Oct 07, 2020 Environmental Commission Meeting

[INAUDIBLE] NOW AND WE ARE LIVE.

[00:00:03]

[1. CALL MEETING TO ORDER]

[2. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA]

OK. YOU'RE REFERRING TO I BELIEVE IT'S TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS.

IS THAT RIGHT, LEROY? OK, ANY OTHER ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA? DO I HEAR A MOTION TO APPROVE THE AGENDA? OK, BILL, JIM, SECONDED.

PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND TO APPROVE THE AGENDA.

OK, ARE ANY OPPOSED? OK, MOVING RIGHT ALONG.

[3. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES]

ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND.

OK. AM I DOING THAT TOO QUICK, LEROY, OR CAN YOU GET IT OK? I CAN GET IT OK.

AND LUCA, IF YOU WANT TO RAISE YOUR HAND, THAT'S FINE, TOO.

OR NOT RAISE YOUR HAND, WHATEVER.

I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT I WAS ALLOWED TO DO [LAUGHTER].

IS ANYBODY OPPOSED TO APPROVING THE MINUTES? PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND. OH, HEARING NONE.

OK, MOVING RIGHT ALONG.

PUBLIC REMARKS THIS EVENING.

[4. PUBLIC REMARKS]

FIVE ONE SEVEN THREE FOUR NINE.

ONE, TWO, THREE, TWO.

THERE'S NOBODY IN THE ATTENDEE AREA TO RAISE THEIR HAND.

BUT THAT WOULD ALSO BE ACCEPTABLE IF YOU WANT TO JUST CONTINUE ON.

I'LL LET YOU KNOW IF ANY CALLS COME IN, BUT I DON'T EXPECT ANY BASED ON THE ATTENDANCE RIGHT NOW. OK, THANK YOU.

LEROY? KENDRA, WHO'S JOINING US AS A PANELIST, MAY HAVE SOME COMMENTS LATER IN THE MEETING. AND SHE WAS SUGGESTED AS A POTENTIAL SPEAKER.

BUT RATHER THAN DO AN ENTIRE GREEN THEME, SHE THOUGHT SHE MIGHT CHIME IN ON A COUPLE OF THE TOPICS ON HER AGENDA.

SO I JUST INVITE HER TO CHIME IN AS SHE FEELS APPROPRIATELY, IF THAT'S OK WITH EVERYONE.

SURE. KENDRA, DO YOU WANT TO MAKE COMMENTS AT THIS TIME? OK, WELL, THERE'LL BE AN OPPORTUNITY.

NO, I'M JUST INTERESTED TO SEE HOW THIS GOES.

I'M A RESIDENT INTERESTED IN GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE AND HAVE SOME EXPERIENCES, PARTICULARLY REGARDING THE WETLANDS.

OK, WELL, OF COURSE, THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY LATER IN THE MEETING AT THE END FOR PUBLIC COMMENTS AGAIN. MOVING RIGHT ALONG, NEW BUSINESS.

[5. NEW BUSINESS]

AND SO I GUESS PHIL, MAYBE YOU COULD GIVE US A LITTLE BACKGROUND.

I'D BE GLAD TO START AND TRUSTEE WISINSKI HERE, SHE CAN ADD MORE AND SHE AND SAVE SOME TIME FOR HER TO DISCUSS IT AS WELL.

THE FINAL BUDGET MEETING WAS APPROXIMATELY THREE WEEKS AGO AND THE BOARD MADE A FEW CHANGES TO THE BUDGET.

MOST [INAUDIBLE] OF THOSE WAS TO ADD THREE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS TO THE SOLAR INFRASTRUCTURE TO GO FROM ONE HUNDRED TO FOUR THOUSAND DOLLARS.

AND THE SECOND WAS TO RENEW THE TEN THOUSAND DOLLAR GRANT THAT THE BOARD PROVIDED WITH THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION THIS YEAR, WHICH, AS YOU ALL KNOW, YOU USED FOR THE TREE INITIATIVE. SO THE BOARD WE'RE IN A GOOD POSITION, OUR BUDGETS IN A GOOD POSITION ARE OUR RESERVE FUNDS ARE STILL STRONG.

ESSENTIALLY, REVENUE SHARING HAS BEEN WITH THE CARES GRANTS.

WE DIDN'T TAKE THE MILLION DOLLAR HIT IN REVENUE SHARING WE FIGURED WE WERE GOING TO SO, THE BUDGET'S LOOKING GOOD FOR THIS YEAR.

[00:05:02]

AND NO SURPRISE TO ANYONE THAT THE COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISES IN THE TOWNSHIP HAVE VIRTUALLY ALL HAD A SIGNIFICANT DROP IN SALES THIS PAST YEAR.

THE EXCEPTION, PERHAPS, OF THE BIG BOX STORES, SO WE'RE ANTICIPATING THAT COULD BE FROM THE MALL AND SOME OF THE SURROUNDING STORES AND THE RESTAURANTS, BUT OVERALL, MOST OF OUR REVENUE, 95 PERCENT OF IT IS COMING FROM RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY TAXES PAID AND RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY VALUES HAVE STAYED HIGH.

SO OUR BUDGET REMAINS SOLID.

AND SO AS TRUSTEES AND MEMBERS, WE DECIDED TO MAKE THIS AMENDMENT TO HELP US, TO GET TO TO GET TO OUR SUSTAINABILITY GOALS, IN PARTICULAR, TO BE IN THE 2030 GOAL FOR THE TOWNSHIP TO BE ENTIRELY ON RENEWABLE ENERGY.

SO WE MADE THAT MOVE, WE MADE THAT CHANGE THE BUDGET.

IN TERMS OF THIS COMMISSION AND THE INITIATIVE, YOU COULD CERTAINLY DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT AGAIN. BUT I THINK THE TREE INITIATIVE IS POPULAR ENOUGH AND WE'RE GETTING ENOUGH FEEDBACK THAT IF YOU COME UP WITH SOMETHING DIFFERENT, WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO COME BACK TO THE BOARD DEPENDING ON WHERE THE BUDGET IS NEXT SUMMER AND ASK FOR A BUDGET AMENDMENT OR A STANDALONE TREE INITIATIVE, BECAUSE WE GOT THAT MUCH GOOD FEEDBACK FROM IT AND IT'S JUST SUCH A HUGE ASSET TO THE TOWNSHIP.

SO, IT'S YOUR TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS AGAIN, TO DECIDE HOW YOU WANT TO USE IT AND PERHAPS YOU CAN GET USED AND SPENT AN OUT THERE DOING GOOD WORK EVEN EARLIER IN THE YEAR THAN LAST YEAR. COURTNEY, DO YOU WANT TO ADD ANYTHING TO THAT? THANKS, PHIL. THAT WAS GREAT.

THE ONLY THING I MIGHT ADD IS, IS IN THE BUDGET AS WELL AS WE APPROPRIATED THIRTY THOUSAND DOLLARS TO OUR DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION WORKFORCE.

SO THAT CAN COMPLEMENT SOME OF THE WORK THAT'S BEING DONE HERE WITH ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE. SO IT'S SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE CAN CONTINUE TO COORDINATE.

AND I CAN GIVE AN UPDATE ON THE DEI WORK GROUP A LITTLE BIT LATER [INAUDIBLE] IT SOUNDS LIKE FROM WHAT BOTH OF YOU HAVE SAID, THAT YOU DON'T HAVE MUCH GUIDANCE FOR US FROM THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES WHAT WE MIGHT CONSIDER.

SO IT'S KIND OF LIKE KIND OF OPEN FOR US TO, I GUESS, TO DO SOME BRAINSTORMING AND KIND OF THINK ABOUT WHERE THE MONEY CAN BEST BE USED.

EXACTLY, WE RELY ON THE EXPERTISE THAT EXISTS ON THIS COMMISSION.

YOU ALL ARE THE SCIENTISTS AND THE RESEARCHERS AND ACTIVISTS AND THE STUDENTS THAT HAVE THIS ENVIRONMENTAL BACKGROUND THAT MAKES YOU EXCELLENT ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSIONERS.

AND SO.

I THINK IF WE DID TRY AND TELL YOU WHAT TO DO WITH THE MONEY, WE WOULD BE OVERSTEPPING OUR ROLE AS BOARD MEMBERS.

THIS IS THE EXPERTISE WE'RE LOOKING TO HEAR FROM YOU AND RECOMMENDATION, WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU. WELL, MY PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE IS THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, THE COMMISSION SHOULD GIVE SOME REAL THOUGHT TO.

YOU KNOW, THERE'S I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY WHAT WE CAN CONSIDER IS SO MANY DIFFERENT TYPES OF THINGS AND THERE ARE SO MANY DIFFERENT KIND OF PRIORITIES, BUT I THINK IT MIGHT BE USEFUL AT THIS TIME FOR, YOU KNOW, ANYBODY ON THE COMMISSION TO KIND OF MAYBE SUGGEST SOME IDEAS, AT LEAST TO GET US THINKING ABOUT WHAT WE MIGHT DECIDE.

I DON'T THINK WE WILL WANT TO DECIDE ANYTHING THIS EVENING, BUT I THINK IT MIGHT BE HELPFUL FOR ANY OF YOU TO KIND OF THROW OUT SOME IDEAS FOR US TO CONSIDER.

SO ANYBODY HAVE SOME KIND OF THOUGHTS? IDEAS? BILL? TYING TO OUR AGENDA THIS EVENING, I THINK WE'RE.

INVESTING SOME ENERGY IN GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE AND GIVEN THE HUGE SUCCESS THAT I THINK WE'LL HEAR ABOUT LATER ON THIS EVENING OF THE TREE PLANTING EFFORT, SOMETHING THAT WAS IN THE REALM OF A DEMONSTRATION OR A PUBLIC OUTREACH SORT OF PROJECT AROUND GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE, WHETHER IT'S RAIN GARDENS OR OTHER THINGS WE MIGHT CONSIDER IS ONE THING THAT WE MIGHT LOOK AT.

YEAH, OTHER COMMENTS OR THOUGHTS? ROSE? SORRY, I HAD TO UNMUTE MYSELF JUST FOLLOWING WHAT BILL SAYS, I AGREE.

[00:10:03]

I THINK ONE REASON THAT THE TREE PLANTING HAS BEEN SO SUCCESSFUL IS THAT IT'S RIGHT THERE FOR ALL THE STUDENTS AND EVERYBODY WHO'S GOING TO SCHOOL TO SEE.

AND, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF STUDENTS TOOK PART IN THAT.

I'VE BEEN THINKING A LOT ABOUT GREEN ROOF BECAUSE THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S NOT A PART OF OUR CODE YET.

BUT MAYBE IF WE COULD DO A GREEN ROOF PROJECT INVOLVING THE STUDENTS AT ONE OF THE SCHOOLS OR ONE OF THE SITES THERE, THAT MIGHT BE JUST ONE WAY TO DIRECT THAT IDEA.

YEAH. OTHER IDEAS OR THOUGHTS? THIS IS KIND OF OPEN SEASON, SO I LIKE BOTH THE IDEAS THAT HAVE BEEN THROWN OUT SO FAR.

OTHER IDEAS. NED, GO AHEAD.

YEAH, WELL, I MEAN, WE'VE BOUNCED THIS AROUND MANY TIMES AND WE SORT OF TRIED TO GET INFORMATION AND SO FORTH, BUT, YOU KNOW, THE ISSUE OF POROUS PAVEMENT AS A KIND OF STANDARD PRACTICE FOR WHENEVER A BUSINESS IS MAKING A PARKING LOT, THAT KIND OF THING, I FEEL AS THOUGH WE STILL HAVEN'T FOUND A WAY TO SOMEHOW MAKE THE INFORMATION AVAILABLE AND ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO AT LEAST INCLUDE THAT.

THE POSSIBILITIES IN THEIR THOUGHT PROCESSES, WHENEVER THEY'RE DESIGNING THESE THINGS AND JUST SORT OF FOR MY OWN INFORMATION, AND PARTLY BECAUSE OUR TINY LITTLE POSTAGE STAMP OF A DRIVEWAY IS SLOWLY FALLING APART ANYWAY.

I ACTUALLY JUST CALLED UP A PAVING COMPANY THE OTHER DAY, IT'S ONE OF THE MOST ONES I SEE CITED MOST OFTEN IN THE CONCRETE AS I DRIVE AROUND.

ANYWAY, AS I JUST SAID, WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK ABOUT POROUS PAVEMENT? AND THEY BASICALLY JUST SAID, OH, IT'S A TOTAL WASTE OF TIME.

YOU KNOW, THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE.

FORGET IT. YOU KNOW, IT HAS TO BE VACUUMED AND ALL THESE THINGS.

AND I MEAN, SO AS WITH ANY SORT OF ENTRENCHED SET OF PRACTICES, I JUST FEEL AS THOUGH IT'S VERY EASY FOR PEOPLE TO NOT.

KEEP THESE THINGS IN MIND, AND YET THERE ARE PLACES AND THERE ARE PRACTICES THAT AT LEAST SOME PEOPLE HAVE FOUND WAYS TO USE IN A PRACTICAL WAY, AND I FEEL AS THOUGH THAT'S AN OPTION, AN OPPORTUNITY THAT THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION, YOU KNOW, IF WE COULD HELP PEOPLE SIMPLY FIND RESOURCES TO EVALUATE THOSE KINDS OF THINGS AND WE'VE GOT A HECK OF A LOT OF NON-POROUS SURFACE IN THIS TOWNSHIP, AND WE ARE CERTAINLY NOT MOVING IN THE DIRECTION OF DECREASING IT, THOUGH, I REALLY WISH THAT WE HAD I MEAN, IT'S SORT OF THE SAME CONCEPTUAL PHILOSOPHICAL IDEA AS THE GREEN ROOF.

I LIKE THAT IDEA, TOO.

BUT THERE'S A LOT OF PAVEMENT.

AND IF WE COULD HAVE MUCH MORE OF IT FOR US, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.

AND PEOPLE SAY, OH, WELL, WINTER, IT FREEZES [INAUDIBLE] AND STUFF LIKE THAT.

BUT I KNOW OF PLACES THAT ARE PAVED AND POROUS.

LIKE, FOR EXAMPLE, THE PARKING LOT OF THE MEETINGHOUSE UP ON TURNER ROAD, TURNER DRIVE, THE QUAKER MEETING HOUSE, THAT'S JUST A TINY LITTLE PARKING LOT.

