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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - City Council - Meeting Date: 5/4/2010 *PLEASE NOTE: Since the Glendale City Council does not take formal action at the Workshops,Workshop minutes are not approved by the City Council. ih GLENp MINUTES OF THE GLENDALE CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP SESSION Council Chambers—Workshop Room 5850 West Glendale Avenue May 04, 2010 1:30 p.m. PRESENT: Mayor Elaine M. Scruggs, Vice Mayor Manuel D. Martinez, and Councilmembers Joyce V. Clark, Steven E. Frate, David M. Goulet, Yvonne J. Knaack, and H. Phillip Lieberman ALSO PRESENT: Ed Beasley, City Manager; Pam Kavanaugh, Assistant City Manager; Craig Tindall, City Attorney; and Pamela Hanna, City Clerk 1. COUNCIL SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE UPDATE CITY STAFF PRESENTING THIS ITEM: Kenneth A. Reedy, Deputy City Manager This is an opportunity for staff to provide City Council with an update on the development and on-going work of the Council Sustainability Committee. The Committee is comprised of Councilmembers David Goulet, Yvonne Knaack and Steven Frate, and supported by city staff from across the organization. This action supports Council's goals of one community with high-quality services for citizens and one community that is fiscally sound by exploring programs and activities that support environmental, social and economic sustainability in the private and public sectors. Council established a Sustainability Committee for the purpose of evaluating reasonable policies, programs and actions that Glendale may pursue to support and participate in sustainability initiatives being undertaken by cities throughout the valley, state, and nation. Sustainability strives to attain a balance among three core areas of responsibility: Environmental, Social and Economic. Environmental responsibility addresses short-term and long-term impacts to environmental resources and the natural environment. Social responsibility considers areas 1 such as public health, education, sense of community, and interrelationships among individuals, communities, and nations. Economic responsibility entails developing an economy that integrates and responds to environmental and social considerations. The first committee meeting was held on September 15, 2009, and Councilmember David Goulet was appointed as the Committee Chairperson. The committee adopted a Mission Statement to help focus and guide efforts of the group. The Mission Statement reads: The Sustainability Committee of the Glendale City Council will research, conduct outreach, discuss, analyze, and recommend a unifying course of action entailing three core areas of Environmental Responsibility, Social Responsibility, and Economic Responsibility. Goals and strategies will be developed encompassing these areas to allow businesses, residents, city programs and facilities, and other interested partners, the opportunity to participate in making sustainability a community program. The committee selected twelve preliminary topics for city staff to research and present findings on, they include: Education and Public Awareness Plan; Energy Conservation Planning; Water Conservation Planning; Glendale General Plan; LEED Concept and Green Building; Land Use and Conservation; Renewable Energy; Waste Management and Recycling; Green Purchasing; Storm Water; Green Fleet; Climate Plan/Green House Inventory; and, Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) 7-point challenge. At the June 2, 2009 Workshop, Council formed the Sustainability Committee, and directed staff to provide an update on the committee at a future Workshop. The committee investigates sustainable initiatives such as energy efficiency, renewable energy, solar power, water conservation, sustainable land use, design and construction, and other measures to further the city's commitment to environmental, social and economic responsibility to the citizens of Glendale. This is an update for City Council on the development and on-going work of the Council Sustainability Committee and requires no formal action at this time. Mr. Kenneth A. Reedy, Deputy City Manager, provided the summary. He reviewed the committee's progress. The Sustainability Committee has worked thus far on the selection of committee members, selection of a Chairperson, meeting format and protocol, definition of sustainability, adoption of a mission statement, balanced sustainability model and identified sustainability topics. He provided examples of two city projects that fit the sustainability model and the three core areas of responsibility: Environmental, Social and Economic. The examples included the West Area Water Reclamation Facility and the APS/Glendale landfill Gas-to- Energy project. He discussed the twelve preliminary topics of which six have already been discussed by the committee. He indicated that the next six will be presented to the Council over the next several months. Additionally, all three committee Councilmembers took a special interest in the first topic of Education and Public Awareness Plan. They have expanded outreach 2 to ensure the community is aware and informed of the city's green projects and how the community can get involved and assist. Councilmember Knaack explained that this committee and idea process sounded simple, however, was very complicated. She thanked staff for their very detailed and precise presentation of ideas and topics. She remarked that they all learned a lot and was thankful to have the collaboration