Sustainable Environmental Advisory Commission — Skokie, IL
Date: 2023-01-24

Village of Skokie
 Sustainable Environmental Advisory Commission
 AGENDA

 January 24, 2023
 7:00 pm
 Village Council Chambers
 Also live streamed at www.youtube.com/user/thevillageofskokie
 Public Comments: sustainability@skokie.org


  I. Approval of minutes

 II. Old Business
 a. Refuse and composting update
 b. ESP Staff Update
 c. Library seminar update and Citizens Utility Board (CUB)

III. New Business
 a. Refuse and composting update
 b. Educational seminars at the library – update from Charlie Saxe
 c. SEAC workplan update


IV. Public Comment

 V. Next meeting

VI. Adjournment




Document Number: 511765

Memorandum
TO: Sustainable Environmental Advisory Commissioners

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

DATE: February 16, 2023

SUBJECT: January 24, 2023 Sustainable Environmental Advisory Commission (SEAC)
 Meeting Minutes

Meeting was called to order at 7:03 PM in the Council Chambers at Skokie Village Hall. This
meeting was also streamed live on YouTube. A recording may be viewed online by visiting
the following web address: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpPCO9Sw0xk

Present: Chairperson Jennifer Grossman, Vice Chair Jim McNelis, Commissioners Andrew
DeCanniere, Michael Gershbein, Lisa Gotkin, Alma Likic, Olivia Mahoney, Rick Moskovitz,
Emily Okallau, Charles Saxe, Trustee Liaison Khem Khoeun, Director of Public Works / Staff
Liaison Max Slankard, Assistant to the Director of Public Works / Staff Liaison Elizabeth
Zimmerman

Absent: Commissioners Christopher Buccola and Robert Render

I. Approval of minutes

Minutes from the December 27, 2022 meeting of the Sustainable Environmental Advisory
Commission were unanimously approved.

II. Old Business

 a. Refuse and composting update

 Staff Liaison Zimmerman said that everything is going well with the compost sites.
 She was able to get together with representatives from the Skokie Park District, and
 noted that she did some research through Evanston’s program in terms of what works.
 She also spoke with Erlene Howard of Collective Resource regarding the proposed sites
 and some changes to site locations have been made after hearing that the best sites are at
 a location that also has a facility and that has people around to monitor things. She now
 thinks that things are in a good place where the site locations are concerned. Locations
 of composting sites are to be formally announced in the Spring 2023 edition of the
 Village’s quarterly print newsletter, NewSkokie. She noted that there will be designated
 compost drop-off areas at Village Hall, Public Works and the Skokie Fire Department’s
 headquarters (Station 16). She also said that they wanted to provide access to these sites
 for the multifamily population. The Public Works facility serves that function for the
 Bronx area/neighborhood, and Oakton Park is another great location for that. Devonshire
 will serve the north side of the community well. We are on track to have a robust number


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of composting sites, as we will have five different compost drop-off sites. She said that
she is also really happy about the Village Hall location, as it is well-positioned to serve a
lot of the Farmers Market-goers in the summertime. They are still open to further
changes/adjustments, but they hope to get started in about a month. Signs for these sites
just came in recently, and need to be installed. Announcements about this composting
service will also be made via Skokie’s electronic newsletter, SkokieNews, and via social
media.

Commissioner Mahoney inquired as to what people will use to transport the compost
to the sites.

Staff Liaison Zimmerman stated that they’re working on this. It will be an incentive
program for Collective Resource. They want to get out to some events this year,
just as was done last year, but with some type of compost caddy that would be
available to the public, free of charge. People will be able to come up to a table that
is set up at an event, and they can learn about the drop-off compost sites or Collective
Resource’s curbside compost program. That is just being priced out right now, and there
has been discussion of which type of caddy would be the best. While a final decision has
not been made as of yet, it is budgeted for and they will be purchasing something of that
sort. There also are plans to provide additional information about composting at home
in future editions of NewSkokie.

Vice Chair McNelis inquired where the compost is taken after it has been picked up.

Staff Liaison Zimmerman stated it goes to a facility that is pretty nearby. She is aware
that Ms. Howard and her company is careful to make sure that it is not going anywhere
that is too far aware, so as to minimize emissions. She went on to clarify that Collective
Resource is the vendor that will be collecting the compost from the compost drop-off
sites and transporting it. She noted that Collective Resource is the Village’s franchise
hauler right now. She did do research through Purchasing, and the Village believes that
is the agreement that they need to follow.

Commissioner Okallau asked if there are any updates when it comes to Collective
Resource’s curbside composting program, particularly with regards to participation
in that program.

