Sustainability at Lake Superior College

Meeting Minutes 10/14/2011

9:00-11:00
Location: Student Life Conference Room

Announcements
MN Waste Wise Annual Meeting This year’s meeting will be held Thursday, November 17th, 2011 at Science Museum of MN, cost is $45 per person.  Deanne will be attending.  Kristi will send out an e-vote to cover her travel cost.
Styro Shredding  Kevin’s work-study spent a few hours shredding styro and it’s all caught up for now.  Over 50 bags were shredded and the material is listed on Craig’s List.  Thanks, Kevin!  The new shredding machine is still in production.
Northland Bioneers Conference: information has been updated on the website. Kristi will send this link out and also ask Student Senate if any of their members want to attend.

Sub-Committee Reports

New Business
WLSSD Field Trip November 1st
Environmental Council Structure Pat has requested more information on this.  The general feeling is the Council needs to establish some structured by-laws of some sort to answer questions such as: what is considered an “active voting member”, what is the chair-person term, etc.  A sub-committee needs to be formed to accomplish this.  More discussion at next meeting.
LSC Sustainability Page link is no longer on the homepage.  This webpage has been neglected and needs some serious upkeep before it can be more utilizable.
Campus Gardens Wade will talk with Tom Olson of Duluth Grill to potentially present on the benefits of raising food locally and to begin collaboration on the campus gardens project. -It would be a good idea to arrange a meeting with Brian (Student Senate), Pat, Cliff K, Theresa, and anyone else interested in the gardens project to get together to discuss potential ideas and possibly walk the property to discuss potential garden spots.
Rain Garden Signs are finished and Matt and Kristi spent the day last Friday digging holes and cementing support posts in.  Bill, Jason, and Gary all helped to get holes drilled.  Bill has ordered more tamper proof bolts/screws for the signs and Kristi will replace bolts and finish the install on Monday.
Earth Day/Week Activities Initial discussions should begin now, some potential new ideas include student research presentations and an art focus.

Old Business

Budget  
FY12 Budget start: $5,000
8/8/11 Minnesota Waste Wise Membership: $150
8/9/11 Airpark Services for FY12 plastic bag pick-up: $208 for year
9/12/11 UMACS registration for 2 Student Senate members: $60
9/12/11 UMACS hotel: Best Northland Prairie Inn, Morris: $87.03
9/12/11 UMACS mileage & food reimbursement for Brett and Brian: $328.40
9/12/11 Kristi’s Sustainability Leadership Certificate: $550
11/1/11 AASHE Annual Dues: $260

Balance as of 9/16/11: $3356.57

Next meeting
October 28th, 9:00, Student Life Conference Room
Notes Submitted by Deanne Roquet

Meeting Minutes 9/30/2011

September 30th, 2011
9:00 Workforce Development Conference Room (E2028)

Faculty/Staff members present: Glenn Merrick, Jeri Schwerin, Kevin Futhey, Kristi Heintz, Mat Gilderman, Theresa Hornstein, Wade Gordon, Patty Dorn
Student members present:  Kathy Larson
Guests present: Brian Sanner, Lacy Munson

Announcements
Second Nature Campus Sustainability Day webinar is October 26th.  Kristi will register our group and find a room for the webinar portion and send an email to anyone interested in participating.

Max needs people to shred styrofoam.  Please contact Kristi or Max for machine use training.  Donate some time to shred some styrofoam.  It’s a great project and they’ve done a lot of wonderful work for us, time to repay the favor!

Sub-Committee Reports
Living Green  Kristi and Wade gave an overview of the Living Green Conference.  There has been a steering committee formed with various community groups to work on plans for this year’s Living Green Conference which will be held in February.  Kristi asked if anyone from the Council would be willing and able to serve on the steering committee representing LSC.  Jeri said she would consider it; Kristi will forward information to her regarding the next planning meeting.

New Business
AASHE Dues  Based on our fall 2011 FTE numbers, our dues for AASHE this year is $260 and is due November 1st.  Wade and Kristi gave a brief description of the benefits of being a member of AASHE.  Kathy motioned to pay the dues, Theresa seconded it.

