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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - MGG - 05-13-2010Milton ■ Date: May 13, 2010, 5:30 pm — 8:00 pm ORIGINAL Milton Grows Green Committee Minutes May 13, 2010 Place: City of Milton Fire Station No. 43, 750 Hickory Flat Road, Milton, GA 30004 Attendees: Amy Peters, Kathy Johnson, Jon McPhail, Jack Lindon, Francia Lindon, Bruce Langston and Michele McIntosh -Ross. Agenda: The Agenda was posted on the City's web site prior to the meeting. I. Approval of Minutes and Announcements: No minutes were approved. II. Updates: Earth Day Festival -- Chris was scheduled to come but had to be at a Taste of Alpharetta. There was an extended discussion of the Earth Day Festival, it being a first in a number of areas. It was the first time MGG has worked with City staff and the first time we've attempted such a large event in a very compacted time period. MGG viewed it as a success but it wasn't as smooth as it could have been. In the future we need to start planning this type of event much earlier, improve communication among MGG members and stay focused on what our goals are. Jack handed out copies of the final Earth Day Report he gave to Chris Lagerbloom to members of the committee. (See attached.) Chris had given us a budget of $3,700 and we spent $3,727. Our original plan was to sell the T-shirts. Had that happened, we would have come out around $800 under budget. The budget report showed the discounts businesses gave us. Jon has prepared a planning document for next year's event. There were a number of corporations that were willing offering funding for this type of event. We need to have a larger discussion on how to tap those resources and meet Chris's concerns about our collecting money. We need to get a request for next year's event into City hall some time in July because they are currently assembling requests for 2011. There was a discussion on our accepting contributions. It's complicated. If we're a 501(c)(3), donations are tax deductible but if it's a donation to the city, it is not. If it went to the City, the money or donation could be ear -marked for us. A 501(c)(3) cannot become entangled in political matters. Requests for funding go to the City Council through the budgetary process for their approval. Cyndee Bonacci was our liaison for Earth Day however the budgeting should go to Chris. III. Old Business Green Communities Initiative — Michele passed out a working draft, a list of possible areas where the city could meet the certification process' green standards. The list was developed in a meeting she had with Bruce, Jon and Amy on May P. They went through the certification manual to check off what projects were already in place and what projects would be feasible for the City. Michele then met with other City departments to discuss prioritizing the to-do list. Projects that have a "will do" notation, will be done right away. Others listed in the sheet are possibilities for some time in the future. Feasible projects were estimated at 105 points with a minimum of 175 needed for "bronze" certification. MGG went through the list item by item and discussed each. As examples, replace CFL bulbs with CFC or LED bulbs depending on the type of light; comply with the Dept. of Community Affairs' WaterFirst Program. Michele suggested that anywhere there is a program requiring an event, MGG should help in that area. We could be a resource in support of City staff. On the first level we have identified a subset of members who will help with this initiative. The fact that a committee such as MGG exists should be worth some points in the innovation section at the back. Milton Grows Green Committee Meeting Minutes May 13, 2010 ALL MILTON GaROws GREEN DOCUMENTS ARE PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER WITH AT LEAST 35% POST -CONSUMER CONTENT. We're proud of our "octopus." MGG is part of the sustainability committee that's required. Also the green cemetery should qualify for "innovation" points. Zero Waste Zone restaurants have specially equipped haulers that compost the waste. There aren't many cities that have the "advantage" of lots of horse manure like Milton does_ There ought to be a way to facilitate getting the manure composted and recycled for agricultural purposes. Perhaps it could be added to mulch. Zero Waste Zone by itself might qualify for points as being innovative. Jack's opinion was that just about everything MGG did would qualify for points even if not specifically defined on the certification list. Keep America