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4.1. ECCSR 05-15-2019 • ''.144 City of Elk Meeting of the Elk River Riverdiffiss Energy City Commission Held at the Elk River City Hall Wednesday,November 28,2018 Members Present: Chair Tom Sagstetter, Commissioners Paula Bernard,Aaron,Brixius, Henry Griner, Glenn Hauck,Jason Hoskins and Jerry Olsen Members Absent: Anne Anderson,Trish Curtis, Harley Hanson and Matt Herman Staff Present: Amanda Bednar, Environmental Coordinator and Colleen Eddy, Economic Development Specialist 1. Call Meeting to Order Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the meeting of the Elk River Energy City Commission was called to order by Sagstetter at 8:31 a.m. 2. Pledge of Allegiance Sagstetter led the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. Consider Agenda Sagstetter added the Oath of Office for Member Brixius to item 5.1. Motion to approve agenda, moved by Hauck and seconded by Bernard to approve. 4. Consider Minutes One minor grammatical error was mentioned. Moved by Hoskins and seconded by Bernard to approve the minutes from the August 15, 2018 Energy City Commission meeting. 5.1 New member introduction and member updates This was the first meeting for Aaron Brixius; all members introduced themselves and provided a brief bio. This is Council member Olsen's last meeting as he did not seek reelection to City Council in 2019. The new staff liaison has not yet been assigned to the ECC. Olsen said he was pleased with how things have progressed on the Commission over the past year and appreciated weekly updates to be shared with City Council. He felt the mission of the ECC is now more clear. Sagstetter provided an update about recent events including a successful outreach program at the farmers market this summer as part of Drive Electric Week. He estimated about 130 people stopped by the booth to talk casually about electric vehicle and opportunities from ERMU. A video is being produced for ERMU for their grant that centers on electric vehicles. Changes will be made to the fees for public chargers in Elk River in 2019 based on time of use and connection fees will be eliminated starting in 2019. Fees for 2019 services rates will be approved in early December. 5.2 GRE memo to Council and update The ECC's memo that was written in September was on the Consent Agenda at City Council on November 19,2018. That same night a company called Enerkem presented a concept review about potential use for the GRE RDF plant to create a biodiesel from solid waste. As for November 20, 2018 GRE has announced plans to close the RDF project in Elk River and has begun making plans to stop accepting MSW. Hauck expressed great admiration to Sherburne County to keep the conversation about potential public ownership of the project moving but ultimately they could not take on the project without the support of other counties. He also shared that 2018 was a record setting year for GRE in Elk River for production. They are currently on a path to closure and plan to send out a notice of intent to bid and request for proposals in the near future,ideally keeping all three sites as one package. 5.3 10-year Action Plan department info and priorities for 2019 City staff is working to gather information from all city departments on the various items in the Action Plan as a recap for 2018. This information will eventually be shared with Council. The goal is to keep Energy City as a prominent part in the branding for Elk River. Moving forward in 2019, the Action Plan will continue to be a guiding document for future goals and projects. The group discussed finding some focus and possibly looking for external funding for projects that may come up. 5.4 Clean Up Day recap The City's fall Clean Up Day event was very successful again this year with over 400 cars coming through to recycle and dispose of various materials. The event is funded through SCORE funding from Sherburne County and the city is reimbursed for disposal costs for waste taken to GRE. This may change in 2019 if waste is taken to the landfill or elsewhere. Organics recycling in Elk River will likely change as well with GRE closing. The group discussed other options for organics including reaching out to current participants to get their feedback about a drop site or other options.Jason,Tom, Glenn and Matt volunteered to help Amanda with this issue and provide input to help continue the program for organics collection. 5.5 Climate Smart Municipalities 2019 program The schedule for the 2019 CSM program is set with the Germans visiting Minnesota June 8-15 and Minnesotans going to NRW September 20-28. The focus in Elk River will likely be trash with the closure of GRE. 2 5.6 Solar picnic table progress Modern Construction has agreed to help with the design and construction of the solar picnic table. There have been some delays this fall with scheduling and availability but we are hopeful it will be completed in 2019. More to come soon. 5.7 Builder/developer meeting—winter 2019 The goal for the meeting in winter 2019 is to bring together key players for new construction, remodeling, home improvement and other vendors that often work with the City of Elk River. The idea is to provide valuable information all in one place to make the permitting process easier, ensure there is understanding about regulations and have Energy City as the focus on these topics. This could include energy efficiency, load management and other sustainable practices. The hope is to bring together various city departments and external agencies. The city is also getting new permitting software that may make the application process easier and have more electronic options. ERMU has a handout they provide with items to be completed (checklist) for specific types of development. The event would include information sharing but also allow for feedback from developers, contractors and others. The group discussed partnering with a local group like the Chamber of Commerce. The workshop could vary in timing depending on topics and available staff. The group felt it was important to get feedback and possibly utilize technology to do so. Brixius suggested using Kahoot an online survey used on smart phones. Presentations could be available online too before the workshop. Colleen Eddy mentioned that Economic Development's relator meeting includes continuing education credits which are very appealing to those attending. Tom plans to organize a meeting in early December with city staff to keep this project moving. 