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Home My WebLink About2023-08-17 Info PacketCity Council Information Packet August 17, 2023 IP1.Council Tentative Meeting Schedule IP2.Press Release: Come to the next City Council Listening Post IP3.Press Release: Iowa City Climate Fest returns for the fourth year Sept. 18-23 IP4.Climate Action Commission: August 7 IP5.Community Police Review Board: August 8 IP6.Public Art Advisory Committee: August 3 Council Tentative Meeting Schedule Miscellaneous Draft Minutes August 17, 2023 City of Iowa City Attachments:Council Tentative Meeting Schedule Item Number: IP1. August 17, 2023 Council Tentative Meeting Schedule City Council Tentative Meeting Schedule Subject to change August 17, 2023 Date Time Meeting Location Tuesday, September 5, 2023 4:00 PM Work Session City Hall, Emma J. Harvat Hall 6:00 PM Formal Meeting 410 E. Washington Street Tuesday, September 19, 2023 4:00 PM Work Session City Hall, Emma J. Harvat Hall 6:00 PM Formal Meeting 410 E. Washington Street Tuesday, October 3, 2023 4:00 PM Work Session City Hall, Emma J. Harvat Hall 6:00 PM Formal Meeting 410 E. Washington Street Monday, October 16, 2023 4:30 PM Joint Entities Meeting TBD Hosted by Iowa City Community Sch Dist Tuesday, October 17, 2023 4:00 PM Work Session City Hall, Emma J. Harvat Hall 6:00 PM Formal Meeting 410 E. Washington Street Monday, November 6, 2023 4:00 PM Work Session City Hall, Emma J. Harvat Hall 6:00 PM Formal Meeting 410 E. Washington Street Tuesday, November 21, 2023 4:00 PM Work Session City Hall, Emma J. Harvat Hall 6:00 PM Formal Meeting 410 E. Washington Street Tuesday, December 12, 2023 4:00 PM Work Session City Hall, Emma J. Harvat Hall 6:00 PM Formal Meeting 410 E. Washington Street Attachments:Press Release: Come to the next City Council Listening Post Item Number: IP2. August 17, 2023 Press Release: Come to the next City Council Listening Post Attachments:Press Release: Iowa City Climate Fest returns for the fourth year, September 18-23 Item Number: IP3. August 17, 2023 Press Release: Iowa City Climate Fest returns for the fourth year Sept. 18-23 Attachments:Climate Action Commission: August 7 Item Number: IP4. August 17, 2023 Climate Action Commission: August 7 MINUTES PRELIMINARY IOWA CITY CLIMATE ACTION COMMISSION AUGUST 7, 2023 – 3:30 PM – FORMAL MEETING EMMA J. HARVART HALL MEMBERS PRESENT: Michal Eynon-Lynch, Elizabeth Fitzsimmons, Jamie Gade, Wim Murray, Michelle Sillman, Gabriel Sturdevant, Matt Walter MEMBERS ABSENT: John Fraser, Ben Grimm, Matt Krieger, Brinda Shetty STAFF PRESENT: Sarah Gardner, Megan Hill, Diane Platte, Jane Wilch OTHERS PRESENT: None UCALL TO ORDER: Eynon-Lynch called the meeting to order. UAPPROVAL OF JULY 10, 2023 MINUTES: Walter moved to approve the minutes from July 10, 2023, with a noted correction to the attendance chart on the last page. Sturdevant seconded the motion, a vote was taken, and the motion passed 7-0. UPUBLIC COMMENT OF ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA: None. UANNOUNCEMENTS: Action Items from last meeting (Staff): • Paper copies of the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP) and Comprehensive Climate Action Plan (CCAP) requirements were distributed to commissions. These materials will be added to the revised agenda packet. Commission meetings and members update (Staff): • Gardner noted that Wim Murray is assuming the role of MidAmerican Energy designee on the Commission from Jesse Leckband, and Murray introduced herself. Gardner thanked Jesse Leckband for his longtime participation. • Gardner thanked Lizzy Fitzsimmons for her time on the commission; she will be leaving the commission to become a Green Iowa AmeriCorps member. • Gardner noted that the CAC meeting will not have a zoom component in the future. Working Group Updates: • Energy Benchmarking (Krieger, Fraser, Shetty): the group is winding down and preparing a memo that will be shared at the September meeting. • Marketing audience mapping (Sillman, Sturdevant, Fitzsimmons): Hill described the plan to share Fare Free information with UI students. Climate Action Commission April 3 2023 Page 2 of 5 2 UUNFINISHED/ONGOING BUSINESS: Resource Management: • Wilch presented updates on programs from Recycling and Resource Management. • The Donation Drive-Thru event collected and processed almost 16,000 lbs. of recycling and/or reusable goods in four hours. • Since plastic is such a difficult material to recycle, City programs encourage use of non- plastic materials. For example, three additional glass recycling drop-off locations were added a year ago (doubling the number of locations from three to six). • If awarded, a grant application for the