Sep 04, 2024 Environmental Commission Meeting

[00:01:35]

MIC]. I'D LIKE TO CALL TO ORDER THE SEPTEMBER 4TH, 2024 MEETING OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION WITH THE TOWNSHIP OF MERIDIAN.

[1. CALL MEETING TO ORDER]

SEEING NO MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC, WE WILL MOVE TO CHANGES TO AN APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA.

[3. CHANGES TO/APPROVAL OF AGENDA ]

ANY OTHER CHANGES TO THE AGENDA AS DISTRIBUTED? HEARING NONE. THAT AGENDA IS APPROVED, AS AMENDED.

I'LL BEGIN AND THEN WE'LL COME AROUND THIS WAY, IF WE COULD.

I'M BILL MCCONNELL. I'VE LIVED IN THE TOWNSHIP SINCE 2005, AND I'VE BEEN ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION ON AND OFF MOST OF THAT TIME.

I ALSO CURRENTLY SERVE ON THE PLANNING COMMISSION AND THEREFORE THE LIAISON BETWEEN THESE TWO GROUPS.

MY NAME IS HARRISON BATTEN.

I AM A STUDENT AT HASLETT HIGH SCHOOL THIS YEAR, A SOPHOMORE.

THIS IS MY SECOND MEETING.

I'VE FOUND MY INTEREST IN THE ENVIRONMENT THROUGH SOME AMAZING TEACHERS I'VE HAD AND CLUBS AND EXTRACURRICULARS THAT I'VE BEEN ABLE TO BE A PART OF, WHERE I GET TIME IN THE COMMUNITY AND JUST AROUND THIS FIELD, AND I'VE GROWN TO ENJOY IT QUITE A LOT.

AND I THINK THIS IS JUST ANOTHER WAY FOR ME TO EXPLORE THAT AND ENJOY IT.

THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER PAUL.

MY NAME IS ANDREA PAUL AND I'VE LIVED IN OKEMOS MY WHOLE LIFE.

I'M AN MSU GRAD WITH A BACHELOR'S DEGREE IN FISHERIES AND WILDLIFE, AND I WORK AT DLC RIGHT NOW AS AN ENVIRONMENTAL INTERN.

BUT I'LL SOON BE FINISHING THAT INTERNSHIP AND GOING TO THE MANNEQUIN SMITH GROUP, BEING AN ENVIRONMENTAL ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT, AND I JOINED THE COMMISSION IN JANUARY, BUT A COUPLE OF MONTHS.

THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER SARVER AND JOHN SARVER.

I'VE BEEN IN THE TOWNSHIP, I THINK, SINCE 1977, AND I'VE BEEN IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION FOR A WHILE.

I KIND OF LOST TRACK OF MY LIFE, BUT I'M ALSO ON THE ENERGY TEAM THAT'S HOW I FIRST GOT INVOLVED.

LEROY RECRUITED ME FOR THE ENERGY TEAM.

I RETIRED FROM THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, WHERE I USED TO WORK IN AN AGENCY CALLED THE STATE ENERGY OFFICE, WHERE WE DID EFFICIENCY AND RENEWABLE ENERGY. SO THAT WAS MY BACKGROUND.

SO ONCE I RETIRED BACK IN 2010, I KIND OF TRIED TO KEEP MY FINGER IN THINGS RELATED TO ENERGY.

THANK YOU. MY NAME IS YUAN LI.

I'VE LIVED IN OKEMOS NOW SINCE 2010, AND I HAVE BEEN ON.

I'VE BEEN ON THE COMMISSION NOW SINCE.

YEAH. JANUARY.

RIGHT. TIME JUST FLEW BY.

AND THEN I ALSO HAVE BEEN ON THE LAND PRESERVATION ADVISORY BOARD FOR A WHILE.

AT LEAST EIGHT YEARS, I THINK.

AND I AM A ZOOLOGIST WITH MSU WITH MICHIGAN NATURAL FEATURES INVENTORY.

SO MY WORK INVOLVES, YOU KNOW, DOING A LOT WITH ENDANGERED SPECIES AND ALSO WITH WETLANDS.

AND SO I'M ALSO VERY INTERESTED IN WETLANDS AND SARVER WILL HELP KIND OF GET THE WETLANDS TEAM UP AND RUNNING AGAIN AND HELPING THE, YOU KNOW, TO ADVANCE SOME OF THE WETLAND

[00:05:07]

THANK YOU. THANK YOU, PETER.

YEAH, I'M GRAHAM DIETRICH.

I GREW UP AROUND HASLETT.

I WENT TO HASLETT PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND GRADUATED IN 2019, AND THEN GRADUATED FROM MICHIGAN STATE WITH A DEGREE IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS IN 2021 AND GRADUATED IN 2023 WITH A MASTER'S IN PUBLIC POLICY, WITH A FOCUS ON ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLICY.

I'M STILL IN GRADUATE SCHOOL AND CONDUCTING RESEARCH FOR THE SMITHSONIAN AND NOAA UNDER THE MASTERS OF SCIENCE AND DATA SCIENCE PROGRAM.

SO A LOT OF MY INTERESTS AROUND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AS WELL AS LIKE ENERGY DECARBONIZATION IN GENERAL.

SO I JOINED THE COMMISSION IN.

WHAT WAS IT? IT'S BEEN A WHILE.

FEBRUARY. I THINK FEBRUARY 2023.

SO I'VE BEEN HERE FOR A LITTLE WHILE.

BUT YEAH, IT'S A REALLY GREAT WAY TO ENGAGE WITH THE LOCAL COMMUNITY.

GREAT. I'M CYNTHIA OR CINDY PETERSON.

I AM A CURRENTLY TEACH CHEMISTRY AT HASLETT HIGH SCHOOL.

I'M ALSO THE FACULTY ADVISOR FOR THE SUSTAINABILITY CLUB.

I HAVE BEEN THERE SINCE 2019, THE SPRING OF 2019.

YEAH, YEAH. I ALSO HAVE A DEGREE IN SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FROM MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY, AND I'VE RUN DIFFERENT EVALUATION OF DIFFERENT PROGRAMS AND DIFFERENT THINGS.

I DID MY RESEARCH IN HAITI WITH THE FARMERS AND ON SUSTAINABLE COFFEE FARMING IN HAITI, AND I'VE BEEN IN HASLETT FOR I'VE LIVED IN HASLETT SINCE 2021, AND I JUST THOUGHT THAT THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION WAS A WAY TO BE MORE INVOLVED IN COMMUNITY, IN THE EFFORTS AROUND ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY AROUND HERE.

THANK YOU. HI, MY NAME IS TOM FRAIZER.

I'VE BEEN A MERIDIAN RESIDENT SINCE 1995.

RECENTLY RETIRED FROM THE MICHIGAN TOWNSHIPS ASSOCIATION.

I DON'T KNOW IF I CAN SAY RECENTLY ANYMORE BECAUSE IT'S BEEN ABOUT THREE YEARS NOW, BUT I HANDLED ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES FOR THEM, AMONG OTHER THINGS, AND BEEN A MEMBER OF THE COMMISSION, I THINK, FOR ABOUT FOUR YEARS NOW, AND ALSO A MEMBER OF THE GREEN TEAM.

THANK YOU. TRUSTEE PETERS ICE.

I'M A TRUSTEE ON THE TOWNSHIP BOARD WAS APPOINTED TO THAT IN, I THINK, JANUARY OF THIS YEAR AND HAVE SERVED WITH THE AS THE LIAISON TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION SINCE FEBRUARY.

I'VE BEEN A RESIDENT OF OKEMOS SINCE 1986.

SO JOHN BEATS ME BY A FEW YEARS, BUT 38 YEARS, AND THIS HAS BEEN AN INTERESTING PROCESS FOR ME TO LEARN ABOUT WHAT THIS BOARD DOES AND TO SEE WHAT THE TOWNSHIP IS DOING IN THE AREA OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND PRESERVATION.

THANK YOU. LEROY HARVEY, WHO ARE YOU AGAIN? OH, PLEASE GIVE US A HARD TIME.

I LOST MY TRAIN OF THOUGHT.

YOU'RE LEROY HARVEY.

YEAH. THANK YOU. THE TOWNSHIP SINCE 2008.

AND I'M THINKING ABOUT SCALING BACK AT THE END OF THIS YEAR.

WORKING PART TIME, HOPEFULLY, IF THE TOWNSHIP WILL HAVE ME CONTINUING ON LIKE EVENTS AND LIKE THE RECYCLING EVENT COMING UP, HELPING, HELPING A NEW PERSON, HOPEFULLY.

WITH ORIENTATION.

I'M ALSO A GRADUATE IN THE SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAM AT MSU, MASTER'S DEGREE AND WITH A MINOR IN URBAN STUDIES AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, AND JUST HAPPY TO BE A PART OF THIS GROUP.

IT'S BEEN ONE OF THE WORKING WITH, WITH COMMUNITY GROUPS HAS BEEN ONE OF THE BIG HIGHLIGHTS OF MY JOB.

SO I'M HONORED TO BE HERE.

THANK YOU. MOVING ALONG ON OUR AGENDA, APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES, I SAW COMMUNICATION WHERE COMMISSIONER FRAIZER HAD PROVIDED SOME

[4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES]

NOW, IS THAT CORRECT? WE WILL BE SOON.

I DON'T KNOW IF THEY'VE BEEN UPLOADED YET, BUT I DID MAKE THOSE CORRECTIONS AND UPLOAD THAT WITH.

THANK YOU. ANY FURTHER CORRECTIONS TO THE MINUTES AS DISTRIBUTED? I ALWAYS COMPLIMENT THEM BECAUSE THEY'RE GREAT.

THEY REMINDED ME OF LOTS OF THINGS.

THERE WERE TWO PARAGRAPHS FOLLOWING THE STAFF REPORT WHERE THE VERB TENSE CHANGED.

[00:10:09]

ON TO NEW BUSINESS RESOLUTIONS IN SUPPORT OF RETIRING COMMISSIONERS ANNA COLBY AND AMELIA SAFFRON.

[Resolution in support of retiring commissioners Anna Colby and Amelia Saffron.]

HEARING NONE. TRADITIONALLY WE READ THE WHEREASES AND [INAUDIBLE] ALL THE OTHER STUFF.

SO WHEREAS AMELIA SAFFRON HAS BEEN AN ACTIVE MEMBER OF THE MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION FOR MORE THAN A YEAR.

AND WHEREAS AMELIA HAS SERVED AS A STUDENT COMMISSIONER, KEEPING THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION INFORMED OF HIGH SCHOOL INITIATIVES OF THE NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY.

OKEMOS ACTION AND THE STUDENT EARTH CLUB.

