REAC-Green Team Joint Meeting Minutes 20180417

REAC-Green Team Joint Meeting Minutes 20180417

Attendance:
REAC: Bob Upton, George Wolfson, Lisa Summers, Ellie Gruber, Yingying Du, Christine Amundsen, Pam Perron, Michael Sedon (Village Council Liaison), Mary Mogerley (Parks & Recreation Rep),
Green Team: Jiffy Vermylen, George Wolfson, Bob Upton, Michael Sedon, Cathy Brienza.
Other: Dave Amundsen.

1. Several committee membership changes have occurred so introductions were made and welcomes extended. Mary Mogerley has replaced Dave Sayles as the P&R Rep. The Village Council has appointed Pam Perron (Citizen Member) and Christine Amundsen (Alternate) to REAC, Justin Manger and Cathy Brienza (Citizan Members) to the Green Team Advisory Committee and reappointed George Wolfson to REAC. We await the appointment of a Village Staff Rep to REAC. Also, Serena Iacoviello had expressed interest in joining our teams and says she submitted an application which appears to have gone astray. Mike will investigate.

2. Minutes from the March meeting were accepted.

3. The NJ Highlands Coalition will present “Highlands Rediscovered” in a presentation/discussion at the library April 19th at 6.30 PM co-sponsored by REAC. Thanks to Lisa & Ellie for coordinating. It was suggested to Ridgewood Water that they be represented to participate in the discussion. Bob will remind them.

4. The Daffodil Festival & Earth Day Fair is this Sunday April 22. The REAC/Green Team table will be included within the Recycling Department exhibit. It will include SJ Silver Certified Plaque, SJ & SJ Schools brochures, REAC banner, mission statements, Gold Star Waste graphic, Green Business board, anti-idling bookmarks & SJ Ridgewood Silver Certified refrigerator magnet give-aways. (250 Refrigerator magnets were purchased at a cost of $260). REAC/GT/SJ T-shirts will be available for committee members on the day. (25 T-shirts were purchased at a cost of $273). REAC/GT volunteers will staff our table and assist Recycling Dept as needed staffing tables & running games. Christine, Dave, George, Yingying, Mike, Bob, Justin, Lisa, Jennie, Jiffy and prospective member Serena have volunteered. They are asked to arrive about 10.00 AM or shortly after. George has a Food Waste graphic board for that table. George & Bob will oversee set-up on Sunday about 7.30 AM.

5. Sustainable Jersey

a. Jiffy described how the Gold Star Standard in Waste objective requires performance achievements and we will address our action plan after Earth Day.
b. SJ NJ Mayors’ Climate Action Pledge – Mike will clarify whether Ridgewood has entered into the pledge.
c. A Council resolution is needed to place SJ Silver Certified signage on Village signs so Chris is assisting with that step for the next appropriate Village Council meeting.
d. Grants: The Village grant writer completed the $20K grant submission (tree survey) and Mike confirmed matching funds are budgeted if we are successful.
e. Members were reminded the SJ Annual Summit meeting is on June 21st. Details on SJ web site.
f. SJ Bergen Hub – Justin & Bob attended the meeting on April 11th in Oradell. Discussion centered on EPS (aka Styrofoam). The representative from BCUA does not expect they will address this issue at County level. Several towns are looking into recycling machines and/or bans. The next meetings are May 10th in Wyckoff and June 7th in Glen Rock focusing on making towns EV friendly and Renewable Government Energy Aggregation respectively.

6. Schools update: It was noted that the new District Sustainability Policy details specific actions on which Christine will report progress. Successful implementation may provide useful learning to be applied elsewhere.

7. ANJEC - Grants – Info about 2018 Open Space Stewardship Project grants was forwarded to the Conservancy for Ridgewood Public Lands and the Open Space Committee.

8. By-Laws: To be addressed after Earth Day and the municipal election.

9. Plastic Bag Restrictions: Ellie & Lisa have created the survey for submission to Chamber of Commerce and Guild members. It was agreed that a ban on the use of single use plastic bags at municipal or county level is desirable. While it is pursued we need to promote recycling of plastic even though there is a strong feeling that this sends the wrong message, implying that use of plastic is OK.

10. Plaque for Andy Antista Tree: Ellie is working on wording and cost.

11. New business.
a. George proposed we should renew our efforts to secure grant monies.
b. George proposed that as part of the Gold Star Standard for Waste we coordinate with other Village organizations such as Community Services.
c. Bob observed there are numerous organizations in the Village addressing environmental issues and some consolidation of effort may be beneficial.
d. Bob noted that historically we have expected members to carry the cost of their efforts on behalf of the committees. While this is appreciated we should explore a convenient mechanism to reimburse members for sundry expenses. This may encourage participation from a broader membership.

Next Joint Meeting Date:  Tues, May 15th at 7.45PM at Village Hall Garden Room.