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07/20/1999 - 00002329CITY OF FRIDLEY ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY & ENERGY COMMISSION MEETING J U LY 20, 1999 CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Sielaff called the July 20, 1999, meeting to order at 7:33 p.m. ROLL CALL: Members Present: Brad Sielaff, Jack Velin, Peter Panchyshyn, Barbara Johns, Michelle Maher Members Absent: Rosalie Landt, Rich Svanda Others Present: None APPROVAL OF MAY 18, 1999, ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY & ENERGY COMMISSION MINUTES: MOTION by Mr. Panchyshyn, seconded by Ms. Johns, to approve the May 18, 1999, Environmental Quality & Energy Commission minutes as written. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON SIELAFF DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 1. OLD BUSINESS: a. Continue Discussion of Questions for 1999 Citizen's Survey Mr. Sielaff stated that the Commission had just received copies of the latest draft citizen's survey that came from the City Manager's Office. He asked if the Commission members would like to take some time to review the minutes individually before continuing their discussion. The Commission members agreed. Mr. Sielaff stated a question he believed is very high priority deals with the impacts of urban run-off on the Springbrook Nature Center. He had drafted the following question: Presently there is a study being conducted of the impacts of surrounding urban run-off on wetlands at the Springbrook Nature Center. If the Nature Center has been impact, do you believe the City should support the improvement and protection of these wetland areas? 1. strongly agree 2. somewhat agree 3. do not know 4. somewhat disagree 5. strongly disagree ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY & ENERGY COMMISSION MINUTES J U LY 20, 1999 PAG E 2 Ms. Maher agreed and that it should be in the front with the Springbrook Nature Center section. She stated many people do not realize that the Nature Center is more than just trails. If you can show people that the Nature Center is a place with many purposes, then she believed people will be more likely to support it. Mr. Sielaff referred to the questions on pages 6 and 7(questions #53-60) of the draft survey that included questions regarding the City's recycling and yard waste programs. Ms. Maher stated that question #53 stated: Do you participate in the City's recycling program? She stated there are many materials that can be recycled curbside, and there is no question that asks people what items they are recycling and why. Mr. Sielaff agreed it is good to ask people if they recycle, but then ask an additional question: What are you presently recycling in the curbside program? Ms. Maher stated that many people think they are participating by only placing their cans out for recycling and don't realize they could be recycling many other materials. Maybe the question could be put in a more educational format by asking if people recycle and then specifically listing the different kinds of recyclable materials, rather than having them list what they do recycle. Mr. Sielaff stated another offshoot of that would be to ask residents what materials they recycle that are not included in the curbside program. For example: What do you currently recycle that you cannot recycle through the curbside program? Mr. Sielaff stated there is a question (#59) regarding the monthly drop-off for problem materials, and that is a good question, although there are some problem materials that cannot be recycled at the monthly drop-off such as oil. Ms. Maher stated she would not want to address oil or other materials when it is not likely that the City would collect and recycle them. Mr. Sielaff stated that maybe staff could tell the Commission if they know of materials that are recyclable that might be considered for the curbside program or are being recycled in other cities' curbside programs, or materials that are being recycled that the Commission is not knowledgeable about. Ms. Maher stated one problem material is polystyrene. She just hates throwing that away, and there just aren't any places to recycle it anymore. Mr. Sielaff stated that, in summary, the Commission members agree with question #53 but would like to include a question about what other materials are being recycled and specifically list those materials. Maybe staff could formulate a question that has ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY & ENERGY COMMISSION MINUTES J U LY 20, 1999 PAG E 3 to do with what materials people are recycling that there is a market for that are not being recycled through the curbside program. Ms. Johns asked if question #55 (How would you rate the effectiveness of the City's new hauler, BFI, in picking up your recyclables?) was a good question to ask. There might be more important questions that should be included. Ms. Maher stated she thought it was a good question. If people are unsatisfied with BFI, then the City should find out why. Mr. Sielaff stated many people might not even be aware when the curbside program contractor changed from Waste Management to BFI. Mr. Velin stated that when Waste Management first started collecting, there were a lot of complaints, but those complaints seemed to drop off. He did not even know if there have been a lot of complaints about BFI. It was the consensus of the Commission to delete puestion #55. The Commission members agreed that question #56 (If you don't recycle, why don't you recycle?) was kind of vague and should be included as part of question #53. Ms. Maher stated she had some concerns with question #57: Have you used the City's yard waste site during the past year? It could include people who would say no because they don't know where the site is and so don't use it. If these people knew about the site, would they then use it? Mr. Velin stated there has been a lot of publicity for a long time about the yard waste site, so people should know about it. Ms. Maher stated maybe the address/location could be included as part of the question. Mr. Sielaff stated that was a good suggestion. He stated he would also like to ask what people do with their yard waste if they do not use the yard waste site, i.e., composting it themselves, hauler pick-up, taken to Bunker Hill compost site, etc.? The Commission members agreed that question #58 was very important: How important do you think the City's yard waste site is a public service? Regarding question #59 (Since the beginning of this year, the City has sponsored monthly drop-off days for hard to get rid of items like appliances, scrap metal, and fluorescent lights. Have you dropped off items at our drop-off site near Columbia Arena this year?), Ms. Johns stated that this lists only 3 of the items that can be dropped off. She suggested that all the items be listed. These are appliances, ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY & ENERGY COMMISSION MINUTES J U LY 20, 1999 PAG E 4 fluorescent bulbs, scrap metal, clothinq, and usable furniture and household items. The Commission members thought question #60 (How important do you think the City's monthly drop-off days are as a public service?) was important. They discussed the City-wide recycling day in 1995 and other drop-off days and how valuable those types of collections are. The Commission members briefly discussed some of the other questions in the survey. ADJOURNMENT: MOTION by Mr. Panchyshyn, seconded by Mr. Velin, to adjourn the meeting. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON SIELAFF DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED AND THE JULY 20, 1999, MEETING ADJOURNED AT 8:20 P. M. Respectfully submitted, Lynne Saba Recording Secretary