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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCSCEC 2025-05-20Climate Smart/Clean Energy Community Task Force  (CSTF) Minutes for the Meeting at 5:00 pm Tuesday May 20, 2025 Via Zoom     Task Force Members Attending: Alice Green, Hunter Barlow (left early), Jack Wright, Christina Dravis (left early), Joe Wilson (joined late), Marie McRae (joined late) Evan Kurtz, Anne Clark, Gina Cassidy Liaison to Town Board: Christina Dravis Liaison to Conservation Board: Anne Clark Planning Department: Gina Cassidy  Invited Guest: Jerry Sheng (Cornell Cooperative Extension) 5:05Call to Order Hunter had to leave early, and Sawyer could not attend, so the HS report became the first agenda item. Joe arrived after Hunter’s report began. Updates on Town and Inter-municipal Efforts Dryden HS Report - Hunter: Pollinator Garden: tilling and seeding today; Next week: Considering acquiring Garden Club plant sale leftovers; Recruited two HS students, Dalia and Hannah, to replace Hunter and Sawyer when they move on to college. They are going to be in the DHS Sustainability Club and expect to attend the June CSTF meeting; Dairy Days: Sustainability Club has reserved a table in coordination with the Garden Club; NYS Public Health Association Conference and Dinner at the Museum of the Earth was on April 30: fellow student Tyler Franciseand Hunter were on student panel, Climate Health is Public Health.Many people had good questions, and a break-out session introduced them to academics and businesspeople interested in sustainability who brought unique perspectives to the table. Evan was also at this conference (among about 100 people) and thought the attendance of Anna Kelles was the highlight. Student attendance was sponsored by Dryden Youth Opportunity Fund, Dryden Rotary, and Ithaca Rotary; Evan will find out if the conference had a particular summary or outcome he could share with the TF; Alice asked Hunter about tiny forests – miyawaki. She knows someone, Marian Glenn, who wants to build one in Town. Alice can connect her to Hunter to talk about next steps after the Pollinator Garden is completed. Hunter said this might be a good project for next year’s Sustainability Club. Alice suggested the Sustainability Club could take a field trip to see the existing miyawaki at the Soil Factory. Hunter exited the meeting. Approval of Meeting Minutes: April 15, 2025 Approval Moved: Joe; Approval Seconded: Anne Evan pointed out a numerical error ($175instead of $175K). Alice corrected this,and the amended minutes were approved unanimously. Clean Energy Community Actions Review:  Alice reports that the Town is still awaiting delivery of the two EVs (Equinox and E-Transit Cargo Van). Paperwork to get the Town reimbursed for those purchases is underway. Jerry reports that NYSERDA may be discussing a new iteration of this program (CEC). If there are grants, they will be smaller. Alice points out that the Town has completed some high-point actions that we have not been able to submit, so if the program starts back up, we can submit these for points. We can also submit our Silver Certification approval(if it is awarded) for points. Alice was an invited speaker at the Hudson Valley Regional Council to talk about incorporating a Climate Action Plan into a Comprehensive Plan. This event was attended by 150 people. Alice emphasized youth engagement, which was an object of interest from people all over the State. Marie joined the meeting about this point. Climate Smart Communities Actions Review Alice reports that she and Marie visited a Repair Café in Montour Falls. Marie characterized the event as community-building. The fixers and the people with items to be repaired were all very pleased with the event. Alice showed some photos from the event. Joe asked if “fixing” would ever be extended to understanding computer operation and to using particular software. Evan asked whether people left items or whether they stayed. Marie said part of the event was for people to watch and ask questions – no items have been or will be left. Marie found out that there is a Repair Café Kit available for $55 that has templates for releases and other things. Repair stations were: general, electronics, lamps, computers, bicycles (with bike jacks), woodworking, machine and hand sewing. Alice and Marie noticed what tools were necessary to have the café, and they noticed that lighting must be good. Posters and handouts were displayed, such as one explaining Earth Day and one explaining localized climate change impacts. The Town of Dryden can use such items to talk about climate change and the work of the CSTF. Anne is very enthusiastic about this. Alice thinks the DHS Sustainability Club could make such posters. An organizer was doing real-time postings on Facebook of people posing with repaired items. Donations of spare parts for electronics