6. Next Meeting Agenda Items (February 20, 2019) Trash, recycling and organics update Builder/Developer meeting Brainstorming session for 2019 projects based on Action Plan potentially for 2020, discuss funding options and more LOST projects- how to involve Energy City (ISI: Institute For Sustainable Infrastructure could be beneficial guidelines) 7. Announcements None 8. Adjournment There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 10:10 a.m. Minutes prepared by Amanda Bednar. 3 '>-(1* City of Meeting of the Elk River River Energy City Commission Held at the Elk River City Hall Wednesday, February 27, 2018 Members Present: Chair Tom Sagstetter, Commissioners Henry Griner Members Absent: Paula Bernard,Aaron Brixius, Garrett Christianson, Trish Curtis, Harley Hanson, Glenn Hauck and Jason Hoskins Staff Present: Amanda Bednar, Environmental Coordinator and Colleen Eddy, Economic Development Specialist 1. Call Meeting to Order Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the meeting of the Elk River Energy City Commission was called to order by Sagstetter at 8:36 a.m. 2. Pledge of Allegiance Sagstetter led the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. Consider Agenda 4. Consider Minutes Due to lack of quorum, the November meeting minutes will be considered at the next meeting. 5.1 New member introduction and member updates New members will be introduced at the next meeting; there are still two vacancies on the Commission, one school representative and one energy related business representative. The group briefly spoke about other industries in the community that may be a good fit for the Commission and will make those groups aware of the vacancies on the ECC. Sagstetter updated the group on his recent meeting with the City of Burnsville to discuss their fleet monitoring program and hopes of adding electric vehicles to their fleet. He was able to meet with their internal employee sustainability group to discuss further and share with ERMU has been doing. 5.2 Elections of Office Due to lack of quorum, this item has been moved to the next meeting's agenda. Tina Allard, City Clerk Tom Sagstetter, Chair Energy City Commission 4 5.3 GRE update The project continues to work on getting the plant into a "layup" status as GRE looks for interested parties to purchase the three sites. They are actively requesting proposals and the city hopes to hear more soon. 5.4 10-years Action Plan: updates including renewable energy and Hometown Solar Due to lack of quorum, this item has also been moved to the next meeting in order to get more input from others on the Commission. The hope is to have the members select action items to focus on outside of the meetings and provide information back to the city. As of January 1, 2019 the City is purchasing 100% renewable energy for all city buildings through the Clean Energy Choice program offered by ERMU. Additionally there are about 240 other accounts in the city participating in the program. MMPA will also offer window clings for those participating in the program to advertise their commitment to renewable energy. The City received a grant from MMPA for their Hometown Solar program to install a 5 kW solar array at City Hall to help educate the public about solar power and provide an up close education option. It should be completed this summer. The solar picnic table continues to be a work in progress. 5.5 CSM—video competition and other projects We are still looking for interested school groups for the CSM Germany partnership video competition, please contact Amanda with any suggestions. The CSM group will again be hosting a retreat at Camp Ripley this spring, more details to come. 5.6 Energy policy update - CIP and RES Sagstetter shared about the state discussions about changing Conservation Improvement Program (CIP) requirements and goals for renewable energy. Overall energy portfolios are getting cleaner and now transportation produces more CO2 than energy production. Negotiations and discussions continue about state goals for clean energy production. Electric vehicles and heat could be included in CIP programs in the future as well. Other topics of discuss at the state include load management, time of use rates, heat pumps and dual fuel options. Renewable Energy Standards is also being discussed with various goals possible for energy production. Policy and conservation can be challenging and market development is always changing. 2 5.7 Hometown Solar Grant update Discussed above 6. Next Meeting Agenda Items (Wednesday, May 15 2019) 10-year Action Plan, Oaths of Office, Election to Office and new member updates 7. Announcements None 8. Adjournment There beingno further business, the meetingadjourned at 9:30 a.m. l Minutes prepared by Amanda Bednar. Tina Allard, City Clerk Tom Sagstetter, Chair Energy City Commission 3