EPA’s Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling program will fund $4 million improvements to City’s compost facility, which is currently at capacity. Expanding the footprint and improving equipment will allow the compost facility to process more material. • The Food Waste Wednesdays pilot program will continue to run through September 27. The pilot is structured as a weekly event, meaning that Wilch is onsite during the drop-off times each week to prevent contamination in the compost and take notes on participation. • Sillman asked who was participating in Food Waste Wednesdays. Wilch described participants as residents living in condo associations, apartment complexes larger than a fourplex, and rural locations (residents who do not have curbside pickup). • Gade asked if the EPA grant would allow for a more regional approach to composting. Wilch noted that there are currently not a lot of haulers for compost pickup. • Sturdevant asked if the furniture drop-off would be expanded to more than one day. Wilch described balancing returns with the demands on staff hours. She noted that July 23 was chosen because they have observed the lease gap has continued to widen, so the third week in July is more useful than the fourth week. Gardner asked Wilch to compare the waste diversion per hour of Donation Drive-Thru Drop vs. Rummage in the Ramp. This year the Donation Drive-Thru processed two tons of material an hour, much more material than in previous Rummage events. Eynon-Lynch asked what accounts for the change in efficiency of this program, and Wilch explained the collaboration with partner organizations allows for instant diversion and instant benefit. • For plastics, a recycling drop-off pilot program at Eastside Recycling Center is in the works. This will include education on reducing use, what types of plastics can be recycled, what types of plastics cannot be recycled. • For the bins in the curbside program, Resource Management staff are working to design stickers with QR codes so that residents can access the most up-to-date information. • A bring-your-own-container campaign is in development to encourage residents to reduce reliance on single-use takeout containers from food vendors. • Sillman asked about the mattress recycling program. Wilch described grant funding where half went to Houses into Homes to redistribute gently used mattresses, and half was intended to kick-start a program for mattress recycling operation with Willis Dady Homeless Services in Cedar Rapids. The 2020 derecho damaged the property Willis Dady was going to use, so that part of the project was delayed and grant funding adjusted. A pilot mattress recycling program with Willis Dady has now commenced. • Wilch noted the great first year of the Love Food, Fight Waste program, and its maturation in year two. • Gade asked whether a compostable item thrown into the landfill will still decompose. Wilch explained that organic items in a landfill environment -- in the absence of oxygen Climate Action Commission April 3 2023 Page 3 of 5 3 and light -- produce methane and do not break down. Eynon-Lynch noted that compostable containers from restaurants (particularly vendors at festivals) can only enter the landfill waste stream when disposed of downtown. Wilch and Gardner described additional challenges with event composting observed during past efforts to offer compost waste at festivals and the Farmers Market, noting that contamination was a major issue. Staff have been encouraging events to pursue a food-scrap only diversion strategy rather than a compostable container program as a way to address those challenges. • Sillman asked about the level of confidence that “recyclable” plastic is actually being recycled. Wilch described the Scott County Waste Commission recycling sorting facility that receives material from Iowa City’s diversion programs and communicates with her regularly, fostering a high level of confidence. She noted recycling is very much a localized program. Gardner suggested the two best questions to ask a recycling program are “Who’s taking it?” and “What is it being turned into?” to gauge whether material is actually being recycled. Iowa City Resource Management staff are able to answer both questions for the city’s recycling material. Wilch also explained that plastic can be recycled (downcycled) 1-3 times; eventually all plastic exhausts its ability to be recycled and must be landfilled at that point. Climate Fest: • Gardner described opportunities for commissioners’ involvement. For three events, staff are inviting commissioners to serve as host to provide an introduction at the beginning of the event, which will be a five-minute commitment. Other events will have tabling