Sustainable Environmental Advisory Commission — Skokie, IL
Date: 2022-07-26

Village of Skokie
 Sustainable Environmental Advisory Commission
 AGENDA

 July 26, 2022
 Village Hall – Council Chambers
 7:00 pm


  I. Approval of minutes

 II. Old Business
 a. ESP Team Update
 i. Survey
 b. Mack Truck Demo


III. New Business
 a. National Night Out – Recycling/Compost Booth
 b. Waste Program Review Update


IV. Public Comments

 V. Other business

VI. Next meeting

VII. Adjournment

Memorandum
TO: Sustainable Environmental Advisory Commissioners

FROM: _______________________________________________________________________
 Andrew D. DeCanniere, Commissioner, Sustainable Environmental Advisory Commission

DATE: August 11, 2022

SUBJECT: July 26, 2022 Sustainable Environmental Advisory Commission (SEAC)
 Meeting Minutes

Meeting was called to order at 7:04 PM in the Council Chambers at Skokie Village Hall

Present: Chairman Jennifer Grossman, Commissioners Christopher Buccola, Andrew
DeCanniere, Michael Gershbein, Lisa Gotkin, Trustee Liaison Ralph Klein, Alma Likic, Olivia
Mahoney, Jim McNelis, Emily Okallau, Robert Render, Director of Public Works / Staff Liaison
Max Slankard, Assistant to the Director of Public Works / Staff Liaison Elizabeth Zimmerman,
Village of Skokie Solid Waste / Recycling Intern Josie Neville

Absent: Commissioners Rick Moskovitz and Charles Saxe

I. Approval of Minutes

Minutes from the June 29, 2022 meeting of the Sustainable Environmental Advisory
Commission were unanimously approved.

II. Old Business

 a. Environmental Sustainability Plan Survey (ESP) Team Update

 i. Survey

 Staff Liaison Zimmerman stated that they are currently working on setting the
 date of the next Listening Session. Precise date to be determined in consultation
 with Ted Redmond, Co-Founder of paleBLUEdot, LLC.

 Commissioners are now determining Action Items. At the next ESP team
 meeting, they will be working to prioritize those items, as well as on which items
 to pursue and when.

 Commissioner Mahoney did note that she feels that the “Action Finder” is a great
 tool that the ESP Team has been using. It lets you sort by size of city, which she
 found to be very useful. She said that she used cities close to Skokie’s size, in
 order to see what they are doing, as an initial way to evaluate some ideas and
 suggestions. She said that she was struck that there is a lot of overlap. It seems
 that many people are thinking along the same lines. The process has been good,

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and she has been impressed with how they have organized it. Their online tools
are very effective.

Staff Liaison Zimmerman talked about how examples of actions are provided.
There might be more of an emphasis on leading by example, or enforcement, or
education-related. So, you can search by those items as well. She said that, as an
example, one of the ideas within the Waste section that would fall under “Lead
by example” would be that for any event that may be hosted by the Village in the
future, we can choose for it to be a zero-waste event. She also noted that the
other thing she needs to work on this week, along with Mr. Redmond, is that they
need to set the date of the final Listening Session.

There will be one more Listening Session in late fall or in early October.
She said that they want to be sure that there isn’t any conflict between the date
of the Listening Session and any upcoming holidays. They will work around
those. That Listening Session will essentially be a Draft Plan review. The public
will be able to make comments on that Draft Environmental Sustainability Plan.

Commissioner Okallau asked whether, during this part of the process, they also
discuss the advantages of moving in one direction or the other, or whether it is
just entirely up to the Village to decide. So, for instance, whether something
becomes an Ordinance or whether something is a policy, and things of that nature.

Staff Liaison Zimmerman said that the next step is where the subcommittees will
all come together, and there will be too many Action Items. There is no way that
the Village could ever do that many. Therefore, there will be a process during the
next ESP Team meeting to really prioritize the most important Action Items of
the Team. Then, of course, that Listening Session, at which the public will be able
to provide input, will be important as well.

Commissioner Okallau then went on to inquire as to whether they have received
feedback from others communities as well, in terms of things that have been
implemented (e.g. how it played out in other communities).

Staff Liaison Zimmerman said that she thinks Mr. Redmond has a good handle on
what has worked and what hasn’t. She said that, at this point, he doesn’t want to
squash any brainstorming that is taking place.

