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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-SCJC-2024-09-09 Sustainability & Climate Justice Commission Agenda Date Monday, September 9th, 2024 Time 5 pm Location City Hall Council Chambers Watch Online https://www.youtube.com/@CityofIthacaPublicMeetings Commission Member Attendees ☒ Scott Doyle ☐ Christine O'Malley ☒ David Kay ☒ Iris Packman ☒ Tanya Saunders ☒ Alexander Travis ☒ Aaron Fernando ☒ Siobhan Hull ☒ Nick Goldsmith ☒ Fernando de Aragon ☒ Kris Haines-Sharp - Common Council Liaison ☐ Pierre Saint-Perez- Common Council Liaison ☒ Rebecca Evans – City of Ithaca Staff ☒ Savannah Vega – City of Ithaca Staff Agenda Item Timestamp 1. Call to Order: David Kay 00:00:23 The Commission Members unanimously approved the June and August meeting minutes. Savannah Vega shared a summary and the goals of the IGND, as well as an IGND program spotlight on the Ithaca Green New Deal Scorecard. 2. Public Comment 00:05:55 Public comment from Yayoi Koizumi, founder of Zero Waste Ithaca and Ithaca resident. Spoke on the recent decision by the Planning Board that produced a negative declaration of environmental significance for the artificial turf project at Cornell University. She raised concerns about the decision-making process and wanted her disapproval to be on record. 3. Announcements, Reports & Presentations 00:12:40 3.1 Turf Grass Decision Update by the Planning Board 00:12:40 Savannah Vega, Sustainability Planner o The Meinig Fieldhouse project proposed by Cornell University received a negative declaration of environmental significance at the last Planning Board meeting. o Rebecca Evans added context to the decision – several changes to the proposal were made on the Planning Board floor that aimed to mitigate some negative aspects of the proposal. o Commission members responded with a request to be kept up-to-date with the project and upcoming decision-points. 3.2 Congressionally Directed Spending Update 00:19:53 Savannah Vega, Sustainability Planner o The $2M that the City requested for the Southside Resilience Hub project did not receive the needed support from the Congressional Appropriations Committee. o No City of Ithaca projects (even outside of this request) made it onto the Congressionally Directed Spending / Earmark list for 2025. 4. New Business 00:23:30 4.1 IGND Scorecard Rebaselining Discussion 00:23:30 Rebecca Evans, Director of Sustainability; Climate Reality Project Finger Lakes Chapter Team o The City has been working with the Finger Lakes Chapter of the Climate Reality Project since 2021 on the IGND Scorecard. o Things have changed a lot since 2021, and rebaselining may help us better track IGND progress in the Scorecard. o Deadline changes o Goal title changes o 12 suggested changes total o Introduction to the Scorecard Team in-person attendees. o Diane Stefani, Co-Chair of the Finger Lakes Chapter o Thomas Hirasuna, Co-Chair of the Finger Lakes Chapter o Len Luka, Leadership Committee Member o 2 others not able to attend in-person o Scorecard team gave overview of their goals, reasons for requesting a rebaselining discussion, and overview of their scoring process. o Commission responses and discussion o Make sure to keep past goal dates publicly available to see how things have changed over time o Seems reasonable to update goal titles and deadline dates at a certain cadence  Can the Team come up with a plan to update on a certain timescale? o “Stalled” and “in progress” might not be the best words  Temperature thermometer or more granular terms may be helpful o Compliments on the website structure and details within the goals o Nick Goldsmith had specific questions about the proposed changes – staff noted o Question about difference between IGND official goals and Scorecard goals and the Climate Action Plan o Discussion of the value of measurements over time, especially as we are past certain deadline dates o Is there space for non-City activities from outside entities within the goals?  “Contributors to the IGND” could be an additional category  We don’t want the City to take credit for things they are not contributing to. o Emphasis on the Scorecard as a communication tool that can hold the City accountable. o Scorecard team expressed interest in coming to present to the Commission when they make new assessments. o End result: the Scorecard will use the current baseline for the most current assessment, but will revisit these rebaselining changes for the next assessment. 4.2 SCJC Engagement with the Public Discussion 00:59:30 Siobhan Hull and Aaron Fernando o Introduced a list of questions aimed at helping the SCJC make a plan for public engagement 1. What do we want community members to know (about the Ithaca Green New Deal)? 2. What would you, as a commission member, need to feel comfortable and confident conducting outreach with community groups? 3. After we’ve spoken with people about the IGND, how do we want them to be involved? 4. What groups do you feel connected to within the community that you would feel comfortable talking to about the Ithaca Green New Deal? This can be as broad (ex = renters) or as specific (ex = Bikewalk Tompkins) as you would like. o Commissioner discussion followed, with notes being recorded in a shared google document: o How would people directly benefit from the goals of the IGND o How can people get involved in the IGND?  At City level  At partner organizations within the City o Meeting in different spots in the City, with tailored meeting topics to things people might be interested in. o Make sure we do not waste people’s time – solicit input when and where it makes sense o Use the Climate Justice Communities survey to both solicit information and give information o Path forward: Commissioner will brainstorm ways the public could plug into the IGND programs and answer the questions in the google document over the next month. 5. Meeting Wrap-up: David Kay 01:28:20 Next Meetings: October 21st and November 18th. These meetings are shifted by one week to accommodate holidays falling on the normal meeting dates. Some Commissioner’s terms are ending in December – Kris Haines-Sharp will get clarification on how terms can be extended, assuming the Commissioner want to continue with their service Adjourned meeting at 1:31:15.