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Home My WebLink AboutCFE Agenda 04102023 AGENDA Orange County Commission for the Environment April loth, 2023 7:00 p.m., Bonnie B. Davis Environment and Agriculture Center Time Item Title 7:00 I. Call to Order 7:01 II. Additions or Changes to Agenda 7:03 III. Approval of DRAFT Meeting Summary — Mar. 13th, 2023 The CFE will consider approval of meeting summary from the last meeting.Action needed (Attachment 1) 7:05 IV. CFE Recruitment Applications Review CFE Chair and Vice Chair will update CFE on applications and recruitment methods. 7:15 V. Earth Evening/Day Celebrations- Discussion and Sign Up CFE will discuss upcoming Earth Day celebrations and begin coordination of tables and activities. 7:40 VI. Committee Breakouts The CFE will break out into committee assignments and discuss goals/projects for the year. Committees will report on projects upon returning to the main meeting. 8:40 VII. Updates and Information Items Staff and/or CFE members will provide updates on the following items: • Solarize the Triangle • Climate Action Plan • Orange County Creek Week Review • Year of the Trail Hikes Any other new information from CFE members and staff 9:00 VIII. Adjournment *Next Meeting Date: May 8rh, 2023;Bonnie B Davis Environment and Agriculture Center Attachment 1 Orange County Commission for the Environment Meeting Summary March 13th 2023; 7:00 pm Hybrid Meeting Present: Veronica Penn Beattie, Kristie Mather(via Zoom), Mark Randall, Regina Baratta, Reade Oakley, Jessie Birckhead, Kim Piracci, Jane Harris (via Zoom), Andrea Zimmerman Absent: Ian Morse, Kim Livingston, David N. Mcnelis, Geneva Gray Staff: Wesley Poole, Chris Hirni, Amy Eckberg, Kalani Allen I. Call to Order Veronica Penn Beattie called the meeting to order at 7:03 pm. II. Additions or Changes to Agenda Jessie Birckhead requested to make the following changes: start with a brief introduction of all the CFE members and staff for the newest member, Andrea Zimmerman; discuss CFE applicants during CFE Recruitment Timeline and Application Review due to a recent appointment recommendation declining. Veronica Penn Beattie agreed to the change. III. Introductions All of the CFE members and staff introduced themselves and gave a brief background in order to orient the newest CFE member, Andrea Zimmerman. IV. Approval of DRAFT Meeting Summary—February 13t', 2023 Motion to approve by Kim Piracci; seconded by Mark Randall; all in favor; none opposed; motion passed. V. CFE Recruitment Timeline and Application Review Veronica Penn Beattie presented and discussed the CFE recruitment handout that she had prepared. Veronica also presented a potential process for candidate review that would allow applicants to attend a meeting in person or virtually to see if they are really interested in serving on the CFE in the future. CFE agreed to give the new process a try. CFE discussed current applicants in order to fill two current vacancies and decided to recommend appointment to Jo Leslie Eimers for Position#5 (Water Resources) and Wilson Greene for Position#7 (At Large). Motion to approve recommendation by Jessie Birckhead; seconded by Kim Piracci; all in favor; none opposed; motion passed. Wesley Poole will draft the recommendation letter. Page 1 of 4 Orange County Commission for the Environment Meeting Summary March 13th, 2023; 7:00 pm Hybrid Meeting VI. Earth Evening/Day Celebrations -Discussion Earth Evening in Hillsborough will be celebrated on Friday April 281h at the Farmer's Market Pavilion 6-8PM. Amy Eckberg will have a Climate Action Plan/ Solarize the Triangle table there. Earth Day in Carrboro will be celebrated on Saturday April 22 3:30- 6PM. CFE members were asked to be thinking about who could volunteer for either/ both events. VII. No Net Loss Tree Canopy Policy—Discussion Jessie Birckhead presented a first draft of the No Net Loss Tree Canopy Policy that was put together by the Land Resources Subcommittee so that the CFE could provide input before it was given to the DEAPR director for review. This policy is only for Orange County owned properties and does not include schools. Comments will be incorporated and the Policy will be brought back for approval at a future meeting. VIII. Sub-Committee Breakouts The CFE broke out into committee assignments and discussed goals/projects for the year. Afterwards, subcommittees came back together and reported information discussed to the overall CFE (see below). Sub-Committee Breakout Meetinz Summaries Air& Energy Resources Subcommittee: Present: Kristie Mather(via Zoom), Veronica Penn Beattie Absent: Ian Morse, Geneva Gray, David N. Mcnelis Staff: Amy Eckberg • Address the List of CAP Measures currently under review • Climate Action Plan: o Focus Group Sessions: ■ Business Group Tuesday 3114 9AM ■ Community Wednesday 3115 IPM • Student Voices 3123 IPMfocused on college students. Also considering opportunities to bring in HS students. • Survey is in 4 languages: Chinese, Spanish, Burmese, English Page 2 of 4 Orange County Commission for the Environment Meeting Summary March 13th 2023; 7:00 pm Hybrid Meeting Water Resources Subcommittee: Present: Mark Randall, Kim Piracci, Andrea Zimmerman Absent: None Staff.• Wesley Poole • Mark had called the River Keeper, Emily Sutton of the Haw River Assembly. She is working with the city of Burlington regarding the PFAS and PFOA chemicals in their water. Bio sludge run-off from the Burlington water treatment plant is polluting fields and water ways in Alamance and Orange Counties. Ms. Sutton has offered to speak to the Commission for the Environment about this issue. • Kim spoke with Jamezetta Bedford, OC Commissioner. The commissioners are aware of the 'forever chemicals"problem. • The group discussed how this water can be treated, and other concerns regarding the chemicals. Land Resources Subcommittee: Present: Jessie Birckhead, Regina Baratta, Jane Harris (via Zoom), Reade Oakley Absent: Kim Livingston Staff: Chris Hirni • The Land Resources subgroup discussed comments from the CFE on the no-net loss of forest canopy policy proposal. The subgroup will be sharing the policy proposal with David Stancil for his review and feedback before bringing it back to the CFE for approval. The subgroup will begin work on a county invasive species management proposal in the coming months. IX. Updates and Information Items • Wesley Poole informed the CFE of the upcoming Orange County Creek Week that will be held March 17-26. Staff will be doing a separate cleanup of local streams on March 30. • Amy Eckberg updated the CFE on the Solarize the Triangle campaign. They currently have 146 contracts so far and are expecting more by the March 31 deadline. Page 3 of 4 Orange County Commission for the Environment Meeting Summary March 13th 2023; 7:00 pm Hybrid Meeting They are also working on a contract with TJCOG to offer solar to low income families. • Amy Eckberg updated the CFE on the Climate Action Plan by showing the website that has been created along with all the information and links that have been provided. • Chris Hirni updated the CFE on the Green Tract Headwaters Preserve by discussing the progress and showing the website. • Veronica Penn Beattie shared her experience with the CFE of a recent BOCC meeting that she attended. She received quite a bit of feedback, including information regarding the Climate Action Grant and schools. X. Adjournment Kim Piracci motioned to adjourn the meeting at 9:09 pm; seconded by Andrea Zimmerman; all in favor; none opposed; motion passed. Page 4 of 4