HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda 02102025 AGENDA
Orange County Commission for the Environment
February 10t", 2025
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 —Jan. 13t", 2025
The CFE will consider approval of meeting summary from the last meeting.Action Needed
(Attachment 1)
7:05 IV. CFE Introductions/Candidate Recruitment
The Chair will introduce the attending applicants for membership and the CFE will discuss
recruitment.
7:20 V. State of the Environment Report- Discussion
The CFE will discuss the State of the Environment Report and based on responses to the recent
survey,determine the baseline for the sub-committee breakout discussions for the 2025 report.
7:40 VI. Sub-Committee Breakouts
The CFE will break out into committee assignments and discuss the SOE and 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:
• Sub-Committee Report
• Land Legacy Conservation Milestone
• Hillsborough Climate Challenge Events
• Tree Giveaway
• Repair Cafe
• Federal Funding for Climate Action
Any other new information from CFE members and staff
9:00 VIII. Adjournment
*Next Meeting Date: March IOt; 2025;Bonnie B Davis
Environment and Agriculture Center
Orange County Commission for the Environment
Meeting Summary
January 13th, 2025; 7:00 pm
Hybrid Meeting
Present: Kristie Mather, Mark Randall, Ian Morse, Reade Oakley(Teams), John Bucher,
Matthew Ferguson, Regina Baratta, Lily Schacht,Veronica Penn Beattie (Teams),
Aimee Vandemark, Patrick Fn'Piere
Absent: Wendy Calvin, Jane Harris
Staff: Chris Hirni,Wesley Poole,Amy Eckberg, Kalani Allen, Karina Nabors
Guests: Brennan Bouma(Teams), Johnny Randall, Bradley Saul, Rich Shaw
I. Call to Order
Chair Regina Baratta called the meeting to order at 7:01 pm.
II. Additions or Changes to Agenda
None.
III. Approval of DRAFT Meeting Summary—December 9th, 2024
Motion to approve by Mark Randall; seconded by Matthew Ferguson; all in favor; none
opposed; motion passed.
IV. State of the Environment—Discussion
CFE members agreed to take on the State of the Environment report this year, so they
invited in guests that had previous experience with it to ask questions and seek advice.
The guests included previous County staff(Brenan Bouma and Rich Shaw) and previous
CFE members (Johnny Randall and Bradley Saul). Each of the guests discussed their
involvement with previous reports and answered questions from current CFE members.
They discussed topics that would be good to include with the upcoming report.
V. New CFE Member/Applicant Discussion
CFE members discussed the current applicant pool for the CFE. After looking at the
applicants, CFE members ranked Blake Tedderq as the #1 applicant, Mayur Lodaya as
the#2 applicant and William Branch as the#3 applicant. Matthew Ferguson motioned to
move forward with these applicants; seconded by Ian Morse; all in favor; none opposed;
motion passed. Regina Baratta will reach out to these applicants to see if they would be
interested in attending the next CFE meeting to gauge interest before making a
recommendation of appointment to the BOCC. Ian Morse will reach out to Wendy Calvin
to see if she plans to stay on the CFE despite her recent absences.
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Orange County Commission for the Environment
Meeting Summary
January 13t", 2025; 7:00 pm
Hybrid Meeting
VI. Sub-Committee Breakouts
The CFE broke out into committee assignments and discussed goals/projects for the
year.
Sub-Committee Breakout Meetin,-Summaries
Air& Energy Resources Subcommittee:
Present: John Bucher, Veronica Penn Beattie (Teams), Ian Morse, Matthew Ferguson,
Kristie Mather
Absent: None
Staff Amy Eckberg
• Discussed the previous SOTE reports and talked through potential topics for the
upcoming report. Focus was on what topics were worth revisiting and which topics
might need to be introduced.
Water Resources Subcommittee:
Present: Mark Randall, Lily Schacht, Patrick Fn'Piere
Absent: None
Staff Wesley Poole
• Pick indicators that are actual indicators of ecosystem health, but make sure not to
extrapolate.
• We must start measuring things so that we know how they are changing over time-
PFAS and other organic water contaminants.
• Look at environmental impacts where population has exploded and make sure we are
measuring and tracking apparent indicators for Orange County.
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Orange County Commission for the Environment
Meeting Summary
January 13t", 2025; 7:00 pm
Hybrid Meeting
Land Resources Subcommittee:
Present: Regina Baratta, Reade Oakley (Teams), Aimee Vandemark
Absent: Jane Harris
Staff Chris Hirni, Karina Nabors
• The Committee discussed what goals from the previous SOE still need to be
achieved. We discussed ways to promote the passing of one of these: the County's
No-Net Tree Loss Policy. We will address future topics for the upcoming SOE next
meeting.
VII. Updates and Information Items
• Karina Nabors notified the CFE of the April Climate Challenge by the Hillsborough
Green Team. Last year's event was held at the Passmore Center and they will be
doing it again and trying to incorporate schools this year. The Green Team is also
sponsoring a"Greening Your Investment"talk at the Orange County Library on 1/18
from 1-2:30pm.
• John Bucher informed the CFE that he had drafted a letter to the BOCC regarding the
lawsuit, Town of Carrboro vs. Duke Energy Corp. CFE discussed and agreed that
individual letters are okay, but nothing collective from the CFE.
• Ian Morse notified the CFE of the UNC COGEN Public Hearing on 1/16 from 6-8pm
at the Chapel Hill Town Hall.
• Amy Eckberg notified the CFE of the Art and Sustainability event"Down to Earth"
that will be held 3/7 through 4/24.
• Karina Nabors notified the CFE of the 100-tree giveaway program for Orange County
that will be held in early March.
• Veronica Penn Beattie notified the CFE that her company Endswell won a USDA
grant and will be celebrating 2 years this Friday from 5-6:30pm.
VIII. Adjournment
Mark Randall motioned to adjourn the meeting at 9:07 pm; seconded by Veronica Penn
Beattie; all in favor; none opposed; motion passed.
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