THAT ONE'S NOT POROUS ASPHALT.

ITS BLOCKS EMBEDDED IN SAND AND GRAVEL, BUT THEY'RE EMBEDDED DEEP.

AND SO IT'S BEEN THERE FOR SEVERAL YEARS AND IT STILL SEEMS FLAT TO ME.

ALL I'M SAYING IS I FEEL LIKE WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IT A LOT OF TIMES AND WE HAVEN'T REALLY FOUND WAYS TO HELP PEOPLE BUILDING A HOUSE OR PAVING A ROAD OR WHATEVER TO ACCESS THAT INFORMATION. ROSE.

WELL, TAKING THAT IDEA, COULD WE MAYBE DO A CASE STUDY, COULD WE MAYBE DO SOME SORT OF EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH AGAIN AT THE SCHOOL? COULD WE MAYBE SET SOMETHING UP THAT OR WE DID A FEW DIFFERENT TYPES OF PAVEMENT ALL NEXT TO EACH OTHER, AND THEN OVER THE COURSE OF TIME, IT COULD BE USED AS A RESOURCE FOR PEOPLE TO CHECK IT OUT. BUT IT COULD ALSO BE A WAY FOR STUDENTS TO LEARN ABOUT.

THOSE DIFFERENT PRACTICES AND MATERIALS, I DON'T KNOW, THAT'S A STRETCH, BUT-- NO, NO, I LOVE THAT IDEA BECAUSE OF COURSE, THAT'S YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ARE JUST LEARNING TO DRIVE AND THEY'RE PAYING ATTENTION TO, YOU KNOW, I'M TAKING MY CAR TO SCHOOL.

SO THEY'RE GOING TO BE PARKING IN DIFFERENT PLACES.

SO, YEAH, IF YOU HAD SORT OF LITTLE TEST TEST ZONES AND YOU LOOKED AT HOW THEY PERFORMED OVER THE YEARS, I MEAN, THIS IS EXACTLY YOU WANT TO HAVE YOUNG PEOPLE BE THE ADVOCATES WHO ARE SAYING, LOOK, I KNOW THIS WORKS.

I'VE SEEN IT. I THINK THAT'S A REALLY GREAT IDEA.

[00:15:03]

SO GO AHEAD, LUCA. I HAD A QUESTION FOR ROSE.

SO WHAT SCHOOL? SO ARE WE THINKING HIGH SCHOOL, THE OKEMOS HIGH SCHOOL? YEAH, BECAUSE FOR MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, WE'VE HAD PROBLEMS WITH PARKING IN THE PAST, OR PARKING SPACE, AND SO I DO LIKE OPENING THAT UP TO THE STUDENTS.

I LIKE THAT IDEA, BUT I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHERE WE WOULD WANT TO PUT THAT, BECAUSE IF IT DID CAUSE PROBLEMS TO THE PARKING LOT, AS IN, THAT NED STATED THAT, LIKE, IF SOMETHING CRACKED OR WHATNOT OR DIDN'T WORK DURING THE WINTER, LIKE WHAT WOULD WE DO BECAUSE WE'RE STRUGGLING ALREADY ON PARKING SPACES.

WHAT DO YOU THINK WE COULD DO TO COMBAT THAT? I THINK THAT IT COULD ALSO TAKE PLACE OVER AT CHIPPEWA, WHERE THEY HAVE THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE KIND OF [INAUDIBLE] RIGHT NOW.

AND IT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE ANYBODY'S MAYBE I'M WRONG, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE THOSE TENNIS COURTS ARE KIND OF OVERGROWN AND NOT IN USE.

SO MAYBE IT'S MAYBE IT'S NOT DIRECTLY WHERE PEOPLE ARE PARKING BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW.

I MEAN, I AGREE WITH YOU. MAYBE IT WILL POSE SOME SORT OF HAZARD.

MAYBE IF WE POUR SOME THINGS THAT DON'T GO WELL, MAYBE WE DON'T WANT PEOPLE ACTUALLY PARKING ON THEM. BUT IT DOES SEEM LIKE OVER AT CHIPPEWA, I COULD BE WRONG, BUT IT DOES APPEAR THAT THERE'S SOME UNUSED, OVERGROWN SPACE THERE.

YEAH, I HAVE, MY BASEBALL FIELD IS RIGHT NEXT TO THAT, SO I WALK THROUGH THERE A LOT, SO I PROBABLY NOTICE ONE TENNIS PLAYER EVERY MONTH OR SO PLAYING THERE.

AND WE HAVE WE HAVE TENNIS COURTS AT THE HIGH SCHOOL KINAWA AND CHIPPEWA.

AND SO THE KINAWA AND CHIPPEWA ONES, ARE BOTH IN DISREPAIR.

I THINK KINAWA GOT REPAIRED, BUT CHIPPEWA WAS THE ONE I NOTICED THE LEAST.

SO I REALLY LIKE THAT IDEA.

CAN'T WE JUST GET THE ZOMBIES TO KEEP ON PUTTING HOLES IN THE GROUND AND TO MAKE SURE THAT THE DRAINAGE WORKED? IF THEY START A SUBCOMMITTEE.

ZOMBIE SUBCOMMITTEE [LAUGHTER].

NO, BUT MAYBE THIS IS A NATURAL EXTENSION OF THE TREE TEAM, I MEAN, I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS SOMETHING THAT THE TREE TEAM IS GOING TO TAKE ON JUST SO WE DON'T EAT UP A BUNCH OF TIME RIGHT NOW.

WELL, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT'S AN EXCELLENT IDEA BECAUSE IT'D BE USEFUL, I THINK, FOR US TO HAVE SOME TIME BETWEEN THIS MEETING AND THE NEXT ONE JUST FOR PEOPLE TO GIVE IT SOME THOUGHT AND MAYBE COME UP WITH SOME OTHER IDEAS.

BUT IN ORDER TO MOVE THIS THING ALONG AND WHAT'S BEEN THROWN OUT, I THINK IT SOUNDS INTERESTING TO ME AND PROMISING, AND IF A FEW OF YOU WOULD LIKE TO KIND OF DO SOME RESEARCH ON THAT CONCEPT YOU'VE JUST BEEN DISCUSSING BETWEEN NOW AND THE NEXT MEETING, THAT WOULDN'T PRECLUDE OTHER IDEAS, BUT AT LEAST KEEPS US MOVING, KIND OF MAYBE FIGURING OUT SOME OF THE PRACTICALITIES OF WHAT'S ALREADY BEEN SUGGESTED.

NED AND ROSE, IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU TWO WOULD BE THE CORE OF A COMMITTEE.

DOES THAT SOUNDS GOOD TO THE TWO OF YOU? DO YOU HAVE THE TIME? BEING AN ACADEMIC TYPE, I ALWAYS LIKE TO, YOU KNOW, PULL UP READING MATERIAL.

THE PROBLEM IS I'M VERY BAD AT SUMMARIZING IT AND REPORTING IT BECAUSE ONCE I'VE READ IT, I FEEL LIKE, WELL, YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT.

SO, YES, I WANT TO BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION.

I'M NOT SURE I WANT TO BE A PART OF REPORTING ON IT.

BUT YES, I'D BE HAPPY TO DO SOME POKING AROUND.

IN FACT, I JUST FOUND A REPORT FROM 2015 BY MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION THAT SAYS PERMEABLE PAVEMENTS IN COLD CLIMATES, STATE OF THE ART AND COLD CLIMATE CASE STUDIES. I MEAN, I READ IT.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT SAYS, BUT I HOPE IT COMES UP WITH SOME POSITIVE MESSAGES.

BUT, YOU KNOW, THIS KIND OF STUFF.

IN ADDITION TO NED AND ROSE, DOES ANYBODY WOULD LIKE TO JOIN THE POKING AROUND TEAM TO SEE WHAT YOU CAN COME UP WITH, ANYBODY WANT TO? WE DON'T HAVE TO HAVE MORE THAN TWO, BUT I DON'T SEE ANY-- I WOULD BE HAPPY TO TO CHIME IN.

WHEN WE WERE WORKING ON THE GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE MAP THAT PHIL, OR THAT CLIFF INSPIRED.

THERE WERE A FEW EXAMPLES OF PERMEABLE PAVEMENT ALREADY IN THE TOWNSHIP, SOME WITH NOT SO GREAT EXPERIENCE, BUT I'D BE HAPPY TO SHARE SOME OF THAT.

I ALSO WANTED TO JUST BRIEFLY MENTION THAT I RAN INTO EMMA TODAY AND SHE MENTIONED THAT THE DITCHES IN FRONT OF THE FARMER'S MARKET ARE THERE'S NO REAL PLAN FOR THOSE.

AND THEY MIGHT BE A NICE DEMONSTRATION AREA FOR FOR A RAIN GARDEN OR SOME OTHER TYPE OF

[00:20:02]

OK, IT SOUNDS LIKE WELL, ROSE AND NED AND LEROY, DO YOU WANT TO HAVE A SHORT MEETING BETWEEN NOW AND THE NEXT MEETING JUST TO KIND OF CHEW OVER THIS IDEA OF THE THE SCHOOL PROJECT WITH THE POROUS PAVEMENT, OR DO YOU WANT TO JUST KIND OF DO SOME SEARCHING AROUND AND THEN JUST THE THREE OF YOU REPORT BACK TO US? I COULD BE UP FOR A MEETING FOR 20 MINUTES OR HALF AN HOUR.

I ALSO DO I STILL WANT TO PUSH MY IDEA OF THE OF LOOKING INTO GREEN ROOF TOO.

OK, BUT YEAH, I THINK IF WE HAVE A FEW LEROY HAS JUST THROWN IN ANOTHER IDEA OF A RAIN GARDEN NEAR THE FARMER'S MARKET.

IF WE HAVE A FEW IDEAS TO KIND OF TOSS AROUND NEXT MEETING, I THINK THAT WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL AND WOULD KIND OF MOVE THIS PROCESS ALONG PRETTY QUICKLY.

BUT LEROY, DO YOU HAVE SOME EXPERIENCE.

OR DO YOU NEED TO TALK MORE TO EMMA ABOUT THE RAIN GARDEN IDEA OR IS THAT SOMETHING THAT COULD BE EXPLORED OR? YEAH, I WILL JUST OTHER PEOPLE MAY HAVE HEARD ABOUT THIS CONCEPT AS WELL, BUT CERTAINLY, LUANNE.

THE GRAND OPENING WAS TODAY FOR THE FARMERS MARKET.

SOME OF YOU MAY HAVE BEEN THERE.

AND SO THERE'S A LOT OF ATTENTION ON THE FARMERS MARKET.

THIS MIGHT BE NATURAL.

SO PERHAPS IF FOLKS COULD FORWARD, I DON'T KNOW IF THE SUBCOMMITTEE WANTS TO TAKE ON THE ENTIRE PROJECT, BUT WE COULD START TO COLLECT IDEAS AND GO THROUGH THEM, AS WE DID EARLIER WITH THE FIRST PROJECT.

I'D BE HAPPY TO TO TAKE IDEAS AND ASSEMBLE THEM FOR OUR DISCUSSION NEXT TIME.

GO AHEAD.

LEROY, WOULD YOU FACILITATE A MEETING BETWEEN NOW AND THEN, AT LEAST BETWEEN YOU AND NED AND ROSE. SURE.

OTHER THOUGHTS OR COMMENTS? JIM? RAIN GARDEN IDEA IS PRETTY ATTRACTIVE TO ME.

I WAS INVOLVED IN DIRECTLY WITH THE INGHAM COUNTY DRAIN COMMISSION WHEN THEY WERE DOING THE [INAUDIBLE] GARDEN.

AND SO WE'VE GOT.

IT'S BEEN ABOUT 10 YEARS NOW.

10 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE THERE AT THE [INAUDIBLE] AREA THAT WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO PULL SOME INFORMATION, OR PERHAPS GET THE DRAIN COMMISSION TO GIVE US SOME PERSPECTIVE ON WHAT HAPPENED OR DIDN'T HAPPEN.

THERE'S THAT INFORMATION AVAILABLE.

PUT A PLACE MARKER IN.

THERE WERE DISCUSSIONS ABOUT TREE PLANTING AT BOTH HIGH SCHOOLS, AND MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT BECAUSE OF THE PARKING LOT RENOVATION AND OTHER BIG PROJECTS GOING ON IN HASLETT.

THERE WAS LESS ENERGY THERE.

SO THE EFFORTS GOT CONCENTRATED AT OKEMOS.

AND AS WE MOVE FORWARD, I JUST WANTED TO REMIND US THAT WE WANT TO KEEP A BALANCED PERSPECTIVE, THAT'S ALL.

RIGHT. PHIL, GO AHEAD.

YEAH, I'M GLAD YOU BROUGHT THAT UP, BILL, ABOUT HASLETT.

WE THAT WE DON'T WANT TO SEEM LIKE WE ARE FLOODING THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE TOWNSHIP, BUT, YOU KNOW, I KNOW VERY LITTLE ABOUT RAIN GARDENS, BUT MY GUESS IS THEY'RE VERY LABOR INTENSIVE TO CONSTRUCT, AND SO THE IDEA OF INVOLVING STUDENTS IN THEM, IT'S A GREAT IDEA BECAUSE THEY HAVE A LOT OF ENERGY AND A LOT OF OFTEN MORE TIME AND ENTHUSIASM FOR IT.

IF WE DID THAT AND WE HAD MAYBE A COMPETING RAIN GARDENS ONE IN OKEMOS, AND ONE IN HASLETT AND LET THE SCHOOLS COMPETE.

IT COULD BE A GREAT WAY TO BUILD SOME SCHOOL IDENTITY.

WHEN YOU INVOLVE STUDENTS, YOU CAN THEN INVOLVE SERVICE CLUBS THAT LOVE TO FUND STUDENT PROJECTS. I KNOW [INAUDIBLE] DOES; I KNOW THE ROTARY DOES, WHERE WE COULD POSSIBLY TAKE THIS TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS AND LEVERAGE IT FOR CONSIDERABLY MORE BY USING THAT AS THE STARTING MONEY AND THEN CHALLENGING THE STUDENTS TO GO OUT AND GET ADDITIONAL FUNDING THAT THEY NEED TO FOR THESE DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.