Fall Sustainability Newsletter  If you have any ideas or stories you’d like added to our Fall Newsletter, please get them to Kristi by mid-October.  Glenn suggested we add pictures from Stream Corp tree planting along with a re-cap of the GLISTEN project to date.

Old Business
Brian Sanner joined us and gave a re-cap of the UMACS Conference from last weekend.  He generated a plethora of great ideas for our campus and gave the group some ideas for future collaborative efforts between the EC and Student Senate.  Brian’s full report can be seen here: UMACS Report.  Kristi will follow up with Brain about the “Legacy Project” the Student Senate has been working on and find a way the EC can help them to move the project forward.

The Student Success Day table was great success as was the Early Adopters Project Documentary screening.  Kristi also had about 16 people participate in the “Experience Your Campus’ Eco Efforts” session.  The table generated some results for student and staff input on priority projects for the year.  Results are as follows:
-Edible Campus Gardens: 26
-Add fresh and local food to cafeteria menu: 33
-Reduce single-use plastic bottles, install bottle filling stations: 28
-Connect campus to city, non-motorized commuter paths: 7
Everyone seemed very enthusiastic about all the potential projects.  The EC will work with Student Senate on food related projects, as they’ve been working toward a similar goal for over a year.

Kristi sent Gary some information on the water bottle filling station.  After some convincing, Gary agreed to allow the Council to move ahead with a retrofit to an existing fountain in the new Health and Science building.  Kristi assured him it wouldn’t require any change to the plumbing.  Kristi asked the EC to agree to pay for the bottle filling station itself, around $500, and Gary may be willing to pay for installation.  Kristi will work with Gary to get this project moving.

Max and a student have finished with the rain garden signs.  Cost break-down for materials totaled about $380 and was paid for from the EC FY11 budget.  Square posts were also purchased and as soon as the signs are mounted to the posts, Kristi will work with her work-study and someone from maintenance to get the signs installed.  Kristi will also include this project in the Fall Sustainability Newsletter and list the name of the student that did the engraving.

Budget Report
EC balance YTD:

Beginning FY12 balance        5,000
8/8/11    Minnesota Waste Wise Membersip:    $150
8/9/11    Airpark Services for FY12 plastic bag pick-up    $208
9/12/11    UMACS Registration for 2 Student Senate members    $60
9/12/11    UMACS hotel: Best Northand Prairie Inn, Morris    $87.03
9/12/11    UMACS mileage and food reimbursement for Brett and Brian    $328.40
9/12/11    Kristi’s Sustainability Leadership certificate    $550    $3616.57

Motions
AASHE dues: Kathy motioned, Theresa seconded
Water bottle filling station: Kevin motioned, Kathy seconded

Next meeting
Next EC meeting will be October 14th  at 9:00 in Student Life Conference Room.  Kristi sent out Outlook meeting invites for the next 3 meetings.

Submitted by Kristi Heintz

Meeting Minutes 9/16/2011

9:00 Student Life Conference Room

Faculty/Staff members present: Deanne Roquet, Glenn Merrick, Kristi Heintz, Theresa Hornstein, Jeri Schwerin, Patty Dorn
Student members present:  Kathy Larson
Guests present: Matt Edblad (Student Senate)

Announcements
UMACS attendees Brian Sanner and Brent Tweet, both of Student Senate, will represent LCS at this year’s UMACS Conference.  The Environmental Council paid for one hotel room, registration, meal, and mileage reimbursement.  Kristi has asked them to share their experience at the next EC meeting.
City Bikeways and Trails Draft Master Plan is available for review on the City of Duluth website.  You can review the draft plan and post comments there or at one of the upcoming public meetings.  Deanne suggested looking into “SHIP” funds to better connect our campus to the city trail system/Trinity Road.  She will follow up with Dick  to find out if this has been previously discussed.

