HomeMy WebLinkAboutEC Minutes 12.9.2024 - Approved
City of Falcon Heights
Environment Commission
City Hall
2077 Larpenteur Avenue West
Minutes
Monday, December 9, 2024
6:30 p.m.
A. CALL TO ORDER: 6:30 p.m.
B. ROLL CALL: Beth Mercer-Taylor (Chair) _A_ Jared Mehlhaff _X_
John Pellegrini (Vice-Chair) _X_ Sophie Nagel _X_
Adam Keester _X_ Amy Christiansen _A_
Pedro De Filippo Vannucci _A_
Staff Liaison Lynch _X_
Council Liaison Mielke _X_
GreenCorps Member Siebert _X_
C. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Vice-Chair Pellegrini made a motion to approve the agenda. All were in favor. Agenda was
approved by consent.
D. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
1. October 14, 2024
Vice-Chair Pellegrini made a motion to approve minutes from the October 14, 2024
meeting. All were in favor. Minutes were approved by consent.
E. NEW BUSINESS
1. Tree Trust Information – Karen Zumach
Karen Zumach from the Tree Trust presented information on the organization and tree
sales with communities. The Tree Trust was founded in 1976 when Dutch Elm Disease
was rampant. It was an organization which aimed to remove diseased or otherwise
damaged trees and replace them. They work with youth, young adults, and other
residents, and focus on employment training, for-profit landscaping services, community
forestry, and volunteer organization for tree plantings.
She spoke about tree sales and explained that the Tree Trust organizes the sale, including
a website, acquiring the tree stock, confirming orders, answering questions, and
organizing pick-ups. They can also look at the City’s tree canopy for gaps to allow the
City to potentially reach out to residents in those areas about purchasing trees. She stated
the cost of the tree is generally between $30 and $70 for the resident, with the City
covering $100 to $110. This includes the tree and mulch.
Environment commissioners discussed a potential tree sale and decided $50’/tree would
be a good price point for residents. Staff Liaison Lynch stated she would follow up with
the City Administrator about organizing this with Tree Trust.
2. Undergraduate Leadership Program Students – Project Presentation
Megan Cunningham, Madison Cocker, Janelle Barlan, and Ethan Cederberg, students
from the University of Minnesota, presented a project around the University of
Minnesota’s golf course and potential future development of the site. Their goals for
development include sustainability, affordability, and recreation. They spoke about Just
Housing, a Duluth company that produces replicable and scalable homes that do not use
any fossil fuels, as the type of home imagined for the site. Additionally, they discussed
researching if the site would be suitable for geothermal energy and/or active solar and
including recreational green space throughout the site. They hope to engage with
residents and create a formal presentation including GIS maps and zoning information
for their school project.
Staff Liaison Lynch thanked them for coming and informed them of the recently
completed Snelling and Larpenteur Corridor Development Study. She encouraged them
to look at the community input in that. She also advised them to be sure, if they reach out
to residents, to be clear this is for a school project as the University of Minnesota has
directly informed the City that there are no future plans for selling or developing the golf
course.
3. Plastic Bag Recycling
GreenCorps Member Olivia Siebert spoke about the feedback from residents in the
Climate Action Plan survey about the desire for plastic bag recycling at City Hall. She
has researched the ability to recycle these plastic bags outside of grocery stores and found
a company called Merric, Inc. out of Vadnais Heights. They accept many hard-to-recycle
products and charge $10 for a load of recyclables to be dropped off.
Commissioners discussed and had questions about the reliability and suitability of the
company, and expressed desire to make sure they are recycling the plastics. They also
discussed the soon-to-open recycling center in Roseville and what will be able to be
recycled there.
Commissioners discussed placement of the recycling bin(s) for the bags and decided
outdoors would be best, in an accessible location for all residents. It was determined near
the food scraps area would be the best option.
4. Sustainability Fair
GreenCorps Member Olivia Siebert discussed the possibility of holding a sustainability
fair near Earth Day in 2025. It would be indoors and consist of tables with information
from organizations on a variety of sustainability topics, as well as possibly including a
few speakers. She asked commissioners for ideas of organizations to reach out to.
Commissioners suggested topics such as reuse/repair, native plantings and gardening,
and organizations such as: Friends of the Mississippi River, Reuse MN, Ramsey County
Fix-It Clinics, tool library, the Horticulture Society, MetroTransit, local thrift stores,
solar installers, bike shops, and others.
F. Information and Announcements
1. Staff Liaison Report
Staff Liaison Lynch advised commissioners that December 10 is Human Rights Day and
Just Deeds combined with the CEC is holding an event at City Hall to discharge racial
covenants from deeds. She also gave a brief update on the status of the development of the
climate action planning team.
2. Council Liaison Report
Council Liaison Mielke advised commissioners that she heard from Christine Chitambar
about the goldfish rehoming she and her son, Theo, have been working on. She stated the
goldfish that were rehomed from the Community Park pond were not doing well, and
another solution may need to be considered.
G. Adjourn
Meeting was adjourned at 8:27 p.m.
Next regular meeting date: January 13, 2025