HomeMy WebLinkAboutGreenleaf Commission 2019-09-18
th
MINUTES OF THE 15 REGULAR MEETING OF
GREENLEAF COMMISSION ON SUSTAINABILITY
On Wednesday, September 18, 2019, the above meeting for the Greenleaf Commission
on Sustainability of the City of Livonia was held in the West Conference Room of the Livonia
Department of Public Works,12973 Farmington Road, Building 12, Livonia. Vice Chairperson
Michael Shesterkin opened the meeting at 7:00 p.m.
Members present: Katherine Bone
Elizabeth Calhoun
Terry Cullum
John Grzebik
Nicole Mehelich
Michael Shesterkin
Members absent: James Baringhaus
Also present: Jacob Rushlow, Superintendent of DPW
Victoria Krause, Secretary I at DPW
1. 2020 Greenleaf Award
This is the sixth year for the Greenleaf Award. Chairman Baringhaus will start promoting
the award in September on Facebook and having it posted on the City of Livonia Website,
while Commissioner Calhoun will promote it through Friday Musings, the Observer and the
Chamber of Commerce.
2. Simple Recycling Update
Jacob Rushlow, the Superintendent of the Department of Public Works, gave the Greenleaf
Commission an update on the Simple Recycling launch. He informed the Commission that
Simple Recycling had been supplied with all the needed information to launch the program and
they had sent over the proof of the mailer for approval. Once the mailer is approved, they
were targeting early November as a start date. Mr. Rushlow had spoken with Dave Varga to
have information on Simple Recycling placed in the Newsletter and Kristin Houchins to have
information placed online.
Commissioner Calhoun informed the Commission that she was provided with two large
stacks of flyers containing information about the program. She suggested dropping off flyers at
the library and asked Mr. Rushlow for other locations. He recommended bring some to the
Department of Public Works (DPW) and City Hall.
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15 Regular Meeting of September 18, 2019
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Commissioner Bone asked if there was one person on the Commission that posted to
Facebook. Commissioner Calhoun referred her to Chairman Baringhaus if she wanted to help
with online posting.
3. 2020 Greenleaf Commission Initiative Ideas
Vice Chairman Shesterkin asked the Commission for initiative ideas for next year.
Commissioner Calhoun informed the Commission that the Detroit Zoo had put in charging
stations for electric vehicles and she would like to see some installed on City properties.
Commissioner Cullum asked if there was funding and Commissioner Calhoun responded that
sometimes Consumers Energy does funding, or they could ask Ford to donate stations.
Commission Mehelich asked if there are grants they could apply for and Commissioner
Calhoun replied that sometimes there are grants.
Commissioner Mehelich would like to see the promotion of native plants as a City initiative.
Commissioner Bone mentioned the list of Recommended Tree Species used by the DPW that
was provided to Commissioner Mehelich. The Commissioner replied that she would like to see
the list reorganized with the native tree species on top of the list, then following up with the
non-native species. She would also like to see a list of suggested native alternatives for
common plants.
Commissioner Cullum would like a pollution profile by zip code to encourage intelligent
traffic signals being utilized. Commissioner Calhoun suggested their use at traffic lights pulling
out of a subdivision onto a main road. She then stated that if traffic lights are handled by
Wayne County, then they should put together a presentation to plant that seed. Commissioner
Cullum suggested looking for grants since this would lower emissions and Commissioner
Calhoun stated that they should collect hard data on cities that have initiated intelligent traffic
signals.
Commissioner Bone mentioned starting recycling in the parks which was brought up in the
last meeting by Commissioner Calhoun. She suggested starting simple with a double-barrel
bin, one for plastic and one for landfill and starting at larger areas such as Ford Field,
Bicentennial Park and Greenmead. Commissioner Calhoun recommended the plastic side
having an opening only large enough for a plastic bottle. Commissioner Bone stated that one
concern was pickup, and Commissioner Calhoun replied that she had heard the Rec Center
started picking up big bins weekly. She then asked Mr. Rushlow who was doing the pickup.