WELL, CERTAINLY THE ROUNDABOUT ON BURCHAM DRIVE THAT LEROY KIND OF INITIATED, I KNOW HAD A LOT OF STUDENT LABOR, WHICH WAS VERY HELPFUL FOR THAT RAIN GARDEN WHERE PARK LAKE AND

[00:25:01]

AND WHILE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT STUDENTS, I WANT TO THANK LUCA FOR YOUR BEING PART OF THE TREE INITIATIVE AND BRINGING A LOT OF YOUR FRIENDS WITH YOU ON ON SATURDAY, YOU GUYS AND GIRLS DID A LOT OF THE HEAVY LIFTING AND WORK, AND WE DID ACCOMPLISH A LOT ON SATURDAY, AND IT WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE WITHOUT THAT GREAT STUDENT REPRESENTATION WE HAD.

SO THANK YOU, LUCA, FOR THE RECRUITMENT EFFORTS.

YEAH, IT WAS IT WAS A LITTLE HARD BECAUSE ACTION, THEY'RE KIND OF THING FOR OKEMOS, THEY HAVE THAT ACTION THEY WEREN'T ALLOWED TO DO FOR CORONAVIRUS.

THEY WEREN'T ALLOWED TO GO TO ORGANIZED GROUPS.

SO I KIND OF HAD TO CONTACT A LOT MORE PEOPLE BECAUSE I COULDN'T HAVE ACTION SEND OUT A BIG EMAIL.

WELL, YOU CLEARLY SUCCEEDED.

SO GOOD WORK. WELL, WE GOT THREE GOOD IDEAS ON THE TABLE AND MORE MAY BE COMING, SO OTHER THOUGHTS BEFORE WE KIND OF MOVE DOWN THE AGENDA.

AND IF ANYBODY HAS ADDITIONAL IDEAS BEYOND THE THREE THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN SUGGESTED, JUST EMAIL THEM TO LEROY SO WE CAN GET THEM ON THE AGENDA FOR THE NEXT MEETING AND YOU KNOW, WE'LL HAVE SOME KIND OF POKING AROUND BETWEEN NOW AND THEN TO GET MORE SPECIFIC.

THIS WILL BE THE LAST CHANCE FOR ANYBODY TO KIND OF THROW IN SOME IDEAS.

WELL, I DON'T SEE ANY HANDS.

OK, MOVING ALONG TO THE-- WELL, THE GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE AUDIT DIALOG.

[6A. Environmental Review / Green Infrastructure Audit Dialogue]

I'M ASSUMING THAT OUR PURPOSE HERE IS TO KIND OF DO WHAT LEROY SENT OUT WITH THE AGENDA AND AT SOME POINT PASS THIS ALONG TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION FOR THEIR CONSIDERATION.

BUT, LEROY? I GUESS I WOULD INVITE CLIFF, JUST DO A-- FORTY SEVEN SECOND PSA. OBVIOUSLY, THERE'S A LOT OF DEPTH.

I REALLY LIKE THE IDEA THAT MOST OF THE SUGGESTIONS THAT HE HAD SEEMED TO BE PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD AND I AM JUST REALLY THRILLED THAT WE HAVE A SUPPORTIVE GROUP OF TRUSTEES AND BOARD MEMBERS THAT ARE.

I THINK WILLING TO TAKE A SERIOUS LOOK AT WHATEVER WE RECOMMEND AND THAT INCLUDES, YOU KNOW, WE'RE RELYING ON [INAUDIBLE] TO KIND OF GUIDE US HERE.

I'M ALSO EXCITED THE FACT THAT THIS IS OF REGIONAL INTEREST AND THE POTENTIAL FOR PARTNERING WITH OTHER LOCAL JURISDICTIONS.

CLIFF MENTIONED THE LANSING TOWNSHIP, DELPHI TOWNSHIP ARE INTERESTED IN THE SAME THING.

AND WE MIGHT HAVE A STRONGER CASE IF WE'RE JOINING FORCES WITH OTHER MUNICIPALITIES.

IT SEEMS LIKE THIS IS JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG.

I THINK THIS ALSO RELATES TO SOME OF KENDRA'S INTERESTS.

SO, CLIFF, I THINK I TOOK MORE THAN FORTY SEVEN SECONDS SO YOU CAN HAVE AT LEAST 53 SECONDS. THANK YOU.

AND LEROY, YOUR AUDIO IS A LITTLE CHOPPY FOR ME.

SO JUST STOP ME IF YOU CAN'T HEAR ME.

THAT WAS THE ONLY TIME THAT IT WAS LIKE THAT.

SO JUST WAVE IF YOU HAVE PROBLEMS WITH MY MICROPHONE.

SO, YEAH, LIKE LAST TIME WE MET, I TALKED ABOUT THESE RECOMMENDATIONS AND THEY ARE NOT ONLY THE WHAT I WOULD CONSIDER THE LOW HANGING FRUIT, BUT JUST LIKE THE REALISTIC THINGS THAT THE TOWNSHIP CAN PURSUE, BECAUSE A LOT OF THE THINGS RELATED TO THE REGULATED STORMWATER PROGRAM ARE HANDLED BY THE DRAIN OFFICE.

SO YOUR POST CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS, YOUR CONSTRUCTIONS FOR WATER AND ALL THOSE THINGS THAT ARE RELATED TO THAT REALLY TECHNICAL DESIGN STANDARD, YOU HAVE LIMITED JURISDICTION OVER. SO THE FOCUS OF A LOT OF THESE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE PURPOSE STATEMENTS AND MAKING YOUR DESIRES FOR MORE GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE KNOWN, DEFINING WHAT GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE IS, AND THEN OPENING UP BARRIERS TO IMPLEMENTATION JUST WITH SMALL LANGUAGE TWEAKS, I HAVE REPEATED MANY TIMES, BUT SAYING SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS THE LANDSCAPING PLAN CAN BE

[00:30:04]

EITHER THEY'RE GOING TO, YOU KNOW, DICTATE THEIR PLANTING SCHEME BASED OFF OF WHAT THE STANDARDS ARE, NOT THE WORK THAT INTO VEGETATED STORMWATER CONTROL MEASURE, IF THEY DON'T HAVE TO DO SO. JUST BY OPENING THAT UP, YOU MAKE IT A LITTLE MORE LIKELY FOR THEM TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT.

I SAID A LOT OF THE THE HAND IN THE DESIGN STANDARDS AND THE REAL POWER OVER NEW DEVELOPMENT AND REDEVELOPMENT IS COMING FROM THE DRAIN OFFICE, WHICH THEY'RE VERY PRO GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE. OBVIOUSLY, THAT'S THEY'RE KNOWN FOR TAKING A VERY NATURAL PATH.

THAT'S JUST AS FAR AS THIS EXERCISE, THERE'S A LOT OF COMPONENTS OF THAT.

WORK THE AUDIT TOOL THAT ARE JUST NOT APPLICABLE TO THE TOWNSHIP.

SO THESE ARE THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE SECTIONS THAT I FIGURED MAKE SENSE FOR THE TOWNSHIP. LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT.

BUT THEN AGAIN. THESE ARE DECISIONS FOR THIS BOARD AND THIS TOWNSHIP TO MAKE, NOT ME.

THAT'S JUST THE STUFF THAT I CONSIDER FAIRLY DOABLE.

SO I'M JUST CURIOUS, IS ANYONE TAKING A LOOK AT THIS SINCE LAST TIME WE MET, HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? I THINK I MENTIONED LAST TIME I KEPT THE NOTES AND THE IDEAS VERY VAGUE AND JUST KIND OF GENERAL, BECAUSE, LIKE I SAID, THAT'S NOT FOR ME TO DECIDE.

AND PLUS, THERE'S WHEN YOU GET THE ORDINANCES, THERE'S ALL THESE OTHER LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS AND STUFF YOU NEED TO CONSIDER.

SO MY RECOMMENDATIONS ON THAT FRONT ARE PRETTY MINIMAL IN THIS DOCUMENT, BUT THAT'S WHERE I'M HOPING THAT THIS BODY CAN KIND OF OFFER ME GUIDANCE SO I CAN KIND OF HELP FACILITATE THE NEXT STEP OF THIS PROCESS.

ROSE, DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION? NO, WELL, THERE WAS ONE OF THE POINTS WHERE YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT DEEP ROOTED RATHER THAN DOING TURF GRASS, DOING DEEP ROOTED PLANTINGS, DOES THAT JUST MEAN THINGS LIKE WILDFLOWERS AND [INAUDIBLE] AND THAT SORT OF THING, OR WHAT IS MEANT BY DEEP ROOTED PLANTINGS, I GUESS? YEAH, THAT'S-- I SHOULD HAVE BEEN MORE CLEAR.

AND THAT'S WHERE A DEFINITION IN THE CODE WOULD HELP DEFINING THOSE THINGS.

BUT THAT'S-- NATIVE PLANTS ARE, BY NATURE, DEEP ROOTED.

THAT'S WHAT MAKES THEM DROUGHT RESISTANT AND MORE TOLERABLE TO VARYING CONDITIONS BECAUSE THERE IS A LOT, MUCH DEEPER ROOTS THAN YOUR TYPICAL TURF GRASS.

SO, YEAH, THAT'S NOT REALLY-- THAT WASN'T REALLY LIKE A TRUE DEFINITION OF JUST MY SPEECH. I GUESS I SHOULD HAVE BEEN MORE CLEAR.

NO, I MEAN, NATIVE PLANT.

WELL, I'M SO EXCITED, I MEAN, SOME OF THESE I'M JUST LIKE, YES, LET'S DO THIS NOW.

I FEEL LIKE IT'S JUST A COUPLE SIMPLE TWEAKS IN THE LANGUAGE.

SO I GUESS I'M WONDERING, LIKE, HOW DO WE PUSH THIS FORWARD? LIKE, WHAT'S THE NEXT STEP? I WOULD THINK THAT SO--.

I MEAN, AGAIN, ALL THIS IS UP TO YOU, BUT YOU DON'T WANT TO OVERWHELM THE TOWNSHIP BOARD AND THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT WITH A BUNCH OF RECOMMENDATIONS.

YOU CAN KIND OF PUT THIS INTO LIKE A PHASE ONE, PHASE TWO THING, LIKE YOUR FIRST STEP WOULD BE DEFINING GREAT INFRASTRUCTURE.

WHAT IS [INAUDIBLE] ATTENTION? WHAT'RE STORMWATER TREES? WHAT'S [INAUDIBLE]? WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY ALL THIS STUFF IN THE CODE? BUT THEN ALSO ADDING THE LANGUAGE THAT SAYS WE ENCOURAGE THIS AND THAT.

THAT DOESN'T IT'S NOT VERY TECHNICAL.

THAT'S JUST SAYING WE WANT TO SEE GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE.

AND I THINK THOSE PURPOSE STATEMENTS AND THINGS LIKE, YOU KNOW, IF YOU HAVE GOALS FOR LANDSCAPING, LIKE PARKING LOT LANDSCAPING, THE GOALS LISTED CURRENTLY SAY TO PROVIDE SHADE, TO PROVIDE COOLING, AND ALL THAT STUFF, BUT THERE'S NO MENTION OF TO PROVIDE STORMWATER CONTROL.

SO THOSE THINGS ARE VERY EASY.

THEY'RE NOT GOING TO CHANGE THE DYNAMIC OF YOUR CODE IN ANY TECHNICAL WAY.

BUT THEN YOUR FEES DO ASK AFTER YOU PUSH THOSE THINGS THROUGH AND KIND OF WORKSHOP WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE. THE BIGGER TASK WOULD BE THOSE THINGS THAT ARE A LITTLE MORE TECHNICAL, LIKE REDUCING THE AMOUNT OF PARKING AT NEW BUILDS, SAYING YOU NEED LESS PER

[00:35:01]

THOSE THINGS ARE, I WOULD CONSIDER, HAVING YOUR LIST JUST BECAUSE IT'S MORE INVOLVED, NOT MORE IMPACTFUL IN TERMS OF YOUR GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE GOALS, BUT JUST KIND OF MORE-- JUST A BIGGER LIFT, I THINK, THROUGH THAT, MORE TECHNICAL THINGS CHANGING ANYTHING WITH A NUMBER, YOU KNOW, BUT THAT'S JUST SOMETHING I WAS THINKING ABOUT TODAY.

WE KIND OF TALKED ABOUT THIS MORNING AT THE MERIDIAN GREEN TEAM NETWORKING CHAT.

I WAS JUST GOING TO THINK, IF YOU WANT TO SPLIT UP AND DO THIS KIND OF A PHASED THING, I THINK THE NATURAL FIRST STEP WOULD BE THESE MORE PURPOSE [INAUDIBLE].

YOU KNOW, THAT SOUNDS LIKE A GOOD STRATEGY TO ME.

WHAT LEROY SET OUT, WHAT YOU PREPARED, IS IT A MIX OF PHASE ONE AND PHASE TWO ACTIONS, OR IS IT REALLY KIND OF PHASE ONE ACTIONS? I WOULD SAY THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF MAYBE PHASE TWO IN THERE, BUT MOST MOSTLY PHASE ONE.

AND THEN I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'VE TAKEN A LOOK AT THE ACTUAL AUDIT TOOL.

LIKE THE RESPONSES IN THAT SPREADSHEET.

A LOT OF THAT STUFF THAT I EXCLUDED WOULD BE EITHER PHASE TWO OR JUST NOT APPLICABLE TO THE TOWNSHIP, AS I UNDERSTAND IT, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT I COULDN'T HAVE MISSED SOMETHING. BUT IF I THINK THAT THAT'S WORTH A LOOK AT THIS OTHER COMPONENT OF THIS PROCESS, WHICH IS THAT SPREADSHEET, BUT THE EASIEST FIRST PASS, I THINK, WOULD DEFINITELY BE THE MAJORITY OF STUFF ON THIS WORD DOCUMENT.

SO IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU'RE SUGGESTING THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU COULD GO BACK AND KIND OF WEED OUT THE PHASE TWO RECOMMENDATIONS AND MAKE IT STRICTLY A PHASE ONE DOCUMENT.

AND WE COULD PASS THAT ALONG TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION.

AND LIKE YOU SAID, IT WOULD BE A RELATIVELY EASY TASK IN THE LARGER SCHEME OF THINGS TO GET US STARTED. YEAH, I DEFINITELY THINK SO.