Commissioner Mahoney said that Mr. Redmond asked those on the ESP Team to
select a list of criteria. For example, what can we evaluate these suggestions
against? Is it practical? Is it something that the Village would endorse? Is it
affordable? Those kinds of things. She said that they all voted online as to what
these criteria should be. One that stood out to her was “Is it a game-changer?”
That, actually, did make the list because, as many of us believe, we should be
changing the game. That is to say that we should be adopting some actions that
will make a difference. They don’t have to be extreme but, at this point, she feels

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that whatever is ultimately adopted will be a game-changer. She was glad to see
that make the list of criteria. When they get together the next time, they will look
at all of these ideas that people voted for, and they will begin to evaluate them.
She went on to say that she does wonder about how these ideas are working in
other communities.However, so many of these plans are so new that she isn’t sure
that there’s much data that has been collected, in terms of how these ideas and
plans are working.

Staff Liaison Zimmerman said that communities also vary considerably as well.
So, the political environment in one community might be completely different
from the political environment in another community. Just as a result of Mr.
Redmond doing so many of these kinds of plans, she is aware that he keeps in
touch with a lot of his clients. When we get further along in the process, he’ll be a
good source for that information.

Commissioner Okallau stated that it sounds like a great process overall.

Commissioner Mahoney said that she thinks that it will lead in a really good
direction. Some of it gets very technical. She’s on the Buildings sub-team, and
there are some very technical aspects of this that she feels need a lot more
research, and which will need to be explained to Skokie residents, in terms of
exactly what is meant. Some of the technical language of it all can be a little
complicated and challenging, where it may not be quite so technical or
complicated for others.

Staff Liaison Zimmerman stated that she would agree. She went on to note that
she picked the topics that she was most familiar with. She’s very comfortable
with Waste and Open Space, but then she selected Public Health as well, and
that has been more challenging.

Commissioner Mahoney said she picked Waste, for which she could come up with
ten ideas very quickly. She also chose Buildings, which has been more
challenging. And, finally, she chose the Sustainable Economy, which has been
really challenging for the ESP Team, when it meets, and then also in picking what
actions could really result in helping the economy. That said, she thought it
was so important, so she volunteered for it. It needs a lot of thought, and we
have to come up with something to say “This is economically viable, and it
may help our economy in some way.” One suggestion that has emerged is that
we really do need to connect with the Skokie Chamber of Commerce on this.
We do not have all of the answers on this, and we need to start talking to other
people about the economic impact and economic potential of all of this.

Commissioner DeCanniere stated that he does think that it is so incredibly
important to include a Sustainable Economy section. It is such a good thing
that this has been included even though, as Commissioner Mahoney just
said, it can be challenging — especially if that is not the sphere one is coming

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from. That said, it is such an important thing to consider and to factor in,
particularly as has been discussed before, so many have historically presented
it as if we have to choose one or the other. There has been no shortage, nationally
and internationally, of those who have made it seem as if we have to choose to
prioritize the economy, or we have to choose to prioritize the health of the planet
— and, consequently, the human health. That kind of thinking is neither accurate
nor factual. That kind of thinking has also led us, as a nation, to where we are
today environmentally. Therefore, he does think it is a good thing that we are
starting to think about these things more, and that others are starting to think
about this more as well. The truth is that you don’t need to choose between the
health of the environment and the economy. You can operate in an
environmentally sustainable manner and still have a healthy, thriving economy.

Staff Liaison stated that the last Survey update she received was earlier this week,
and we reached 820 responses. She noted that when, in the past, the Village has
done a flooding survey, and they ended up with somewhere around 300 responses.
This, to her, shows the value of SEAC and the ESP Team getting out there, and in
everybody sharing it. We almost tripled our normal survey numbers. She said that
she thinks that this same level of involvement will be required to continue to get
the message out there. This has been a good springboard.

b. Mack Truck Demo

Staff Liaison Slankard stated that, as the Commissioners are aware, the Village
did have the all-electric refuse truck from Mack for a time for a demo.
Unfortunately, it spent much of the time in the garage, given that a prior user
had changed the charging cord. There were some supply chain issues when it
came to Mack being able to provide the correct adapter, so that the unit could
actually be charged. Therefore, despite the fact that it was with the Village for
more than a week, they did not get that much operating time with it.

They did have a bit of an operating issue with it that had nothing to do with the
propulsion unit of the vehicle, and nothing to do with the fact that it is an electric
vehicle. It had to do with the the height of the truck, due to the particular packer
body that was on the vehicle. He went on to note that if the Village were to
purchase a unit from Mack, they would use a different packer body — not the one
that happened to be on the demo unit. More importantly, as to the chassis itself
and its electric operation, the biggest thing everyone is interested in is the range
experience and the operating experience. From an operator standpoint, the truck
is exceptional in terms of its performance, and has a massive amount of torque. It
is exceptionally quiet. Operators are able to drive down the road and actually
talk to each other and hear each other. There is no noise. So, it is a very
responsive unit with an immense amount of power.