WHEREAS AMELIA HAS HELPED RECRUIT VOLUNTEERS FOR TOWNSHIP SPONSORED RECYCLING EVENTS AND OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL INITIATIVES IN THE COMMUNITY.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION OF THE CHARTER TOWNSHIP, INGHAM COUNTY, MICHIGAN, AS FOLLOWS.

THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION, BY MEANS OF RESOLUTION EXTENDS TO AMELIA SAFFRAN.

GRATEFUL THANKS FOR HER VOLUNTARY AND EXEMPLARY EFFORTS OFFERED BY THE CHAIR WILL ENTERTAIN A SECOND.

SECOND. COMMISSIONER LEE, ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE.

AYE. ALL OPPOSED? HEARING NONE, THAT RESOLUTION IS ADOPTED.

WHEREAS ANNA FISHER COLBY HAS BEEN AN ACTIVE MEMBER OF THE MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION FOR OVER THREE YEARS.

AND WHEREAS, ANNA HAS SERVED ON THE GOOD FOOD TO SMART COMPOSTING CONTINUUM COMMITTEE, ONE OF OUR BIGGEST ACRONYMS SINCE 2021.

AND WHEREAS, ANNA HAS REPRESENTED THE TOWNSHIP AND THE FCC AT LOCAL EVENTS AND COMMUNITY MEETINGS.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION AND THE CHARTER TOWNSHIP OF MERIDIAN AS FOLLOWS.

THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION, BY MEANS OF RESOLUTION, EXTENDS TO ANNA COLBY.

GRATEFUL. THANKS FOR VOLUNTARY AND EXEMPLARY EFFORTS.

COMMISSIONER FRAIZER GETS THE SECOND.

ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE.

AYE. ANY OPPOSED? THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR PREPARING THOSE RESOLUTIONS FOR OUR CONSIDERATION.

MOVING NOW TO OUR SECOND ITEM OF NEW BUSINESS POTENTIAL GREENHOUSE GAS INVENTORY.

[Potential Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventory (Graham Diedrich)]

CAN YOU JUST PUT THAT BUTTON THERE AND IT GIVES YOU THREE MINUTES? I'M JOKING. YEAH.

SO LEROY ASKED ALL OF US TO COME UP WITH SOME POTENTIAL IDEAS TO DISCUSS, AND ONE OF THE PROJECTS I DID WITH THE CATALYST COMMUNITIES FELLOWSHIP OUT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AND EGLE WAS TO CONDUCT GREENHOUSE GAS INVENTORIES FOR THE CITY OF ROCKFORD AND THE CITY OF GRAND HAVEN.

AND PERSONALLY, I DON'T HAVE THE CAPACITY TO DO THAT FOR MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP.

BUT FOR THOSE LOCALITIES, IT WAS REALLY IMPACTFUL FOR THEIR PLANNING PROCESSES IN ORDER TO JUST DOCUMENT AND UNDERSTAND THE BASELINE CONDITIONS FOR GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS.

SO THEN THEY COULD START DOING SOME MITIGATION PLANNING AROUND THOSE INVENTORIES.

AND I FOLLOWED UP WITH THEM RECENTLY, AND THEY'RE USING THEM TO INFORM CLIMATE ACTION PLANS.

SO SORT OF PROVIDING SOME FOUNDATIONAL KNOWLEDGE IN BOTH THE PLANNING DOMAIN AND ALSO A POLICY DOMAIN, THEY FEEL IMPORTANT. AND I JUST WANTED TO BRING THAT TO THE ATTENTION OF THE COMMISSION AS A POTENTIAL OPTION, ESPECIALLY IF MERIDIAN IS INTERESTED AND STILL PARTICIPATING IN THE CATALYST COMMUNITIES.

FELLOWSHIP. LEROY. I'M NOT SURE.

IS THAT STILL ONGOING? IT'S UP TO THE COMMISSION, BUT I'M PRETTY SURE WE'RE INTERESTED IN CONTINUING TO BE INVOLVED.

THEN I WOULD ENCOURAGE EVERYONE THAT THE COMMUNITY'S FELLOWSHIP THROUGH THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN PROVIDES A FELLOW, AND I THINK THAT WAS A REALITY, WHICH I WOULD HOPE IT WOULD BE FOR NEXT SUMMER, FOR THAT PROJECT TO BE A GREENHOUSE GAS INVENTORY EITHER A LOCAL GOVERNMENT INVENTORY OR A COMMUNITY WIDE INVENTORY, OR PREFERABLY BOTH WOULD BE A GOOD WAY TO INFORM MUNICIPAL OPERATIONS, BUT THEN ALSO GET A BROADER UNDERSTANDING OVERALL.

SO YEAH, THAT'S A IT'S A GOOD WAY TO UTILIZE SOME TECHNICAL EXPERTISE FROM GRADUATE STUDENTS.

PLEASE DOES SO IS THERE YOU'RE SAYING IF I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING THAT THERE IS A POTENTIAL OF A FELLOW THROUGH U OF M? YEAH. WOULD THERE BE FUNDING? LIKE, IS THAT A THING THAT THEY HAVE FUNDING FOR? YEAH. SO THE FELLOW RECEIVES A STIPEND FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN THROUGH THAT FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM, AND THEN

[00:15:03]

AND IT CAN BE NUMEROUS DIFFERENT PROJECTS, LIKE, I KNOW THAT THERE WAS A FELLOW IN 2023 THAT WORKED ON A PROJECT SURROUNDING LIKE ENGAGEMENT EFFORTS FOR THE COMMISSION.

AND THEN ALSO THERE'S THE POTENTIAL, LIKE I DID MY GREENHOUSE GAS INVENTORY THROUGH THAT FELLOWSHIP FOR ROCKFORD AND GRAND HAVEN.

THERE WOULD BE A POSSIBILITY FOR A SIMILAR PROJECT HERE IN MERIDIAN IF IT WAS SORT OF BENEFICIAL TO THE TOWNSHIP IN ANY WAY, BECAUSE THE CATALYST COMMUNITY FELLOWSHIP WORKS WITH THE LOCALITIES TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PROJECTS ARE USEFUL.

YEAH, I GOT A CHANCE TO SEE SOME OF THE WORK YOU DID IN GRAND HAVEN, AND I WAS VERY IMPRESSED.

YOU DID A GOOD JOB.

THE QUESTION I'VE GOT FOR YOU, THOUGH, YOU DID GRAND HAVEN AND ROCKFORD IN IN THE SUMMER? YES. BOTH CITIES? YES. OKAY.

I'M WONDERING BECAUSE YOU MADE A COMMENT ABOUT JUST DOING MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP OR THE WHOLE REGION.

I'M JUST INTERESTED IN YOUR REACTION TO THE IDEA THAT THE WHOLE REGION MAY BE TOO MUCH TO DO.

YEAH, BUT WHAT ABOUT THE IDEA OF MAYBE BECAUSE WE'RE DOING QUITE A BIT OF WORK WITH EAST LANSING, CITY OF EAST LANSING.

I WONDER IF THAT'S DOABLE TO DO, BECAUSE WE'RE NEXT DOOR.

YEAH. TOWNSHIP IN EAST LANSING.

YEAH. AND I GUESS I'LL JUST SPECIFY SOME TERMS, TOO.

SO FOR GREENHOUSE GAS INVENTORIES.

TYPICALLY THERE'S LOCAL GOVERNMENT LGO INVENTORIES AND THEN COMMUNITY INVENTORIES.

SO LGO IS JUST LIKE MUNICIPAL OPERATIONS.

SO CONSIDERING LIKE USAGE OF ELECTRICITY WITHIN MUNICIPAL BUILDINGS AND LIKE MUNICIPAL FLEET VEHICLES AND THAT SORT OF THING.

SO THAT WOULD BE LIKE A LOCAL GOVERNMENT ONE AND THEN COMMUNITY WIDE WOULD BE ABLE TO BE DEFINED TO LIKE THE BOUNDARIES OF MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP.

SO LIKE YOU COULD JUST DO MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP.

BUT I DO LIKE YOUR IDEA ABOUT COLLABORATION WITH OTHER MUNICIPALITIES, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT I THINK EAST LANSING HAS DONE A GREENHOUSE GAS INVENTORY, BUT IT'S BEEN LIKE A DECADE OR MORE SINCE THEY'VE UPDATED IT.

SO THERE MAY BE A POTENTIAL FOR COLLABORATION THERE.

SO YOU DO THINK THE A PERSON COULD DO THE TWO CITIES? IT WOULDN'T BE TOO MUCH.

IT'S POSSIBLE. I MEAN, MAYBE IT'S JUST IT'S I'M MAKING ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT PEOPLE'S WORKLOADS.

I WAS ABLE TO DO TWO CITIES.

I THINK IF THERE WAS THE POSSIBILITY OF COLLABORATION TO DO BOTH, I THINK THAT IT WOULD MAKE SENSE TO DO EACH CONDUCT, EACH COMMUNITY WIDE INVENTORY SEPARATELY.

SO YOU CAN STILL DEFINE THE GREENHOUSE GASES FOR EACH MUNICIPALITY JUST IN ORDER TO FACILITATE PLANNING EFFORTS IN BOTH.

YEAH. MY LAST QUESTION IS, WOULD YOU BE AVAILABLE? WOULD YOU? I KNOW YOU'RE BUSY.

WOULD YOU HAVE SOME TIME TO KIND OF ADVISE THIS PERSON IF WE WERE ABLE TO GET ONE? YEAH, I HAVE THERE'S SOME.

SO IN ROCKFORD AND GRAND HAVEN AND GRAND HAVEN, I CONDUCTED A COMMUNITY WIDE INVENTORY.

AND THEN IN ROCKFORD, I DID A LOCAL GOVERNMENT INVENTORY.

AND THEN I STARTED A COMMUNITY WIDE INVENTORY.

AND THERE'S AN ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTING FIRM IN ROCKFORD THAT'S WORKING ON CONTINUING THAT PROCESS AND MAKING SURE THAT THERE'S LIKE A TIME SCALE ELEMENT. SO I DID THE YEAR 2022.

THEY'RE DOING THE YEAR 2023 AND SUBSEQUENT YEARS.

SO I'VE BEEN CONSULTING BACK AND FORTH WITH THOSE FOLKS.

SO LIKE IF THAT WAS A POSITION THAT I WOULD BE HAPPY TO BE IN THAT POSITION TO ASSIST ANYONE ELSE THAT WOULD BE BUILDING OUT INVENTORY, WHETHER IT BE LOCAL GOVERNMENT OR COMMUNITY BASED FOR MERIDIAN SUPER.

YEAH. I WOULD JUST SAY THAT I THINK THAT'S A I THINK THAT'S A GREAT IDEA.

I WAS JUST CURIOUS. DID YOU SAY THAT THEY CAN ALSO THE FELLOWS CAN ALSO LOOK AT OTHER THINGS BESIDES GREENHOUSE GAS STUFF.

