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3-8-23 Adopted MinutesMINUTES Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) Meeting Wednesday, March 8, 2023 - 6:00 PM OR Commission Chamber Present: Anastasia Houston, At -Large Member, ESC Amy Palmer, At -Large Member, ESC Linda Chipperfield, At -Large Member, ESC Patrick Nobles, At -Large Member, ESC Mark Gabrynowicz, ESC Chair, District 1307 Member Daniele Giovannucci, Vice Chair, At -Large Member, ESC Romy Vann, At -Large Member, ESC Sarah Boren, District 1306 Member, ESC Bruce Andrews, District 1308 Member, ESC Absent: Barbie Brooksher, District 1312 Member, ESC Also Present: Amanda Askew, Director of Planning and Community Development Candace Kelly, City Commissioner, Seat 4 1. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL Mark Gabrynowicz called the meeting to order. Linda Chipperfield called the roll. Sarah Boren attended via zoom. 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Mark Gabrynowicz asked for a second to approve the agenda. Patrick Nobles seconded. A motion was not made. There was not discussion about the agenda. 3. COURTESY OF THE FLOOR (5 MINS.) There were no speakers. 4. CONSENT AGENDA A. Approve minutes of the February 8, 2023 regular Environmental Stewardship Committee meeting. B. Subcommittee Reports Sarah Boren had an edit to the Tree Subcommittee minutes. She suggested to revise the statement "Sarah cataloged all arborist letter" to "Sarah is in the process of cataloging arborist letters". C. 90 -Day Calendar Mark Gabrynowicz suggested putting names next to events that people plan to attend. Amy Palmer suggested having one representative attend the Commission meeting. Discussion ensued about attending Commission meetings and speaking during Curtesy Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) March 8, 2023 Page 1 of 5 of the Floor. Members decided that Sarah Boren will assign a Commission meeting to individual members and Mark Gabrynowicz will reach out to all members when there are Commission agenda items that are in ESC's purview. A motion to approve the consent agenda was not made. 5. CHAIR REMARKS A. ESC Attendance at Events Mark Gabrynowicz encouraged members to attend ESC sponsored events and to attend Commission meetings. 6. SIGNIFICANT MATTERS ARISING IN SUBCOMMITTEES A. Sustainability and Resiliency Subcommittee Sarah Boren reported the subcommittee decided on priorities for 2023. Mark Gabrynowicz encouraged members to have the future in mind when setting priorities. B. Outreach Subcommittee Linda Chipperfield reported that Anastasia Houston is working with the farmers market on Earth Day events. Discussion about Earth Day events and local nurseries ensued. Sarah Boren suggested members send Anastasia Houston an local nurseries they know of and the ESC will create a resource list. Members were in support of this idea. Sarah Boren suggested sending out invites via Google Forms so people can spread the word of the event. Sarah Boren mentioned to Amanda Askew that the event should be publicly noticed to avoid any Sunshine Violations. Amanda Askew agreed. Daniele Giovannucci proposed giving out t -shirts to people at the Earth Day event. Discussion about t -shirts and bags ensued. Linda Chipperfield said the first speaker series was a success. Sarah Boren shared 12 people attended the event. She said the next event is the first Thursday in April. Linda Chipperfield said the first newsletter was published. Sarah Boren shared the open rate was 58% and the letter was sent to approximately 345 people. Discussion about the mailing list ensued. Daniele Giovannucci expressed he felt the newsletter provided too much information. Patrick Nobles suggested doing the following 3 tasks for the Mayor's Monarch Pledge: 1. Host or support a native seed or plant sale, giveaway, or swap. Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) March 8, 2023 Page 2 of 5 2. Plant or maintain a monarch and pollinator -friendly demonstration garden at City Hall or another prominent or culturally significant community location. 