opportunities to assist staff in talking with residents and handing out materials. • Monday, Sept. 18 (Walk and Roll Jam at Downtown Interchange, 3-6:30 p.m.) o Tabling help is an option, 3-6:30 p.m. This event will feature live music, thank- you notes to bus drivers, and swag giveaways. • Tuesday, Sept. 19 (Speaking of…Live/ at the Green House, 5:30-7:30 p.m.) o Host is requested, 6 p.m. Wilch and Gardner will discuss Resources for Renters, and the host would introduce, • Wednesday, Sept. 20 (Party at Big Grove, 5-8 p.m.) o Tabling help is an option, 5-8 p.m. This event will include a slideshow of successes and tabling by community partners. • Thursday, Sept. 21 (Pollinator Drive-In, afternoon events plus Airport event 6:30-9 p.m.) o Host is requested, 7:30 p.m., to introduce the feature film • Friday, Sept. 22 (Defeat the Heat at Senior Center, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.) o Host is requested to introduce the presentation at noon. • Saturday, Sept. 23 (EVs at the Market City Hall parking lot 7:30-noon) o Tabling help 7:30-noon is an option. UNEW BUSINESS: Fleet Transition Plan • Gardner described how Iowa City started the process two weeks ago. The plan will be completed in 9 months. Fleet manager Dan Striegel and climate analyst Daniel Bissell are sending detailed information to the consultant about the City’s current vehicles for Climate Action Commission April 3 2023 Page 4 of 5 4 analysis. ICF will work to identified possible electric vehicle replacements as well as infrastructure needs to meet the charging requirements. Four meetings are scheduled with a staff committee. Staff are seeking a commissioner to attend those four meetings as an opportunity to learn more about the process. Visioning indicators of success • Eynon-Lynch noted that typically “progress” is measured by “growth.” The City’s recent Strategic Plan speaks to the need to address certain systemic problems, such as climate change, that are not well-served by tracking metrics of growth (even growth of tax base). A guiding question might be, “What would a climate resilient community look like 25 years from now?” For each of the next three meetings, each commissioner is assigned to sketch an idea for the focus areas of climate action – buildings, transportation, waste - - to reflect a positive vision of the future. • Gardner noted that Council started with a similar visioning process, “What does success look like?” when building the Strategic Plan. This visioning exercise was also part of the Climate Ambassadors curriculum. In the agenda packet, a Wendell Berry poem and Before-and-After illustration might jump-start ideas for indicators of success. • Gade suggested collecting community members’ visioning as well. It was determined to offer an invitation in the next Climate Action Matters newsletter. URECAP: • Confirmation of next meeting time and location: o Monday September 11, 3:30-5 p.m., Emma J. Harvat Hall • Actionable items for commission, working groups, and staff: o Gardner will correct the attendance sheet. o Commission members will work on visioning exercise. o Commission members will email staff to indicate interest in Climate Fest participation and/or Fleet Transition Plan participation. o Staff will include an invitation in the September Climate Action newsletter for community members to attend upcoming meetings related to the visioning process. UADJOURNMENT: Sillman moved to adjourn, Fitzsimmons seconded the motion. A vote was taken, and the motion passed 7-0. Climate Action Commission April 3 2023 Page 5 of 5 5 CLIMATE ACTION COMMISSION ATTENDANCE RECORD 2023 NAME TERM EXP. 9/12/2022 10/10/2022 11/7/2022 12/5/22 1/9/2023 2/6/2023 3/6/2023 4/3/23 5/1/23 6/5/23 7/10/20 8/7/2023 Michal Eynon-Lynch 12/31/2024 X X X X X X X X X NM X X Elizabeth Fitzsimmons 12/31/2025 X X X X X NM O/ E X John Fraser 12/31/2024 X X X X X X X X O/E NM X O/E Jamie Gade 12/31/2025 X X X X O/E NM X X Ben Grimm 10/31/2023 X O/E X X X X X X X NM X O/E Clarity Guerra 12/31/2022 X X X X * * * * * * * * Kasey Hutchinson 12/31/22 X X X X * * * * * * * * Matt Krieger 12/31/2023 O/E X X X X X X X X NM X O/E Wim Murray MidAmerican Rep X Michelle Sillman 12/31/20025 X X X O/E O/E NM X X Brinda Shetty UI Rep X X X X X O/E X X X NM X O/E Gabe Sturdevant 12/31/2024 X O/E X X X X X X X NM X X Matt Walter 12/31/2023 O/E X X X X X X O/E X NM X X KEY: X = Present 0 = Absent 0/E = Absent/Excused NM= No Meeting * No longer on Commission Attachments:Community Police Review Board: August 8 Item Number: IP5. August 17, 2023 Community Police Review Board: August 8 Attachments:Public Art Advisory Committee: August 3 Item Number: IP6. August 17, 2023 Public Art Advisory Committee: August 3