YEAH. THERE'S THE FELLOWSHIP IS OBVIOUSLY A BALANCE BETWEEN THE FELLOWSHIP.

THE FELLOWS OWN ACADEMIC GOALS.

THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN SUSTAINABILITY.

NO RELATION. GRAHAM SUSTAINABILITY INSTITUTE'S PRIORITIES AS WELL AS THE TOWNSHIP.

AND THERE'S A LOT OF EMPHASIS, I THINK, ON THE TOWNSHIP AND WHAT THEY WANT TO SORT OF FORMULATE THE PROJECTS AND THEN ASSIGN THEM TO FELLOWS BASED ON THE FELLOW'S INTERESTS.

SO, YEAH, DEFINITELY MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO DO PROJECTS BEYOND A GREENHOUSE GAS INVENTORY.

AND ALSO TO CONTINUE TO DO DIFFERENT PROJECTS FOR SUBSEQUENT YEARS.

[00:20:01]

BUT I THINK THAT THE GREENHOUSE GAS INVENTORY IS SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE REALLY BENEFICIAL AND HAVE LIKE LONG LASTING STAYING POWER.

AND THEN THERE'S ALWAYS POTENTIAL FOR OTHER PROJECTS DOWN THE ROAD.

YEAH. THANK YOU. FURTHER QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? I'M HEARING BROAD COMMISSION SUPPORT FOR THE NOTION.

BE USEFUL TO HAVE AN IDEA OF THE ACTION ITEM IS WHAT'S THE MECHANICS OF THE PROGRAM? DO WE SUBMIT A REQUEST OR APPLICATION TO THE GRANT INSTITUTE AND SPECIFY WHAT WE THINK WE'D LIKE TO HAVE, AND THEY TRY TO MATCH? HOW DOES THAT WORK? NORMALLY THE COMMUNITIES ARE APPROACHED FOR PROJECT IDEAS AND THEY WILL SUBMIT EITHER ONE OR MORE PROJECT IDEAS.

AND THEN THE GRAHAM INSTITUTE DOES SOME MATCHMAKING THAT THE PROJECTS DO REQUIRE SOME INTERNAL STAFF SUPPORT.

SO DEPENDING ON, I THINK IT WOULD BE GREAT IF SOMEONE, AN EXPERT OR AN EXPERIENCED PERSON FROM THE COMMUNITY COULD PROVIDE ADVISORY, BUT THERE ALSO NEEDS TO BE AN INTERNAL STAFF PERSON TO OVERSEE AND ATTEND MEETINGS.

YEAH. COULD BE TEN HOURS A MONTH.

WHATEVER. YEAH.

THE I WOULD SAY THAT, LIKE THE LIAISON SHIP AND LIKE, THE STAFF MEMBER ASSIGNED TO THE FELLOW IS LIKE, AT LEAST FOR MY LIAISONS.

IT WAS MEETING FOR LIKE 30 MINUTES OR AN HOUR EACH WEEK.

AND I BELIEVE THAT THE FELLOWSHIP ALSO PAYS FOR THAT TIME AS WELL FOR THE STAFF MEMBER.

NOT TO MY KNOWLEDGE.

THAT'S THE TECHNICAL ADVISOR.

SO FOR THE FELLOWSHIP, THERE'S TWO POINT PEOPLE.

THERE'S LIKE A TECHNICAL ADVISOR THROUGH AN ENVIRONMENTAL FIRM OR SOMETHING, AND THEN THERE'S A STAFF MEMBER.

IT SOUNDS LIKE SORT OF AN IN-KIND PARTICIPATION.

YEAH. THEY AGREE TO SET ASIDE A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF STAFF.

TIME TO WORK WITH THE FELLOW.

YEAH. YEAH.

WELL, THE IF I'M UNDERSTANDING THE PROGRAM, THE TWO BITS YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS VERSUS COMMUNITY WIDE, IT SEEMS LIKE FROM MY UNDERSTANDING THAT IN TERMS OF TOWNSHIP ENERGY CONSUMPTION AND WATER CONSUMPTION, WE'VE PRETTY MUCH GOT A PRETTY GOOD HANDLE ON THAT ALREADY, BECAUSE THERE HAVE BEEN AUDITS OF MUNICIPAL BUILDINGS AND PLANS AND INVESTMENTS AND STUFF, SO THAT SEEMS TO ME LIKE PRETTY LOW HANGING FRUIT FROM A COMMUNITY WIDE.

BECAUSE WE SHARE UTILITIES.

IT WOULD SEEM TO MAKE SENSE FOR WATER, SEWAGE AND THAT KIND OF THING TO BE PARTNERING UP, IF THAT'S POSSIBLE.

BUT I DO.

I UNDERSTAND CORRECTLY, LEROY, THAT YOU EXPECT YOU'LL BE HEARING FROM THEM.

DO YOU HAVE ENOUGH TO GO ON IN TERMS OF WHAT WE MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN RESPONDING TO THAT REQUEST FROM THEM? I BELIEVE THEY TIME IT WITH THE SUMMER TERM LOOSELY.

YES. SO WE HAVE A FEW MONTHS TO PUT TOGETHER PROJECT PROPOSALS.

OKAY. AND DEPENDING ON HOW THINGS EVOLVE, LET'S WE SHOULD REVISIT THIS MAYBE OVER THE WINTER.

AND BECAUSE IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU MAN, MIGHT HAVE AN IDEA.

THERE MAY BE SOME OTHER PROJECTS ON OUR AGENDA THAT WE MIGHT WANT TO GET SOME ASSISTANCE WITH, MAYBE MAKE SURE WE RUN IT PAST THE ENERGY TEAM AND GET THEIR THOUGHTS ON THE DEAL.

GREAT. THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THAT TO US.

AND THANKS FOR THE DISCUSSION.

ANY OTHER COMMENTS ON THAT TOPIC BEFORE WE MOVE ON? I HAVE ONE.

THANKS FOR BRINGING IT UP, GRAHAM.

EACH SEASON THE FELLOWS COME UP WITH ABOUT EIGHT DIFFERENT PROJECT REPORTS, AND THOSE ARE JUST GREAT TO LOOK THROUGH AS WELL.

AND I CAN SHARE THE LIST OF LAST TERM'S PROJECTS WITH PEOPLE JUST TO KEEP IT ON THE RADAR.

SUPER. THANK YOU.

ANY OTHER NEW BUSINESS THAT ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO BRING BEFORE THE COMMISSION?

[Other]

I HAD A COUPLE QUESTIONS.

ONE WAS.

I SAW SOMETHING ABOUT THAT.

THERE WERE SOME MEETINGS THAT LOOKS LIKE THE.

IS THERE A DRAFT BUDGET FOR NEXT FISCAL YEAR FOR THE TOWNSHIP.

THAT'S OUT.

YES. YES. AND I DIDN'T, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE I'M NEW TO THIS WHOLE PROCESS.

THE CLIMATE SUSTAINABILITY FUNDING THAT WE HAD THIS YEAR, DID WE DO WE NEED TO RESUBMIT THAT OR DID WE SUBMIT SOMETHING OR HOW ABOUT IT? I MUST HAVE MISSED IT. PRESENT.

IT IS NOT CARRIED.

IT'S NOT ADDED INTO THE BUDGET.

THE $30,000 THAT WAS IN THIS YEAR.

YEAH. ANYTHING LEFT OVER WILL CARRY OVER.

BUT THERE IS NOT AN ADDITIONAL FUNDING OF THAT.

I BELIEVE THE $20,000.

[00:25:02]

AND I ASKED MISTER OPSOMER TO GIVE A TOTAL TO US BECAUSE I THINK THERE'S A COUPLE OF THINGS ON THERE THAT HE'S FUNDED OUT OF THAT MONEY.

THAT FIT WITHIN THE DEFINITION THAT MAY NOT HAVE COME BEFORE THIS BOARD, BUT AS I RECALL, THE TYPES OF GRANTS WE APPROVED WERE PRETTY SMALL.

OUT OF THAT 30,000, AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S BEEN EXPENDED, AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE IN MANY OF THOSE.

SO I THINK THERE'S A NEED TO FOLLOW UP ON THAT AND GET A NUMBER.

AND WE'LL. I DID ASK SPECIFICALLY LAST NIGHT WHEN WE DISCUSSED THE BUDGET.

AND THE SURPLUS WILL CARRY OVER FOR UTILIZATION, BUT IT'S JUST NOT BEING TOPPED UP AT ANOTHER 30 BECAUSE WE DIDN'T SPEND IT THIS YEAR. AND THEN WE'LL SEE WHERE IT'S GOING AND THE TIMELINE FOR TOPPING UP.

WELL, IT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN IN NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET AT THIS POINT PROBABLY.

WE WILL PROBABLY BE APPROVING THE BUDGET AT OUR NEXT MEETING ON THE 17TH.

WE HAD THE BUDGET HEARING LAST NIGHT.

WE HAD A DISCUSSION FOR ABOUT AN HOUR AND A HALF AND FLYSPECK THAT AS THE BOARD AND SUGGESTED SOME CHANGES, BUT IT'S PROBABLY NOT GOING TO BE TOPPED UP.

AT LEAST NOT IN THE INITIAL BUDGET.

THERE'S ALWAYS A CHANCE TO AMEND THE BUDGET DURING THE COURSE OF THE YEAR WHERE THERE'S NEEDS.

SO BUT RIGHT NOW IT'S GOING TO STAY AS CARRYOVER, WHATEVER THAT IS.

WE NEED TO FIND OUT WHAT THAT IS.

OKAY. SO IN THE FUTURE, HOW DOES THAT NORMALLY WORK WHEN WE IDENTIFY LIKE TO SUBMIT TO THE DOES THE COMMISSION TALK ABOUT IT FIRST.

AND THEN THERE IS NO TRADITION BECAUSE WE'RE BRAND NEW TO THIS.

AND WE HAD BEEN KIND OF TRACKING THE BUDGET CYCLE.

AND I THINK IF WE WERE GOING TO MAKE IT, WE WOULD HAVE PUT IN A PROPOSAL SEVERAL MONTHS AGO THAT SAID, THIS IS HOW WE'D LIKE TO.

WE'RE THINKING ABOUT SPENDING IT.

BUT OTHER THAN THE WETLAND EDUCATION, WE DON'T HAVE A WHOLE LOT OF THINGS WE'VE GOT NUMBERS FOR.

OKAY. SO IT MIGHT CHARACTERIZING THAT CORRECTLY, THERE WAS AN UPDATE IN THE LAST PACKET AND THERE'S ABOUT 4 OR 5 PROJECTS THAT ARE UNDERWAY.

THE MONEY HASN'T ACTUALLY BEEN SPENT, BUT THE EXAMPLE, THE WETLAND EDUCATION THE $8,000 OR WHATEVER IT IS HASN'T BEEN SPENT.