Staff Liaison Zimmerman indicated that, going forward, some type of discount will
be offered. She said she hesitates to discuss the details just now, as they are still working
out some of the details. It will be based off an annual subscription. The challenge they
are facing at the moment is that if you go to the Collective Resource website, that page
is shared with Park Ridge and Evanston. They are working with somebody to address
this issue, but if it turns out that they really have some sort of problem working this out,
it may be turned into some sort of rebate program or something like that instead.

Chairperson Grossman stated that she thought that it would end up being more of a
subsidy than a discount. With a discount, a little bit is taken off of the total cost, whereas

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with a subsidy, most of the cost would be covered. She was wondering what the current
thinking, on the part of the Village, may be where this is concerned.

Staff Liaison Zimmerman said that the current thinking is that the Village would like to
offer an incentive for new sign-ups. Current proposal is for 15%. They wanted to get it
below $200, at the very least. Additionally, there will be the compost drop-off option,
consisting of five sites around town, as well.

Commissioner Okallau said that it is a little disappointing that this is where the Village
is landing when it comes to this issue, based on the conversations we’d been having and
the options that we were exploring. Chairperson Grossman concurred. Additional
discussion ensued.

Commissioner Okallau stated that we talked about how we want to promote waste
diversion. However, if diverting your waste by composting is expensive, then that
sends a complicated message.

Staff Liaison Zimmerman noted that this is the first year, as well, and so a lot of what is
going on in the Sustainability Plan is determining budget. They have to determine the
costs and get things rolling. There is a team on the Sustainability Plan working on a
variety of revenue options. She went on to say that she is happy that they were able to get
this much going in the short amount of time that they did. However, that does not mean
that they’re not going to make this program more robust in the future. She also noted that
Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County (SWANCC) disposal fees will be
increasing this year. These inflationary years (last year and this year) have been
particularly challenging. Right now, they are trying to work through that, but we are
heard loud and clear.

Staff Liaison Zimmerman stated that she thinks that, with the discount, they’ve been
thinking we are going to get about 10 new customers per month. She actually thinks
that we will get a little bit more than that. They’re uncertain what will happen where
the drop-off portion of things is concerned. They will be evaluating that and see what
is going on. She said that she just applied for a grant, and we will find out in April
whether the Village will be awarded that grant. That is funding for outreach.

Commissioner Saxe asked how many people are participating now. Staff Liaison
Zimmerman stated that 300 to 400 people are currently participating in the household
compost pick-up program.

Commissioner Saxe inquired how we would evaluate whether it is working,
given that this is the starting point. At what point would we say that we need to do
something differently, or determine whether we want to continue on this path?

Staff Liaison Zimmerman said she has the math worked out to reach out goal at the end
of eight years. She stated that they are aware that the program will have to get
increasingly robust. Goals are lofty but attainable.

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Staff Liaison Slankard said that the Village is still finalizing the details of the launch
and rollout of the once-a-week refuse collection service. Therefore, he does not have
the finalized announcement and date details as of yet, but they should have them soon.
They are working to finalize the communication plan, in advance of the rollout of the
changes. That portion of things is virtually complete. He expects that the communication
process will unfold in the next week to ten days. The intention of the communication
plan is to reach out to the community on a weekly basis, utilizing social media, print
media, and other communication vehicles that the Village has, and begin what
really is an educational process. It will range from providing residents with the
backstory of how we arrived at this point, the public hearing that was held before
the Sustainable Environmental Advisory Commission, the deliberations that took
place, the rationale for transitioning to this once-a-week refuse collection service,
messaging with respect to the environmental benefits of this change, etc. Food scrap
composting will also be covered. As we get closer to the launch date, there will
be messaging and information with respect to what they expect to be concerns
residents will have about making this transition (e.g. how does a resident deal
with various issues), so that they start putting information out in front of residents
in advance of this service transition, to try to anticipate and head off concerns,
and help them understand some of what we think are the important issues (thinking
about reduction of waste, alternatives to generating waste in the first place).

He went on to say that, from an operational standpoint, they have put in place the
routes and how they will run those things. The other thing they need to have coordinated
is their approach to the requests that they know they will receive for second toters (e.g.
what the protocol will be for how they respond to those requests, ensuring there are
enough toters available in the Village’s inventory to be able to respond to those requests),
and any other logistics pieces that they will need to have in place for that service
transition. There will definitely be more information provided to Commissioners shortly,
and we will see the beginnings of that messaging very soon.

