Minutes April 14, 2009
Campus Sustainability Council
Tuesday April 14, 2009, 1:00-2:45 pm
Minutes
Attending: Victor Alatorre, David Barnhill, Almut Beringer, Joe Blohm, Jim Feldman, Brian Klinger, Mike Lizotte, Maureen (Moe) Muldoon.
Next meetings: Thursday April 30 & Thursday May 7, both 1:30-2:30 in Swart 210.
Minutes: The minutes of the April 2 meeting were approved as written.
Director’s Report
Biomass digester.
Almut Beringer continues to work on this. There is a problem in that we do not create enough green waste and would need to import it from other organizations in the area, such as hospitals and schools. Moe Muldoon suggested that in the future we might be able to get manure from the new Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation in Rosendale.
Bike/pedestrian planning and the city of Oshkosh.
Almut obtained the proposal from the city’s consultant. UWO will have an open forum about its Master Plan on May 4, and Chris Miles is heading up the Facilities Management work on the newest version of the Master Plan.
The need to have bike/pedestrian planning involved from the beginning was supported by Mike Lizotte, who said that concerning the Elmwood Commons the university did not have effective communication with the city, with each one contending that bike/pedestrian planning was the purview of the other.
A general concern was expressed that the university community (students, faculty, staff) are not sufficiently included in the process of the Master Plan, and the university is not making use of faculty expertise and courses that could provide information and insight to the process.
David asked how detailed the Master Plan is. It may have enough flexibility to allow significant bike/pedestrian planning after the Master Plan has decided on the basic structure. No one was aware of the details of the Plan. The Council agreed that it wanted to see the Plan before the open forum. Steve Arndt may be able to do that at our next meeting on April 30.
The questions remains whether we should hire a consultant for the bike/pedestrian planning. We can consider this at our next meeting after we have a presentation on the Master Plan.
Joe Blohm asked if the university was still using Kensaki and Associates for the planning. They consulted on the city of Madison bike plan, which is very progressive.
The issue of bike racks was also discussed. Apparently the university has made a decision to stick with one style. However, that style has been criticized on the grounds that it is not efficient in storing the bikes.
Bylaws
The Council considered the draft of bylaws produced by Mike, who was thanked for his thoughtful work on the document. It discussed Articles I-IV.
Introduction: change first line to “The Sustainability Council oversees and helps coordinate…”
Article I, section 1.d.: remove “other” from the second sentence. the election of the co-chairs should take place every year.
Article I, section 2.b.: “… shall notify the co-chairs in writing….”
Article II, section 2.c. The relationship between the CSC’s report and the Director’s report was discussed, including the timing of each. It was agreed that the CSC’s report is a self-assessment of its work during the year, and so should come at the end of spring semester. Decisions on the priorities for the upcoming year should be made at the beginning of the academic year when new members have joined the CSC.
Article II, section 3. Change to “The Council may take leadership in sustainability related issues and advise campus leaders on sustainability initiatives.”
Article II, section 4.a. Change to “The Campus Sustainability Director and Council Co-Chairs will coordinate the appointment of representatives to these committees.
Article II, section 4.b. Change to “… will consult with the Campus Sustainability Director and Council Co-Chairs ….”
Article IV, section 7. Change to “Council members must submit agenda items requiring Council action to the co-chairs at least four business days prior to a regularly scheduled meeting. The agenda should be sent to Council members three business days prior to a regularly scheduled meeting.
At our next meeting, we will vote on articles I-IV and discuss article V and the name of the Council.
Reports from committees
Move-out day.
Moe and Victor Alatorre met with Dawn Detlaff and Michelle Sponholz. Residence Life has had sustainable move-out possibilities, but we need volunteers to help encourage and direct taking items for reuse and recycling. Environmental Studies courses can be a good source for recruiting volunteers. Move-out will take place Wednesday-Saturday of the final week of the semester.
We can get lockable PODs (portable on demand) for the costs of transportation. The committee recommends five PODs, four for the residence halls and one for food. A question remains who will pay the $300, facilities or the office of sustainability.
--Moe Muldoon and David Barnhill