BUT IT'S IN THE WORKS.

I THINK WE HAVE ABOUT 20 TO $25,000, WHICH WE HOPE TO COMMIT.

AND THEN THE ITEMS LIKE THE GREEN BURIAL IS UP IN THE AIR.

AND THERE WAS SOME DISCUSSION ABOUT REVIEWING THE WETLAND ORDINANCE, MAYBE REVIEWING OUR GREEN SPACE INVENTORY.

WE HAD THE BETTER SIGNAGE AT THE TRANSFER STATION AND SOME OTHER BITS AND PIECES THAT WE DID.

THE BAGS FOR THE COMPOST EDUCATION, THE GLEANING INITIATIVE, ET CETERA.

YEAH. AND MANY OF THE GLEANING HAS PROGRESSED IS PRETTY WELL SPENT AND SIGNAGE IS READY TO GO.

BUT YEAH, IF DAN WAS TO LOOK AT FINANCIAL REPORTS, HE WOULDN'T SEE A TOTAL TO DATE.

THAT'S WHY IT'S A LITTLE CONFUSING BUT THERE HAS BEEN PROGRESS.

I THINK WHAT WE NEED, WHAT THIS BOARD NEEDS IS A SUMMARY OF WHAT'S BEEN COMMITTED.

A TOUCH BASE WITH THOSE THAT RECEIVED GRANTS TO SEE WHERE THEY ARE IN IT.

ARE THEY GOING TO FINISH IT? ARE THEY GOING TO SUBMIT A BILL? FIND OUT WHERE WE ARE FROM A FINANCIAL STANDPOINT, AND THEN LOOK AT WHAT'S LEFT AND SEE WHERE WE CAN GO WITH THAT AND POSSIBLY AUGMENT IT.

THANK YOU FOR THAT SUGGESTION THAT PROBABLY AT THIS POINT MAKES SENSE TO CREATE A STANDING ITEM ON OUR AGENDA FOR THAT, JUST SO THAT WE MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE REVIEWING IT VERY REGULARLY AND ALL APPRIZED OF IT, AND NOT TRYING TO REMIND OURSELVES.

DID I ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? YEAH. KEEP GOING.

YEAH. IT SOUNDS LIKE IN JUNE ROUGHLY, IS WHEN WE SHOULD BE SUBMITTING.

IF IN THE FUTURE, LIKE NEXT YEAR OR SOMETHING IF WE WERE GOING TO, THEY USUALLY START LOOKING AT THE BUDGET IN MAY AND JUNE.

THEY CONTACT ALL THE DEPARTMENT HEADS.

WHAT ARE YOUR NEEDS? WHAT'S THE KNOWN EXPENSE INCREASES? I ASSUME THAT THEY MAY HAVE TOUCHED BASE WITH LEROY AT SOME POINT FOR SOME INPUT.

THEY DIDN'T THIS YEAR.

I DON'T KNOW WHERE THEY GO TO, BUT THAT'S ALL DONE THROUGH THE ADMINISTRATION.

AND THEN THEY PUT TOGETHER WHAT THEY HOPE IS A BALANCED BUDGET.

YEAH, I DON'T KNOW.

ANY ADMINISTRATOR WHO KNOCKS ON PEOPLE'S DOORS SAID, DO YOU NEED MORE MONEY? SO WELL, ACTUALLY THEY DO THEY DO KNOCK ON THE DOORS AND SAY, DO YOU NEED.

[00:30:01]

OKAY, GREAT. AND THEN THE ONLY OTHER QUESTION WAS ABOUT THE WETLAND ORDINANCE REVISION.

LIKE WHAT'S THE TIMELINE ON THAT? LIKE HOW SHOULD WE HAVE? HOW IS THAT PROCESS GOING TO WORK.

EXACTLY? AND IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE CAN HAVE SOME DISCUSSION ABOUT HERE OR I KNOW THE LAND PRESERVATION ADVISORY BOARD, SOME FOLKS, THEY'RE ALSO INTERESTED IN, YOU KNOW, CONTRIBUTING TO THE DISCUSSIONS.

SO I WAS JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW DOES THAT NORMALLY HOW DOES IT USUALLY WORK OR SHOULD IT WORK OR.

NOT TO REPEAT MYSELF, BUT IT'S BEEN QUITE A WHILE SINCE THIS COMMISSION GOT INVOLVED IN PROPOSING ORDINANCE AMENDMENTS.

OKAY. SO WE DON'T HAVE A FAMILIAR PROCESS.

IS THAT FAIR, JOHN? YEAH.

OKAY. MY SENSE OF THE WAY THINGS WORK IN THE TOWNSHIP IS THAT ANY ORDINANCE ANY CONSIDERATION OF CHANGES IN ORDINANCE IS SOMETHING THAT WOULD INVOLVE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLANNING STAFF BECAUSE THEY'RE THE ONES WHO DEAL WITH THOSE ORDINANCES ON A DAILY BASIS, AND THEY'RE TRAINED.

SO I CAN IMAGINE THAT PROCESS LAUNCHING WITH A GROUP CONVENING WITH SOME PLANNING STAFF TO LOOK AT THE CURRENT ORDINANCE AND BRAINSTORM AREAS WHERE IT MIGHT BE AMENDED.

I'M PRETTY CERTAIN THAT THEY WOULD RECOMMEND THAT ANY PROPOSED ORDINANCE CHANGES.

THEN GO TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION.

UNLESS THEY WERE MEIJER, IN WHICH CASE THEY MIGHT BE FORWARDED DIRECTLY TO THE TOWNSHIP BOARD.

BUT I WOULD EXPECT, GIVEN THE WAY WE DO THINGS, THAT THAT WOULD BE A RECOMMENDATION THAT THE ENVIRONMENTAL TOWNSHIP WOULD MAKE TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION TO CONSIDER A CHANGE IN AN ORDINANCE.

DOES THAT SOUND ABOUT RIGHT? IT PROBABLY IS THE WAY IT WOULD GO.

YEAH. AND I THINK BEFORE I MEAN, THIS IS A PROCESS THAT TAKES TIME.

THE WETLANDS ORDINANCE IS NOT READILY UNDERSTOOD IN MANY CASES.

IT CAN BE RATHER COMPLICATED.

SO AND IT HAS TO COMPLY WITH EGLE AND EVERYTHING ELSE AND THE FEDS.

SO IT IS A COMPLICATED PROCESS AND WOULD TAKE SOME TIME.

I DON'T KNOW THAT IT TAKES A LOT OF MONEY UNTIL THE IMPLEMENTATION, BUT IT DOES TAKE A LOT OF TIME.

WE DO HAVE A BIT OF A PRECEDENT WITH THE PLANNING COMMISSION RECENTLY PROPOSING THE TOWNSHIP BOARD CONSOLIDATING SOME LANGUAGE ABOUT WETLANDS SETBACKS THAT APPEARED TO CREATE DIFFERENT WETLAND SETBACK DISTANCES BASED ON THE AGE OF THE PROPERTY.

AND IT WAS A CLUMSY THING TO ENFORCE, AND THAT RELATIVELY DISCREET CHANGE.

I THINK PROBABLY, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS AN INITIAL INTRODUCTION, SOME DISCUSSION, PROBABLY A PUBLIC HEARING, AND PROBABLY ANOTHER VOTE BEFORE IT WENT TO THE TOWNSHIP BOARD.

I DON'T KNOW THAT IT TOOK THAT MUCH TIME TO COME TO THE BOARD FOR AT LEAST TWO MEETINGS, ONE FOR DISCUSSION AND ONE FOR ACTION, AND MAYBE MORE WITH PUBLIC INPUT AND PUBLICATIONS AND ALL SORTS OF THINGS.

SO TO CHANGE AN ORDINANCE, IT SOMETIMES TAKES EVEN A SIMPLE ONE CAN TAKE 3 OR 4 MONTHS, JUST THE PROCESSING OF IT ONCE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU WANT TO DO.

SO WHEN THERE'S AN APPLICATION FOR A WETLAND USE PERMIT, WE'RE REQUIRED TO HOLD THAT FIRST INITIAL HEARING.

IN THIS CASE, WE COULD PROBABLY SCHEDULE A PUBLIC HEARING FOR ORDINANCE CHANGES AT THE PLANNING COMMISSION RATHER THAN TRYING TO DOUBLE UP.

SO WE COULD MAYBE BE A BIT MORE STREAMLINED THAN THAT.

WHO'S IN? YOU HAVE TO HAVE A PUBLIC HEARING HERE.

YEAH. OKAY.

WE ARE THE WETLAND BOARD, SO THE OKAY WETLAND USE PERMIT ALWAYS COMES TO US FIRST FOR ADVICE, EITHER THE PLANNING COMMISSION OR THE TOWNSHIP BOARD.

OKAY. AND THEN THE ZBA OVERRULES US.

NO, I'M JUST DOING IT. OKAY.

DON'T PICK ON ME. I'M ON THE ZBA.

I KNOW, YEAH, I'M PART OF THE PURPOSE OF MY EMAIL THAT I SENT OUT, WHICH SOME OF YOU READ.

JUST LOOKING FOR IDEAS THAT YOU WANT TO DISCUSS.

IS IT? A LOT OF THESE IDEAS COME UP? IT'S JUST SOMETHING YOU'RE INTERESTED IN.

AND IT'S UP TO YOU TO SORT OF TAKE THEM FORWARD.

AND A LOT OF TIMES THINGS GET LOST WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU START PONDERING THE BUREAUCRACY OF IT ALL.

BUT THE $30,000 CLAIM AND SUSTAINABILITY FUND CAME FROM A LAST MINUTE PROPOSAL THAT PROBABLY WASN'T LAST MINUTE FROM A

[00:35:09]

GOOD SEGUE, GOOD SEGUE.

YEAH. THANK YOU FOR SPURRING ME.

THANK YOU FOR SPURRING ME ON IN OUR WONDERFUL MINUTES.

AND I'M ALWAYS GOING ON ABOUT OUR 2004 GREEN SPACE PLAN.

SO I'M GOING TO WAX POETIC HERE FOR JUST A SECOND, IF I MIGHT.

2004 IS BEFORE I GOT HERE, SO I WASN'T PART OF THE PROCESS, BUT I CAN SEE HOW IT PLAYED OUT AND HAVE BEEN WATCHING IT IMPLEMENTED SINCE THEN.

WE DID FOR A WHILE ON THIS COMMISSION TRY TO KEEP TRACK LIKE ANNUAL KIND OF HOW ARE WE DOING THINGS? BUT IT WAS KIND OF CUMBERSOME FOR PLANNING STAFF.

