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MILTON GROWS GREEN COMMITTEE
NOVEMBER 9, 2010 MINUTES [APPROVED]
Date: November 9, 2010, 6:00 — 8:00 pm
ORIGIIti#•�
Place: Milton Fire Station #43, 750 Hickory Flat Road, Milton GA 30004
Agenda: It was posted on the City's web site.
Attendees: Jack Lindon, Jon McPhail, Francia Lindon, Bruce Langston, Amy Peters, Julie
Zahner Bailey, Julie Pinckney and Vic Knight of Waste Management (WM).
I. Approval of Minutes: No minutes were approved.
II. Announcements and Updates:
Green Communities Certification: Bruce, Amy and Jon met with the people from Roswell who
are responsible for getting this for Roswell. They gave our committee a copy of a CD of
Roswell's presentation to the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC).
Amy talked about some of the specific requirements and ideas she got from reading the ARC
document such as "green hair day," a fundraiser for environmental causes whereby city council
members were raffled off with the winner having to wear green hair for a day. Grant money
available for an incandescent light bulb/compact fluorescents light bulb exchange program
sponsored by the City or building a composter or rain barrel display on a City site. All could
generate points.
Rivers Alive: We had a great turnout! Things got hectic as the morning progressed because we
had so many groups show up. Jack had prepared a list of 10 prioritized projects and started to
assign waterways as the groups came. But groups left without their directional maps and some
took on projects what would have been more appropriate for a different age group. In hindsight
it would have been better to have a storyboard with all the projects listed so the assignments
could have been more appropriate. WM provided the figures on tonnage of the trash collected
for a report back to the GA Dept. of Environmental Protection. Vic recommended putting in
"baxters," large dumpsters, to weigh the load at the worst locations. Julie thought it was good
motivation for the volunteers to actually see all the trash they collected in one location. No
Storm Drain Marking was done because we had a good number of streams.
Storm Drain Markers: There was a discussion on whether or not there was an appropriate form
for capturing information on what neighborhoods had been done. This information was
historically given to Public Works. Julie said there was an electronic form that shows people
how to apply the markers and other information on the web. Bruce said he'd produce a form if
there weren't any. Jack has the markers and adhesive.
Milton Roundup: The weather was good and our booth was well attended. Jon wants to look
for more "sizzle" next year. We need an eye catcher to draw in more of an interest level. An
electric car, solar grill cooking hotdogs or having some child specific activity were proposed.
Location is also critical.
Bulky Trash Dam MGG was the only group/city to supply volunteers. Residents were excited
about the event and grateful the service was being provided. We generated a huge list of people
who wanted to get an MGG Newsletter. The event had 750 cars in total. It was well publicized.
Milton Grows Green Committee Meeting Minutes, November 9, 2010 [APPROVED]
All Milton Grows Green Documents are printed on recycled paper with at least 35% post — consumer content.
Bring One for the Chipper: Marc has been handling this and the tentative dates are January 1st
or 2" . The Milton HS Principal made the decision as to what weekend was the best for using
school property. Marc was planning on 3 locations, Scottsdale Farms, Ring's Ridge and Milton
High School. There were concerns about whether or not we'd get enough volunteers to man 3
sites, east middle and west. Scottsdale Farm has agreed to do it between Dec. 26t' and Jan. 9th
and is offering a free lath for bringing a tree. There was a discussion on who would get the
mulch. Last year the mulch was used at Birmingham Park. Casey Tree is doing the chipping at
the two locations other than Scottsdale. This is being done as an extension of MGG. There was a
discussion of whether or not to offer seedlings as we did last year. They were supplied by the
GA Forestry Department. In the past the mascot and seedlings were supplied by Keep Georgia
Beautiful. KGAB stopped doing this last year. Vic Knight said he could get some seedlings,
possibly dogwoods and redbuds. He'd see what he could do. The committee voted on Jan. 2, as
the date, 10 am to 3 pm. We need to check KGAB to see what their signage requirements are.
Keep America Beautiful: It's unclear what approach the City wants to take, a 501(c) 3 or and
entity funded by City Hall, possibly MGG. There is a line item in the budget for an individual to
be hired to help the City in establishing a Keep Milton Beautiful branch. There was discussion
on how the responsibilities of that person would dovetail into the initiatives of MGG. Jon's
understanding is that the new hire would be an ex-officio of MGG, a non -voting member who
would also act as a liaison with City Hall. But MGG has a broader environmental reach then
just the litter programs of KAB. It makes perfect sense that this person be an integral part of
MGG, an informative source for City policy and a point person between MGG and the City. The
question came up about our ultimate identity, either a City committee or a 501(c) 3. A few
members saw the need for both. We needed City sponsorship in order to have any influence on
policy and to do the things we're attempting to do.
Green Team Schools Program: Kathy wanted to know if there was money in the Budget for
this. The original request was to fund two schools for $3,000 each. Julie wanted to know how
the money would be allocated to the schools. Kathy proposed awarding the money as grants.
All the schools would be involved. They would design the projects, MGG and the City would
review the proposal, distribute the money and the school would complete it. If we had a list of
projects, we could use this to get more from corporations that want to fund these types of
educational initiatives.
III. New Business
Funds from the Chadwick Landfill and Other Grants: This year Keep Georgia Beautiful was
giving grants to jump start green initiatives including to groups that are non-members. As Vic is
on the Cobb Board of KGAB he was going to check on getting us a list. He said WM had
received several awards from KGAB for recycling programs. He also mentioned the funds the
City receives from WM for the Chadwick Landfill. Vic estimated the amount at between
$25,000 and $30,000 a quarter. Initially there was a ceremony with WM presenting the City with
a big check but that doesn't happen any more. There was a discussion on how these funds were
spent. Did they just go into general revenues or were they earmarked for green initiatives such
as recycling because this revenue is generated from recycling? Vic didn't think they were
earmarked. The case could be made for using some of these funds for Earth Day. This was a
subject that should be brought up with the City Manager.
The meeting adjourned at 8:00 pm
ATTEST:
Jon B. McPhail, Co-chair Francia Lindon, Secretary
Milton Grows Green Committee Meeting Minutes, November 9, 2010 [APPROVED] 2