Meeting Minutes
December 13, 2005
Attendees: Faith Klareich (FK), Doub Beard (DB), Kris Dighe (KD), Alicia Hosmer (AH), Jerry Leighton (JL), Tolulope Odunlami (TO), Geoff Sanders (GS), Jaskaran Singh (JS) and Nate Wall (NW)
Absent: None.
Also Present: Sura Yakowitz (SY), resident interested in working groups.
1. Welcome, News and Agenda Review
The meeting was called to order at 7:33 pm in the Blue Crab Conference Room at Rockville City Hall.
2. Meeting Minutes Approval
KD moves, FK seconds to approve October and November 2005 meeting minutes. Motion passes by unanimous vote.
3. Coyote Policy
FK asks if Commission wants to take a stance on a possible coyote policy, commit anything to writing? Could examine a public outreach campaign. Since the City already has a general coexistence policy with wildlife, what would need to be changed in the case of coyotes (e.g., fence height limitations, population surveys, etc.) What else might need review?
GS asks what authority the City has with HOAs. Might be able to get a variance from the City, but what if HOAs limit fence height to 42 inches. If the Commission opts to recommend changing City limitations, what other residents may have safety concerns for other reasons and also want a larger fence? Need to consider this ripple effect.
The Commission agreed that a multi-media approach to educating the public about coyotes was necessary: direct mailings, links to website information, Rockville Reports, perhaps even the Rockville Channel cable segment. FK mentioned that the Commission on the Environment may not be the appropriate body to disseminate this information – may want to come up with approach and give it to the City. AH mentioned that the Community Outreach working group was not ready to take on addressing this issue at this time.
GS and KD agreed to make a bullet point memo of approaches, information, etc. that the Commission would like to have covered in a coyote educational campaign.
4. Working Group Updates / Priority Projects
FK said that as these working groups get up and running, will need regular reports back to the entire Commission. Five minutes per group/lead will be set aside at all future meetings for a brief update; if you need more time for the discussion of a particular topic, let FK know in advance, and it will be worked into the agenda. For working group correspondence, send to FK and cc: NW.
All working group leads to have a brief kickoff conference call with FK and NW within the next week to clarify goals, procedures, etc.
AH mentioned that the Community Outreach working group had their initial meeting last night (Dec. 12, 2005) and that there were 4 people in attendance. Discussed what people would like to do, what media contacts may be necessary, other resources, etc. Discussed annual environmental report, and will be creating an outline. This first report will likely be forward-looking: what do we hope to achieve. Will want to establish some metrics (start with metrics from City Manager’s briefing packet), and try to get a snapshot of Rockville’s environmental health from publicly available data. Also, the Environmental Excellence Awards are to be reviewed, and a plan for better publicity will be developed.
The Environmental Summit is paramount – AH says Community Outreach will be looking at where, when, and who; DB said the Watershed and SWM working group will prioritize determining the content of this event.
The Zoning Ordinance revision process, and the associated environmental performance standards will be one of the priorities of the High Performance Buildings working group. SY described some green building standards adopted by other jurisdictions, and volunteered to assist with the HPB group. JL would also like to be a part of this group.
5. Staff Update
NW briefly described the Environmental Scan process currently in-progress at all levels of the City. Will report back as this is finalized (end of January). The City has recently been re-certified as a Chesapeake Bay Gold Partner Community, and there is to be an awards ceremony at an upcoming Mayor & Council meeting. NW then discussed an inclement weather policy – if City Hall is closed due to weather, there will be no evening meeting.
6. Commission Vacancy, Council Liaison, 2006 Meetng Dates
FK mentioned that given the holidays and the start-up of the working groups, the Commission should hold off on filling the vacancy for a few months. NW mentioned that Council Liaison assignments would likely occur in January. NW then handed out a list of all 2006 meeting dates.
7. Wrap-Up and Adjourn
Meeting adjourned at 9:16 pm.