AND SO IT'S BEEN QUITE A WHILE SINCE WE LOOKED BACK AT IT AND SAID, HOW DID WE DO, YOU KNOW, HOW ARE WE DOING AT ACCOMPLISHING THE THINGS THAT WE SET OUT TO DO IN 2004? AND MUCH OF THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION, I THINK, IS REALLY VERY SIMPLE.

IF YOU LOOK AT THE MAPS, THIS IS WHAT WE SAID WE WERE GOING TO DO AND WHAT WE'VE ACTUALLY DONE.

IT'S BASICALLY OVERLAYING LAYERS IN A GIS, AND WE'VE GOT PEOPLE WHO CAN DO THAT SORT OF THING.

HOWEVER, IT WAS A LOT OF IT WAS REALLY BASED ON ONE SET OF AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY THAT COVERED THE TOWNSHIP, FROM WHICH WAS INTERPRETED TO TRY TO GUESS WHERE THINGS WERE. AND SINCE THEN, WE'VE GONE AND LOOKED AT A LOT OF THOSE PLACES.

EVERY TIME SOMEBODY PROPOSES TO BUILD A NEW WETLAND, WE GO OUT AND DELINEATE IT SO WE DON'T HAVE TO GUESS WHERE IT IS.

WE'VE GOT PROFESSIONALS WHO THINK AND WHAT I DON'T KNOW, FOR INSTANCE, IS, WELL, HOW MUCH OF THE WETLANDS THAT WE BELIEVED WERE THERE HAVE ACTUALLY BEEN DELINEATED SINCE THEN? AND WE KNOW BECAUSE IT'S A SIMPLE THING, BUT THAT'S JUST ONE EXAMPLE.

NOWADAYS WE KNOW AN AWFUL LOT MORE ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT IN THE TOWNSHIP THAN WE DID 20 YEARS AGO.

WE'VE GOT LOTS MORE KNOWLEDGE, LOTS MORE DATA ON ALL SORTS OF THINGS THAT JUST DIDN'T EXIST BACK THEN.

PARTLY BECAUSE WE BUILT AND PARTLY BECAUSE WE'VE STUDIED, AND PARTLY BECAUSE WE'VE BOUGHT UP ALL THESE LAND PRESERVES, WHICH WAS ONE OF THE THINGS WE SAID WE WOULD DO IN THERE, AND THEN WE'VE GONE OUT AND DONE NATIVE PLANTINGS AND ALL SORTS OF STUFF.

SO THERE'S ALL SORTS OF STUFF WE'VE DONE AND WE'VE KEPT TRACK OF, BUT AREN'T REFLECTED IN OUR OLD 2004 PLAN.

WE'VE ALSO GOT A WHOLE LOT OF HUMAN CAPITAL IN THE TOWNSHIP WHO HAVE BEEN VOLUNTEERING OR EMPLOYED TO WORK ON THIS STUFF AND HAVE A WHOLE LOT OF PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON.

SO MY PROPOSAL IS TO CREATE A STUDY GROUP BASICALLY TO LOOK AT THE FIRST 20 YEARS OF IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 2004 GREEN SPACE PLAN. I THINK WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO FIND IS THAT WHEN IT COMES TO LAND PRESERVATION, MEETING OR EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS, AS WE SAY, RIGHT, WE'RE KNOCKING IT OUT OF THE PARK.

WETLAND PROTECTION, NO NET LOSS POLICY.

I THINK WE'RE THERE FIDDLING WITH THE BUFFERS AND THINGS.

IT'S THE FRAGILE PRIORITY CONSERVATION CORRIDORS THAT I THINK ARE USEFUL BECAUSE THEY'RE PART OF THE STAFF REVIEW OF ANY PERMIT APPLICATION THAT INVOLVES A PRIORITY CONSERVATION CORRIDOR.

SO THE PLANNING COMMISSION, THE TOWNSHIP BOARD AND SEE IT.

BUT AGAIN, IT WAS BASED ON PRETTY CRUDE DATA.

AND SINCE THEN WE'VE LEARNED A WHOLE LOT MORE.

SO IS THAT A USEFUL LAYER? COULD IT LOOK SOMETHING DIFFERENT? I MENTIONED NATIVE PLANTINGS ON PUBLIC LAND.

WE'VE ALSO GOT A WHOLE BUNCH OF PEOPLE WHO ARE PLANTING ON PRIVATE LAND, ON THEIR OWN, ON THEIR OWN LOTS.

THERE'S A WHOLE MERIDIAN CONSERVATION CORPS AND ALL THE STUFF THEY'RE DOING OUT IN OUR LAND PRESERVES AND OTHER PUBLIC PROPERTIES TO CHANGE THE FLORA AND FAUNA. ONE OF THE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES, I THINK, ONE COULD ARGUE, OF OUR GREAT JOB WE'RE DOING, PRESERVING OUR NATURAL LANDS, IS WE'VE DONE A TON OF DEER, AND THEY KEEP RUNNING OUT IN FRONT OF CARS AND HURTING THEMSELVES AND PEOPLE AND THINGS, AND BUT NOW WE'VE GOT THIS WHOLE PROGRAM WHERE WE INCLUDE TRYING TO REDUCE THE NUMBERS, AND THAT YOU WON'T FIND THAT IN THEIR 2004 PLAN.

YOU WON'T FIND A DEER CALLING THEREAFTER, BUT WE'RE DOING IT.

AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ACTUALLY FEEDING PEOPLE WHO ARE IN NEED FROM THE MEAT THAT'S COMING OUT OF FEEDING PEOPLE IN NEED FROM OUR LAND RESERVES IS NOT IN THE 2004 PLAN, BUT IT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING.

HABITATS. I RECENTLY LOOKED BACK AT A RECORDING BECAUSE LEROY THINKS NOBODY LOOKS BACK AT THE RECORDINGS OF A GREEN DIALOG WITH OUR GIS SPECIALIST.

RYAN. RYAN.

HE WAS SHOWING A WETLAND LAYER THAT HAD SEVERAL CATEGORIES OF WETLANDS MARKED ON IT.

I HAVE NO IDEA HOW THAT CAME FROM, BUT IT SEEMED LEGIT.

SO WHAT I'M WHAT I'M PROPOSING IS CREATION OF A STUDY GROUP.

[00:40:01]

AND ALL THE STAFFING AND ALL THE.

THEY CAN BE VERY, VERY INFORMAL.

TYPICALLY THEY INVOLVE ONE OR MORE MEMBERS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION, BUT DEFINITELY NOT ENOUGH TO MAKE THE QUORUM SO THEY CAN ACTUALLY SIT DOWN AND MEET AND NOT BREAK PUBLIC MEETING RULES.

BUT THEY CAN ALSO INCLUDE ANYBODY ELSE, ANY OTHER MEMBER OF THE COMMUNITY OR EXPERT OR ANYBODY ELSE CAN JOIN THOSE STUDY GROUPS.

SO ALL I'M ASKING FOR AT THIS POINT IS THAT A COUPLE OF PEOPLE THINK ABOUT WHAT I'VE JUST SAID AND THINK ABOUT WHAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO DO BETWEEN NOW AND OUR NEXT MEETING, AND COME BACK AND TELL US WHAT THEY CAME UP WITH.

AND IF I'M, I CAN'T QUOTE OUR BYLAWS, BUT I THINK I HAVE THE SOLE AUTHORITY TO APPOINT A STUDY GROUP AND NAME IT WITH THE POWER VESTED IN HIS GAVEL.

SO GIVEN COMMISSIONER PAUL'S BACKGROUND AND INTERESTS IN THE COMMISSION I'D LIKE TO ASK IF YOU'D BE WILLING TO LEAD THIS GROUP, AT LEAST FOR THE NEXT MONTH, TO SEE DO SOME BRAINSTORMING AND COME UP WITH SOME THOUGHTS FOR THE COMMISSION.

SURE. AND I'D ALSO LIKE TO ASK COMMISSIONER LI, GIVEN YOUR EXPERIENCE AND CONNECTIONS ESPECIALLY TO THE LAND PRESERVE PROGRAM, TO BE PART OF THAT, AND IF THERE'S OTHER MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION WHO ARE INTERESTED IN DOING SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

SOMETIMES WE JUST SET UP TABLES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROOM HERE.

IF WE, FOR INSTANCE, DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH ON OUR AGENDA NEXT MONTH, A STUDY GROUP COULD JUST MEET HERE.

BUT ALSO, IT'S TOTALLY INFORMAL, SO IT COULD JUST BE BY ZOOM.

AND, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, SIMILAR TO THE FELLOW PROGRAM ANYTHING THAT'S PROPOSED IS GOING TO INVOLVE TOWNSHIP STAFF TIME.

SO THAT'S GOING TO BE WHERE THE, THE SORT OF SIMILAR APPROACH OF WHAT DO WE THINK IT'S GOING TO TAKE IN TERMS OF STAFF TIME IN ORDER TO ACCOMPLISH SOMETHING LIKE THIS? AND IS THERE A NEED TO BRING IN SOME ADDITIONAL EXPERTISE? AGAIN, GREEN DIALOG.

THERE'S A RECORDING. GO LISTEN TO IT.

THE FELLOW WHOSE FIRM GREENWAYS COLLABORATIVE DOWN IN ANN ARBOR, DID THE 2004 PLAN STILL IN BUSINESS AND COULD PROVIDE SOME TECHNICAL SUPPORT IF WE THOUGHT WE NEEDED THAT BEYOND WHAT TOWNSHIP STAFF AND OUR VOLUNTEERS COULD DO.

SO THAT'S KIND OF WHERE WE'RE WHAT I'M PROPOSING.

AND IF ANYBODY WOULD LIKE TO RAISE THEIR HAND AND VOLUNTEER TO BE PART OF THAT GROUP, I'M SURE YOU'D BE WELCOME.

YEAH. GREAT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

LIKE I SAY, I'M EXPECTING THAT GROUP.

IF YOU CAN GET THE THREE OF YOU TOGETHER BETWEEN NOW AND THEN, I'M HAPPY TO JOIN IF I'M AVAILABLE.

I'M HAPPY TO KEEP MY BIG NOSE OUT.

IT'S TOTALLY UP TO YOU.

WHAT I CAN DO WITH LEROY IS PROVIDE SOME DIRECT LINKS TO THE 2004 PLAN, AND SOME OTHER BITS AND PIECES, SO THAT THE TWO RECORDINGS I JUST TALKED ABOUT MAYBE SEE WHO I'M TALKING ABOUT AND WHAT THEY'RE WHAT THEY'RE UP TO.

SUPER. I FEEL SO EMPOWERED.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS.

[6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS]

I WANTED TO MAKE AN ANNOUNCEMENT THAT I AM UNFORTUNATELY GOING TO HAVE TO STEP BACK FROM THE COMMISSION BECAUSE I RECENTLY GOT SOME TEACHING OFFERS AT MICHIGAN STATE.

