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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClimate Council Meeting Summary - 12-17-2020 Orange County Climate Council Meeting Summary December 17, 2020 3:00pm - 4:30pm Online Meeting Attendees: Mark Marcoplos (Chair), Brennan Bouma (staff), Paul Cough, Ray DuBose, Robb English, Tyrone Fisher, Laura Janway, Kathy Kaufman, Adam Long, Melissa McCullough, John Richardson, Donna Rubinoff, Sammy Slade, Mary Tiger, Stephanie Trueblood, Cathy Cole, Crystal Cavalier, Jonas Monast Interest List Attendees: • Inge De Becker • Patty Daniel • Randee Haven-O’Donnell Public comments received by advertised deadline: None I. Call to Order, Land Acknowledgement - Marcoplos called the meeting to order at 3:03pm. Cavalier gave a native lands acknowledgement for Orange County, recognizing that Orange County sits on the historic lands of the Occoneechi, Saponi, and Tutelo people, and historically the land where Orange County is now was also the land of the Tuscarora, Sissipahaw, Eno, Shakori, Saura, and Catawba people. II. Additions or Changes to the Agenda Tiger requested screenshot No additions or changes were suggested. Marcoplos reminded the Council of the leadership succession plan with McCullough to move up into the role as Chair for the next year and an election to be held for the next Vice- Chair. Once membership is solidified in January, nominations can be made and a vote would be held in February. Inge De Becker Introduced herself Patty Daniel Introduced herself III. Approval of Meeting Minutes from October 15th, 2020 Kaufman moved to approve the minutes from October, McCullough seconded and the minutes were approved unanimously. IV. Discussion of Climate Council Role After a brief presentation recapping previous Council discussions on this topic and potential clarifications, Council members discussed the role of the Climate Council in making recommendations on policies, plans, procedures, etc. Staff confirmed that as members of the Council, their voices do not represent their jurisdictions. That is up to the elected Boards and time needs to be built in to allow for the elected boards to consider and support when needed. DuBose made the point that the OWASA Board of Directors faced similar restrictions as staff with what they could say and not say. They are appointed and non-political. Marcoplos pointed out that the elected official members of the Council had more leeway to lead on making recommendations. Slade made the point that with the minimal time the world has to address the climate issue, we need all the advocates we can get. He recommended finding ways to continue the Council’s work and communication while respecting the complexities that staff face. Kaufman agreed with Slade and underscored that information sharing is not all that the Council could do. Independent analysis and objective recommendations of projects or other climate actions could also be helpful. McCullough agreed and highlighted that a synthesis of information would be valuable, especially when the Council is all engaged in coming to the conclusions. Marcoplos agreed and added that linking together and encouraging existing advocates and non-profits can be powerful. He then suggested that the Communications committee flesh out this network. Monast then brought up the issue of the OCCC’s relationship to the local governments in Orange County. Mostly we’ve been operating in isolation. It would be important for us to be seen as a resource, so elected boards should know they can ask us questions. Responding to them clarifies and justifies our role. Several Council members expressed agreement and appreciation for Monast’s point. V. Update from Climate Action Reporting Committee There were no significant updates to report this month. VI. Update from Policy Committee There were no significant updates to report this month. VII. Update from Communications Committee Marcoplos and Rubinoff summarized the outreach efforts of the Communications Committee and members agreed that the outreach should continue. VIII. Adjournment Marcoplos asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting and this was provided by Cole and seconded by McCullough. The Council voted unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 4:31pm.