City of Lawrence
Sustainability Advisory Board (SAB)
February 13, 2013 minutes
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MEMBERS PRESENT: |
Boog Highberger, Matt Lehrman, Michael Morley, Daniel Poull, Adam Richie, Ian Spomer, Scott White, Steve Vukelich
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MEMBERS ABSENT: |
Dale Nimz, Kathleen Nuckolls
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STAFF PRESENT: |
Tammy Bennett, Todd Girdler, Eileen Horn, Jessica Mortinger, Kathy Richardson
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PUBLIC PRESENT: |
Monica Johnson, Jenny O’Brien (SAN) |
Call Meeting to Order (Scott White, Chair person)
Take roll call to determine quorum of members.
Introduction of new board member on the SAB: Steve Vukelich.
Approval of Meeting Minutes
The January 9, 2013 minutes will be approved at the next SAB meeting in March.
Guest Speaker: Update on Transportation 2040
Jessica Mortinger, the City/County Transportation Planner, presented an update on Transportation 2040 (presentation slides), a vision for a healthy, safe, and efficient transportation system which updates and replaces Transportation 2030. There has been a lot of public involvement in the T2040 process and the Lawrence/Douglas County Metropolitan Planning Organization appreciates the feedback.
The T2040 draft will be available for public comment February 15th through March 16th. Jessica Mortinger mentioned the current draft is approximately 200 plus pages but they will create an executive summary. She encouraged SAB to review the document and submit feedback.
SAB asked how projects are prioritized. There are many factors used for prioritizing. The reality is that there is never enough money to complete all projects. Some projects piggyback on other projects (i.e. adding bike lanes when streets are redeveloped).
Scott White asked if green infrastructure to reduce run-off from streets was considered. Jessica said it is not included within T2040 but they have looked at it. Matt Lehrman asked about electric vehicle charging stations in the plan. The City/County cannot plan for this because charging stations and infrastructure is on private properties.
Staff Reports
Eileen Horn addressed all items on the Sustainability Coordinator report.
Kathy Richardson discussed program updates included in the Waste Reduction and Recycling Division report.
Update on the curbside recycling RFP process: At the City Commission meeting on February 12th, the Commission authorized staff to negotiate a contract with Hamm for Material Recovery Facility (MRF) operations under a recycling proposal with the City collecting curbside recycling on a bi-weekly basis. This was the RFP Review Committee’s recommendation.
Future SAB Agenda Items
Scott White asked if anyone had ideas for meeting agenda items to include in 2013.
- Daniel Poull highly recommended inviting the Mayor and Commissioners to SAB meetings. This was well received in the past.
- Michael Morley suggested learning about the New Cities Initiative by inviting the Project Director to a future SAB meeting (possibly available in March).
- Ian Spomer would be interested to know which developments are coming up in Lawrence via a monthly report.
- Tammy Bennett suggested revisiting the 2012-2013 SAB goals since there are a lot of new board members.
- Boog Highberger recommended inviting Dennis Murphey, Chief Environmental Officer for Kansas City, MO. He will contact Mr. Murphey and inquire about his availability for a future SAB meeting.
- Ian Spomer mentioned his mom serves on the Topeka SAB and he suggested the two SAB’s could coordinate a meeting together. An idea shared was to have both Lawrence and Topeka SAB groups attend Mr. Murphey’s presentation.
Miscellaneous Announcements and/or Public Comments
An announcement was made of a John Ross charity roast at Alvamar. Proceeds will go to LMH. Date of the roast is February 15th.
Meeting adjourned at 7:02 p.m.
Next meeting: March 13, 2013 at 5:30 p.m.
Attachments:
Transportation 2040 Presentation
Sustainability Coordinator Report
Waste Reduction and Recycling Division Report