as well as refreshments were accepted for the event. We could survey our recruited fixers to find what spare parts would be useful, then ask places like Wal-Mart for those items. Joe asked if there were sufficient electrical outlets and advised that we should make sure there are sufficient outlets in whatever venue we get. Hours were 9-2. Evan pointed out things to consider, such as a glut of people at one station and legal releases. Jack brought up Jerry’s clothing swap/mending circle on the Quad at Earth Day. He said this was a great community space with many younger participants. He would like to see this replicated elsewhere. Marie was in attendance as a mender and noticed the great number of young people enthusiastically participating. Alice would like to see a clothing swap and mending at a Repair Café. Anne suggested we ask teachers to certify students as qualified to perform repairs. Marie and Alice thinkwe should wait to hold the Repair Café until after the new school year begins – late September, perhaps. Alice mentioned that the Neptune Fire Company Building has been recently closed to community events. Joe objects to this because the Town funds the fire company. Christina will inquire about this. Another possibility is the Varna Community Center – though Joe thinks it is substandard compared with Neptune. Christina suggested the Freeville Fire Hall. Evan suggested using a public school gym. Marie will be the head of the Repair Café committee. Others volunteering to be on the committee are Evan, Alice, and Christina. New Chair and Vice Chair for Task Force Christina nominated Jack to be the new Chair; seconded by Anne, Marie, and Joe. No other nominations. All in favor: Unanimous Evan asked about term limits and advocated for written policy and procedures. Jack would like to rotate leadership so we keep people engaged and take turns at the helm. He would like to start out as chair for a year. One model might be a chair and vice chair with the vice chair becoming the chair the following year. Anne suggested the previous year’s chair could be an advisor of both the current and vice chair. This would preserve knowledge and continuity. Anne and Evan will draft a list of questions the by-laws should answer. Joe thinks that our mission should be of paramount concern – more so than working on by-laws. Marie agrees with Joe and, personally, doesn’t need by-laws. Jack referenced the Town of Dryden’s Conservation Board’s Rules and Procedures document, which we could work off to create our own structure – and not become “the committee committee.” Alice said that she thinks we need to examine what Climate Smart will look like when Clean Energy folds into it and what other things we want to do. Anne said that a mission must be broader than any immediate actions. Maybe something that can wrap around the current programs we are working on. The government context we will be working within and how things come to be defined will have some influence on this. Evan would be willing to be vice chair to fill in for Jack as needed for the year but wouldn’t want to chair next year. He thinks that a one-year term is too short. However, this can be worked out downstream. Joe nominated Evan to be the new vice chair; seconded by Anne All in favor: Unanimous More Updates on other Town and Inter-municipal Efforts Town Board Report – Christina Special meeting being held at Town Hall Conference Room on Thursday at 5:30 for the Town Board to consider recently received bids for the Dryden Rail Trail Route 13 bridge Conservation Board Report – Anne CB discussed an evolving relationship with CSTF and would be open to a co-meeting of the groups or reps to see what our overlap would be and what ways to keep connected, such as occasional co-meetings.CB thinks CSTF might want to have a new name. A new fund will be set up to accept donations in memory of Bob Beck. Details to come. Planning Board – GinaZoning Advisory Group working on creating Battery Energy Storage System law. Affordable Workforce Housing Task Force and Planning Board – Gina No climate smart issues to report. Plaque Joe would like to discuss having a plaque made in Alice’s honor for all the good she’s done on this committee and for the Town in other ways. Mission Gina and Alice ask everyone to drill down on what our mission could be. If it is public education, what would that look like? Meeting adjourned 6:34pm    NEXT STEPS/ACTION ITEMS: Evan will reach out to colleague to find out if the NYS Conference had a summary or outcome that could be shared. Alice will connect Hunter and the DHS Sustainability Club with Marian Glenn on creating a miyawaki. Christina will check whether we can use the Neptune Fire Hall, and, if not, what other options exist. Anne and Evan will draft a list of questions the by-laws should answer. APPROVALS: April 15, 2025Meeting Minutes Jack as Chair Evan as Vice Chair