He responded that would be a question for Ted Davis at the Rec Center. Commissioner Bone
would like to see this started in the spring. Mr. Rushlow was concerned about contamination.
This could be a big problem if people do not recycle properly.
Vice Chairman Shesterkin reminded the Commission that a new administration would be
coming in and they should have a meeting with the new Mayor to get a sense of what she has
in mind going forward.
#6-19 RESOLVED, that the Greenleaf Commission on Sustainability does hereby
make a motion to have a meeting between the Chairman and the new Mayor to discuss
sustainability initiatives.
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15 Regular Meeting of September 18, 2019
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A roll call vote was taken on the foregoing resolution with the following result:
AYES: Bone, Calhoun, Cullum, Grzebik, Mehelich and Shesterkin.
NAYS: None.
ABSENT: Baringhaus
Vice Chairman Shesterkin informed the Commission that Chairman Baringhaus had
education being a part of the initiatives. This is something the Commission has discussed
several times, especially regarding the Nextdoor App. In Castle Gardens, a subdivision south
of Five Mile and west of Newburgh, it started at 200 members and is now over 1,000 in a
neighborhood of approximately 1,600. The discussion had revolved around a meeting to
explore residents’ feelings around recycling. This would be a grassroots engagement because
it is important around recycling to collect input. Commissioner Mehelich expressed concern
over improper education, as the sticker adhered to the large recycling bin that they raffled off at
the Old-Fashioned Corn Roast incorrectly states that Styrofoam is still recyclable. Mr.
Rushlow informed the Commission that that was an older bin with an old sticker. He
impressed on the Commission their ability to educate the residents through the Nextdoor App
as recycling is an industry and therefore changes. Styrofoam is no longer recyclable in Livonia
although it is recyclable but is not worth the cost, just as plastic bags were recyclable but are
not any more due to them getting tangled in machines. In addition, if a resident fills a plastic
bag with recyclable items, that whole bag will be pulled to go to the landfill. Filled plastic bags
are not emptied. He also suggested the Commission put together literature for the residents
and to advise them to use the rule “when in doubt, throw it out” as that will help cut down on
contamination. Commissioner Calhoun thought that residents should be informed that stores
such as Target and Kroger will take back plastic bags and wire hangers can be taken to scrap
yards. Vice Chairman Shesterkin shared that hangers can also be taken to dry cleaners. He
then suggested they could create a video and Mr. Rushlow stated that the Department of
Environmental Quality (DEQ) has some good videos. Commissioner Mehelich recommended
sharing them on the Greenleaf Commission’s page. Commissioner Cullum felt it would be
beneficial to educate the residents by collecting data on how much recycling is diverted to
landfills due to contamination. Mr. Rushlow shared that the City does not have numbers on
what trucks take to the landfill or recycle. Vice Chairman Shesterkin shared that at SOCRRA
they sort and weigh what comes in and over 20% is diverted to landfills.
4. The Last Plastic Straw/Mayor’s Challenge Water Conservation Program
Vice Chairman Shesterkin informed that Commission that Chairman Baringhaus discovered
the Last Plastic Straw Challenge for bars and restaurants. Instead of bars and restaurants
automatically giving out straws, they are available by request only. This cuts down on their
use and elevates the awareness of the dangers of plastic straws. Commissioner Bone stated
that she refuses straws but is often given them anyways, so this challenge could bring an
awareness to businesses as well. She also mentioned the benefit it would be to these
businesses. This should cause the businesses to use less straws, therefore they wouldn’t
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15 Regular Meeting of September 18, 2019
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need to order as many and would save money. Vice Chairman Shesterkin suggested that
participating businesses get added to their website. Commissioner Mehelich knows the
owners of a couple local establishments and offered to discuss the challenge with them.