3. Display educational signage at monarch gardens and pollinator habitats. Members were in support of the 3 tasks. Bruce Andrews suggested the Outreach Subcommittee conduct a marketing campaign for the Adopt -A -Tree program. He proposed having an representative from. each street provide applications and information to their neighbors. Amanda Askew said she would be happy to provide the letters along with the application. Discussion about the Adopt - A -Tree program ensued. Linda Chipperfield asked what decisions were made. Mark Gabrynowicz said the tree subcommittee would make a working group to complete the proposed "Ambassador Program" to promote the city's free tree program. Bruce Andrews stated that when he volunteered to be chair of the tree subcommittee he said he would only have time to cover Chapter 23 specific topics. Sarah Boren suggested the Outreach Subcommittee create a working group to manage the "ambassador Program" to cover all ESC related initiatives. Mark Gabrynowicz expressed his concern that some people may take the position to the extreme and feel they have too much power. Sarah Boren said the outreach subcommittee can create a short description of the role and follow up with phone calls. C. Tree Subcommittee Bruce Andrews reported that there is a homeowner pursuing removing trees within the city's Historic Corridor that required approval from City Commission. He said the tree subcommittee was ok with the removal as long as the mitigation is located in the right- of-way. Discussion about removing trees in the right-of-way ensued. 7. MAYOR AND/OR STAFF REPORT A. Rain Garden at Jack Russell Park Amanda Askew reviewed the proposed rain garden in Jack Russell Park. She said she would like to get the ESC involved in this and potentially create a working group to decide what plants would be best in the area. Discussion about planting in retention areas ensued. B. Tree Permitting Update Amanda Askew said there is an attachment in the agenda with some numbers from tree removal permits. She said the tree subcommittee suggested adding a column about arborist letters, however, many arborists do not include the diameter at breast height. C. Lily Street Amanda Askew gave a presentation about the potential acquisition of property off Lily Street, with the help of the North Florida Land Trust, for conservation purposes. She asked for a recommendation from the ESC. Discussion ensued. Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) March 8, 2023 Page 3 of 5 A MOTION. to recommend to Commission that they partner with the North Florida Land Trust to investigate purchase of the Lily Street property (to include soliciting public input) for the purpose of preservation Motion: Linda Chipperfield Second: Amy Palmer Anastasia Houston For Amy Palmer (Seconded By) For Linda Chipperfield (Moved By) For Patrick Nobles For Mark Gabrynowicz For Daniele Giovannucci For Runty Vann For Sarah Boren For Bruce Andrews For Motion passed 9 to 0. OLD BUSINESS A. ESC Priorities to Commission: Resolution No. 23-05 Mark Gabrynowicz noted that Commission added priorities that are environmentally focused. Sarah Boren asked if the ESC can be proactive in working to accomplish the priorities. Mark Gabrynowicz said that would need to be done through recommendations to Commission. Commissioner Kelly said the ESC should not wait around for Commission to do things. She stated the water reduction goal should be the first priority since it will need education. Sarah Boren suggested members come up with ways to achieve the priorities since it is already March. She said she would be happy to compile the ideas so they can start working on them in April. Mark Gabrynowicz said he will send an email to the subcommittee chairs on what he thinks should be focused on for the ESC to make recommendations. He said chairs would then assess what they are doing and how it pertains to the priorities. B. ESC Meeting Rules Mark Gabrynowicz reviewed the changes to the meeting rules. Linda Chipperfield suggested members send their comments to Mark to review next meeting. There was no dissent. C. ESC Annual Awards Proposal MOTION: to accept the proposal in the agenda packet Motion: Sarah Boren Second: Romy Vann Romy Vann expressed her support for the proposal. Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) March 8, 2023 Page 4 of 5 A vote was not recorded. there was no dissent to the motion. Motion passed unanimously 5 to 0. D. ESC 2023 Priorities and Potential Budget Needs Mark Gabrynowicz said he was happy with the subcommittee priorities being the ESC's priorities. He told members to look at their priorities and determine if any tasks will need a budget. 9. NEW BUSINESS A. Volunteer Engagement Process This item was not discussed. 10. MEMBERS CLOSING REMARKS 11. ADJOURNMENT There being no further discussion, Mark Gabrynowicz declared the meeting adjourned at 8:09 p.m. Attest: Amanda Askew Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) March 8, 2023 Page 5 of 5