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Home My WebLink AboutCFE Agenda 02092026 AGENDA Orange County Commission for the Environment February 9t", 2026 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. 12t", 2026 The CFE will consider approval of meeting summary from the last meeting.Action needed (Attachment 1) 7:05 IV. RIPPLE Awards- Nominations Review and Vote The Chair will lead a review of nominations for the first annual RIPPLE Awards and begin the voting process.The process will likely extend into March.Action Needed(Attached under separate cover) 7:30 V. Earth Day Events Discussion The CFE will discuss the participation in the different County and Municipal Earth Day events. Staff will provide update in the change for the County's Earth Day event. 7:45 VI. State of the Environment Discussion The CFE will discuss and provide updates on progress. Missing materials and topics will be discussed and assigned. 8:00 VII. Sub-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. 8:45 VIII. Updates and Information Items Staff and/or CFE members will provide updates on the following items: • Subcommittee Summaries • CFE Annual Work Plan Presentation(Feb loth @vSHSC) • Tree Giveaway • Hillsborough Climate Challenge Updates Any other new information from CFE members and staff 9:00 IX. Adjournment *Next Meeting Date: March 91h, 2026;(Bonnie B Davis Environment and Agriculture Center) Orange County Commission for the Environment Meeting Summary January 12th, 2026; 7:00 pm Hybrid Meeting Present: Kristie Mather, Ian Morse, John Bucher, Regina Baratta, Aimee Vandemark, Patrick Fn'Piere, Mark Randall, Matthew Ferguson, Mayur Lodaya, Lily Schacht, Leto Copeley, Margot Lester, Jeffrey Ryan Absent: Veronica Beattie, William Branch Staff: Wesley Poole, Chris Himi (Teams), Kalani Allen, Karina Nabors, Amy Eckberg, Abby Mattingly(Teams), Mel Gilles, Isis Mateos-Guevara(Teams) I. Call to Order Chair Regina Baratta called the meeting to order at 7:06 pm. 11. Additions or Changes to Agenda Kristie Mather asked to add an item to the Updates and Information Items regarding the Sierra Club...granted. Amy Eckberg asked to introduce their intern, Isis Mateos- Guevara...granted and followed with introduction. III. Approval of DRAFT Meeting Summary—November loth, 2025 Motion to approve by Vice-Chair Ian Morse; seconded by Mark Randall; all in favor; none opposed; motion passed. IV. Nature of Orange Photo Contest Abby Mattingly presented the winning photos from last year's Nature of Orange Photo Contest and followed with a request that the CFE continue sponsorship this year. Motion to approve by Chair Regina Baratta; seconded by Margot Lester; all in favor; none opposed; motion passed. V. CFE Annual Report and Work Plan The group discussed edits and inclusions for the Annual Report and Work Plan that is due in January. Once a final draft was created, the group voted on the document that will be submitted. Motion to approve by Chair Regina Baratta; seconded by Kristie Mather; all in favor; none opposed; motion passed. VI. Climate Action Grant Petition Amy Eckberg presented a petition written by BOCC member Sally Greene to expand the CCAG funds from the BOCC to include climate adaptation as well as mitigation. After a Page 1 of 4 Orange County Commission for the Environment Meeting Summary January 12', 2026; 7:00 pm Hybrid Meeting discussion on the way the grant process currently works versus the proposal, the group agreed that some things needed to be tweaked before next year's grant process. Regarding Sally Greene's petition, the group voted on whether or not to support it. Chair Regina Baratta motioned to support it; seconded by Mayur Lodaya; Vice-Chair Ian Morse abstained from voting; Kristie Mather voted no; remainder of group in favor; motion passed. VII. State of the Environment Report Round Table The group discussed the status of State of the Environment Report sub-topics, missing materials, and emerging issues to cover. Chair Regina Baratta stated that she would like to be done by June. Aimee Vandemark asked members for help with the Tree Canopy Study and stated that Bradley Saul (previous CFE member) is planning to help assimilate the data for the report. Some members expressed concern over the amount of time it would take to complete. VIII. Sub-Committee Breakouts The CFE broke out into committee assignments and worked on State of the Environment sub-topics. Sub-Committee Breakout Meetin,-Summaries Air& Energy Resources Sub-committee: Present: John Bucher, Ian Morse, Kristie Mather, Matthew Ferguson, Margot Lester Absent: Veronica Beattie Staff: Amy Eckberg • Discussed the state of all the topics currently drafted and those in progress. Drafts have been produced for the majority of topics. Those that do not have a full draft have a significant portion already created. We addressed questions of scope for the remaining topics to help them get to draft status sooner. We will have a subcommittee meeting on January 26th to address progress, and to move towards the creation of our final draft for the group. Page 2 of 4 Orange County Commission for the Environment Meeting Summary January 12', 2026; 7:00 pm Hybrid Meeting Water Resources Sub-committee: Present: Patrick Fn'Piere, Mark Randall, Mayur Lodaya, Lily Schacht, Jeffrey Ryan Absent: None Staff Wesley Poole • Discussed status of data collection, approach to combining documents, how to make the report accessible and interesting. Status updates on reports being written by other groups. What would it take to replicate Wake County groundwater study in Orange County? Land Resources Sub-committee: Present: Regina Baratta, Aimee Vandemark, Leto Copeley Absent: William Branch Staff: Chris Hirni (Teams), Karina Nabors, Kalani Allen, Mel Gilles • Discussed what organisms to include in the indicator species section of the SOE. Aimee will reach out to Natural Heritage Site on indicator species. Planning a Thursday morning meeting with OC staff to help plug holes and answer questions on land use,protected land, etc. Mel gave Leto some insight into Solid Waste Management research and contacts. As we put our work together, we are to be mindful of ADA compliance with visuals. IX. Updates and Information Items • Chair Regina Baratta passed out flyers advertising the RIPPLE award and asked CFE members to share at least (2) flyers each. Amy Eckberg notified the group that they had received(8) applications so far and the deadline to submit was February lsc • Kristie Mather notified the CFE that the Sierra Club was looking for questions to ask BOCC candidates to see if they would endorse certain items. • Kalani Allen notified the CFE that DEAPR staff had an Earth Evening discussion coming up and the format would be different this year so be thinking how the CFE would like to participate. Page 3 of 4 Orange County Commission for the Environment Meeting Summary January 12t'', 2026; 7:00 pm Hybrid Meeting X. Adjournment Chair Regina Baratta motioned to adjourn the meeting at 9:04 pm; seconded by John Bucher; all in favor; none opposed; motion passed. Page 4 of 4