Vice Chair McNelis inquired if Staff Liaison Slankard is suggesting that there will be
a launch date known by next month, and whether he is correct in that understanding.
Staff Liaison Slankard confirmed that is correct.

b. ESP Staff Update

Staff Liaison Zimmerman said that, as a recap, what had happened is that the Village
Manager identified key staff for each of the different sectors. There is a point lead
for each sector, and then Staff Liaison Slankard and Assistant Village Manager Nick
Wyatt serve as the leads for the overall plan. Staff has been meeting regularly, and
she is really impressed at the quantity of work that has been coming out of this
group of staff people in such a short span of time. They just got started. Essentially,
they have been working on the budget. They had to get some pricing from vendors
and figure out what the costs were, and then get that in the budget, which takes some
time. While this does not constitute everything that they talked about in their
meetings, some of the highlights for each of the sectors include the following:

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Transportation and Mobility:

- Working on submitting an Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program (ITEP) grant.
  Staff Liaison Zimmerman stated she believes this grant is to update the Village’s
  Transportation Plan.

- Working on the sidewalk gap program near Highland School.

- Have engaged Chairperson Grossman on trying to get some advocates.

- Want to come up with a flyer that would be used by block advocates, who would go
  door-to-door doing this advocacy work, which would highlight the benefits of
  sidewalks (e.g. reduced emissions, potential increase in home values, etc.)

- Metropolitan Mayors Caucus Electric vehicle (EV) Readiness Program has launched.
  The Village of Skokie is proud to be part of first cohort that they put together.

Land Use and Housing:

- Village of Skokie recently held a seminar on affordable housing in the community.

- A map is being put together to highlight the underutilized paved areas in town.
  They will be looking at where they are located, and what the different options
  may be for those locations that have been identified.

- Parking requirements review is underway.

Buildings and Energy:

- Waiting for new State of Illinois Code update to come out, and then the Village wants to
  implement that in our Code.

- Village staff is looking for a SEAC member to help with Action Item BE-1 in the
  Environmental Sustainability Plan. Staff Liaison Zimmerman said that if anyone is
  interested, they should take a look at this, and then let her know if they want to be a part
  of that group.

- Aiming to have a green building policy done by end of the fiscal year (around
  May 2023).

Green Spaces:

- Staff Liaison Zimmerman noted that she is the Sector Lead for this sector.




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- One of the things they are working on is, as Village equipment ages, they are
  replacing those pieces with equipment with electric ones that are powered by
  battery. Staff Liaison Zimmerman said that this is something that they have
  spent a lot of time on, and the last couple of weeks have been about pricing
  out the cost difference between the old equipment and the new equipment.
  Commissioner Okallau inquired as to her experience with that. Have they
  used it? Staff Liaison Zimmerman said that they are confident that they can
  make this new equipment work for their operations, based on charging time
  and the like. She said she doesn’t know how many of us may have driven
  past Public Works, but they have been using a zero-emission robot mower
  all year. They have some good staff members who are on top of it, and are
  excited about it, and they think they can make it work. Additional discussion
  ensued.

- Staff Liaison Zimmerman noted that they just went out to bid on their tree
  planting contract, and one of the things that they added to that contract was a
  wholesale cost option for businesses or large-scale properties. They will
  be picking out a section of town that has a lower canopy, and they will be
  working on one section at a time, in order to make it more efficient in terms of
  watering. For example, when the Village is planting in a parkway, they will go to
  a business and see if they would be interested in jumping on the Village’s contract,
  which will probably end up being about half the cost of what it would be to do
  on their own. The Village will not pay for the trees, but will be offering them a
  very reasonable cost option to participate. Commissioner Okallau inquired who will
  be doing the watering. Is it part of the contract? Staff Liaison Zimmerman stated that
  they are working on that. They have a watering contractor in town that tends to the
  Village’s hanging baskets. She thinks that would be her first call, to see if they’re
  interested in doing that, because they’ve found that if they do not follow up with
  the watering, or include it in the price, then the trees will die.

Green Economy:

- Staff Liaison Zimmerman noted that she asked Commissioner Render if he would
  like to join the Green Leadership Award team. They are looking for one more
  SEAC member to work on Green Economy, so if anyone is interested in that,
  they should let her know. She went on to note that this would be a daytime
  commitment. Additional discussion ensued.

Cross-cutting Goals:

- Staff Liaison Zimmerman said that a group of Village staff members will be meeting
  with the Superintendents of the various school districts. It is not just going to be
  about sustainability, but sustainability will be a portion of the program that the Village
  will be presenting. This will be the first outreach to schools in the community as a part
  of this plan.