I WOULD RECOMMEND THAT PATH, BUT YOU GUYS KNOW YOU'RE PLANNING COMMISSION AND YOUR BOARD MUCH BETTER THAN I DO, BUT--.

COMMISSION. YEAH, YEAH.

WELL, WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT DOWN IN THE WEEDS ABOUT THIS THIS MORNING.

BUT AT THE MOMENT, THE PLANNING COMMISSION IS WORKING ON BOTH FORM BASED CODE, WHICH IS FOCUSED ON VERY SMALL BITS OF THE TOWNSHIP AND THE MIXED USE PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT ORDINANCE, WHICH IS FOCUSED ON A SLIGHTLY BIGGER PORTION OF THE TOWNSHIP.

SO. THESE SUGGESTIONS ARE RELEVANT TO BOTH OF THOSE ON ONGOING DISCUSSIONS.

I THINK YOU'RE RIGHT, JOHN, THAT FOCUSING ON THE DEFINITIONAL ASPECTS AS A SORT OF A FIRST STEP MAKES A LOT OF SENSE.

AND OUR FIRST CRACK AT THAT WAS THE INPUT WE HAD TO THE CHANGE IN THE HIGH GRASS ORDINANCE WHERE WE WERE TRYING TO SUGGEST THAT CERTAIN THINGS COULD BE EXEMPTED, BUT WE HADN'T REALLY CHEWED OVER WHICH THINGS MIGHT BE EXEMPTED FROM THIS SIX INCHES OR EIGHT INCHES REGULATION. AND I THINK DIGGING INTO THAT MAKES A LOT OF SENSE, WHETHER IT'S ABOUT SPECIES OR ABOUT THE DEPTH OF THE ROOTS OR HOWEVER IT IS WE GO ABOUT DOING THAT, FIGURING OUT WHAT WHAT SORT OF VEGETATION WE THINK IN THIS AREA WE WANT TO BE ENCOURAGING AS A SORT OF A POLICY POINT BEFORE GETTING DOWN INTO THE DETAILS.

MAKES A LOT OF SENSE TO ME. OTHER THOUGHTS, COMMENTS? I DON'T KNOW IF THIS HAS ALREADY BEEN DONE OR IF THIS IS ANOTHER ANGLE THAT COULD OCCUR SIMULTANEOUSLY OR SHOULD BE PUT OFF TO ANOTHER TIME, BUT IN CHATTING WITH KENDRA, THERE'S A LOT ALREADY IN OUR EXISTING CODE OF ORDINANCES THAT IS NOT WELL UNDERSTOOD AND THAT COULD BE MAYBE BETTER ENFORCED OR COULD BE BETTER DESCRIBED BEYOND JUST THE 700 PAGE DOCUMENT THAT NINETY NINE PERCENT OF THE POPULATION DOESN'T HAVE A CLUE ABOUT.

AND I'M JUST WONDERING IF THERE MIGHT BE SORT OF A KIND OF CODE OF ORDINANCES FOR DUMMIES OR THAT'S NOT THE RIGHT WORD, BUT SOMETHING THAT SIMPLIFIES SOME OF THE KEY AREAS THAT

[00:40:01]

SOME OF THOSE AREAS THAT ARE ALREADY IN THERE THAT COULD BE JUST BETTER DEFINED AND MORE ACCESSIBLE TO PEOPLE.

AND THIS IS MAYBE OPENING UP, GETTING A LITTLE FURTHER INTO THE WEEDS THAN WE WANT TO IN THIS MEETING, NO PUN INTENDED.

BUT I JUST WANT TO INVITE KENDRA TO HER 30 SECOND, IF YOU WANT TO ECHO THAT OR IF ANYBODY WANTS TO ADDRESS THAT COMMENT.

IT SEEMS TO BE RELATED.

LET ME INVITE YOU TO KIND OF JUMP IN.

ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU, EVERYONE.

SO WHAT I LEARNED THROUGH THIS ENTIRE PROCESS, I'M TRYING TO FIND THE [INAUDIBLE] HERE IS THAT THERE ARE THE [INAUDIBLE] IS VERY DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND.

IT'S WRITTEN WITH LOTS OF LEGAL WORDS.

AND I THINK IF WE CAN JUST SIMPLIFY IT AND MAKE IT AT AN EIGHTH GRADE READING LEVEL, PERHAPS WITH SOME DEFINITIONS AND PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS THAT WOULD PROBABLY BE HELPFUL FOR PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT TO DO.

I THINK FOR THE MOST PART, PEOPLE WANT TO DO THE RIGHT THING, MAYBE DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS. AND SO I THINK JUST MAKING IT CLEARER WOULD BE HELPFUL.

AND, YOU KNOW, FROM HEARING WHAT WAS SAID FROM YOU, LORRAINE, KENDRA, IT SOUNDS LIKE A SIGNIFICANT TASK, NEEDLESS TO SAY, TO TAKE ORDINANCES AND KIND OF MAKE THEM READABLE, UNDERSTANDABLE FOR THE GENERAL POPULATION.

AND THAT SOUNDS LIKE THAT'S A RELATED BUT DIFFERENT ACTIVITY THAN WHAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT HERE. SO IT SOUNDS LIKE THAT'S SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE DONE AND MAYBE CAN BE DONE AT THE SAME TIME.

BUT IT'S CERTAINLY DIFFERENT THAN THE KIND OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE AUDIT, PHASE ONE RECOMMENDATIONS KIND OF MOVING AHEAD.

LET ME THROW OUT THE IDEA THAT, UNLESS ANYBODY HAS FURTHER THOUGHTS, THIS MAKES SENSE TO ME THAT MAYBE WE SHOULD KIND OF FORMALLY APPROVE THE IDEA THAT CLIFF SHOULD GO AHEAD AND DO A LITTLE EDITING TO COME UP WITH SOME PHASE ONE RECOMMENDATIONS, AND THEN I WOULD GUESS THAT A GOOD WAY TO COMMUNICATE THOSE IS TO BASICALLY PASS THEM ON TO BILL, SINCE HE'S ON THE PLANNING COMMISSION AND HE CAN KIND OF INTRODUCE THEM AT THE APPROPRIATE PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING.

DOES THAT SOUND RIGHT OR WHAT DO PEOPLE THINK? CLIFF, LEROY, BILL.

THAT SOUNDS GOOD.

I GUESS WHAT--? THIS IS A QUESTION FOR BILL, HOW DEVELOPED DO RECOMMENDATIONS NEED TO BE TO TO GO THE PLANNING COMMISSION OR WOULD IT BE APPROPRIATE TO SEND THESE, LIKE, GENERAL IDEAS, HEY, WE WANT TO DO THIS TYPE OF THING? DID YOU GUYS FIGURE OUT HOW TO ACTUALLY GET THE LANGUAGE, YOU KNOW, SUITABLE FOR AN ORDINANCE? I GUESS SHOULD I COME UP WITH SOME MODEL LANGUAGE OR SOMETHING? OR IS THAT SOMETHING THAT DOES NOT [INAUDIBLE]? YEAH, I HESITATE TO ASK YOU TO INVEST MORE TIME WITHOUT A CLEAR SIGN FROM THE PLANNING COMMISSION THAT THAT WOULD BE APPEAR ON AGENDA.

BECAUSE AS I SAY, WE'RE ALREADY LOOKING INTO THE MUPUD AND [INAUDIBLE] CODE, SO EXPANDING THE REACH INTO THE WEEDS OF THE GENERAL CODE WILL-- COULD BE SEEN AS CHALLENGING, BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, IF IT'S POSED AS A SORT OF FIRST STEP DEFINITIONAL EXERCISE, THAT COULD THEN INFORM THE [INAUDIBLE] CODE AND MUPUD AND THE GENERAL CODE, I THINK THAT WOULD BE WELCOME.

SO I'M WILLING TO PUT THAT TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION AT OUR NEXT MEETING.

AND IF THEY GIVE THE GREEN LIGHT TO CONSIDERING THAT KIND OF DEFINITIONAL DISCUSSION WITH SOME MODEL LANGUAGE, THEN IT WOULD MAKE SENSE FOR ME FOR CLIFF TO INVEST MY ENERGY IN THAT. WELL, LIKE LEROY MENTIONED, MY DREAM FOR THIS IS FOR IT TO BE A REGIONAL THING OR AT LEAST HAVE SOME REGIONAL IMPACT THAT EMERGE OUT OF THIS EXERCISE.

[00:45:03]

ALL THIS CONSTRUCTION DESIGN STANDARDS, GOOD HOUSEKEEPING, POLLUTION PREVENTION MANUALS.

THERE'S A HISTORY OF THAT GROUP TAKING THESE THINGS ON AS A REGION AND THIS FALLS IN LINE WITH THAT. IN THIS DEFINITIONAL STUFF, THIS PHASE ONE TYPE OF RECOMMENDATIONS WOULD BE THE THINGS THAT WOULD BE ADOPTED REGIONALLY, PRESUMABLY.

YOU KNOW, THAT EVERYONE ELSE HAS SPECIFIC, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE ROAD COMMISSIONS WHO ARE MEMBERS, MICHIGAN STATE, WE HAVE SCHOOL DISTRICTS, WE HAVE TOWNSHIPS, WE HAVE EVERYONE.

SO EVERYONE'S CODE IS GOING TO BE MUCH DIFFERENT IN THEIR JURISDICTION OVER PARTICULAR COMPONENTS OF STORMWATER AND [INAUDIBLE] STRUCTURE WILL VARY.

BUT THE THING IS, LIKE A DEFINING [INAUDIBLE] RETENTION OR WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY STORMWATER TREE? THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT'RE PRETTY UNIVERSAL AND THEY PROBABLY ALREADY EXIST.

I'M SURE THEY DO. I JUST NEED TO FIND THE KIND OF LIKE THE INDUSTRY STANDARD.

AND I WAS THINKING ABOUT REACHING OUT TO THE AUTHOR OF THIS AUDIT TOOL TO SEE IF SHE HAS ANY KNOWLEDGE OF ANY EXISTING GUIDANCE DOCUMENTS.

SHE'S A PROFESSOR OF PLANNING AT UC DAVIS AND OWNS HER OWN PLANNING COMPANY CONSULTING FIRM. I SAW HER TALK AT A CONFERENCE IN DETROIT.

THAT'S HOW I KEEP THE PROCESS [INAUDIBLE], BUT I THINK SHE WOULD PROBABLY KNOW BETTER THAN ANYONE IF THERE'S ANY EXISTING BOILERPLATE OUT THERE THAT WE COULD USE AS A LAUNCHING POINT.

SO I JUST WANT TO KIND OF FRAME THAT THAT I'M HAPPY TO DIVE IN AND ALL THAT BECAUSE THERE'S GOING TO BE BENEFITS BEYOND THIS PARTICULAR PROJECT.

WELL, BILL, WOULD YOU KNOW FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE, SINCE YOU'RE KIND OF CARRYING THIS INFORMATION TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION, WOULD YOU LIKE A MOTION OR WOULD YOU LIKE TO JUST KEEP THIS MORE INFORMAL WHERE THE IDEA IS THAT WE SEE THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION AND CHATTED ABOUT THIS STUFF WE THOUGHT IT WAS WORTH PURSUING AND THAT HERE IT IS OR IF YOU'D LIKE IT MORE FORMAL, MAYBE YOU COULD MAKE A MOTION THAT IT KIND OF BRIEFLY DESCRIBES WHAT THE TWO OF YOU PLAN TO DO.

I THINK A FORMAL RESOLUTION OR MOTION WOULD BE PREMATURE AT THIS TIME.

I WAS GOING TO JUST PUT A LITTLE CODA ON WHAT CLIFF WAS SAYING, THAT I BELIEVE THE AUDIT TOOL WE'RE USING IS FROM THE WISCONSIN [INAUDIBLE].

AND I DID COME ACROSS EARLIER THIS WEEK KIND OF A RELATED DOCUMENT FROM THE MICHIGAN SEA GRANT. SO THERE'S ALSO MSU RESOURCES AND EXPERTISE LOOKING INTO THIS ISSUE.

AND I THINK IT COULD BE USEFUL TO BRING THAT PERSPECTIVE IN.

BUT MY INTENTION AT THIS POINT IS TO GET A SHOW OF HANDS, CALL FROM THE PLANNING COMMISSION IF THEY'RE WILLING TO CONSIDER A RESOLUTION COMING FROM THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION ON THIS TOPIC.

AND IF THERE IS A POSITIVE SHOW OF SUPPORT WITH SOME SORT OF A SENSE OF A TIMELINE, THEN WE CAN GIVE THAT MESSAGE TO CLIFF TO INVEST.

OKAY, SOUNDS GOOD. OTHER THOUGHTS OR COMMENTS? JUST TO FOLLOW UP ON THIS IDEA THAT THERE'S ALREADY A LOT IN THE CODES THAT WE DON'T UNDERSTAND OR ARE NOT PROPERLY ENFORCING OR COULD BE MORE ACCESSIBLE, THAT I'M WILLING TO, I KNOW KENDRA'S EXPERIENCE IS WITH WETLANDS.

IF THERE WAS SOME SORT OF A HANDOUT, MAYBE CLIFF ALREADY HAS SOMETHING LIKE THIS.

I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF GOOD RESOURCES ON HIS WEBSITE THAT WE COULD PACKAGE THAT MIGHT HELP PEOPLE WHO ARE LIVING NEXT TO WETLANDS OR JUST WANT TO KEEP THAT CONVERSATION GOING ABOUT HOW WE CAN MAKE THAT INFORMATION MORE ACCESSIBLE, TELL PEOPLE GENTLY WHAT THEY CAN AND CAN'T DO AND SIMULTANEOUSLY ENCOURAGING MORE GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE IN NEIGHBORHOODS.

SO THIS IS SOMETHING WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT FOR MONTHS.

BUT IF YOU HAVE THOUGHTS ON HOW THAT COULD MOVE FORWARD OR HOW WE COULD WORK WITH YOU, TRI-COUNTY TO SHARE SOME OF THE RESOURCES THAT ARE ALREADY OUT THERE, THAT WOULD BE GREAT. GETTING BACK TO THE GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE RECOMMENDATIONS.

WE'RE GLAD THAT YOU HAVE A RESPONSE TO LEROY ABOUT IS THERE MATERIAL ALREADY THAT EXISTS THAT IT COULD BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE?