SO I'M GOING TO BE TEACHING A COURSE THIS SEMESTER FOR THE FIRST TIME, WHICH I'M VERY EXCITED ABOUT, BUT UNFORTUNATELY IT MEETS DURING THIS TIME.

I'M ALSO GOING TO BE TRAVELING QUITE A BIT FOR MY SMITHSONIAN RESEARCH IN DC, AND THEN MY NOAA RESEARCH IN MAINE, BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN THE ESTUARY RESERVE.

THERE SO UNFORTUNATE THAT I HAD TO BRING IT UP TODAY, BUT I WANTED TO GIVE EVERYONE SORT OF AN UPDATE ON ALL OF THAT AND SORT OF APOLOGIZE FOR MY ABSENCE AS OF LATE.

SORT OF AS A RESULT OF ALL THE TRAVEL I HAD TO DO FOR THOSE RESEARCH POSITIONS DURING THE SUMMER.

AND I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE BETTER TO HAVE SOMEONE THAT WOULD BE ABLE TO TAKE A MORE ACTIVE ROLE IN THE COMMISSION VERSUS SOMEONE THAT WAS CONSISTENTLY JUGGLING A BUNCH OF OTHER THINGS. AND HOPEFULLY AFTER THIS BUSY YEAR, I'LL BE ABLE TO FIND MY WAY BACK, IF THAT'S A POSSIBILITY.

HOPEFULLY I'M STILL LIVING IN MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP.

THAT'S ANOTHER THING THAT'S I'M ALSO TRYING TO FIGURE OUT THERE.

WELL, CONGRATULATIONS.

THAT'S GREAT NEWS. ALL THESE OPPORTUNITIES.

AND SORRY TO SEE YOU STEP AWAY, BUT WE KNOW YOU'RE NOT.

NOT TOO FAR. YEAH.

WE WERE TALKING BRIEFLY BEFORE THE MEETING ABOUT TEACHING, AND I SAY NO.

[00:45:03]

AND ESPECIALLY THE FIRST TIME YOU TEACH.

YEAH. THAT'S ABSORBING.

YEAH. AND WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO.

WHAT'S THE CLASS GOING TO COVER? YEAH. SO I'M SORT OF, I'M IN AN ADVISORY ROLE FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AT THE MICHIGAN STATE WRITING CENTER, AND THAT'S TAKING UP A LOT OF TIME, BECAUSE I HAVE TO MEET ONE ON ONE WITH LIKE 50 UNDERGRADUATES THROUGHOUT THE SEMESTER.

SO IT'S SORT OF LIKE AN ACADEMIC ADVISING ROLE.

AND THEN THE COURSE THAT I'M TEACHING IS PART OF THE BAYLEY SCHOLARS PROGRAM, WHICH LEROY MIGHT KNOW, BUT IT'S ESSENTIALLY LIKE A COLLABORATIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT WHERE WE'RE STILL FIGURING OUT WHAT THE COURSE TOPIC IS GOING TO BE, BECAUSE THE COURSE IS TAUGHT IN A COLLABORATIVE FASHION, LIKE EVERYTHING IS MADE VIA DEMOCRATIC DECISION.

SO LIKE WE ALL DEVELOP THE SYLLABUS TOGETHER.

WE COULD LEARN LIKE ANYTHING WE WANT TO.

SO IT'S LIKE A VERY LIBERATING EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE.

BUT ALSO IT'S VERY TIME CONSUMING BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF DELIBERATION AND LIKE COMING TO CONSENSUS AND LIKE THAT'S PART OF THE KNOWLEDGE BUILDING PROCESS AND LIKE SORT OF BUILDING THAT INTO EDUCATION RATHER THAN JUST LIKE THROWING SLIDES UP, ALTHOUGH THAT'S THE EASIER WAY.

BUT YEAH.

SO IT'S A FULFILLING OPPORTUNITY FOR SURE.

BUT SO IS THIS.

AND I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT LIKE IF THERE'S ANYTHING IN THE FUTURE LIKE THE GREENHOUSE GAS INVENTORY OR OTHER COMPONENTS THAT MIGHT THAT I MIGHT BE ABLE TO ASSIST WITH, EVEN THOUGH I'M NOT ON THE COMMISSION LIKE I'M ABLE TO OFFER LIKE INPUT HERE AND THERE.

LIKE DEFINITELY LIKE I THINK MOST OF YOU HAVE MY CONTACT INFORMATION AND EMAIL.

SO CERTAINLY, CERTAINLY.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT KIND OFFER.

I JUST DROPPED OFF 100 BUCKETS AT GREENHOUSE.

REALLY? WELL THAT KICKS OFF ITEM SEVEN.

[7. REPORTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS ]

LET'S MOVE THROUGH, THEN, TO STAFF.

I DON'T HAVE A LOT TO SHARE.

I DID PUT A COUPLE OF ITEMS IN MY PACKET, BUT I'LL DEFER TO OTHER COMMISSION.

COMMISSION STAFF, OTHER THAN THERE WAS A BRIEF UPDATE FROM DAN THIS EVENING.

DAN OPSOMER ABOUT THE TREE PLANTING INITIATIVE.

THAT TIES TO THE CLIMATE SUSTAINABILITY FUND.

I THINK HE'S ESTIMATING ABOUT $10,000 TO REPLANT SOME TREES THAT ARE PART OF A REFORESTATION AND THE, YOU KNOW, PORTION OF THE TOWNSHIP NEAR LAKE LANSING.

SO WE'RE HOPING TO USE SOME OF THAT FUNDING FOR THAT TREE PLANTING.

THAT'S ABOUT ALL I'VE GOT, OTHER THAN I'D LIKE TO ASK GRAHAM TO PREPARE A RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION.

THAT I COULD SHARE AT THE NEXT MEETING.

YEAH. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR.

YEAH, DEFINITELY.

I CAN DEFINITELY DO THAT. I'M PARTLY KIDDING, BUT I WILL LOOK FOR SOME ADVICE.

OKAY. OKAY I WILL.

THANKS. WHEN YOU SAID TREE PLANTING, I WAS WORRIED YOU WERE GOING TO SAY SOMETHING ABOUT OKEMOS ROAD AT THE SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION PROJECT.

I'M TRYING NOT TO LOOK TOO CLOSELY BEHIND THE CURTAIN.

PAY NO ATTENTION TO THE OTHER LIAISONS.

TOWNSHIP BOARD.

DID I SEE CORRECTLY THAT THERE WAS A DISCUSSION OF THE TOWNSHIP BOARD ON THE COUNTY MATERIALS MANAGEMENT PLAN AND SOME REPRESENTATIVES FROM WASTE HAULERS? TOWNSHIP BOARD MEETING? YES. WE NOMINATED PHIL DESCHAINE TO SERVE ON THAT COMMISSION.

IT'S APPOINTMENT BY THE COUNTY.

AND HE WAS APPROVED.

HE WILL SERVE ON THAT COMMISSION.

IT WORKS WITH WASTE HAULERS, RECYCLERS AND TRYING TO COORDINATE PROGRAM COUNTY WIDE AND IMPROVE THAT PROCESS.

SO HE'S OUR REPRESENTATIVE ON THAT.

SO IT'S LIKE ONE TOWNSHIP MEMBER ONE CITY MEMBER ONE.

THEY HAVE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES THAT THEY HAD TO HAVE FILLED, AND A TOWNSHIP OFFICER OR TOWNSHIP BOARD MEMBER HAD TO BE ONE OF THEM.

AND THERE MAY HAVE BEEN SEVERAL IN THAT CATEGORY, BUT THERE WERE REQUIREMENTS FOR GOVERNMENTAL EMPLOYEES AND OFFICERS AS WELL AS WASTE AND RECYCLING COMPANIES.

AND PRESUMABLY, THERE WILL ENSUE A SERIES OF PUBLIC MEETINGS WHERE PEOPLE CAN GIVE THEIR.

PRESUMABLY THEY WILL.

AND ULTIMATELY THERE WILL BE A REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION, WHICH MAY TAKE A YEAR OR TWO, BUT THEY ARE GOING TO STUDY THE PROCESS AND SEE IF IT CAN BE IMPROVED.

THANK YOU. ANYTHING ELSE GOING ON AT TOWNSHIP BOARD THAT YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE WITH US? WE'RE JUST STARTING THE PROCESS OF HIRING A NEW MANAGER ON THE LAST MEETING IN AUGUST.

WE CHOSE A SEARCH FIRM.

IT'S OUT OF THE YPSILANTI AREA.

A LONG TIME OPERATOR IN MICHIGAN AND HAS DONE CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT IN GOVERNMENTAL EMPLOYMENTS.

[00:50:06]

I BELIEVE THERE'LL BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR COMMUNITY INPUT AS WELL, AND THE PROCESS HAS A TIMELINE, HOPEFULLY TO HAVE THE POSITION FILLED DECEMBER OR JANUARY.

SO THEY'RE MOVING FORWARD.

THEY ARE HOPING TO GET THE JOB DESCRIPTION UP SOMETIME IN OCTOBER.

AND WE'LL GO FORWARD WITH THAT.

THANK YOU. ANY QUESTIONS FOR [INAUDIBLE].

WELL, THIS MAY BE GETTING IN THE WEEDS, BUT, YOU KNOW, LEROY TALKING ABOUT CUTTING BACK AND REPLACING HIMSELF.

I'M JUST WONDERING WHAT'S IN THE BUDGET WITH RESPECT TO THAT POSITION.

OKAY. THE BUDGET IS PROPOSED.

LEROY IS WHAT POINT OR 32 HOURS A WEEK? THEY'RE PROPOSING TO MAKE IT A FULL TIME POSITION, BUT ALSO CHANGING SOME QUALIFICATIONS.

SO IT WOULD BE CHARACTERIZED AS AN ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER WHO HAS SOME ADDITIONAL EXPERTISE, BUT FILLING THE POSITION WITH ADDED EXPERTISE AND ADDED TIME, SO THAT WAS ONE OF THE THAT WAS PART OF THE POSITION THAT WAS APPROVED.

THERE'S A HALF TIME POSITION IN HR FOR PAYROLL, BECAUSE RIGHT NOW WE'VE GOT ONE PERSON WHO CAN DO PAYROLL, AND IF SHE'S ON VACATION, LEROY DOESN'T GET PAID. AND THAT WOULD REALLY PISS HIM OFF.

SO AND I THINK THERE'S ANOTHER UTILITY WORKER BECAUSE OUR DEMANDS ARE GROWING UP.

