HomeMy WebLinkAboutCFE Meeting Summary 02102025 Orange County Commission for the Environment
Meeting Summary
February 10th, 2025; 7:00 pm
Hybrid Meeting
Present: Kristie Mather, Mark Randall, Ian Morse, John Bucher, Matthew Ferguson,
Regina Baratta, Lily Schacht,Veronica Penn Beattie (Teams), Aimee Vandemark,
Patrick Fn'Piere
Absent: Jane Harris, Reade Oakley
Staff: Chris Himi, Wesley Poole, Kalani Allen,Amy Eckberg (Teams), Karina Nabors
(Teams), Melony Gilles
Guests: Leto Copeley, Mayur Lodaya, William Branch
I. Call to Order
Chair Regina Baratta called the meeting to order at 7:02 pm.
II. Additions or Changes to Agenda
None.
III. Approval of DRAFT Meeting Summary—January 13th, 2025
Motion to approve by Mark Randall; seconded by Lily Schacht; all in favor; none
opposed; motion passed.
IV. CFE Introductions/Candidate Recruitment
Chair Regina Baratta introduced the guests that were attending the meeting that night to
see if they would like to be considered for appointment to the CFE. They were Leto
Copeley, Mayur Lodaya, and William Branch. CFE members and staff did brief
introductions along with the guests. Chair Regina Baratta described the process for
joining the CFE.
V. State of the Environment Report-Discussion
Chair Regina Baratta discussed the survey results of what members would like to see
with the State of the Environment Report. Everyone agreed to use a Google Folder to
keep everything organized. The majority agreed to not use an outside consultant and try
to have the report complete by 2026. It will be permissible for sub-committees to meet
outside of regular meetings to complete the extra workload of putting the Report together,
just keep meeting summaries of what is discussed. Members discussed the possibility of
getting an intern to help with the work.
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Orange County Commission for the Environment
Meeting Summary
February 10th, 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 (Teams)
• Committee discussed potential topics for the SOE and discussed assignments for
individual subjects. Additionally, we wanted to make sure that the report mentions the
climate change resilience and the impact of growth in OC. These topics will require
collaboration with the other subcommittees.
• Subcommittee is planning on having an outside meeting on February 24th.
Water Resources Subcommittee:
Present: Mark Randall, Lily Schacht, Patrick Fn Piere
Absent: None
Staff Wesley Poole, Melony Gilles
• Notes: Guiding question -How is Orange County doing at meeting water-related
challenges? Target combined indices (e.g., watershed quality index). Framing:
climate change will impact water sources, how resilient are we?Federal data may
disappear so download data now. Update figures from 2019 SOE.
• Next meeting: Talk about methodology. Divide responsibilities. Can someone contact
water utilities to update Fig. I on Page 19 of 2019 SOE.
Land Resources Subcommittee:
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Orange County Commission for the Environment
Meeting Summary
February 10th, 2025; 7:00 pm
Hybrid Meeting
Present: Regina Baratta, Aimee Vandemark
Absent: Jane Harris, Reade Oakley
Staff Chris Hirni, Karina Nabors (Teams)
• The Review Process of previous State of the Environment Reports and used the
Survey results to start picking topics for the 2025-6 SOE.
• Keep the bird survey part to represent the state of animals in OC(like an indicator
species) since bird counts can also indicate presence/absence of insects,pollutants,
native plants, etc.; Bird counts are also done annually so data would be easy to
compare.
Ouestions to consider:
• How is OC doing compared to goals set in 2019?
• What are our successes?Aimee selected: "Trees for the Forest"/Acres of Land
Protected(pages 11-12 in 2019 SOE). Regina picked: Protected Land/Land Legacy
Program (pages 13-14 in 2019 SOE). Reade's and Jane's topics TBD. Kristie Mather
volunteered to help our Subcommittee with Solid Waste topic.
VII. Updates and Information Items
• Chris Hirni informed the CFE of the recent Lands Legacy Program conservation
milestone: breaking 3,000 acres of land conserved in Orange County.
• Regina Baratta informed the CFE of the many Hillsborough Climate Challenge
events planned for April.
• Karina Nabors informed the CFE of the Tree Giveaway coming up on March 15th
• Mellony Gilles informed the CFE of the Repair Cafe coming up on March 15th as
well.
• Amy Eckberg informed the CFE of the hold placed on federal grants for Climate
Action.
VIII. Adjournment
Chair Regina Baratta motioned to adjourn the meeting at 9:03 pm; seconded by John
Bucher; all in favor; none opposed; motion passed.
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