[00:50:01]

SO THERE USED TO BE 11 TOPICS THAT WERE REQUIRED.

TOPICS FOR COMMUNITIES TO EDUCATE THEIR CITIZENS ON, WHICH INCLUDED [INAUDIBLE] NEIGHBORING [INAUDIBLE] OWNERS, PEOPLE WHO LIVE ON RIVERS AND ALONG WETLANDS AND STUFF.

THAT WAS DEEMED LIKE FIVE YEARS AGO, NOT REALLY APPLICABLE TO THE MS BOARD PROGRAM.

SO THEY DROPPED THAT AS A REQUIREMENT.

SO THAT WASN'T INCLUDED IN OUR UPDATE.

BUT WE DID LIKE A BIG BROCHURE AND EDUCATIONAL MATERIAL REVAMP.

BUT IT'S NOT VERY INVOLVED.

IT'S NOT SPECIFIC TO YOUR ORDINANCES.

CERTAINLY IT'S MORE JUST GENERAL, LIKE, HEY, WE LIVE NEXT TO A WETLAND OR A CREEK.

IF YOU WANT TO BE ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY, DON'T GO MOW YOUR GRASS ALL THE WAY TO THE SITE, YOU KNOW, LEAVE A BUFFER AND ALL THAT KIND OF VERY BASIC STUFF.

BUT THERE IS DEFINITELY STUFF OUT THERE.

I WOULDN'T BE SURPRISED IF ONE OF THE CONSERVATION DISTRICTS HAS SOMETHING, BUT I CAN DEFINITELY LOOK INTO THAT.

AND I'M HAPPY TO HELP US [INAUDIBLE] TOGETHER, TOO.

LIKE I SAID A FEW TIMES THAT, YOU KNOW, THE [INAUDIBLE] IS REGIONALLY FUNDED, REGIONALLY ORGANIZED, AND THE WHOLE POINT IS THAT EVERYONE'S ON THE SAME PAGE.

AND SO IF THERE'S SOMETHING LIKE THAT THAT YOU GUYS WANT, I'M MORE THAN HAPPY, YOU GUYS ARE PAYING FOR IT. SO JUST LET ME KNOW.

I'M HAPPY TO, AT ANY TIME, HELP WITH STUFF LIKE THIS.

JUST A SIDE NOTE.

BUT YEAH, I'LL TAKE A LOOK AND SEE WHAT IS EXISTING OUT THERE.

AND IF WE CAN'T FIND ANYTHING, I'M HAPPY TO HELP PUT SOMETHING TOGETHER.

ONE THING THAT THIS AUDIT TOOL DID COVER WAS IT'S LIKE ASSIGNING A POINT PERSON TO BE THE GURU FOR QUESTIONS RELATED TO GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE, LIKE IF SOMEBODY HAS A QUESTION ABOUT RAIN BARRELS OR RAIN GARDENS, THERE SHOULD BE A SIGN THAT WOULD HAVE ALL THAT INFORMATION. AND JUST EVERYONE IN THE TOWN SHOULD KNOW, CALL THIS PERSON, AN EMPLOYEE.

AND ALSO INCLUDING SOME SORT OF QUICK GUIDE DOCUMENT OF WHAT-- NOT ONLY DIRECTIONS OF HOW TO INSTALL A RAIN GARDEN, BUT LIKE WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS MORNING AT THE NETWORKING THING, SOME OF THE OUTREACH I DO WHEN I PROMOTE RAIN BARRELS, AN OVERWHELMING NUMBER OF PEOPLE SAY, WELL, I WANT TO DO THAT WHEN IT'S ILLEGAL IN MICHIGAN OR IT'S ILLEGAL IN THE CITY THAT I LIVE IN. AND I, YOU KNOW, LUCKILY WITH FACEBOOK AND STUFF, YOU CAN PUSH BACK AND SAY, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN ENGAGE THEM AND SAY, ACTUALLY, WE'RE DOING THIS BECAUSE WE'RE REQUIRED TO EDUCATE YOU ON THE BENEFITS AND HOW YOU SHOULD--.

[INAUDIBLE] NO ONE IS FORBIDDING YOU FROM INSTALLING A RAIN BARREL, BUT I THINK IT MAY BE BECAUSE THERE'S NOT A WHOLE LOT OF OUTREACH FROM THE COMMUNITY LEVEL LIKE I DO WITH MY REGIONAL FACEBOOK PAGE, HEY DO THIS, BUT IT'S A LITTLE DIFFERENT IF SOMEBODY SAW ON YOUR FACEBOOK PAGE MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP.

DID YOU KNOW AT MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP ENCOURAGE RAIN BARRELS, YOU CAN HAVE AS MANY AS YOU WANT, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE I KNOW THERE'S SOME STATES LIKE OUT IN THE WEST, THERE'S LIMITS LIKE ONE HUNDRED GALLONS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT BECAUSE OF WATER [INAUDIBLE] AND STUFF LIKE THAT. BUT JUST SOME CLARITY, LIKE YOU SAID NOT FOR DUMMIES GUIDE, BUT JUST LIKE THESE HOT TOPICS THAT PEOPLE WANT TO KNOW ABOUT, JUST A LITTLE MORE INFORMATION THAN THEY'D BE ABLE TO PULL OUT OF THE ORDINANCE WITHOUT FALLING ASLEEP TRYING TO READ THE WHOLE THING. SO. THIS MAY BE UNFAIR, BUT IF I GOT ANY SORT OF QUESTION RELATED TO ANY OF THOSE SORTS OF ISSUES, I WOULD DIRECT THEM TO LEROY, AND HE MIGHT NOT KNOW THE ANSWER, BUT HE WOULD PROBABLY AT LEAST GET PEOPLE STARTED AND GET THEM IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.

WOULDN'T THAT BE CORRECT, LEROY? THAT WE WOULD YOU--.

WOULD SAY CALL JOHN [INAUDIBLE].

[LAUGHTER] WELL, THAT [INAUDIBLE].

FOR ENERGY STUFF ANYWAY.

YOU KNOW, I DO THAT ALL THE TIME.

BUT ANYWAY, THANK YOU, CLIFF.

AND THANKS, JOHN.

OK, LET'S SEE.

SHALL WE MOVE RIGHT ALONG WHAT WE'RE UP TO.

ANY FINAL THOUGHTS BEFORE WE MOVE ON? YEAH, YEAH, YEAH.

JUST GETTING BACK TO THE OVERALL DISCUSSION, I JUST WONDERED, WHILE WE'RE WAITING KIND OF FOR A RESPONSE BACK FROM THE PLANNING COMMISSION, IF IT MIGHT BE ADVISABLE OR WORTHWHILE JUST TO SEE A PROPOSED BREAKDOWN BETWEEN KIND OF THE PHASE ONE AND PHASE TWO THAT MAYBE THE COMMISSION COULD LOOK AT AS WELL AGAIN.

[00:55:07]

THE ONE THING I JUST WANT TO STRESS AGAIN IS THAT THESE DECISIONS OF WHAT IS GOOD FOR THE TOWNSHIP AREN'T FOR ME TO DECIDE.

I'M HAPPY TO PUT THAT TOGETHER AND RECOMMEND SOMETHING.

BUT, YOU KNOW, IF YOU GUYS WANT TO DISTILL THAT DOWN AND TAKE A LOOK AND SAY, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE YOU'RE NOT JUST, OH WELL CLIFF SAID IT'S GOOD.

JUST PASS IT ON THROUGH. I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU GUYS ACTUALLY WANT. YEAH, I'M HAPPY TO DO THAT.

I CAN GO BACK THROUGH THAT SPREADSHEET AND KIND OF PULL IN SOME OF THOSE PHASE TWO THINGS THAT ARE WHAT I SEE IS POSSIBLE FOR THE TOWNSHIP, EXCLUDING THE DRAIN COMMISSIONER JURISDICTION AND ALL THAT.

THERE'S A LOT OF BLANK PAGES ON THE AUDIT TOOL BECAUSE [INAUDIBLE] OFFICE JURISDICTION MIGHT PROVIDE SOME IMPETUS IN TERMS OF JUST YES, WE WANT TO INCLUDE GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE IN OUR FUTURE. PROTECTING OUR EXISTING AND EXPANDING, THAT MIGHT MEAN THE STAFF--.

OFTEN TAKE DIRECTION FROM THE TRUSTEES AND MAYBE THERE'S A WAY TO ALSO, AS TOM SAYS, WE CAN KIND OF MOVE FORWARD ON A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT LEVELS AND NOT IN MY PLACE NECESSARILY TO MAKE THE DECISION.

BUT I THINK BOTH COURTNEY AND PHIL AND OTHER TOWNSHIP TRUSTEES HAVE MADE IT PRETTY CLEAR THAT THEY SUPPORT WHAT WE'RE DOING.

AND I DON'T THINK THEY DISAGREE WITH ANYTHING THAT YOU'VE COME UP WITH, CLIFF.

BUT GO AHEAD. AND COURTNEY, IF YOU HAVE OTHER SUGGESTIONS, IF YOU LIKE THE DIRECTION OF THINGS, WE CAN JUST GO WITH THIS PLAN HERE.

I WOULD JUST SAY, IF CLIFF'S WILLING, I DON'T THINK IT WILL GO TO WASTE.

I UNDERSTAND WHAT BILL'S SAYING, THAT, YOU KNOW, THE PLANNING COMMISSION IS WORKING ON A COUPLE OF THINGS RIGHT NOW, BUT WE CAN ALWAYS HAVE A PRESENTATION AT THE BOARD TO GET BOARD DISCUSSION AND TO GET BOARD THOUGHTS.

AND THAT COULD HELP US DIRECT WHICH, YOU KNOW, WHICH DIRECTION OR HOW MUCH EFFORT WE PUT INTO THIS AT THIS POINT.

SO THE BOARD IS ALWAYS WILLING TO LISTEN.

AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, PHIL AND I WOULD CERTAINLY SUPPORT SO--I DON'T WANT TO SPEAK FOR PHIL, BUT WOULD CERTAINLY SUPPORT, YOU KNOW, LISTENING IN AND HEARING WHAT YOU KNOW, WHAT THE STAFF, YOU KNOW, INCLUDING DEREK AND MARK AND AND FRANK, MIGHT HAVE SOME INPUT ON THAT AS WELL. SO I WOULD SUPPORT YOU KNOW, MAYBE I CAN ASK THE SUPERVISOR TO PUT SOMETHING ON THE AGENDA FOR A PRESENTATION.

PHIL DID ASK ABOUT A POTENTIAL PRESENTATION ON THE 20TH OF OCTOBER RELATED TO THE TREE PROJECT. MAYBE THIS COULD BE A NATURAL FIT WITH THAT MIRROR.

MAYBE THAT'S TOO SOON.

BUT ANYWAY.

THANK YOU, COURTNEY. OK, MOVING ALONG.

NOTHING TO REPORT FROM THE CHAIR THAT LEADS US TO THE STAFF REPORT.

[8. STAFF REPORT]

I THINK MY STAFF REPORT WILL COME [INAUDIBLE] THE VARIOUS COMMITTEES.

OBVIOUSLY, THE BIG THINGS ARE THE TREE INITIATIVE AND JUST REAL EXCITED ABOUT THAT.

BUT IT WAS HINTED AT BY PHIL EARLIER.

WE HAD A GREAT DAY.

WEATHER COOPERATED AND GOT 40 LARGE TREES IN THE GROUND, SEVERAL OF YOU WERE THERE.

AND SO I INVITE YOU TO CHIME IN ON THAT.

THIS IS ON OTHER PLACES ON THE AGENDA SO WE CAN COME BACK TO IT.

BUT THEY'RE JUST IT WAS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO BUILD CONNECTIONS WITH THE LOCAL SCHOOLS, BUILD SOME SOCIAL CAPITAL.

I THINK IT OPENED UP THE DOOR FOR FUTURE PROJECTS AND BUILD A STRONG RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CONSERVATION DISTRICT.

AND ALSO SEVERAL OF THE DEPARTMENTS AND THE TOWNSHIP WERE INVOLVED, PARKS.

AND SO IT WAS REALLY NICE TO GET THEM INVOLVED.

LOCAL BUSINESSES, MICHIGAN DEMOLITION AND EXCAVATION.

JUST DID A STELLAR JOB DRILLING THE HOLES AND HELPING MOVE THE TREES OFF THE TRUCK, SO IT WAS JUST A HEARTWARMING EXPERIENCE AND GLAD TO BE PART OF IT.

AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THE SUPPORT OF THE TREE TEAM, NOT JUST IN CONCEIVING OF THE

[01:00:03]

IT ALSO INVOLVED WORK AT THE FARMER'S MARKET.

SO THE GREEN TEAM HELPED DISTRIBUTE TREES IN CONSERVATION DISTRICT, HELPING ABOUT 400 TREES AT THE MARKET.

THAT WAS HAPPENING SIMULTANEOUSLY DURING THE TREE DAY ON SATURDAY, AS WELL.

OUR NEW HUMAN RESOURCE DIRECTOR, ABBY WAS OUT THERE GIVING OUT 100 TREES, HELPING THE CONSERVATION DISTRICT DO THAT.

SO ANYWAY, WE CAN CHIME IN MORE ON THAT.

THE RECYCLING INITIATIVE ALSO SORT OF CAME TO A HEAD THE SATURDAY BEFORE AND SEVERAL OF YOU WERE AT THAT EVENT.

BILL WAS BREAKING DOWN CARDBOARD.

LUCA AND HIS MOM WERE WORKING SIDE BY SIDE UNLOADING CARTS OF ELECTRONICS.

AND AGAIN, ANOTHER HEART WARMING ACTIVITY THAT INVOLVED MULTIPLE JURISDICTIONS, AS WELL AS MULTIPLE GROUPS OF STUDENTS AND OTHER PARTNERS.

SO THANK YOU, EVERYBODY, FOR MAKING THOSE THINGS HAPPEN.

THAT'S REALLY THE BULK OF IT.

WE HAVE STARTED TO CONTACT CONTRACTORS WHO APPLY SEAL COAT AND AS YOU KNOW, THAT ORDINANCE IS NOW IN EFFECT AND.

THE WORD IS GRADUALLY GETTING OUT ON THAT, BUT THAT'S THE KEY ASPECT OF MY UPDATE FOR NOW.