within the city of all the departments. She indicated that the sustainability committee has given a forum for all departments to get involved and learn what other departments are doing and collaborate. She noted many of the issues in the sustainability committee were federally mandated; however, the city should always do what is right, whether it was federally mandated or not. She read a quote stating"it's not only about the environment, it's about if the decisions we make today are sustainable in the future." She added that this was what the sustainability committee was all about. Councilmember Goulet thanked Mr. Reedy for his presentation. He stated that one of the most valuable things mentioned was the Sustainability Mission Statement. He was glad they now had a comprehensive location where the public can view and learn how much the city has done and is doing in the conservation effort. He indicated that since January, they have discussed comprehensive energy plans in landfills. He noted that in February, they reviewed the general plan energy element and asked departments what they were doing or could offer the city and community. In March, the committee had a guest speaker who talked about LEED developments. He reiterated that their goal was to review how they can become sustainable, lower operating costs and save resources. He stated that in April, they discussed land use and continued to review the general plan through the planning department. He explained that staff and the committee were reviewing mixed land uses, compact building designs, a range of housing choices, transportation, walk-able neighborhoods, and distinct areas of the city as well as open spaces wherever possible. The next topic on their agenda will be renewable energy. He stated that staff has been extremely helpful presenting these topics in a workable fashion. He indicated one of their goals was to make green or sustainable applications easier to access by the community, regardless of it being residential or commercial. He noted that public comments indicate the city was moving in the right direction on this issue. Vice Mayor Martinez asked if there have been any discussions on possibly retrofitting the many city buildings with solar panels. Mr. Reedy stated that staff has been evaluating all areas and assessing what they can afford to do that has a rapid repayment schedule. In addition, they discussed the American Recovery Act grants available to the city. These grants could quickly resolve a variety of issues that would lower our energy cost in many building and applications around the city. He noted the next project being brought forward is an evaluation of all city buildings to prioritize possible projects and return on investments. Staff will come back to Council with information on how they would fund those projects. Councilmember Frate remarked that everyone should be doing their part, not only the city. He stated that in doing his part, he has installed several florescent light bulbs in areas such as the garage and closets. He indicated he recently had an energy audit done at his home and will be receiving a very extensive packet on where he can improve energy savings in his home. He recommends this process to everyone. 3 Councilmember Clark commented she was glad the home energy audit process was mentioned. She commented on her tour of Habitat for Humanity homes on 53rd Avenue. She stated that those homes were being constructed very energy wise. She suggested obtaining grants from the American Recovery Act to entice home owners throughout Glendale to perform a home energy audit. She noted that the cost includes a rebate. She indicated this will help people get involved and save money for the city and themselves. She reiterated that the city should explore how they can entice the average home owner to obtain an audit and commit to accomplishing at least one of the things discovered in the audit. Councilmember Frate remarked that the auditors help you decide on issues depending on how long you're planning to live in the house. They help the homeowner decide on what's best as well as provide their recommendations. Councilmember Knaack remarked she wanted to make clear that this issue did not only concern the environment, but also social and economic issues. She indicated that bringing in companies that will stay in the future and contribute to the community for decades, is what makes this sustainable. Mayor Scruggs remarked she was glad Councilmember Knaack used the broader definition of sustainability. She stated it was very important to look at all aspects especially when something was wonderful for the environment but terrible for a community or far too expensive. She noted there has to be a real balance when deciding on these types of issues. Councilmember Lieberman remarked that citizens should be very cautious when dealing with contractors or letting people into your home for inspections. He recently had a contractor tell him he needed to have his roof raised for air flow when it was not needed. He noted that a different company recently installed rubber gaskets on his outside outlets to conserve energy. In June, Council members will need to consider if the Sustainability Committee should be continued and who will participate in the ongoing meetings. Mayor Scruggs introduced Ms. Cecilia Chan, Glendale Republic reporter who will now be covering the City Council meetings. As there were no further comments, Mayor Scruggs adjourned the meeting. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 2:05 p.m. 4