Commissioner Grzebik recommended waiting until the next meeting where they could get
more information from Chairman Baringhaus before putting forth a motion.
Vice Chairman Shesterkin revisited the Mayor’s Challenge Water Conservation Program.
He would like to propose the challenge to the new Mayor. He believed the program should
save money but the DPW may get inundated by calls from residents if cost per unit goes up
due to drop in water usage. This is an issue that they would need to figure out how to address
as the City still needs funds to fix infrastructure. Commissioner Calhoun wondered if they
should talk to Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) about how rates are calculated. Vice
Chairman Shesterkin stated that part of the bill is fixed, and funds are still needed to fix the
infrastructure. Mr. Rushlow informed that Commission that even if the City does the
infrastructure, we are still billed from GLWA, and how their rates are calculated is very
complex. Commissioner Mehelich commented that they would need to manage residents’
expectations by making it clear that they would be participating in the challenge to help save
the Earth by conserving water and not to save money. Commissioner Grzebik wanted to know
if there are any suburbs that use Detroit water or a similar system that is enrolled in the
program. Commissioner Mehelich and Mr. Rushlow looked the program up online and saw
that Grand Rapids, Royal Oak and Ann Arbor participated. The Commissioner suggested
contacting the cities for information. Vice Chairman Shesterkin shared with the Commission
that in the meeting with the current administration someone was shocked that we needed to
conserve water in Michigan and he shared the example of a neighbor that has his sprinkler
system on a timer that still goes off if it rains.
5. New Business
Recycling at Community Events through Requests
Commissioner Grzebik spoke with Chairman Baringhaus about recycling at community
events through requests. Recycling was made available at Passport to Safety, Save Our
Youth Run and Music from the Heart events, although Commissioner Calhoun said it was
missed at the Old-Fashioned Corn Roast due to miscommunication. Commissioner Grzebik
asked if there were additional opportunities for community event recycling or if there were any
concerns. Mr. Rushlow responded that he didn’t think they were keeping a matrix and he had
not heard any feedback, but he could ask. The Commissioner asked for him to provide the
Commission with feedback at the next meeting.
Continuous Appointment or Yearly Vote
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15 Regular Meeting of September 18, 2019
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Commissioner Grzebik asked if the Commission positions are under continuous
appointment in the ordinance or if they need to vote yearly like in other commissions. Vice
Chairman Shesterkin did not believe that there was anything written in the ordinance speaking
on the length of office. Mr. Rushlow mentioned that Chairman Baringhaus had raised the point
of documenting how things are done as a matter of policy. Vice Chairman Shesterkin then
asked for verification that voting is done by a matter of policy and not part of the ordinance.
Mr. Rushlow pulled up the ordinance and informed the Commission that they need to elect the
chairperson, vice chairperson and secretary annually but there was not a specific date listed.
Old-Fashioned Corn Roast Update
Commissioner Calhoun informed the Commission that the Old-Fashioned Corn Roast is
sponsored by Friday Musings and other groups and is for new members of the community.
This year two hundred invites went out. They fielded lots of questions, many of them about
Simple Recycling and raffled off a large recycling bin. Commissioner Mehelich stated that
most of the people they spoke with hadn’t heard of Simple Recycling but showed positive
support when provided with an explanation. Vice Chairman Shesterkin recognized
Commissioner Calhoun for all that she did for this event.
Audience Communication
None.
1. Approval of Minutes.
On a motion by Calhoun, seconded by Cullum, the Minutes of the July 24, 2019 meeting
were approved.
On a motion by Cullum, seconded by Bone, and unanimously adopted, the meeting of
September 18, 2019, was adjourned at 8:08 p.m.
Next Meeting – November 20, 2019 at 7:00 p.m.
West Conference Room, DPW Administration Office
JAMES BARINGHAUS, CHAIRPERSON
GREENLEAF COMMISSION ON SUSTAINABILITY