the cost to the consumer, in terms of energy savings. Green
projected that it would be as earlier as 2010 for the City to impose this standard, if it is passed, and
by 2012 it could be included in the International Building Code.
Zoning Ordinance Committee
Miller said that the City has abolished the Zoning Committee and established a Zoning Commission.
A commission requires appointments by the City Council, which will be done at the February 24`h
City Council. A member of a commission must be a city resident. Al Green volunteered to serve on
the commission on behalf of the Green Committee. A recommendation was made to nominate Al
Green for the commission by Keane and seconded by Scheffrahn. This was approved by the
committee.
Kendall County Solid Waste Committee— Combustion for Energy Recovery
Keane informed the committee about the State's hierarchy for solid waste. Stating that it is first
reduce, then reuse, recycle, combust for energy recovery, combust for reduction, then landfill. So
from the State of Illinois perspective it is preferred to combust for energy recovery over developing
another landfill. Keane spoke about the City of Robbins who developed an incinerator using
gasification. The facility had an EPA monitoring device which had issues as the facility did not have
enough waste flow. Also, the State reversed legislation which allowed incinerators to sell the energy
at the retail rate (allowing them to make money and stay in business), so they could no longer do
this. The facility at Robbins closed as a result of this. The byproducts from an incinerator are
typically safe enough to place into a municipal landfill, however if not, then the byproducts must go
to a hazardous waste landfill. Scheffrahn said the cost structure of an incinerator is much more
expensive than a landfill. That they will not be viable options until the can become competitive with
landfills. Keane said that positives of energy recovery sites are they have a smaller footprint and last
longer than a landfill; however there are still trucks going through the City.
A motion was made by Keane that the Green Committee recommends the Kendall County solid
waste plan recognize the state hierarchy and pursue waste reduction via energy recovery as opposed
to a landfill. The motion was seconded by Green. Keane is to write up this recommendation.
Plastic Bag Use Reduction Update
Keane shared that her idea was to set up a committee to look into legislation and share information
about reusable bags. The committee will be handing out reusable bags at the Environmental Fair;
however no education has been done. Manthei said that education should start at the children's level
and move up from this. Lee agreed with this. Keane motioned that the committee establish a Plastic
Bag Information Committee and Manthei will begin the efforts of this committee. This was
seconded by Lee and approved by the committee.
Cutting CO2
Keane asked the committee to share their experiences. Keane has had some difficulty as her mother
has moved in with her family. However she has been changing the light bulbs to CFLs. Lee said
that she has participated in carpooling as part of her children's activities and this has been an
aggressive effort. She also mentioned that her family now turns off all appliances such as computers
if they aren't in use. Manthei recently purchased a front load washer, has tried to keep the
temperature of her home set at 68, and has used power strips. Green said that opposed to commuting
to a conference in Chicago, he stayed downtown. He also mentioned that he used to carpool more
when the gas prices were higher. Keane asked the committee to share these personal experiences
which could be provided to Glory for a news article or website post.
May 2009 Meeting Date
The meeting has been changed to Monday May 18°i at 7:00 pm at the Yorkville Public Library.
Report Concept
Keane asked that committee give information in advance of the meeting and if any action is
requested in the form of a report. This report could be provided to the committee members to review
before the meeting and provide everyone with background on the topic. The hope is that this will
speed meetings along. Reports will be due to Marta I week before the meeting and be sent out with
the agenda. This will be instituted at the March meeting. Keane will email everyone about this as a
reminder.
Share and Care Recycling 2009
Keane asked committee support a fall recycling event. Lee asked if this will be at the new public
works building, which is the intention. However, Green noted the fairgrounds worked well. Keane
also would like to implement more sharing into the event, where you could come and take something
that was donated (except for electronics/personal items), such as books or bikes. Green mentioned
the sharing event could be more chaotic. Public works building could work well, would have to see.
Potential to be a two day event, donate one day and take the second day. Will be discussed more at
length at next month's meeting.
The meeting was adjoined at 9:50 pm.
*Minutes submitted by Stephanie Boettcher