LEROY, THE PAVEMENT ORDINANCE IS IN EFFECT, CORRECT, AND PEOPLE HAVE ALREADY BEEN REGISTERED OR WHATEVER THE PROPER WORD IS, AND APPROXIMATELY HOW MANY WOULD HAVE-- SO NOBODY CAN BE DOING WORK IN THE TOWNSHIP UNTIL THEY ARE REGISTERED.

AND THAT'S HAPPENING GRADUALLY.

NOW THE WORD IS GETTING OUT, IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING? THE TIMING IS NOT OPTIMUM BECAUSE THERE'S ONLY A WEEK OR TWO LEFT IN THE SEAL COAT APPLICANT APPLYING SEASON.

AND MOST OF THE CONTRACTORS HAVE NOT HEARD NECESSARILY ABOUT OUR ORDINANCE, SO IT'S KIND OF A SOFT ROLLOUT.

I DON'T KNOW THAT WE WANT TO BE ENFORCING STRONGLY ENFORCING OUR ORDINANCE UNTIL CONTRACTORS KNOW MORE ABOUT IT.

I'VE CONTACTED ONES THAT HAVE EMAILS, BUT NOT ALL OF THEM DO HAVE EMAIL, SO I'M MORE IN FAVOR OF DOING IT, STARTING THE PASSIVE ENFORCEMENT IN THE FOLLOWING SEASON TRYING TO GET SEAL COAT APPLICATORS REGISTERED DURING THE NEXT FEW MONTHS AND READY FOR NEXT SEASON WHEN THEY FILL UP WITH THEIR NEW MATERIAL.

LEROY, ARE YOU RESPONSIBLE FOR GETTING THE WORD OUT? I'VE HAD SOME HELP FROM DENISE GREEN, BUT SO FAR IT'S JUST BEEN ME AND HOMTV IS ALSO PUT OUT A PRESS RELEASE, BUT HOW MANY CONTRACTORS HAVE SEEN THE PRESS RELEASE IS PROBABLY MINUSCULE. WILL THERE BE AN EFFORT OR WELL, I GUESS THERE IS AN EFFORT ALREADY TO BECAUSE I SAW SOMETHING IN THE AN EMAIL NEWSLETTER TO LET THE WHOLE TOWNSHIP KNOW THAT THIS IS NOW A NEW REQUIREMENT SO THAT THE HOMEOWNERS AND BUSINESSES WILL BE AWARE THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY SHOULD BE LOOKING FOR CONTRACTORS TO DO IT THAT WAY.

YEAH, I THINK ONGOING EDUCATION [INAUDIBLE] AND SO APPRECIATE THE REMINDER ABOUT THAT.

OK. OK.

AND WELL, LET'S MOVE ON TO ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE STUDY GROUP.

[9A. Environmental Justice Study Group]

I'M SORRY ABOUT THAT.

I GUESS I'M WONDERING WHO WOULD LIKE TO BE PART OF THIS GROUP, BECAUSE I HAVE A LOT OF HALF BAKED IDEAS AND I DON'T REALLY KNOW WHERE TO GO WITH THEM.

I DO WANT TO MEET UP WITH COURTNEY AT SOME POINT AND HEAR MORE ABOUT YOUR WORK GROUP, BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE MAYBE I SHOULD TEAM UP WITH YOU.

BECAUSE I GUESS I'M NOT SURE WHO'S WITH ME HERE ON THIS STUFF.

WELL, YOU COULD PUT ME DOWN FOR BEING IN KIND OF IN THE LOOP.

WHO ELSE WOULD LIKE TO BE IN THE LOOP ON THIS? OK, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, THIS DOESN'T HAVE TO BE A GROUP THAT MEETS REGULARLY, I'M JUST NOT

[01:05:01]

AND I THINK IT'S WORTH PUSHING A FEW THINGS FORWARD.

WELL, I JUST SAW BILL RAISE HIS HAND, SO THERE'S--.

I WAS ACTUALLY GOING TO VOLUNTEER.

MAYBE THIS IS AN OFF THE WALL IDEA, BUT I RECENTLY LEARNED THROUGH THE MAGIC OF LINKEDIN THAT CLIFF ACTUALLY HAS A CONSIDERABLE CONNECTION TO INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES IN MICHIGAN AND AROUND ISSUES OF WATER RIGHTS AND ACCESS TO NATURAL RESOURCES.

AND THAT MAY BE AN ISSUE WORTH PURSUING.

I REALLY LIKE THE IDEA OF PARTNERING WITH THE TRUSTEES' INITIATIVE.

OK, WELL, ROSE, GO AHEAD, COURTNEY.

SO, YEAH, I THINK THERE'S SOME OVERLAPPING WORK TO BE DONE, AND ROSE, WE'RE IN THE SAME SPOT, LIKE WE KNOW THAT SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE AND WE'RE AT THIS LIKE, VERY SLOW PACE OF MOVING FORWARD.

SO I FEEL LIKE, YOU KNOW, AT THE TOWNSHIP AS WELL AS THE DEPARTMENT, WE'RE DOING THE SAME THING. SO I THINK MAYBE WHAT WE COULD DO IS AND I WAS GOING TO GIVE AN UPDATE ON THE DEI LATER, BUT MAYBE YOU AND I CAN TALK AND THEN MAYBE I CAN GET YOU IN TOUCH WITH A LITTLE WE CAN HAVE A LITTLE BIT BIGGER GROUP MEETING AND SEE WHERE MAYBE WE COMPLEMENT AS OPPOSED TO NECESSARILY BOTH RIDING SIDE BY SIDE.

SO THAT MIGHT HELP WITH US BOTH HAVING A LITTLE BIT MORE DIRECTION AS WELL.

SO I'M ONE HUNDRED PERCENT WILLING TO DO THAT.

WE CAN FOLLOW UP AFTER THE MEETING.

OK, AWESOME. SO I THINK THAT PROBABLY WE SHOULD MEET AND THEN OR TALK AND THEN HAVE ANOTHER LITTLE MEETING JUST WITH INTERESTED MEMBERS FROM THIS GROUP THAT WE CAN FIGURE OUT WHAT OUR PRIORITIES ARE FOR THIS GROUP.

YEAH? I LIKE THAT, AND I CAN BE A PART OF THAT INITIAL COUPLE OF CONVERSATIONS SO THAT WE HAVE BOTH PERSPECTIVES, YOU KNOW.

SOUNDS LIKE A PLAN. OK, WELL, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT STUDY GROUP, I DON'T REALLY DO WE

[9B. Sustainable Development Study Group]

THIS IS ALL SORT OF RELATED.

THERE COULD BE SOME DEVELOPMENTS THAT WE CAN MODEL OR LEARN FROM AS THEY EVOLVE IN EAST LANSING, SINCE CLIFF IS ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION AND HE CAN KEEP US POSTED ON THOSE OPPORTUNITIES.

YEAH, WE HAVEN'T REALLY MET THAT MUCH, WE'VE HAD ONE TIME SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE PANDEMIC. I THINK WE'RE MEETING NEXT WEEK, THOUGH, SO THERE HASN'T BEEN ANY ACTIVITY.

I THINK THE LAST UPDATE THAT KATHY PROVIDED YOU WOULD BE THE LATEST.

I ACTUALLY FORGET WHERE WE'RE AT WITH IT ANYWAYS BECAUSE IT'S BEEN SO LONG NOW.

BUT, YEAH, I CAN DEFINITELY KEEP YOU POSTED ON THAT AS IT COMES THROUGH.

THANK YOU. I'M SIGNED UP FOR A [INAUDIBLE] IS DOING A WEBINAR ON THE ENERGY CODE, I'M GOING TO PARTICIPATE IN THAT BECAUSE I STILL HAVE AN INTEREST IN SOMEHOW THINKING HOW AN EV READY, OR SOLAR READY CODE OR ORDINANCE MIGHT BE PUT INTO EFFECT.

BUT, YOU KNOW, I WILL ATTEND THAT WEBINAR AND MAYBE IT'LL BE HELPFUL TO US.

[9C. Tree Team]

WELL, NOW, LEROY OR JIM, HAS THE TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS SPENT? HAVEN'T GOTTEN THE FINAL ACCOUNTING.

YEAH, WE'RE WORKING ON THAT, SO WE SHOULD HAVE SOMETHING IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS, BUT LET ME ASK, JUST SINCE I HAVEN'T BEEN INVOLVED IN THE DISCUSSION, SO THE THE FARMERS MARKET ACTIVITY AND CHIPPEWA PLANTING, IS THERE ANY OTHER ACTIVITIES PLANNED OR IS THAT

[01:10:07]

THERE MAY BE A LITTLE BIT OF MONEY LEFT TO DO SOME SIGNAGE, BUT I GUESS WE'LL CROSS THAT BRIDGE WHEN WE COME TO IT.

WELL, YOU KNOW, I'M INTERESTED, ANYBODY ON THE TEAM [INAUDIBLE] YOUR COMMENTS ON ON THE PROJECT OR WHAT YOU THINK MAYBE SHOULD BE DONE IN THE FUTURE.

I WAS IMPRESSED WITH THE QUALITY OF THE PEOPLE THAT CAME OUT.

LUCA, APPARENTLY [INAUDIBLE] A LOT MORE THAN I IMAGINED.

IT WAS A FAR BETTER PROJECT THAN I THOUGH.

A LOT OF LARGE TREES PUT IN.

I THINK WHAT I'VE SEEN JUST A COUPLE OF EMAILS THAT HAVE BEEN PASSED AROUND THAT IT SEEMS THAT THE PEOPLE AT THE LEAST AROUND CHIPPEWA THERE WERE QUITE IMPRESSED WITH WHAT HAPPENED. AND I ONLY HOPE TO BE ABLE TO AND I RATHER SUSPECT THAT MOST OF THE MONEY HAS BEEN COMMITTED, ALTHOUGH, I KNOW LESS THAN LEROY DOES, BUT IT WOULD BE AWFULLY NICE IF WE COULD GET SOME WAY TO GET SOMETHING UP AT THE HASLETT HIGH SCHOOL.

SOMETHING ALONG THERE, TOO, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, AS PEOPLE HAVE SAID, THIS IS A WONDERFUL ENTRANCE [INAUDIBLE] TREES THAT HAVE BEEN PLANTED ALONG THERE.

IT REALLY DOES MAKE THE DIFFERENCE.

AND HOW YOU GOT ALL THOSE PEOPLE, LUCA IS BEYOND ME, BUT, YOU PULLED A RABBIT OUT OF THE HAT, AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED.

I WOULD NOT HAVE BET IF THERE COULD BE THAT MANY PEOPLE [INAUDIBLE].

YEAH, ECHOING EVERYTHING THAT JIM JUST SAID.

I GOT A LATE START THAT MORNING AND I THOUGHT, OH GOODNESS, I'M GOING TO SHOW UP LATE AND THERE'S GOING TO BE ALL THESE TREES TO PLANT.

BUT I GOT DOWN THERE AND THERE WAS A WHOLE ARMY CRAWLING ACROSS THE GROUNDS OF CHIPPEWA AND THEY'D ALL BEEN SIGNED AND THEY'D ALL GOTTEN THEIR ORIENTATION.

THEY'RE ALL RUNNING AROUND AND DOING THINGS.

AND IT WAS JUST A KIND OF A MAGICAL, REALLY ENLIVENING SORT OF EVENT, ESPECIALLY COMING ON THE HEELS OF THE HUGE MOBILIZATION AROUND THE ELECTRONICS RECYCLING EVENT IN THAT SAME PARKING LOT. SO WITHIN JUST A COUPLE OF WEEKS AND NOT REALLY GREAT WEATHER, HAVING SO MANY PEOPLE TURN OUT TO DO THINGS THAT THEY BELIEVE IN IS REALLY ENERGIZING.

BUT THE OTHER THING I WANTED TO UNDERLINE IS THAT, IN ADDITION TO THE NUMBER OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO WERE THERE, THE NUMBER OF CONNECTIONS THAT WERE MADE TO OTHER ORGANIZATIONS AND THE PARTNERSHIPS THAT LEROY WAS ABLE TO CRAFT IS REALLY CRUCIAL.

I MEAN, I DIDN'T COUNT, BUT THERE MUST HAVE BEEN ONE HUNDRED SHOVELS THAT SHOWED UP IN VARIOUS TRUCKS AND TRAILERS AND THINGS AND THE EXPERTISE, THE DEVOTION, THOSE PARTNERSHIPS ARE CRUCIAL.

I HEARD THAT THERE WAS A LITTLE BIT OF, LET ME CALL IT DISCOMFORT WHEN THE BUDGET WENT TO THE TOWNSHIP BOARD AND THERE WAS GOING TO BE SOME EXPENDITURE FOR CONSULTING SERVICES TO INGHAM CONSERVATION DISTRICT.

AND I'VE SAID BEFORE, I THINK THAT WAS AN EXCELLENT INVESTMENT.

AND IF I UNDERSTAND CORRECTLY, LEROY CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG ON THIS, BUT ICD ENDED UP BASICALLY CONTRIBUTING A WHOLE LOT OF TREES, KIND OF MATCHING WHAT THE TOWNSHIP BOARD CONTRIBUTED. SO IF I'VE GOT THAT RIGHT, EITHER WAY, IT TO ME, IT'S MAGNIFICENT AND REALLY ENERGIZING AND ENCOURAGING AND INSPIRING.

YEAH, THEY WERE A BIG PART OF THE NETWORKING AND THE RELATIONSHIP BUILDING, AND THEY HUNG IN THERE TILL THE END AND REMAIN ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT IT.

SO HATS OFF TO MICHELLE B., AS WELL AS IRENE CAHILL, WHO TOOK A LEADERSHIP ROLE AS CITY FORESTER FOR LANSING.

AND SHE CAME THROUGH AS SOMEONE WHO JUST SAW A LOT OF POTENTIAL AND TOOK THE SHOVEL AND WENT TO TOWN WITH [INAUDIBLE] ORIENTATION THE OTHER THING I WAS GOING TO MENTION IS IN OUR DISCUSSION THIS MORNING, CLIFF BROUGHT UP A STATE GRANT MONEY THAT IS AVAILABLE POTENTIALLY TO MATCH SOMETHING THE TOWNSHIP MIGHT WANT TO DO IN THE FUTURE.