Beautiful: Keep America Beautiful affiliation information was distributed. The organization's focus is to reduce litter and waste and make sustainable improvements in Milton. We need to identify 6-9 individuals who will commit to a 4-hour training session and agree to accomplish specific tasks in a 4 to G month period. One person on City staff is also needed to handle the book keeping. Look at the material and let Jon know if you want to be one of the active participants in this program. IV. New Business; Jack wanted to start a dialogue on the whole idea of trying to reassess what the committee is about, what our priorities are and what our level of activity is going to be given the number of volunteers we have. The way to start this dialogue was by making a list of all of the project we do, send it out to all members and ask them to prioritize the list and get some indication as to what they will commit to doing. This project list includes: 1. Green Communities Designation (Ongoing) 2. Adopt -A -Stream (Ongoing) 3. Clean Air Campaign - No Idling in School Zones (Ongoing) 4. Rivers Alive (October) 5. Storm Drain Marking (Ongoing, —100 marked in a year) b. Stream Buffer Protection Pamphlet (Need Mailing List) 7. List of Rebates for Energy Efficiency (New Initiative) S. Water Harvesting Demonstrations (Event specific) 9. Soles4Souls (. Ongoing, Donate "gently" used shoes for distribution to the needy —done at Birmingham Falls E.S. in 2010) 10. Transfer Development Rights (TDR) Recommendations (Ongoing) 11. Green or LEEDs Building Standards Recommendation (New initiative) 12. Adopt -A -Road (Ongoing) 13. Bell Memorial Park & Other Recycling Programs (Schools & City Hall) 14. Bring One for the Chipper (First Saturday in January) 15. Bulky Trash Days (Held with Roswell in April and November) 16_ Electronic Recycling (Virizon initiative held March 27"') 17. Freecycle Web Site Setup for Milton (Like a free CraigsList) 18. Hazardous Waste Collection Day (In planning stage, have submitted a budget request for 2011) 19 Great American Cleanup (Birmingham Park Dumps in 2009 - Between March 1 stand May 31 st) 20. Zero Waste Zone & Green Food Service Alliance (Ongoing) Milton Grows Green Committee Meeting Minutes, May 13, 2010 p. 2 21. Earth Day Festival (Held close to Earth Day, April 22"d, have submitted a budget request of $5,000 for 2011.) 22. Data Base of Volunteers (Ongoing, maintenance) 23. Data Base of Contacts for Publicity on Events and Projects (Ongoing) 24. Milton Roundup Booth (October 23, 2010) 25. Tree Planting (? Mark Law, Ongoing) 25. Environmental Education at Local Schools (Ongoing) 26. Trash HaulerlRegulation Information — 1 to 2 per neighborhood (New Initiative) 27. Battery Recycling (New Initiative) Some of these projects can be "doubled up" like Earth Day and Community Education; Bring One for the Chipper and hang -tags to put on Christmas trees being sold locally. Or for example, at the Chipper event we could also hold another event such as Soles4So1es collection. Education should be part of everything we do. We need to add events with dates on the MGG calendar. Some will depend on what the School calendar is and that won't be done until August or September. So some dates will have to be more vague like the Rivers Alive "some time in October" until we see the school calendar. For Earth Day it could fall sometime during Earth Week. There are three categories for projects: things that are completed and not recurring; recurring projects (with suggested possible dates); and things we're contemplating but haven't initiated yet. We should consider whether or not we are duplicating programs in place at the Roswell Recycling Center. If we knew what Milton's working relationship was to the Recycle Center, we could be promoting their programs instead of trying to start our own. Michele said that the Milton and Roswell governments are in the process of working out an agreement. Also, although we haven't looked into it, a new recycling center is being set up on McGinnis Ferry Road for Forsyth County. According to Jon, this one is free. In addition Johns Creek has held bulky trash and hazardous waste days. Perhaps we explore partnering with them on some of these events. This list of projects will be passed out to the committee as a study document to help decide MGG future focus, what projects we'd like to do and what our capabilities are for doing them. FYI - November 15`h is America Recycles Day. Kathy is doing something in the schools on that day. The meeting adjourned at 8:00 pm. ATTEST: Jon