He noted that the range experience was a little bit mixed. When they put it out on
the route, the day that they got good utilization out of it. It left the Public Works

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facility with about an 85 percent charge level, did about four hours of route time,
and didn’t pull that much of a load— which, again, had to do with the limitations
of the Village’s ability to use it on the route — and it was a good weather day for
that truck. The battery will struggle more in winter operating conditions. They
took the truck out to the transfer station to deliver its load, after which it came
back to the garage (after operating for about six hours) with about 25 percent
charge level. So, it went through about 60 percent of its charge, not pulling an
exceptionally heavy load.

He noted that the unit that they tested was a Version 1 battery. The ones in
production today are Version 2. According to the manufacturer’s representations,
the Version 2 batteries should have 20 percent more capacity. We are aware of
how the nature of battery technology changes. So, it was a little bit hard to form
a solid impression. They would have liked to have had more time with it. The
only thing he would say is that when you’re evaluating battery life in real-world
operating conditions, they are aware that one thing that is important when
operating an electric unit like that, is having the time to have operators become
familiar with how the unit operates. Operators need to learn how to operate the
vehicle to maximize its charge life. The vehicle generates or maintains a certain
amount of its charge based on how operators accelerate and decelerate the vehicle.
There is some training or experience that comes with that, which will help to
extend the battery’s life, and they are aware of that.

In summary, the unit performed very well. They need to do more follow-up with
the entities that are out there, using this — particularly the Department of
Sanitation in New York (DSNY). They have had some contact with them, and
they are very willing to share information with the Village. They have shared
information with us in the past, and the Village will continue to gather additional
information from them. They are continuing to purchase additional units. They
also intend to try to plow snow with the newest units that they are acquiring from
Mack. Based upon what he has seen, he has no doubt that these vehicles have
the power to plow snow. That is beyond question. The issue is that plowing
snow is a cold-weather operation. So, for how long are they able to plow snow?
They will continue to be in contact with DSNY. There is additional follow-up that
is needed, and some additional follow-up with Madison, Wisconsin as well, in
terms of their demo experience. They have two units that are on order from Mack
as well, and the Village also has a very good relationship with the City of
Madison. All of this said, he noted that he feels that the chassis is a very good
unit, and he thinks it is really promising.

Additional discussion ensued.




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III. New Business

 a. National Night Out — Recycling / Compost Booth

 Staff Liaison noted that National Night Out will be coming up on August 2nd,
 and is to be held at Oakton Park. During our last meeting, we talked about opportunities
 for community outreach. The Village’s Solid Waste/Recycling Intern, Josie Neville, will
 be working with the Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County (SWANCC), as well
 as with Collective Resource, to provide information regarding recycling and composting.

 b. Waste Program Review Update

 Ms. Neville presented the findings of the Refuse Set-Out & Capacity Usage Study,
 which was conducted from July 12 - 22, 2022. It was found that the vast majority of
 households would have no capacity issues if the second refuse pick-up were eliminated
 (more than 80% of households would not require a second collection). That said, it was
 also noted that if you increase the amount of recycling, you don’t automatically decrease
 waste. Additional efforts must also be made to reduce the total amount of waste
 generated. A Q&A session followed her presentation.

IV. Public Comments

Staff Liaison Zimmerman noted that she’s having technical issues checking on whether there are
any public comments. However, if there are any, she will provide those to all Commissioners.

V. Other Business

Staff Liaison Slankard said that, as we are aware, for the last few years of the Backlot Bash, we
have worked with Erlene Howard of Collective Resource to try and make it a zero-waste event.
They are planning on doing some of the same things this year. However, there are a few
alterations as to how they want to try and manage the event. They’ve met with Ms. Howard
and have another planning meeting coming up tomorrow. He said that he thinks that Ms. Howard
is going to try and change the way that volunteers are deployed, so that they spend less time
going through the already commingled food waste, along with other waste. Instead, they will try
to deploy volunteers to catch the waste as it is being deposited, and guide people so that the
waste is deposited into the correct receptacles from the outset. He’d say that is to be the principal
change for the event. There have been active conversations with both Ms. Howard and the
Skokie Park District as to the staging of those areas, and how those areas are going to operate,
and hours of operation. There also have been discussions about the Rotary Pancake Breakfast
event, and how to try and do a better job of making that a zero-waste event.

