City of Lawrence                                         

Sustainability Advisory Board (SAB)

June 11, 2008 (5:30 PM) Meeting Minutes

 

MEMBERS PRESENT:

Chris Cobb, Dickie Heckler, Sarah Hill-Nelson , Daniel Poull, Laura Routh, Simran Sethi, Brian Sifton, Cindy Strecker, Paul Dietz

 

MEMBERS ABSENT:

Matt Lehrman,

STAFF PRESENT:

Tammy Bennett, Bob Yoos

 

GUESTS PRESENT:

Chris Tatham, ETC Institute (Vice President, CEO)

PUBLIC PRESENT:

Chad Lawhorn, Ian Spomer, Alison Roepe, Eileen Horn, Joanne Bergman

 

Call Meeting to Order (Daniel Poull, Chairperson)

Take Roll Call to Determine Quorum of Members

 

Approval of meeting Minutes

 

Motion and second to approve the May 12, 2008 minutes (Routh / Hill-Nelson). Vote: Motion was passed unanimously.

 

Recycling Survey (ETC Institute, Chris Tatham)

 

The City of Lawrence Recycling Survey was completed by ETC Institute.  Chris Tatham, Vice President, presented the results.  1200 randomly selected households were surveyed with a goal of 400 responses.  ETC received 711 responses, giving a margin of error of +/- 3.7% at a 95% level of confidence.  The major findings of the survey were presented.  The report is attached to these meeting minutes.

 

·         79% of those surveyed thought it was either “very important” or “somewhat important” to have citywide curbside recycling; 12% did not think it was important and 9% did not have an opinion.

·         73% of those surveyed indicated that they currently recycle and 27% indicated they do not recycle.  Of those who do not recycle, the most frequently selected reasons for not recycling were:  convenience, space, time.

·         58% of those surveyed thought the city should begin to provide citywide curbside recycling services; 23% thought the City should continue to encourage residents to use private curbside recycling services, and 19% did not have an opinion.

·         Residents were asked how likely they would be to pay for curbside recycling service if it were offered by the City of Lawrence at various monthly prices.  The percentage of respondents answering very likely and somewhat likely was high at $6 per month, but decreased significantly as the prices went up ($9, $12, and $15).

 

Significant discussions were had about whether the survey instrument really measured the price point at which citizens were willing to pay or if it was simply a reflection of preferring to pay less than more.  At the higher price points, there was a stronger shift in the responses from “not very likely” to “not at all likely,” indicating a stronger conviction about those, but SAB members cautioned about making any strong statements on that basis.  The general statement that garnered consensus was that any curbside service priced above $10 per month will get a great deal more negative feedback that a service provided under $10 per month.

 

Staff provided updated data on the estimated costs to provide curbside collection using city crews and operating a material recovery facility.  Staff estimates (updated in 2008) were approximately $12 per month to provide weekly service, $9 per month to provide bi-weekly service, when service is charged to all single family residences.  SAB members discussed the need to have additional analysis of that alternative and also of alternative-service models that did not require the City to build or operate it’s own material recovery facility.  There was consensus that additional review was needed on alternative service models, which would likely include professional services from companies with expertise in designing such systems. 

 

The SAB requests that they are able to present their own recommendations at the same time the City Commission receives the Recycling Survey presentation from ETC Institute.  While there was some interest in moving quickly on this issue, there was also desire to have the wider community discussion when university staff and students were in town and more likely to be able to pay attention to these issues.  A date in September for the presentation of the survey to the City Commission is requested. 

 

Laura Routh will begin the draft of a letter to the City Commission with recommendations.  The letter will be distributed to all SAB members for review and comment by June 27th.  Members should come to the July meeting with comments or e-mail them back prior to that meeting.

 

 

Climate protection task force report (Simran Sethi)

 

The Climate Protection Task Force got a rather slow start but has now formed 4 workgroups:

1.                   Policy, outreach, and education (Chaired by Simran Sethi)

2.                   Transportation (Chaired by Carey Maynard-Moody)

3.                   Energy efficiency and conservation (Chaired by Steve Hughes)

4.                   Waste Management (Chaired by Susan Rodgers)

 

Work group chairpersons are expected to have their groups assembled and hold at least one meeting prior to the next Climate Protection Task Force meeting, June 24th, 2008.  All climate protection materials are being posted on the website www.lawrenceks.org/climate_protection .  Simran reviewed the membership of her powerhouse committee, and will update further after June 24th task force session.