THE DEADLINE FOR THIS YEAR JUST PASSED, BUT NOW THAT GIVES US 12 MONTHS TO PLAN FOR.

[01:15:03]

I WOULD REALLY LIKE THAT BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE, AGAIN, IT'LL BE SO SIMPLE TO ACCOMPLISH JUST A MATTER OF, YOU KNOW, THE TIMING REALLY, I FEEL LIKE.

OK, ANYTHING ELSE BEFORE WE MOVE ON?

[10A. Board of Trustees]

I'VE BEEN WAITING ALL NIGHT.

WE DO HAVE A COUPLE OF THINGS, SO I DID WANT TO DO A LITTLE UPDATE ON OUR DIVERSITY EQUITY AND INCLUSION WORKGROUP.

WE HAD OUR FIRST MEETING WITH THE DIRECTORS AT THE TOWNSHIP AND I JUST I WANTED TO SAY I WASN'T SURE HOW EVERYBODY MIGHT PERCEIVE AND/OR RECEIVE THIS INITIATIVE.

AND THERE WAS A LOT OF EXCITEMENT ALREADY AROUND THAT, A LOT OF SUPPORT.

AND QUITE HONESTLY, I'VE LEARNED THAT THERE'S ALREADY A LOT OF WORK BEING DONE AND A LOT OF POLICY ALREADY IMPLEMENTED SPECIFICALLY WITH OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT.

SO BECAUSE OF THAT, WE ONLY GOT ABOUT HALF OF THE DIRECTORS DURING THAT MEETING.

SO WE WILL DO A FOLLOW UP MEETING.

AND IN THE INTERIM, WE WANTED TO DO SOME MORE OF A QUANTITATIVE SURVEY TYPE TO SEE WHERE WE'RE AT IN EACH DEPARTMENT WITH RESPECT TO, YOU KNOW, DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION IN THEIR POLICIES AS WELL AS BELIEFS AND BEHAVIORS.

SO WORKING WITH TRUSTEE JACKSON AND OUR NEW H.R.

DIRECTOR, ABBY, TEED OFF IN DEVELOPING THAT SURVEY.

SO WE IMPLEMENT THAT SURVEY, GET THE RESULTS, AND THEN HAVE A FOLLOW UP MEETING WITH THE DIRECTORS, PRESENT THOSE RESULTS AS WELL AS HEAR FROM THE REMAINDER OF THE DIRECTORS.

SO THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THERE DOES SEEM TO BE A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF SUPPORT AROUND THIS. TO TALK SPEAK A LITTLE BIT TO ROSE'S EFFORTS AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, THIS BIG ENDEAVOR. AND IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN OVERNIGHT.

RIGHT. THIS IS A LONG TERM, YOU KNOW, MOVEMENT AS OPPOSED TO JUST A CONVERSATIONAL CONVERSATION. SO INITIALLY, WE KIND OF DECIDED TO WORK INTERNALLY INITIALLY.

SO WORK WITH OUR STAFF AND THEN MOVE TOWARDS THE COMMUNITY LEVEL.

SO I THINK IT IS A GOOD TIME FOR US TO START TALKING ABOUT THAT, HOW THE COMPONENT PLAYS A PART IN MAYBE NOT SO MUCH INTERNALLY.

SOME DEPARTMENTS IT WILL I MEAN, OUR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, OUR ENGINEERING, THINGS LIKE THAT. BUT THEN MORE YOU KNOW, WHERE IT'S REALLY GOING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IS AT COMMUNITY LEVEL. WE ARE SO VERY JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHERE TO GO NEXT.

BUT WE ARE GOING TO DEVELOP A TASK FORCE, A TRUE TASK FORCE.

AND I THINK IT'S A FANTASTIC ADDITION TO THAT.

AND I KNOW YOU'RE A BUSY, BUSY PERSON.

I WOULD RECOMMEND YOU FOR A POSITION ON THAT BOARD.

SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE MAKING PROGRESSES SLOW, BUT WE WANT IT TO BE CALCULATED AND INTENTIONAL. SO JUST A LITTLE UPDATE ON THAT.

AND I MENTIONED THAT THE MANAGER HAD APPROPRIATED THIRTY THOUSAND TO THIS INITIATIVE.

SO WE HAVE SOME FUNDS IF WE NEED TO BRING IN SOME EXPERTS, BECAUSE I'M NOT SURE ANY OF US ARE EXPERTS IN THIS FIELD, I CERTAINLY DON'T FEEL CONFIDENT IN LEADING SOME OF THESE EFFORTS. SO I THINK WE CAN USE THAT TO OUR ADVANTAGE.

AND I THINK IT OVERLAPS WITH ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION TREMENDOUSLY.

AND I JUST WANTED TO ADD TO I CAN'T REMEMBER WHO BROUGHT UP THE MARKETPLACE GREEN RIBBON CUTTING TODAY. SO THAT WAS FANTASTIC.

IT'S SUCH A BEAUTIFUL THING TO SEE.

I WAS ON THE COMMISSION WHEN THIS IDEA WAS BEING CREATED AND LUANNE HAS THIS ABILITY TO HAVE THIS FORESIGHT AND WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN.

AND I COULDN'T GRASP IT LIKE HOW WONDERFUL IT WAS GOING TO BE IN THE RENDITIONS LOOKED FANTASTIC, BUT THEY WERE BROWN AND JUST KIND OF BORING.

AND TO GO OUT THERE AND TO BE OUT THERE, IT'S JUST BEAUTIFUL.

IT'S A PLACE THAT I THINK MERIDIAN HAS NEEDED FOR SO LONG TO HAVE THIS DESTINATION RIGHT.

[01:20:05]

IT CONNECTS TO ALL THE PARKS IN THE TRAIL WAY.

SO THAT WAS FANTASTIC.

BUT WHAT I DID LEARN TODAY, TOO, AND I HAD LEFT THE PARK COMMISSION, SO I DIDN'T KNOW.

BUT, THEY DID CONSIDER A LOT OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS WITH THAT DEVELOPMENT.

SO THEY DO HAVE SOME RAIN GARDENS THAT THEY HAVE PUT THERE.

SO I WOULD AGREE THAT THERE WAS NOTHING IN THE DITCHES.

SO THERE COULD PROBABLY BE SOME IMPROVEMENT.

BUT I KNOW THAT THEY HAVE DESIGNATED RAIN GARDENS THERE.

THEY ALSO HAD THE WASTEWATER FILTRATION SYSTEM SO THAT IT'S FILTERING THAT WATER, THAT RUNOFF BEFORE IT GETS TO THE STORM.

SO I THOUGHT THAT THAT WAS SOMETHING [INAUDIBLE] BUT THEY'RE DOING LED LIGHTS.

THEY HAVE BIKE RACKS AND WERE PUTTING SOLAR PANELS ON TO ENERGIZE THE [INAUDIBLE] IN ADDITION TO, LIKE THE RECYCLED PLASTIC CHAIRS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

SO THE PARK COMMISSION, I THINK, DID A REALLY GREAT JOB IN CONSIDERING THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS THAT EVEN THOUGH AN OUTSIDE FARMER'S MARKET IS FANTASTIC, BUT THEY HAVE CONSIDERED THOSE THINGS, TOO.

SO I KNOW THEY WOULD BE OPEN TO MORE IF, IN FACT, WE DID APPROACH THEM WITH THAT.

OTHER THAN THAT, THE ONLY OTHER THING I WOULD MENTION IS THAT I HAVE SOME CONTEXT FOR BOTH GREEN ROOFS, AS WELL AS SOME PERMEABLE PAVEMENT THAT SOME SOME FOLKS WITH EXPERIENCE.

MICHIGAN ENERGY OPTIONS OUT OF OUT OF EAST LANSING HAS WORKED WITH PERMEABLE PAVEMENT IN THE PAST. AND I HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH THEM.

SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I COULD CERTAINLY GET US IN TOUCH WITH AND THEN HAVE ANOTHER PERSON AT THE DEPARTMENT IN ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH THAT HAS HAD SOME RECENT EXPERIENCE IN GREEN ROOFS, TOO. SO I JUST WANT TO OFFER THAT.

I'M ALWAYS HAPPY TO MAKE THOSE CONTACTS.

SO THAT'S ALL I HAVE.

BROWNFIELD REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY.

[10B. Brownfield Redevelopment Authority]

BROWNFIELD REDEVELOPMENT.

NOTHING PARTICULARLY EXCITING, THERE WAS A SCHEDULED MEETING AND THEN IT GOT CANCELED BECAUSE THINGS PAPERWORK HADN'T MOVED ALONG FAST ENOUGH.

AND THEN THERE WAS AN AD HOC MEETING, WHICH BASICALLY WAS JUST ABOUT SIGNING PAPERWORK FOR A TRANSFER OF PROPERTY.

AND THIS WAS FOR THE THE PINE VILLAGE SITE THAT I DISCUSSED IN THE LAST MEETING, THE ONE THAT'S UP IN HASLETT.

OH, WAIT A SEC. SORRY, I'M MIXING IT UP, THE PINE VILLAGE SUBJECT MATTER IS THE ONE THAT GOT POSTPONED UNTIL THIS MONTH.

AND SORRY, THE TRANSFER AGREEMENT THAT JUST BASICALLY NEEDED TO BE SIGNED WAS THE JOLLY ROAD, THE TWENTY THREE SIXTY JOLLY ROAD BROWNFIELD PLAN.

HOWEVER, I ACTUALLY PHYSICALLY MISSED THE MEETING BECAUSE TO BE QUITE HONEST, I OVERSLEPT AND IT'S A GOOD THING THEY HAD A QUORUM AND IT WAS A VERY SMALL QUORUM.

BUT THE MEETING WAS OVER IN BASICALLY TEN MINUTES.

THEY PULLED OUT THE PAPERWORK.

IT NEEDED A SIGNATURE AND THAT'S WHAT THEY GOT.

SO THERE WASN'T A LOT OF ACTUAL NEGOTIATION OR NEW PLANNING OR EVALUATION OF ANYTHING GOING ON.

IT DOESN'T SOUND LIKE YOU MISSED MUCH.

NO, IT DOESN'T. BUT THERE'S ONE COMING UP IN THE 20'S OF THIS MONTH, SO THERE WILL BE MORE TO DISCUSS NEXT MONTH.

OK, THANK YOU. YEAH, THE ENERGY TEAM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN DOING SOME WORK ON THE SOLAR

[10C. Energy Team]

HOMTV HAS BEEN VERY HELPFUL AND KIND OF PROMOTING THIS VIRTUAL SOLAR TOUR.

AND I CHECKED EARLIER TODAY BECAUSE THEY GOT A BASELINE FOR HOW MANY PEOPLE HAD ALREADY LOOKED AT THESE 11 VIDEOS FROM THE LANSING AREA AND AGAIN, MOSTLY MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP.

THOUGH SINCE THE TOUR STARTED, WE'VE HAD SIXTY ONE VIEWINGS, ADDITIONAL VIEWINGS ON YOUTUBE, AND I'LL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THAT.

AND ALSO WE'LL BE DOING SOME ADDITIONAL KIND OF SPECIAL PROMOTIONS THROUGH FACEBOOK, LIKE

[01:25:02]

SO I'LL KEEP MONITORING KIND OF HOW MANY ADDITIONAL VIEWINGS WE HAVE A WEEK BY WEEK DURING OCTOBER AND SEE HOW THAT GOES.

BUT SO FAR SO GOOD.

I THOUGHT SIXTY ONE ADDITIONAL VIEWINGS WAS PRETTY GOOD.

AND LEROY, COULD YOU GIVE US A STATUS REPORT ON THE TWO SOLAR PROJECTS, THE FIRE STATION AND THE FARMER'S MARKET, KIND OF WHERE THEY ARE WITH THE INSTALLATION OR WHAT THE PLAN IS? THINGS ARE MOVING AHEAD.

I THINK THE THE PAPERWORK IS PRETTY CLOSE TO COMPLETE.

WE'RE ALSO WAITING FOR CONSUMERS PERMITS.

I THINK MOST OF THAT INFORMATION HAS BEEN SUBMITTED.

I'VE BEEN A LITTLE OUT OF THE LOOP FOR THE LAST WEEK, BUT THAT'S MOVING FORWARD.

THERE IS [INAUDIBLE] POSSIBLY IN TALKING WITH OUR CONTRACTOR ABOUT ASSISTING WITH THE PROJECT THIS COMING YEAR.

RATHER THAN GO OUT BID AGAIN, THAT'S A TIME CONSUMING PROCESS, MAYBE WE CAN EXTEND THE CONTRACT AS WE MOVE FORWARD ON THAT.

SO I THINK IT'LL BEHOOVE US AS AN ENERGY TEAM TO TALK ABOUT WHAT MAKES THE MOST SENSE IN TERMS OF. A LARGER PROJECT, ESPECIALLY SINCE WE HAVE LIMITED SPACE AND WHETHER WE SHOULD BE LOOKING AT A POWER PURCHASE AGREEMENT AND REPORTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT. THAT'S A TOPIC FOR THE ENERGY TEAM, I BELIEVE.

IT'S A GREAT TOPIC TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, WITH THE GENEROUS BUDGET FROM THE TOWNSHIP, THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES.

WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO MAKE REALLY GOOD PROGRESS.

SO I THINK IT'LL BE GREAT FOR THE ENERGY TEAM TO STRUGGLE WITH PROVIDING SOME IDEAS ON HOW THAT MONEY COULD BE SPENT.

THE ENERGY TEAM TYPICALLY MEETS ON ZOOM, IF ANYONE IS INTERESTED IN TUNING IN, PUT YOU ON THE MAILING LIST, IF YOU'RE NOT ALREADY.

OK, MOVING RIGHT ALONG, GREEN TEAM.

[10D. Green Team]

TOM WAS ON TRAFFIC AND ALSO COLLECTING ADDRESSES.

WE HAD SEVEN COUNTIES.

PEOPLE FROM SEVEN DIFFERENT COUNTIES SHOWED UP, WE REALLY HAD A GOOD REGIONAL PARTNERSHIP ON THAT, AND SO WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT I DON'T KNOW ABOUT WHAT THE SPRING IS GOING TO LOOK LIKE. WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT WHAT WORKED, WHAT DIDN'T WORK.

WHAT IMPROVEMENTS PEOPLE MAY SUGGEST.

TOM'S ALREADY HAD SOME IDEAS.