Staff Liaison Slankard stated that the Park District is also working with vendors at Backlot Bash
to be more sustainable. They expect to hear more about that tomorrow, as they have a Backlot
Bash Planning Committee meeting.


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Commissioner McNelis asked how they are recruiting volunteers for the Backlot Bash.
Staff Liaison Zimmerman stated that there is a Sign-up Genius form, and that a link to that form
is to be pushed out on social media and via SkokieNews. She said its pretty much all done, except
they need to redo the opening paragraph so that it is clear to would-be volunteers that people will
not have to get into the food waste this year. The one challenge with the monitoring system is
that many more volunteers are needed. She said she thinks it requires triple the amount of
volunteers they normally have, so they will see how it goes. She stated that she thinks that if
people do not need to sort food, there will be more interest. Commissioner Gotkin suggested that
District 219 could be one place to reach out to, if volunteers are needed.

Staff Liaison Slankard stated that one other item, from the Waste Committee discussion, is that
the Waste Report that was generated ultimately came through the full Commission. There was
interest in Village staff studying options for food scraps. To that end, he stated that he and John
Lockerby (Village Manager) met with Lakeshore Recycling Systems earlier today to talk about
that subject, and to discuss options and obtain additional information. Staff Liaison Slankard
went on to note that Lakeshore had hoped to provide him with some additional information
before the meeting today. He wasn’t able to obtain that, but he said that they had a good meeting,
and talked about the existing composting programs and how they function in Deerfield, Highland
Park and River Forest. As some Commissioners may know, amongst the companies that
Lakeshore has acquired was Roy Strom Disposal. The company was a Maywood-based waste
hauling company that operated in that area for many years. As a result, the son of the founder of
that company, George Strom, is very involved in their operations now. The reason he mentioned
Strom is that they had operated an opt-in type of food scrap program in the Village of River
Forest for seven years or so, and so he has had some experience with food scrap compost efforts
in that community. They talked about a number of different program options, including work that
Lakeshore is doing with the City of Chicago and Oak Park, in establishing community drop-off
sites for food scrap composting. It is in that regard that he wanted to make subcommittee
members aware that he will be emailing them. He wants to set up a meeting with them to discuss
these matters further, and to get them more involved in those discussions, in the next couple of
weeks.

Commissioner Render stated that, first, he is more than happy to review proposals, as he has
experience doing this professionally. He also said he is wondering whether it would be possible
for us, here in Skokie, to have a drop-off program for plastic film. He just recently saw a video
about a town in New Jersey that has a plastic film collection system that looks very much like the
composting system we currently use, but they are having trouble getting people to use that, and
grocery store collection is overwhelmed. It is kind of an odd thing that people do not seem to
want to do one more thing at their house, but they are willing to take the bags to the grocery
store. He went on to say that he just didn’t know whether this is something that we could discuss
with Lakeshore, or to do anything else like that, where we might be a beta site for some
programs that are in development.

Staff Liaison Slankard asked if Commissioner Render has information on a program that he
could send him.




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Commissioner Render said that he can try to find information on that particular program.
However, he is just wondering about the idea of having drop-off locations for plastic film, or
for something else that we want to emphasize, which would augment our curbside program.
He was wondering whether Lakeshore has anything in development that they have been thinking
about that we might sign up to try, or we could ask them how we might think about doing a
plastic film program in the community.

Commissioner McNelis asked for clarification as to the type of film Commissioner Render is
referring to.

Commissioner Render clarified that he is referring to grocery bags, the plastic wrap that
magazines can come in, plastic film that is used by dry cleaners. He went on to say any kind of
film that is not specifically food packaging.

Staff Liaison Slankard indicated that he will discuss this with the Waste subcommittee.

Commissioner Gershbein addressed the issue of bags from Amazon and how they are intended to
be recycled. Additional discussion ensued.

Commissioner DeCanniere stated that, on that note, he feels it would be good if Amazon were to
have some sort of packaging recycling program where, as Amazon drivers are making deliveries,
they would also pick up and properly recycle the used / discarded packaging from previous
deliveries — particularly as the company seems to be such a source of this sort of waste. That
said, one concern he has is whether the company would be transparent about what becomes of
the materials that were picked up. It is important to know that the materials were properly
recycled.

VI. Next Meeting

Based upon the expected availability of Commission members, the next meeting will be held on
Tuesday, August 23, 2022.

VII. Adjournment

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 8:36 PM.




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