Sub-Committee Reports
Student Success Day The Council decided to use the SS Day table as an outreach tool to promote the SPA.  The Council decided also to incorporate some of the group’s top goals for the year and ask students to vote on which they feel is the most important issue to tackle.  Kristi will set up jars labeled with the following five goals related to the SPA: water bottle filling station, fresh & local cafeteria food, campus edible gardens, connection to city commuter paths/Trinity Road, “others”.  Kristi will get candy pieces to use for voting.  The ACUPCC banner will also be hung near the table.

Old Business
The Council agreed to look into the cost of purchasing a “Elkay” water bottle filling retrofit for an existing drinking water fountain.  Kristi will get and send information on these units to Gary and ask that one be put in the new building.  The Council will discuss funding for the unit after discussion with Gary.

New Business
Interpretive Trail Bridges Julie from Creation Station has mentioned to Glenn their inability to use Interpretive Trail because of the lack of a railing on the long bridge crossing Miller Creek.  Ideas were generated on how best to get this remedied with a railing.  Glenn will contact Roger Reinert about possibly using the project in a Civic Engagement class.  Funding was also discussed.  Home Depot was mentioned as a possible grant source.
Interpretive Trail Signage Funding for this project was also discussed.

Budget Report
EC balance YTD: $3,616.57
Beginning FY12 balance        $5,000
8/8/11    Minnesota Waste Wise Membersip:    $150
8/9/11    Airpark Services for FY12 plastic bag pick-up    $208
9/12/11    UMACS Registration for 2 Student Senate members    $60
9/12/11    UMACS hotel: Best Northand Prairie Inn, Morris    $87.03
9/12/11    UMACS mileage and food reimbursement for Brett and Brian    $328.40
9/12/11    Kristi’s Sustainability Leadership certificate    $550

Motions
No motions made
Next meeting
Next EC meeting will be September 30th at 9:00 in Student Life Conference Room.  Kristi will send out Outlook meeting invites for the next 3 meetings.

Submitted by Kristi Heintz

Meeting Minutes 9/2/2011

10:00 Student Life Conference Room

Faculty/Staff members present: Megan Bugge, Mike Francisco, Deanne Roquet, Kristi Heintz
Student members present:  Anna Bealieu

Announcements
UMACS is September 23rd at U of M Morris.  Early registration deadline is September 9th, email Kristi if you’d like to attend.  Kristi has also invited Student Senate members to attend.  Registration for students is $30 each and I’ve offered for the EC to pay for as many registrations as they can fit into one male and one female hotel room.  I’ve offered to pay their hotel cost and travel as well.  An email vote will be taken for the opportunity to voice opposition.
Student Success Day Kristi signed us up for a table.  We will also be showing a documentary titled “The Early Adopters Project” in the student lounge at 10:00 and 2:30 so we will have an info table near the lounge from 10:00-3:00.  Kristi will send an email asking for volunteers to staff the table.  Kristi is also doing a session titled “Experience Your Campus’ Eco Efforts” at 9:00.  The session will tour the campus and grounds highlighting various projects such as recycling and composting.  The second half of the 2-hour session will include a disk golf course clean-up in collaboration with Student Senate.
SPA hard copy has been given to Student Senate.  They will keep it with other campus plans and make it available to anyone that wants to see it.
Plastic Bag Recycling  Since the first bag receptacle was put out in May, we’ve collected over 15 large trash bags full of plastic.  Kevin and Theresa took the first bags to multiple recycling collection sites and we have now arranged to have Airpark Services pick up full bags every other Friday.  The EC is responsible for paying for this service which costs $4.00 per pick up.

Sub-Committee Reports
None to report

New Business
Committee Information Worksheet requested by Emily on behalf of President Johns.  The information they requested includes member union affiliations, representative nomination structure, and a statement of committee roles and responsibilities.  Input on the final item was collected at the meeting and Kristi and Deanne will put together a statement and submit it to Emily by noon today.
AASHE designated contacts  As a member of AASHE, many opportunities and resources are communicated via email.  Currently, only EC representatives receive emails and we feel this membership could be better utilized if other individuals on campus received these informational emails.  Kristi will include Student Senate, the Business Office, and Maintenance to the list of contacts at our institution.