B. McPhail, Co -Chair Francia Lindon, Secretary Milton Grows Green Committee Meeting Minutes, May 13, 2010 p. 3 Milton ^ Report on the Milton Earth Day Festival held April 17, 2010 at Birmingham Park (Submitted on May 5, 2010 by Jack Lindon, MGG co-chair) Overall impressions: ■ Consensus of MGG organizing committee members was that the event was successful. The weather was perfect and an estimated 400 people were in attendance. • 13 vendors of environmentally friendly products and services participated, and four food vendors provided free refreshments. • Large tents with tables and chairs were provided for food consumption and for children's environmental education activities. • The city of Milton and the MGG committee manned four booths providing information on Birmingham. Park and various MGG activities. • The MGG Environment Education committee provided environmental education activities for the children. ■ Free horse-drawn carriage rides were provided and proved to be very popular with the children attendees. Logistics: • The small field in front of the house in Birmingham Park was used for the festival activities. • The large field south of the activities field was used for parking. ■ Both fields were mowed by City employees the day before the event and provided sufficient level areas for vendor booths and parking. • All other grounds preparation requested of the City employees (re -grading of roadways into the parking area, barricades in front of the DPW shed, ant mound eradication and trash and brush removal) were completed before the day of the event. • Porta-patties (three standard and one handicap -accessible) and a hand wash station were contracted and provided for attendees. Vendors and Sponsors: (see attachment) ■ 13 environmental vendors participated in the event. • Four food vendors participated in the event. • 15 private businesses sponsored the event by providing either cash donations, merchandise or supplies. Spending: (see attachment) • Total cost of the event was $5,431.09. • Total of discounts and contributions was $1,804.20. Final cost was $3,726.89. Vendors and Sponsors for the Milton Earth Day Festival held April 17, 2010 at Birmingham Park Vendors: • 13 environmental vendors participated in the event: ❑ Atlanta Wind & Solar o Geothermal Heating & Cooling o Traditions in Tile and Stone a Birmingham United Methodist Church - Walker for Water ❑ Randall Graham - Handmade Furniture and Tomato Seed Saver ❑ RBC Bank a Girl Scouts Greater Atlanta o Milton Business Alliance v Harmony Hill Organic Farm CSA & Farmers Market ❑ Casey Tree Experts ❑ Southeast Green ❑ Lusk & Company o Green Courier Service • Four food vendors participated in the event: o Element Coffee Company o Old Blind Dog a Original Pancake House a Starbucks Sponsors: • 15 private businesses sponsored the event by providing either cash donations, merchandise or supplies. These businesses were: o Allstate Insurance — Terry Mechling $100 ❑ Bailey Farm and Gardens supplies a Birmingham Falls Elementary School art supplies o Harmony Hill Organic Farm and Market $240 for art supplies o Home Depot $237.85 for logistics supplies o It's All Custom (T-shirts) $100 discount ❑ Kroger $100 cash card ❑ My Party Rentals $287.50 discount ❑ National Construction Rentals $66 discount o Norseman Environmental supplies for MGG booth a RBC Bank supplies o Signs —By —Tomorrow $287.23 discount ❑ Staples $85.62 discount ❑ Walmart $100 cash card ❑ Waste Management waste and recycling bins o Yellow Rose Carriage Service $100 discount Expenses, discounts and contributions for the Milton Earth Day Festival held April 17, 2010 Business Purchaser Total cost Discounts Contribution Final cost It's All Custon (T-shirts) JL $ 898.00 $ 100.00 $ 798.00 National Construction Rentals IL $ 445.00 $ 66.00 $ 379.00 Signs By Tomorrow 3L $ 847.88 $ 287.23 $ 560.65 HP Office Store JL $ 82.35 $ - $ 82.35 Home Depot IL $ 450.78 $ 237.85 $ 212.93 Lowe's IL $ 246.57 $ - $ 246.57 Staples 3L $ 149.95 $ 85.62 $ 64.33 Yellow Rose Carriage Service IL $ 600.00 $ 100.00 $ 500.00 My Party Rentals Milton $ 1,045.00 $ 287.50 $ 757.50 Kroger GS $ 136.00 $ 100.00 $ 36.00 Walmart GS $ 145.00 $ 100.00 $ 45.00 Dollar Tree GS $ 32.00 $ - $ 32.00 DickBlick Art Supplies GS $ 14.00 $ - $ 14.00 Harmony Hill Organic Farms GS $ 240.00 $ 240.00 $ - Publix TH $ 38.56 $ - $ 38.56 CiCi's Pizza KJ $ 60.00 $ - $ 60.00 Allstate Insurance (Terry Mechling) $ 100.00 $ (100.00) TOTALS $ 5,431.09 1 $ 1,704.20 1 $ 3,726.89 Purchasers: IL Jack Landon GS Gina Schwendel TH Todd Harkleroad KJ Kathy .Johnson