 

 

SAB Calendar / invitees

 

Laura Routh and Daniell Poull have been working on a list of possible future invitees for the meetings and a draft letter of invitation.  The motivation for the list was to continue meeting with elected officials and other boards whose work may overlap with SAB. 

 

The introduction of the item prompted significant discussion about the need or desire to do additional goal-setting that focuses on short term goals (e.g., what does the board hope to accomplish in the next 6 months).  There was concern expressed that the board is jumping around between too many issues and maybe not having an impact on any of them.  The group noted that some significant achievements had been made on the priorities established at the last goal setting session, namely the recycling survey, the creation of the Climate Protection Task Force, and hosting at least two City Commissioners at SAB meetings.  There have also been issues where SAB has tried to lend its support to other efforts, such as the pesticide free parks, transportation, and peak oil initiatives. 

 

Motion to table this discussion for the July 9th meeting.  Action items coming out of this were:

·         SAB members will review the list of possible invitees.  Prioritize them.  Consider what specific goal is being attached to each invitee or group and write it down.  That information needs to be returned to Daniel Poull.

·         Cindy Strecker will try to identify a date in late July or August to do a goal-setting refresher.  SAB members did not feel the need to have a multiple day retreat or a facilitator, but they do feel the need to re-focus their efforts.

 

Home Energy Conservation Fair

Report on Solid Waste Management Meeting

WRR Report

 

Kathy Richardson could not attend this meeting due to the Composting School.  She submitted the reports via e-mail prior to the meeting.  The notes will be attached to the minutes.

 

 

Guest comments and miscellaneous

 

Alison Roepe, interested citizen and organizer of the Little Green Festival

·         Need to find a way to have a “Green” Advocate on the City Commission

·         Request to consider some kind of consolidated action plan between all the groups interested in and working on common issues of sustainability.

·         Shared her petition for curbside recycling with 1688 signatures.

 

Michael Almon discussed the Peak Oil presentation given to SAB three months ago.  It looks like the City Commission will receive that as an agenda item (as opposed to a study session).  Mayor Dever indicated it would be in August, following the budget. 

 

 

Meeting adjourned 7:50 p.m.

 

Next meeting: July 9, 2008 at 5:30 pm

 

Attachments:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ATTACHMENT: Updates on HECF and SWANA Roundtable

 

 

Submitted electronically to SAB on June 10, 2008 by Kathy Richardson

 

 

 

HOME ENERGY CONSERVATION FAIR

WRR staff has begun planning for the Home Energy Conservation Fair (HECF). We have checked availability at several locations in town. The Douglas County Fairgrounds and Lawrence High School are not available for the month of October. Free State High School has a Saturday date open but it coincides with a KU Home Football Game (time of the game is still uncertain). We have not heard from Southwest Junior High yet. Staff will continue to search possible locations for the HECF.

 

WRR staff is in the process of recruiting members for the HECF Team. So far, SAB members who have signed up are: Daniel Poull, Laura Routh, Dickie Heckler and Chris Cobb. WRR staff will contact past team member including Steve Lane and Steve Hughes as well as Celeste Hoins.

 

WRR staff plans to schedule the first HECF team meeting sometime before the July 4th holiday. HECF team members will receive an e-mail invitation with an agenda. SAB will be copied on all HECF team meeting correspondence. All SAB members are encouraged to participate in HECF meetings if they are available.

 

 

SWANA SOLID WASTE ROUNDTABLE

 

On Thursday June 5th, the City of Lawrence hosted a SWANA Solid Waste Roundtable. A total of 28 public and private officials in our geographical area attended. The roundtable is a chance to network, discover new solution to old problems and share your expertise with others. Lots of topics were discussed including CFL recycling, reuse programs, safety and training programs, and composting operations.

 

 

WRR REPORT

 

The Waste Reduction and Recycling Division report for the month of May is attached (PDF).

 

Highlights:

-          Notable increase in revenue for fiber recycling compared to prior YTD.

-          The Solid Waste Division did not collect yard waste on Monday, May 26th due to Memorial Day holiday.