BUT THEY TURNED DOWN SOME POSITIONS THAT WERE NEEDED, LIKE WE'RE VERY THINLY STAFFED IN IT AND A COUPLE OF OTHER AREAS THAT NEED ADDITIONAL FUNDING. BUT IN ORDER TO GET TO A BALANCED BUDGET, RECOGNIZING ADDITIONAL COSTS AND EVERYTHING GOING UP FOR EMPLOYEES THAT WE DO HAVE INSURANCES, ALL THAT STUFF THAT'S WHERE WE'RE AT AS FAR AS THE BUDGET THAT WILL PROBABLY BE APPROVED AT THE NEXT MEETING. BUT AGAIN, THERE ARE MANY AMENDMENTS TO BUDGETS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, BOTH UP AND DOWN DEPENDING ON ACTUAL EXPENDITURES. SO THIS IS JUST A GUIDELINE.

OKAY. THANKS. SURE. AND THAT ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER POSITION LIKE THE CURRENT ONE WOULD BE HOUSED WITHIN DPW PUBLIC WORKS.

YES. THANK YOU FOR THAT REPORT.

THE PLANNING COMMISSION HAS NOT MET RECENTLY, SO NOTHING TO REPORT ON THAT.

ANY OTHER BOARDS, COMMISSIONS, LAND PRESERVATION ADVISORY BOARD.

THEY HAD THE EVENT AT THE DAVIS FOSTER PRESERVE, BUT I WAS NOT ABLE TO ATTEND.

SO I DON'T HAVE AN UPDATE OTHER THAN I HEARD THAT.

I THINK IT WENT WELL.

I DON'T KNOW IF ANYONE ELSE HERE ATTENDED OR HEARD ANYTHING ABOUT IT.

NO CAN DO. REMIND ME.

DO WE HAVE A BROWNFIELD PERSON THESE DAYS? DO WE? YES, I VOLUNTEER.

BUT WE HAVEN'T MET RECENTLY.

YEAH, I HAVE NOTHING TO REPORT BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T BEEN MEETING.

ALL RIGHT. ALL RIGHT.

ANY OTHER BOARDS OR COMMISSIONS I'M FORGETTING BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO OUR TEAMS? ENERGY TEAM.

YOU GOT THE FLOOR. WELL, I MISSED THE LAST MEETING.

I WAS TRAVELING, SO.

BUT LEROY MAY BE ABLE TO ADD A FEW THINGS.

I WILL MENTION THAT YOU KNOW, OUR LAST SOLARIZE MEETING IS BEING HOSTED BY THE CITY OF LANSING.

THAT'S GOING TO BE A VIRTUAL EVENT ON SEPTEMBER THE EVENING OF SEPTEMBER 17TH.

AND YOU KNOW, WE'VE DONE FOUR MEETINGS THIS YEAR, SOLARIZE MEETINGS TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO INSTALL SOLAR SYSTEMS AND HOPEFULLY GET A WELL, THEY WOULD GET A DISCOUNT FOR SURE.

JUST DEPENDS ON HOW MANY PEOPLE KIND OF SIGN UP DETERMINES THE DISCOUNT THAT GOES FROM 5 TO 15%.

SO, YOU KNOW, THIS YEAR MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP, WILLIAMSTOWN TOWNSHIP, CITY OF EAST LANSING AND CITY OF LANSING, WE'RE KIND OF BEEN WORKING TOGETHER.

EACH HOSTING A MEETING AND INVITING ANYBODY IN THE LANSING AREA TO ATTEND.

AND SO IT'S I DON'T HAVE ANY GOOD STATISTICS YET BECAUSE IT TAKES A WHILE FOR THE PROCESS TO WORK ITSELF OUT, BUT FROM WHAT I CAN TELL, IT'S BEEN GOING VERY WELL.

AND SO I'M THIS HASN'T BEEN DISCUSSED YET, BUT I'M KIND OF GUESSING WHAT WE DID THIS YEAR WILL PROBABLY BE THE MODEL FOR

[00:55:05]

AND THEN WE ARE WORKING WITH PUBLIC SECTOR CONSULTANTS IN EAST LANSING AND LANSING ON A SURVEY RELATED TO ATTITUDES TOWARD COMMUNITY SOLAR.

WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT DIFFERENT OPTIONS, AND THIS SURVEY WILL GET SOME INPUT FROM RESIDENTS OF ALL THREE COMMUNITIES OF WHAT THEY THINK ABOUT COMMUNITY SOLAR BILL.

YES. THAT REMINDS ME THAT ABOUT A MONTH AGO, A LITTLE OVER THAT A COMMUNITY SURVEY WENT OUT FOR MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP.

IT'S BROKEN INTO TWO PARTS.

THERE WERE A NUMBER OF RESIDENTS WHO WERE IDENTIFIED AND WERE SENT SPECIFIC SURVEYS.

THEY'RE COMING BACK AND THEY WILL BE ANALYZED ON A ON ONE BASIS, FIGURING THEY'RE SELECTED PEOPLE THAT MEET DEMOGRAPHIC REQUIREMENTS AND ARE MORE STATISTICALLY VALID.

BUT IT'S ALSO OPENED UP TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC ONLINE SO THEY CAN TAKE THE SURVEY AND THAT ALSO WILL BE ACCUMULATED.

AND I'M EXPECTING I THINK I HEARD THAT THERE WERE OTHER I THINK THEY SENT OUT 1000 TO 1400 DIRECT MAIL TO PEOPLE, AND THEY HAD ABOUT 250 OR 300 RESPONSES, WHICH ISN'T BAD FOR THAT TYPE OF SURVEY.

AND THEN THEY HAD ANOTHER GROUP THAT DID IT ONLINE.

SO WE'LL GET THAT REPORT BACK.

IT'S GENERAL. GENERALLY THE QUESTIONS ARE, ARE YOU SATISFIED? WHERE CAN WE IMPROVE? WHAT'S GOOD, WHAT'S BAD, THAT SORT OF THING.

SO IT'LL BE INTERESTING TO SEE WHAT COMES BACK.

AND THAT WILL BE ONE OF OUR BOARD MEETINGS COMING UP WHEN WE GET AN ANALYSIS OF THAT.

GREAT. THANKS FOR THAT.

THAT'S IT FOR ME.

DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION? YEAH, I DID HAVE A QUESTION.

WILL THE RESULTS BE MADE PUBLIC IN A REPORT? YES. OKAY.

YEAH. AND IS IT A STATISTICALLY REPRESENTATIVE SURVEY OR IS IT A CONVENIENT SAMPLE? LIKE, IS IT AN ONLINE? YEAH, IT'S ONLINE AND IT'S NOT STATISTICALLY VALID IN ANY SENSE BECAUSE WE'VE JUST BEEN ENCOURAGING ANYBODY WHO'S INTERESTED TO YOU KNOW, PARTICIPATE IN THE SURVEY.

SO CONSIDERING THE TOPIC I'M SURE PEOPLE ARE INTERESTED IN SOLAR ARE MORE LIKELY TO DO THE SURVEY.

SO THERE WILL BE A CERTAIN BIAS IN THE RESULTS, BUT IT WILL GIVE US IT WILL BE INTERESTING TO JUST SEE HOW MANY PEOPLE RESPOND.

YEAH. AND AMONGST THOSE PEOPLE LIKE WHAT THEIR ATTITUDES ARE.

YES. RIGHT. THAT WILL BE THE PRIMARY BENEFIT.

AND I GUESS SOMETHING LIKE THAT IS USEFUL IN CONFIRMING THAT THERE IS INTEREST.

YEAH, YEAH, YEAH, THAT'D BE AWESOME TO SEE A REPORT OVER THE RESULTS.

YEAH. COOL.

THE ONE THING I WOULD ADD ABOUT THE ENERGY TEAM DISCUSSION IS THAT WE, WE HAD TALKED ABOUT DEVELOPING AND DISTRIBUTING SOME KIND OF HANDS ON ENERGY KITS THAT COULD BE USED AT EVENTS IN THE COMING YEAR, SOMETHING THAT POTENTIALLY COULD BE FUNDED BY THE CLIMATE SUSTAINABILITY FUND.

AND WE WERE GOING TO GET A PROPOSAL FROM ONE OF THE ENERGY TEAM MEMBERS ON WHAT IT WOULD COST TO PREPARE SOME OF THESE THAT COULD BE USEFUL FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES.

SO THAT IS, I HAVEN'T SEEN THAT PROPOSAL YET, BUT SOMETHING WE TALKED ABOUT AT THE ENERGY TEAM.

YEAH, ONE OF THE ENERGY TEAM MEMBERS WHO ACTUALLY WORKS FOR ABSOLUTE SOLAR TWO AS A TEACHER IN DEWITT.

AND SO HE HAS BEEN.

HE CAN DEVELOP A KIT THAT'S FAIRLY INEXPENSIVE.

THAT'S KIND OF INTERACTIVE FOR STUDENTS.

SO THAT WAS WHAT HE WAS KIND OF GOING TO LOOK INTO, HOW MUCH SOMETHING LIKE THAT MIGHT BE COST, BECAUSE HE'S BEEN DOING IT IN HIS OWN CLASSES.

BUT JUST ONE SHOT DEAL.

AND THE DISCUSSION, RIGHT, WAS ABOUT MAKING IT AVAILABLE ON A DURING A GREEN FAIRS AND WHATEVER.

YEAH. ALL RIGHT.

GREEN TEAM GREEN TEAM CONTINUES ELECTRONIC RECYCLING IN MY GARAGE.

YES. YOU CAN GET RID OF IT IN TWO WEEKS.

GREEN TEAM CONTINUES TO MEET ON A MONTHLY BASIS.

OUR NEXT MEETING IS A WEEK FROM TOMORROW.

WE HAVE FOCUSED PRIMARILY ON THE FALL RECYCLING EVENT, WHICH IS THE ELECTRONICS COLLECTION FOR THE MOST PART.

IT IS SEPTEMBER 21ST FROM 9 TO 1 HERE, HERE AT THE MERIDIAN MALL THIS YEAR.

NEW VENUE AND IT'S GOING TO BE IN THE AREA BETWEEN PENNEY'S AND THE FARMERS MARKET.

[01:00:05]

SO COATS, BOOTS, THINGS OF THAT NATURE EITHER NEW OR GENTLY USED.

AND AGAIN, WE ARE PERTINENT PARTNERING WITH CONSUMERS ENERGY TO TAKE BACK SMALL APPLIANCES AT THAT EVENT.

GREAT. LOOKING FORWARD TO IT.

HOPE THE WEATHER IS GOOD WE DO TOO.

MR. CHAIR, IF I COULD RESERVE THE RIGHT TO GO BACK TO UNFINISHED BUSINESS.

SURE. WHEN WE GET THROUGH THIS PORTION, JUST.

JUST REMIND ME.

OKAY. WHAT ELSE WE GOT? FOOD. WOULD ANY MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC LIKE TO GIVE US ANY UPDATES ON WHAT'S GOING ON WITH CLEANING OR ANYTHING ELSE LIKE THAT? IF NOT I KNOW I WASN'T PREPARED.

