HomeMy WebLinkAboutJuly 1ENVIRONMENTAL INITIATIVES COMMITTEE
Regular Meeting Minutes
Date: July1, 2021
Attendees: Sasha (Chairperson), Stan, Peter, Steve, Anand, Pat, Jolie, Aileen, Vrinda (joined 6:40), Srini
(joined 6:55) Missing: April
1.Call to order & roll call.
2.Approval of Minutes of the meeting on June 3, 2021: Unanimous. Steve motioned, Anand
2nded.
3.Agenda Review: No requested changes.
4.Topics of Interest /Open Discussion
○Ananda & Stan: Seeing what is happening in Oregon, Seattle, and Western Canada,
everything we do is taking on more urgency.
5.Make Jolie an associate member
○Background: Jolie moving out of LAH, so can no longer be a voting member.
○Peter & Steve: shout out to Jolie for staying engaged!
6.Any follow up on Terry Oldberg’s presentation?
○Vrinda, Anand & Steve all agreed: He agreed the earth is warming but is focused
○Resolved: No action to be taken.
7.Moving EIC meetings to Second Thursday of the month at 6:30 pm.
○Unanimous. Sasha motioned, Pat 2nded.
○Needs City Council approval. Council to vote on it at the next meeting.
8.Calling a special meeting of the EIC to
○Discuss Climate Action Plan--not in its final form. Get the EIC’s input regarding the
measures suggested by the subcommittee
○Invite Cody Einfalt to brief about the CalOEP grant and give input on the use of the
grant
○Unanimous for July 8th. Sasha moved, Steve 2nded.
9.Input for Annual Report to City Council:
○Vrinda will circulate draft highlights (do not reply all!), and looks forward to additional
input from all members before January (prior to her chair position).
○Anand & Steve & Peter: Suggest separating out CAP presentation into a different
council meeting from the EIC update.
10.Progress report on Climate action Plan-Subcommittee:
○Srini: Updated GHG inventory compiled by CSG Consultants, commissioned by the
Staff. Although we had concerns about process, methodology and the outcome we
went ahead and analyzed and formulated a CAP based on the report. We have come
to some actionable actions. Picking recommendations and policy proposals that have
the best possibility of passing the council AND have a significant impact. We were
cognizant of the fact that it has to be palatable to a broader audience. Timeline:
August proposal to EIC. Many action items for each subcommittee member to define
and quantify the impacts of a variety of measures (5 each for town-wide and
municipal scopes).
○Peter: Elements of plan will be specific initiatives that the town will DO -- not general
strategies.
○Vrinda: Mentioned Steve will present the impact of flying at the picnic (?).
○Steve to Stan: How do we present this to the City Council-it is a complex issue. How
do we prepare the council members?
○Stan: Suggested we come to council twice with our CAP -once for preparation and the
second time for full presentation--the ask should be at the end of the second.
○Steve: The results of the GHG inventory have not been presented--Zach ran that. We
can present the EIC interpretation of those results first and second would be to
present the recommendations. Final vote should be "performance art". The real
discussion should take place one on one, so council members can ask questions and
understand the context.
○Peter: Suggested we talk to individual council members to prep them and answer
specific questions.
○Steve to Stan: Any specific staff we should include (Zach and Krista now gone)?
Difficult time... no specific staff member is identified.
○Stan: The staff is being reassigned and new staff is being hired and the new staff will
be ramping up.
11.Next EIC meeting: August 12, 2021
12.Open discussion --Announcement from Peter: He will attend the special meeting, but
probably will resign before August meeting. (Cathy already resigned from her committees.)
○His home sale closed yesterday; offer accepted in Camden Maine. B&B? Distillery?
Equestrian riding lodge?
○Q: Any interest in Purissima Water Board open seats? Anand says yes!
○Proposal: drinks & pizza on the 18th to celebrate Peter's contributions to the EIC &
town!
13.Jolie: Water Subcommittee.... she was "voluntold" but no longer a member.... should we still
have a subcommittee?
○Lawn replacement incentives increased back to $2/sf (Steve got this rebate).
○Srini says yes. Aileen: She will help.
○Pat mentioned Mark Berman's recorded website on the drought (BASQAW.org (?)
provides info on incentives).
○Peter agrees we should do this -- LAH water use is creeping up again. There is no one
in Purissima WD to champion water conservation. Water efficient landscape
ordinance was passed,--gives the town the ability to check back on the performance
of the landscape plan. There has been no follow up on that. PWD is looking for new
water sources of water. WD does not have water for 480 additional units that are
going through the permit process. The new smart meters can tell you about leaks--
the highest water users were users who had leaks. Having smart meters--did it reduce
water use?
○Vrinda: will champion this effort, and subcommittee members will be listed in the
minutes: Vrinda, Srini, Aileen, + Jolie as associate.
14.Anand: SVCE has an energy monitoring "kit", including a killawatt meter and water
conservation tools.
15.Sasha: His colleague moved from SVCE to PCE, and said the difference is stark: SVCE focused
on electrification -- hot water heater rebate was very easy. PCE is much more complicated --
can only use approved contractors.
○Steve: Each CCA is focused on a particular aspect of the electrification problem.
Different CCAs meet each month to coordinate (SVCE, PCE, EBCE, 3CE).
○Peter: Worth noting that this type of experimentation would not have occurred with
PG&E.
16.Adjournment at 7:49pm