Old Business
Kristi’s Certificate in Sustainability The second half of Kristi’s Certificate training starts September 29th.  She is again asking for $550 to supplement the $800 Professional Development funds to cover the cost of registration.  Kristi will send out an email asking for approval to fund this coursework.
Living Green Meeting will be held at the DEEP Office on September 19th.   Kristi will attend the meeting and offer LSC as a host site but will not take a large role in planning the event.  Kristi will check with Kathy in the Business Office to find out how much we need to charge if we co-sponsor the event, if anything, to use the facility.  A suggestion was made to possibly schedule the event along with the Rain Barrel sale on the opposite years of the Watershed Festival.  Kristi will bring this suggestion to the meeting.

Budget Report
EC balance YTD:

Date    Item    (-)    Balance
7/1/2011    Beginning FY12 Balance        $ 5000
8/8/2011    Minnesota Waste Wise Membership    $150
8/9/2011    Airpark Services for FY12 plastic bag pick-up    $208

Motions
A quorum was not met for this meeting, therefore Kristi will send an email to all EC members asking for vote on items needing approval.
Next meeting
Kristi will send out an email asking for input on this year’s meeting time.  Wednesday mornings at 10:00 was suggested as an alternative.

Addendum to Meeting Minutes
Related to: Follow-up email on above mentioned items
Item 1 Members asked to vote via email to fund Kristi’s Sustainability Leadership Certificate
  “ I am, once again, asking the Council to support me in my quest to earn a Sustainability Leadership Certificate, by partially funding my course work for FY12.  The last 3 classes have gone really well, and I have a lot of new tricks and info to help us move forward…if only the Certificate could MAKE time.  I did receive $800 in staff development funding again this year, so I’m again asking for $550.  This will be the last 3 sessions I’ll need to participate in to complete the Certificate.  We didn’t have a quorum at the meeting, so we’ll have to vote by email…ready, go.”
Yea: 7
Nay: 0

Item 2 Members asked to reply with intent to go to UMACS
“Upper Midwest Association for Campus Sustainability conference is in Morris this year.  Here’s a link for UMACS for those of you unfamiliar.  Please respond by early tomorrow if you’d like to go, as early registration deadline is Friday (same goes for SS, Brian, thanks!).  I’ve also invited anyone from Student Senate to attend and have offered our funds to pay for their registration and 1 male and 1 female student room.  Please respond with an opposed vote if you disagree with this gesture.  I think it will be great to get individuals outside of our group involved, and UMACS is a fantastic conference for individuals with diverse interests.”
Responses to attend: 0
Regarding funding SS attendees:
Agree: 4
Disagree: 0
One response suggesting students try to get funding through Student Senate first.

Item 3 Members asked to volunteer to staff the Student Success Day table
“I have us down for an SS day table from 11-1:00 but we will be showing a documentary at 10:00 and 2:30 so we’ll plan to man our table during those times as well.  Any volunteers?  I’m doing a session from 9:00-11:00 as well, called “Experience Your Campus’ Eco Efforts” and we’re teaming with Student Senate to do a disk golf course clean-up for the second hour of the session.”
Volunteers: Theresa 10:00-1:00, Cliff 12:00-1:00, Kathy L, Dick, Glenn morning

Item 4 Members asked to give input on this year’s meeting time
“And last but not least, MEETING TIME for the semester…it seems like many of you may not be so keen on Friday mornings…how does everyone feel about Wednesday mornings from 9:00-11:00?  Kevin, I know this isn’t going to work for you, sorry.”
Meeting time suggested:  Cliff: Wednesday does not work, Fridays better. Carol: Wednesday mornings work. Kathy L.: Wednesday mornings work. Dick: Wednesday mornings work. Glenn: Tuesday or Thursday after 11:00 or on Friday morning, Patty: Wednesday or Friday at 9:00 work.  Kevin: FRIDAY MORNING (caps lock means he was SERIOUS)!!

Submitted by Kristi Heintz