Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011/09/12 RCC Minutes MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE RESOURCE CONSERVATION COMMISSION City of Chula Vista, Executive Conference Room 103 276 Fourth Avenue • Action: The board elected Georgie Stillman to remain as Chair, and Sassan Rahimzadeh to remain as Vice Chair for Fiscal Year 2011/2012. 2. Bikes Belong Community Partnership Grant Proposal Environmental Resource Manager Reed gave the presentation. He stated that the grant proposal would be going to Council on Tuesday. He went on to say that the purpose of the solicitation is to improve the bicycle environment in communities through RCC Minutes, 9/12/11, Page 1 of 3 MEETING CALLED TO ORDER: ROLL CALL: MEMBERS PRESENT: MEMBERS ABSENT: MOTION TO EXCUSE: September 12, 2011 By Chair Stillman at 4:02 p.m. Chair Stillman, Commissioners Rahimzadeh, and Vargas None None Coleman, Davis, STAFF PRESENT: Public Works Director Hopkins, Environmental Resource Manager Reed, Environmental Resource Program Manager France, Building Project Manager Day, Office Specialist DiDonato, and Sr. Secretary Fields OTHERS PRESENT: None APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The Minutes of June 27, 2011 were approved. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS: 1. Lynn France shared with the group what the Clean Business banners look like that will be distributed to all the Clean Businesses. 2. Lynn also announced a Collection event on Saturday, September 24th at the Old Corp Yard for specific types of household waste. She stated that this effort is in conjunction with San Diego Computer to Kids, and that the electronics collected will be made into variable workable computers with software, support, and Internet at a discounted rate for under-served kids within Chula Vista. ACTION ITEMS: 1. Election of RCC Chair and Vice Chair for Fiscal Year 2011/2012 infrastructure improvements. Those improvements would include signage, bike lockers, bike racks, etc. The City's proposal is to install two miles of "sharrows", or shared pavement markings on arterial roadways within the City. They would help to show • where bicycles should be on the road in order to keep them away from parked cars and away from people opening their doors from those parked cars. These sharrows would also allow motorists to see where bicycles should be on the road. Manager Reed mentioned that the City has a number of project partners in the program including San Diego County Bicycle Coalition, SouthBay Bicycles, and the Chula Vista Chamber of Commerce. The roads that would get the sharrows are F Street between Broadway and Hilltop, and 4~h Avenue between C Street and H Street. Reed indicated that the project implementation is a 6 to 8 month implementation. Action: Chair Stillman made a motion that the Resource Conservation Commission recommend that City Council authorizes the submittal of the grant proposal. Commissioner Davis seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. 3. SunShot Initiative Solar Rooftop Challenge: Regional Grant Proposal Environmental Resource Manager Reed presented this item. He stated that the Department of Energy SunShot Initiative is a multi-year effort with the end goal of making solar energy technologies cost-competitive with other traditional energy sources such as natural gas and coal. The total funding available is 12.5 million dollars for Phase I, with additional funds during Phase II and III. The proposal would be to implement a work plan that would help reduce solar photovoltaics soft costs, such as permitting, plan review, etc. This regional proposal is being led by the California Center for Sustainable Energy. There are twelve jurisdictions, and the proposal hopes to streamline and standardize the following four things across all the jurisdictions: planning and zoning, permitting and inspection, financing, net metering and interconnections. • The City would receive approximately $32,000. The majority of the grant funds would be used to pay for staff time and travel to participate in three regional working groups centered on three of the four areas that the City has jurisdiction over: permitting, planning and zoning, and financing. The grant would last for a year and a half. Action: Chair Stillman made a motion that the Resource Conservation Commission recommend that City Council authorizes the City's participation in the regional grant proposal. Commissioner Rahimzadeh seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. INFORMATION ITEMS 1. Update of the City's Composting Program Dave DiDonato talked about the City's Composting Program, which includes food waste collection and compost bins. He discussed the division's community outreach booth and the use of informative banners, which have proven to be effective tools in promoting the program. He stated that they are pursuing waste management strategies that emphasize a more efficient use of resources and that emphasize waste as a resource rather than as trash. The program consists of workshops, a Master Composter Training course, compost bin sales, and demonstration sites. DiDonato added that they are also working with the schools. 2. Streetlight Retrofit Project Update Brendan Reed went over the background of the project. He stated that the project was an attempt to achieve City Council's goal of reducing energy use arTd greenhouse gas emissions and that streetlights became the main focus due to the fact that 38% of municipal electrical use is for streetlights. He mentioned wattages of RCC Minutes, 9/12/11, Page 2 of 3 lights currently used, and stated that staff had looked into the performance of • different light technologies and manufacturers in the areas of performance, light output, light quality, footprint, reliability, aesthetics, serviceability, energy consumption, and cost. LED technology was found to be the best fit for the City. Reed stated that they would be using a California Energy Commission loan that was subsidized by the federal stimulus package, and that up to 4600 streetlights would be replaced. This would equal about half of the City's streetlights and would include all residential lights. He then discussed financial aspects and cost saving features of the project. Building Project Manager Gordon Day added information about the funds requirement, current light installation, and Phase II installation. 3. RCC Action Plan Discussion, continued -This item was moved to the next meeting. DIRECTOR COMMENTS Director Hopkins mentioned the ribbon-cutting event on October 25th for the new parking lot solar panels. CHAIR COMMENTS None COMMISSIONER COMMENTS • Commissioner Coleman stated that he was extremely impressed by the two grants discussed in today's agenda items, and the programs discussed. • Commissioner Rahimzadeh added that he has been very proud of his business being a participant in the Clean Business program, and he stated that he viewed it as a marketing and economic benefit. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 6:08 p.m. to a regular meeting on Monday, September 16, 2011, at 4:00 pm in Executive Conference Room 103, Building 300, 276 Fourth Avenue, Chula Vista, CA 91910. Prepared by: Sheryl Fields Sr. Secretary • RCC Minutes, 9/12/11, Page 3 of 3