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HomeMy WebLinkAbout100307 Climate Task Force Minutes.pdfMinutes of the Climate Protection Task Force Bozeman, Montana October 03, 2007 The Climate Protection Task Force met in the small conference room at the Bozeman Public Library on 626 E Main Street, on Wednesday, October 3rd, 2007 at 6:00 p.m. Present were Task Force members, Steve Bruner, Pat McGowen, Collin Moore, Peter Belschwender, Martin Knight, Greg Pederson, Matt Madden, Joan Diamond, Dean Williamson, David Boggeman, Petrus Martens, Mark Johnson; MSU NECO (Network for Environmentally Conscious Organizations) representatives Josh Jane and Kelly Stevenson, MSU University Governing council, representative Rita Rozier, and city staff liaison Hattie Baker. Absent: Scott Bischke, Molly Cross, Otto Pohl, Mel Kotur. Minutes taken by Kelly Stevenson. ™ Missoula By Laws •For the committee acting out the plan, how does the task force want to establish it for themselves? • Discussed and decided that chair/ co-chair are needed. •What would the force like to do with visitors • Does the task Force want someone to present recommendations, do they need a Facilitator: Ask city officials what they prefer •Delegate a spokesman ™ Unanimous Consent: An Agreement was made that anything in the action plane will be incorporated into the plan by unanimous consent. The Task Force acknowledges that there will be varying degrees of agreement and that all members will be sensitive to those who may oppose. ™ Current Initiatives: •When making recommendations the group should consider that Buildings and Sewage (Waste Water Treatment Plant) are the foremost consumers of energy (City buildings are not factored into this) •C02 Equivalent: put this into terms that are understandable: translate/explain. Equivalent of Methane to Co2 •Composting Facility: the Mandeville Farm ™ Subcommittees: • Each subcommittee should focus on individual categories as to not discusses overlapping issues. •Discussed that more people may want to be in the “waste sector.” •Does the task Force want to assign department heads to subcommittees; someone from the city who would come and share input to give the recommendations more potential for acceptance? •The task force appointed group members to head-up each subcommittee. Transportation group: David Boggeman(chair) the group will meet every 3rd Wednesday of the month. Panning group: Otto Pohl (chair) the group will meet the 2nd Wednesday of every month. Waste/ Water group: Mark Johnson (chair) Meeting time is under discussion ™ In the next 6-Months: •The group’s focus should be on something that is very manageable and achievable. The task Force needs consensus when deciding this. •Groups are based on inventory; group members need to define what their inventory footprint is. Is it the City? •Striving to do a city inventory •Suggestion to inventory all city programs and any volunteering institutions was made: Getting the #s recorded. •Government measures/city measures also considering Short terms/Long term •Discussed that the deadline for this group is in May, and the group is considering what can actually be accomplished. Making attainable goals. • Discussed the probability of getting recommendations considered and passed. •It was said, “this is always made out to look like some warm fuzzy endeavor” the group wants to give numbers to the equation: #s of decreased pollution/ waste and costs saved. ™ Questions and Ideas: •Has the Task Force laid down its footprint? What footprint do you want to work with (discussed that it is everything within the city limits)? •Can you ask a “building” such as the hospital to give you information about energy consumption/ energy bills? You can ask them to volunteer to give that information. •With city recommendations how will the plans be adopted? •Do paper products really make up that big of a portion in waist? •Some members expressed interest in organizing a tour of the Water Treatment Plant – contact Tom White •Why are the numbers negative on the computer graph? Is it a problem with the computer data? •A question was asked to explain more about the graph and what things mean •Landfills vs. Streetlights • MSU is exempt from city standards. Discussed a plan to get a carbon inventory of the campus •Discussed that although the campus is independent of the city both still have to be compatible and work together •Should the Task Force consider that all recommendations should be put into a political pallet? ™ Other Issues Discussed: • When making recommendations, you need to be very aggressive when presenting them. Also, you are doing more than just recommending; you are more so saying, “ seek this goal and pass on the endorsement” • Many recommendations could and should include more than just the issue of energy. •The mindset of the Campus is just not there. Recycling does not make money. Most people, especially the student body have do not know the location of the recycling bins. • It is a good idea to view the city as a unit. Making recommendations for the standards on building is good because all new building would be forced to follow those standards. •Discussed the Climate action handbook. •Planning for a Climate Resilient Community: Follow the Five Milestones. •Working on Milestone #1 Conduct Climate resiliency study: Language to start discussion. Start looking at the background of what other people have done. • “ Much of what was discussed tonight is good material for subcommittee groups. •Talked about all of the Milestones •The next meeting as a large group will be held Nov. 7th at the same location and time.