PHIL, ANYONE ELSE WHO WANTS TO THROW IN THEIR IDEAS.

LUCA? YEAH.

I'M NOT SURE IF YOU CAN MAKE THE MEETING, BUT TOMORROW AT FIVE THIRTY, PROBABLY IN THE PAVILION IF THE WEATHER PERMITS.

THAT'S IT, UNLESS ANYBODY WANT TO ADD ANYTHING, TO THE GREEN TEAM.

[10E. Land Preservation Advisory Board]

THE BOARD MET LAST MONTH AT THE SERVICE CENTER, HAD A VERY SHORT MEETING AND THEN WALKED ACROSS TO THE CENTRAL MERIDIAN HIGHLANDS, WHICH IS THE PRESERVE RIGHT ACROSS OKEMOS ROAD THERE, WALK BACK THROUGH THERE AND TRY TO LOOK FOR POSSIBLE LOCATIONS THAT WE MIGHT HAVE SOME MITIGATION OPPORTUNITIES, [INAUDIBLE] OPPORTUNITIES, ALL OF THIS IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE GRAND RIVER CORRIDOR UPDATES THAT ARE GOING TO IMPACT QUITE A BIT OF WETLAND.

IT'S GOING TO BE AS WE LOOK, WE WERE GOING TO HAVE A HARD TIME FINDING ANY SPOTS THAT WE COULD WE COULD SAY THERE'S A GOOD ONE.

IT'S GOING TO BE UP TO THE HIGHWAY ENGINEERS, PROBABLY TALK TO OUR ENGINEERS AS WELL AS THE LAND PRES' AND PERHAPS EVEN THIS COMMITTEE TO SEE WHAT MIGHT BE ABLE TO BE DONE IN THERE. IT'S GOING TO BE QUITE A PROJECT.

WE WILL HAVE OUR NEXT MEETING NEXT WEDNESDAY.

I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO SCHEDULE WITH EMMA CAMPBELL TO DETERMINE WHAT OUR AGENDA WILL BE.

SO I CAN'T FILL YOU IN ON ANYTHING NOW, THE DEER PROGRAM HAS ALREADY BEGUN.

[01:30:05]

SO FAR, THERE HAVE BEEN LET'S SEE, ALL THE DEER THAT ARE TAKEN UNDER OUR PROGRAM ARE DONATED TO THE OKEMOS, AND HASLETT FOOD BANKS.

WE'VE ALREADY GOT 16 DEER AT THE PROCESSOR, SO ALREADY MOVING ALONG, WHETHER YOU'VE NOTICED OR NOT, ON THE BALLOTS COMING UP.

THE LAND PRESERVATION MILLAGE IS ON THE BALLOT THIS TIME.

INTERESTINGLY, WE BEGAN THIS PROGRAM IN TWO THOUSAND WITH POINT SEVENTY FIVE MIL.

AND TEN YEARS LATER, WE DROP THAT IN HALF TO POINT THREE, THREE MILLS, AND THIS TIME WE'RE GOING BACK ASKING FOR.

POINT ONE MIL.

I DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU GO THAT THE TAXES ARE GOING DOWN, BUT WE'RE ASKING FOR POINT ONE MIL ON OUR PROPERTIES.

SEEMED LIKE THERE WAS ONE [INAUDIBLE] I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY ABOUT IT . HAD A LOT OF OTHER THINGS THAT RELATE TO PARKS, BUT I'M REPRESENTING LAND PRES AND THAT'S ABOUT ALL I CAN PUT IN THERE WITHOUT GETTING INTO A LENGTHY DISCUSSION.

THANKS, JIM. TOM, TOWNSHIP ASSOCIATION IN POLITICS.

[10F. MI Township Association (MTA) or MI Municipal League (MML)]

ONE ONE THING I WANTED TO MAKE THE COMMISSION AWARE OF, THERE IS A PACKAGE OF BILLS, HOUSE BILL, SIXTY THIRTY SIX THROUGH SIXTY THIRTY NINE ON PROPERTY, ASSESSED CLEAN ENERGY OR PACE PROGRAM.

AND SOME OF YOU MAY KNOW THAT THE LEGISLATURE A FEW YEARS AGO PASSED THE PACE PROGRAM FOR COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL PROPERTIES.

THIS PACKAGE WOULD APPLY IT TO RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES AS WELL.

SO A LOCAL UNIT OF GOVERNMENT COULD HELP FINANCE ENERGY RELATED UPGRADES OR RENEWABLE ENERGY TYPE OF PROJECTS ON PRIVATE PROPERTY, RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY.

SO FAR, THE PACKAGE HAS AT ONE HEARING IN THE HOUSE ENERGY COMMITTEE.

I DON'T REALLY THINK IT'S ON A FAST PACE, BUT NOT SURE IF IT WILL GET DONE BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR. BUT AGAIN, JUST WANTED TO MAKE THE COMMISSION AWARE THAT THAT BILL PACKAGE IS OUT THERE. WHERE CAN I FIND MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THAT? YEAH, IF YOU LOOKED ON THE STATE LEGISLATIVE WEB PAGE AND JUST LOOKED UP THE BILL NUMBERS AGAIN, SIXTY THIRTY SIX THROUGH SIXTY THIRTY NINE, IT'S ACTUALLY A BIPARTISAN PACKAGE.

A REPUBLICAN HAS INTRODUCED TWO BILLS AND A DEMOCRAT INTRODUCED THE OTHER TWO BILLS.

SO I GUESS WE'LL JUST SEE WHERE THAT GOES.

HEY, TOM, I BELIEVE INGHAM COUNTY HAS AUTHORIZED THE PACE PROGRAM WITHIN THE COUNTY AND I KNOW A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CITIES HAVE AND OTHER COUNTIES, BUT ARE YOU AWARE OF ANY TOWNSHIPS THAT ACTUALLY GOT INVOLVED WITH KIND OF AUTHORIZING THE PACE PROGRAMS ON THE COMMERCIAL SIDE? YEAH, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT AWARE SPECIFICALLY IT'S POSSIBLE THAT A HANDFUL MAY HAVE ACTUALLY DONE IT, BUT JUST NOT MADE MTA AWARE OF IT.

I KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, ANN ARBOR HAS A PROGRAM.

THERE MAY BE SOME COMMUNITIES SURROUNDING THAT AREA THAT MAY HAVE DONE IT.

I JUST DON'T KNOW FOR SURE.

YEAH. YEAH, PROBABLY WORTH.

YOU KNOW, IT SOUNDS LIKE IT'S VERY POSSIBLE IT MIGHT PASS AND WITH THE RESIDENTIAL BEING

[01:35:03]

I DON'T KNOW. I GUESS-- RIGHT, YOU KNOW, I WOULD CERTAINLY BE OPEN TO ALL LOCAL UNITS OF GOVERNMENT, COUNTY, CITY, VILLAGE, TOWNSHIP UNDER THE LEGISLATION.

SO PRESUMABLY, IF THE TOWNSHIP WERE INTERESTED IN A PROGRAM AND OBVIOUSLY IF THE LEGISLATION DID PASS, THEY COULD PURSUE THAT.

SO. YEAH, I KNOW SOME PEOPLE WILL DO THE COMMERCIAL PACE PROGRAM, SO I GUESS I'LL POKE AROUND TO KIND OF SEE IF IT MAKES ANY SENSE FOR EVEN A TOWNSHIP TO KIND OF LOOK INTO IT.

BUT NED? I JUST HAVE A QUESTION. SO, FIRST OF ALL, CAN YOU REMIND ME WHAT PACE STANDS FOR? I THINK IT'S PROPERTY ASSESSED, CLEAN ENERGY, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN.

OK, SO THAT WAS A QUESTION ONE.

SO IT'S SOMEWHERE ALONG, YOU KNOW, AND THIS MIGHT BE SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED WHILE MY EYELIDS WERE DOWN. I THINK I HEARD THAT THERE WAS A BILL IN THE LEGISLATURE POTENTIALLY FORBIDDING THE SALE OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES IN THE STATE.

AND OBVIOUSLY, WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE IS MORE LIKE SOLAR, WIND, ET CETERA.

BUT I WAS JUST WONDERING HOW THOSE, YOU KNOW, ARE THOSE THINGS BEING CONSIDERED IN KIND OF ALTERNATE UNIVERSES OF EACH OTHER.

IT JUST STRIKES ME AS KIND OF A WHOLE CONTRADICTION IN THE COLLECTION OF THINGS THAT ARE BEING TALKED ABOUT. I WAS JUST CURIOUS.

IS THAT CORRECT OR AM I JUST HEARING--.

I'M NOT AWARE THAT THAT LEGISLATION HAS ACTUALLY BEEN TAKEN UP FOR A COMMITTEE HEARING AT THIS POINT? AGAIN,I KNOW THE PACE LEGISLATION HAS BEEN, BUT THEY HAVEN'T VOTED ON IT AS OF YET. BUT THERE THERE IS QUITE A BIT OF LEGISLATION THAT'S BEEN INTRODUCED REGARDING EV VEHICLES. BUT TO MY KNOWLEDGE, I DON'T BELIEVE IT'S MOVED AS OF YET.

AND I BELIEVE THE BILL, NED, YOU'RE REFERRING TO IS REALLY LET'S CALL IT A TESLA BILL BECAUSE DEALERSHIP [INAUDIBLE] TESLA OR ANY MANUFACTURER TO BE ABLE TO DIRECTLY SELL AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE.

SO, I MEAN, WE CAN YOU KNOW, GO DOWN TO CHEVROLET OR ANYBODY ELSE AND BUY AN EV.

BUT FOR SOME REASON, THE DEALERSHIPS DON'T WANT MANUFACTURERS TO SELL DIRECTLY.

I APOLOGIZE, NED, I DIDN'T REALIZE THAT'S THE BILL YOU'RE REFERRING TO.

I TAKE MY COMMENTS BACK THAT BILL WAS TAKEN UP IN COMMITTEE, I BELIEVE, A WEEK BEFORE LAST, AND IT WAS REPORTED OUT TO THE HOUSE FLOOR.

BUT IT'S CURRENTLY ON THE HOUSE FLOOR, I BELIEVE, FOR CONSIDERATION.

BUT, YEAH, I THINK ESSENTIALLY WHAT THAT BILL DOES IS TO PUT IN STATUTE WHAT THE COURT DECISION RENDERED FOR TESLA, BUT IT DOESN'T APPEAR TO APPLY TO OTHER EV MANUFACTURERS.

WELL, THANKS TOM.

[10G. Planning Commission]

[10H. Transportation Commission]

AND I NOTICED ON THE TOWNSHIP BOARD AGENDA, I BELIEVE ON THE CONSENT AGENDA WAS SOME STREET LIGHTING DOWN AT HAGEDORN AND MT.

HOPE. AND THAT'S THAT'S FANTASTIC.

THAT'S A LOCATION THAT'S NEEDED IT.

AND CLEARLY, THE TOWNSHIP GOT SOME FEEDBACK.

AND SO, IN MY VIEW, A MORE ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION IS ONLY A GOOD THING,

[01:40:05]

THANK YOU, BILL, AND ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.

[11. PUBLIC REMARKS]

BUT NOW WE'RE PIVOTING TO A VIRTUAL EVENT.

IT'S GOING TO BE A LIVE VIRTUAL THING.

AND WE'RE WORKING WITH THE WILD AND SCENIC FILM FESTIVAL LIKE MAIN COMPANY AND A PRODUCTION COMPANY OUT OF CALIFORNIA TO PUT THIS THING ON, AND SO IT'S GOING TO BE LIKE AWARD WINNING ENVIRONMENTAL ADVENTURE FILMS AND THEN FILLING THE GAPS BETWEEN THE VIDEOS WILL BE CLIPS HIGHLIGHTING OUR PARTNERS IN THE WATERSHED AND YOU KNOW, THE MIDMEACS AND THE LOWER GRAND GROUP, THE EVERGREEN GROUP, JUST KIND OF GIVE PEOPLE AN IDEA OF GET PEOPLE ALL RILED UP AND INSPIRED TO BECOME STEWARDS OF THE ENVIRONMENT IN THEIR AREA AND THEN POINT THEM AND THEIR ENERGY TOWARDS THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT NEED TO CHANNEL THAT.

SO THAT'S GOING TO BE ON DECEMBER 6TH.

AND I JUST LAUNCHED THE WEBSITE FOR IT TODAY.

GO TO MGROW.ORG/FILMFEST OR JUST MGROW.ORG YOU CAN FIND IT ON THE HOME PAGE.

AND I IMAGINE YOU GUYS MAY BE INTERESTED, SO I JUST WANTED TO PUT THAT PLUG OUT THERE.

YOU SAID DECEMBER SIXTH.

THAT'S SUNDAY? YEP, IT'S A SUNDAY EVENING; FIGURED THERE'D BE LESS COMPETITION.

I MEAN, THERE'D BE FOOTBALL ON, BUT IF IT'S A DIFFERENT CROWD, BUT YEAH, WE'RE STILL PUTTING THINGS TOGETHER AND TRYING TO GET SOME LIKE DINNER PACKAGES WITH SOME LOCAL RESTAURANTS AND STUFF, BUT THAT'S STILL IN THE WORKS.

BUT, IT'S A FUNDRAISER FOR FOR MGROW, YOU KNOW, SUPPORTING ALL THE WORK THAT MGROW DOES AND. THANK YOU.

OTHER COMMENTS BEFORE WE ADJOURN? I MOVE TO ADJOURN; I BELIEVE THERE'S A DEBATE COMING UP.

THAT'S DEBATABLE [LAUGHTER]. JIM, DID YOU WANT TO SAY SOMETHING, JIM, OR ARE YOU MAKING A MOTION TO ADJOURN? SECONDING THE MOTION? OK, OK, OK.

ALL IN FAVOR OF ADJOURNING.

I DON'T KNOW WHERE BILL IS, WHERE HE'S GOT ALL THAT SUN BEHIND HIM, BUT YOU LOOK BEHIND ME, AND YOU SEE IT'S GOTTEN DARK WHILE WE SAT HERE.

JIM, YOU'RE DEFINITELY IN THE DARK.

[LAUGHTER] THANK YOU, EVERYBODY.

GOOD MEETING. BYE BYE.

LEROY, WE SHOULD TRY AND FIND YOU ANOTHER MICROPHONE.

* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.