OKAY. I'LL JUST FILL IN IN MY DAY JOB, I'VE HAD OCCASION TO LEARN A BIT MORE ABOUT HOW THE SO-CALLED FOOD RESCUE OPERATION IS GOING AND WHAT THAT IS, IS A GROUP OF PEOPLE PART OF A NATIONAL NETWORK.

BUT A COUPLE OF PEOPLE LOCALLY ARE VOLUNTEERS WHO ARE CONNECTING PEOPLE WHO ARE WILLING TO DRIVE FOOD AROUND THE COMMUNITY WITH STORES AND RESTAURANTS THAT HAVE EXTRA FOOD TO DONATE.

AND THE LIST I SAW OF RECIPIENT AGENCIES, RECEIVING AGENCIES IN THE GREATER LANSING AREA WAS MORE THAN A DOZEN AND GROWING ALL THE TIME.

AND I ONLY SAW A PARTIAL LIST OF THE OF THE PARTICIPANTS ON THE DONATION SIDE.

BUT SOME OF OUR BIGGER GROCERY CHAINS AND BIGGER RESTAURANTS AND SUCH, SO THAT EFFORT IS GOING GREAT.

GUNS. I ALSO I WAS BINGING ON OLD TOWNSHIP GREEN DIALOGS TODAY.

I SAW A STATISTIC THAT TEN OF THE 88 COMMUNITY GARDENS, SUPPORTED BY THE GREATER LANSING FOOD BANK GARDEN PROJECT, ARE IN THE TOWNSHIP.

AND THAT KIND OF SURPRISED ME.

I WAS AWARE OF SOME OF THEM.

THE BIGGEST ONE IS DOWN IN BRIARWOOD.

THERE'S A WARD, CLIFF, AND THERE'S A WHOLE BUNCH OF THEM ALL OVER THE COMMUNITY, TEN OF THEM WITHIN THE TOWNSHIP THAT ARE COMMUNITY GARDENS.

AND THE COORDINATOR OF THAT PROGRAM WAS A GUEST ON THE GREEN DIALOG.

SO I'VE BEEN MISSING THOSE BECAUSE I WORKED DURING THAT TIME.

BUT THEY'RE ALL RECORDED AND AVAILABLE AND I FIND THEM HUGELY EDUCATIONAL.

ALL RIGHT, ON THAT NOTE, NEXT WEEK, 9:00 ON WEDNESDAY MORNING, THERE WILL BE THREE PEOPLE REPRESENTATIVE OF EAST SIDE COMPOST TAKEOUT.

AND THE FARMERS MARKET MANAGER ARE GOING TO TALK ABOUT GREEN CIRCULAR ECONOMY AND HOW WE MIGHT CLOSE THE LOOP IN THE TOWNSHIP.

SO I HOPE YOU CAN JOIN US ON THAT ONE.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT THAT ITEM NEEDED TO GO.

I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO. I HOPE I CAN MAKE TIME FOR THAT ONE.

GREEN BURIAL.

DO WE HAVE ANYBODY WHO WANTS TO SPEAK TO THOSE GREEN GRANTS? WE HEARD A LITTLE BIT. DID YOU HAVE A.

WELL, IT'S KIND OF WHAT I WANTED TO ADDRESS UNDER UNFINISHED BUSINESS.

JUST REAL BRIEFLY.

YEAH. LAST COMMISSION MEETING, I GUESS I VOLUNTEERED TO SERVE AS THE LIAISON WITH THE GREEN BURIAL COMMITTEE.

JUST A QUICK UPDATE.

I HAVE REACHED OUT TO BRUCE PFEIFFER'S, ONE OF THE MEMBERS OF THAT COMMITTEE.

HE IS IN THE PROCESS OF PUTTING TOGETHER KIND OF A TWO PAGE OVERVIEW.

AND I THINK WITH THAT WOULD BE A REQUEST TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION TO FORMALLY RECONSIDER THE GRANT PROPOSAL THAT WAS DISCUSSED PREVIOUSLY.

AND SO MAYBE BY THE NEXT MEETING THAT WOULD BE AVAILABLE FOR THE MEMBERS TO REVIEW AND TO DISCUSS.

BUT I BELIEVE COMMISSIONER TREZISE MIGHT HAVE A SUGGESTION HE WOULD LIKE TO MAKE AS WELL IN REGARDS TO THIS TOPIC.

YES, WE WERE DISCUSSING BEFORE THE MEETING.

THE IDEA OF GREEN BURIAL IS CIRCULATING THROUGH THE COMMUNITY, BUT IT'S NOT AT THE FOREFRONT.

AND I WOULD THINK THERE ARE PEOPLE THAT ARE VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT IT, AND PROBABLY A GREAT NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT IS.

[01:05:03]

AND IT COULD BE THIS GREEN BURIAL PROPOSAL THAT WILL BE CONSIDERED HERE.

JUST TO TELL THE BOARD, THIS IS IN THE WORKS.

THIS IS WHAT WE WANT TO DO.

WHAT IS THE FEELING OF THE BOARD AS FAR AS WHETHER THEY GO THROUGH? OR SHOULD WE DO SOMETHING PRIOR TO THAT, LIKE A STUDY IN THE COMMUNITY ABOUT WHAT IS THE INTEREST IN IT? WHAT ARE THE FEARS? WHAT KIND OF EDUCATION PROGRAM DO WE NEED TO GET THE COMMUNITY ON BOARD? BUT RIGHT NOW I DON'T KNOW.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE RESPONSE WOULD BE FROM THE TOWNSHIP BOARD.

AND I WOULD HATE TO START DOWN THAT ROAD AND RUN INTO A ROADBLOCK BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T DONE THE PRELIMINARY WORK TO GET IT SORT OF GREASED.

AND GET AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THE IDEA IS.

AND I KNOW THERE ARE PEOPLE THAT ARE VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT THIS AS FAR AS BOTH THE ENVIRONMENT AND AN OPTION FOR PEOPLE.

SO I DON'T KNOW ALL OF THEM, BUT I THINK A PRESENTATION TO THE BOARD MIGHT BE IN ORDER TO SEE WHAT THE THINKING IS THERE, AT LEAST GET THEM KNOWLEDGEABLE THAT IT'S GOING FORWARD AS FAR AS A STUDY ON THAT.

SO IF IT'S THE WILL OF THE COMMISSION, I'D BE HAPPY TO RELAY THAT REQUEST ON TO THE COMMITTEE AND ENCOURAGE THEM TO GO AHEAD AND MAKE THAT REQUEST TO DO A PRESENTATION TO THE TOWNSHIP BOARD.

I'M SEEING LOTS OF NODDING HEADS.

YES. I WAS NOTING FROM THE MINUTES THE SUGGESTION TO REVIEW THE BIDDING REQUIREMENTS AND MAKE SURE THAT THE FORMAT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE A SOLE SOURCE KIND OF SCARY THING THAT'S GOING TO WE NEED TO FIND OUT WHAT THE LIMITATIONS ARE AS FAR AS UNDER STATE LAW AND UNDER TOWNSHIP POLICY, AS FAR AS WHETHER WE NEED AN OPEN BID PROCESS.

AND LET ME TRY TO ADDRESS THAT BECAUSE WE'VE DONE SOME PRELIMINARY WORK ON THAT AS WELL.

AND LEROY DID PROVIDE TO ME THE TOWNSHIP'S PURCHASING POLICY.

AND IT DOES APPEAR FOR EXPENDITURES OF THIS NATURE AND THE CATEGORIES BETWEEN 5000 AND 24,999 THAT A WRITTEN QUOTATION FROM THREE SOURCES IS REQUIRED.

I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY HOW TO INTERPRET THAT.

BUT I KNOW AT ONE POINT WE WERE DISCUSSING THE GRANT OF POSSIBLY BEING $10,000, AND IF WE IF IT COULD COME IN SLIGHTLY LESS THAN THAT, IF WE WOULD BE UNDER THE BID REQUIREMENT.

IT APPEARS TO ME FROM THIS THAT WE'D HAVE TO GO BELOW $5,000 TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

SO I DON'T THINK THAT'S A VIABLE OPTION AT THIS POINT.

BECAUSE THE GRANT THAT WAS SUBMITTED IS 10,000, AND EVEN IF THEY WERE TO CUT IT SLIGHTLY, I'M SURE IT WOULDN'T GET UNDER $5,000.

SO. WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR DOING YOUR HOMEWORK ON THAT.

THAT'S TRICKY.

AND LET'S MAKE SURE WE GET IT.

GET IT RIGHT. THREE WRITTEN BIDS FOR $5,000 SEEMS LIKE QUITE A THING.

AND PRESUMABLY AT 25, THEN SOME DIFFERENT PROCESS KICKS IN.

IT'S EVEN MORE A LITTLE BIT.

YEAH. OKAY.

ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION ON THE GREEN BURIAL TOPIC? SEEING NONE.

HIGH SCHOOL. ANYTHING GOING ON THAT YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE WITH US ABOUT ANYTHING GOING ON IN? SO FAR THIS YEAR, THERE'S NOT REALLY MUCH SAYING THE YEAR JUST STARTED FOR HASLETT.

THIS IS THE THIRD WEEK I HAD A MEETING WITH ONE OF THE GROUPS.

I'M IN THE SEAL TEAM STUDENT ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISM LEADERSHIP TEAM.

[01:10:09]

IT'S LED BY BRIDGET BOOTH AT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL.

AND WE BASICALLY TALKED ABOUT OUR PLANS FOR THE YEAR, AND WE'RE JUST TRYING TO GET MORE CONNECTED THROUGHOUT ALL OF OUR SCHOOLS. ELEMENTARY LEVEL HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL.

EVERYONE MORE CONNECTED AND BE ABLE TO SHARE IDEAS ON ENVIRONMENTAL AND SUSTAINABILITY ISSUES.

SO THAT'S PROBABLY OUR PLAN HEADING IN FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR.

FANTASTIC. WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING ABOUT PROGRESS IN THAT FRONT.

THAT SOUNDS GREAT.

I KNOW THERE'S I'M SURE YOU'RE AWARE THAT THERE'S SEVERAL CONNECTIONS IN TERMS OF GRANTS THAT THIS COMMISSION HAS MADE TO VARIOUS SCHOOLS IN OUR TWO SCHOOL DISTRICTS.

AND I BELIEVE THERE'S ALSO BEEN SOME CONNECTIONS IN TERMS OF SURPLUS FOOD GETTING INTO THE, INTO THE NETWORKS FROM, FROM A COUPLE OF THE SCHOOLS.

SO GREAT TO HEAR ABOUT THAT.

ANY OTHER REPORTS OR ANNOUNCEMENTS? GOING, GOING GONE.

LAST CHANCE FOR PUBLIC REMARKS.

IN THAT CASE, WITHOUT OBJECTION, WE ARE ADJOURNED.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH, EVERYONE, FOR COMING ALONG

* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.