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Commissioner Gotkin inquired what may be on the agenda when it comes to the meeting
with the Superintendents. She went on to note that she was very interested in the Safe
Routes to Schools stuff, as well as bikeability and walkability to schools. Is that going to
be a part of the agenda? Staff Liaison Zimmerman said that it is more that the Village
Manager provides a general update on many different issues. She said that she has seen
some of the slides that will be a part of the presentation, and she is almost positive that
she did see Safe Routes to Schools will be part of that. The Village Manager’s Office
pulled out different Action Items that specifically mention either school participation or
different Action Items that in some way pertain to the schools. There are many of them
in the plan. Commissioner Gotkin inquired whether they will just be presenting the
issues in the plan that pertain to schools. What is the goal of this meeting? Staff Liaison
Zimmerman said that it is an annual meeting that they hold, and the Village Manager
presents a lot of different slides on, for example, things like economic development in
the different school districts. So, it is like the State of the Village, specifically as it relates
to schools. Therefore, they do not have the entire time to speak solely about the
Environmental Sustainability Plan. However, there were three or four slides on the
plan that are meant to introduce the Superintendents to the plan. There also is a list of
the different Action Items that relate to the schools, which they will be providing to
the Superintendents. Commissioner Gotkin asked whether there are follow-up meetings
that will be held, or is this just a regular meeting that is held every year and there aren’t
more planned? Staff Liaison Zimmerman said she would have to get back to her about
that.

Commissioner Saxe said that, as far as the affordable housing is concerned, there will
be a series of meetings. Following up on the first presentation, he thinks that there is
another meeting that will take place on February 2nd. It is to solicit more input for the
Plan Commission. Apparently, they will have some recommendations for the Village
Board in March, for them to approve. He noted there is an announcement in a recent
SkokieNews, for those who are interested. He said that they have also set up an email
address for people to provide feedback. He went on to say that one of the things about
the housing stuff is that many times, when people talk about affordable housing, they
are talking about housing specifically for those who are lower-income / those who are
most vulnerable. Viewed through a sustainability lens, the housing issue cuts across
the entire housing stock. That’s something to keep in mind in terms of moving to promote
sustainability in the housing stock in the Village of Skokie — not just for the lowest
income, but creating market context, where there can be an increase in supply and an
increase in adaptability in housing in the Village, so that people can adapt existing
housing to meet changing needs. One example is work from home, which changes the
whole dynamic of the market. There also are some demographic changes in the Village,
which he does not think we have a full handle on, but it seems to him, anecdotally, that
there are many more intergenerational households in the Village. He hopes that whatever
comes out of this in March is a starting point, rather than a presumed completion,
because he thinks that this is a pretty big issue that will have some ongoing concerns.
Staff Liaison Zimmerman stated that she can pass that along. Commissioner Saxe said
it was good to see the initiative, where the Plan Commission is reviewing this, and then
the Staff will be putting together some ideas on this. He said that it is a pretty significant

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issue, and he would encourage people to follow it and participate. Staff Liaison
Zimmerman did note that, if anyone is interested, she did notice a nice write-up
about this in SkokieNews today as well.

c. Library seminar update and Citizens Utility Board (CUB)

Commissioner Saxe said that tomorrow evening, January 25th, there will be a
presentation on decarbonization and energy efficiency in the home. The presentation
will be taking place at the Skokie Public Library at 6:30 PM in the Radmacher Room,
and will also be on Zoom. To be able to take part in the event, you need to register on
the library’s website, www.skokielibrary.info. You can go to the Events page, find
the event, register for it, and they will email you a Zoom link.

Commissioner Saxe went on to say that part of what he wants to do with these
presentations is to give a brief update as to where things are when it comes to the
Environmental Sustainability Plan, to try to encourage to public engagement.
Additional discussion ensued. He also said that one idea he had is the idea of
some sort of Community-wide Zero Waste Challenge, to encourage people to
employ some strategies to reduce their waste. He said that there are some pretty
good informational materials out there, and it could be a fun thing to do. There doesn’t
have to be a presentation, but that might be an idea for a public program as well.

d. SEAC workplan update

Staff Liaison Zimmerman noted that she had noticed Commissioner Gershbein had been
able to access the document that Commissioner Saxe had sent out to the entire group.
Commissioner Gerhsbein stated that he had put his initials next to some of the Action
Items, in the spreadsheet provided, and noted that other Commissioners could do the
same if they are so inclined.

Vice Chair McNelis said that he sent Staff Liaison Zimmerman a list of the Action Items
he would be interested in.

Similarly, Commissioner DeCanniere noted that he also had reviewed the spreadsheet
provided to the group, and had identified some Action Items of interest.

Staff Liaison Zimmerman asked Commissioners if they all were able to access the
document that Commissioner Saxe sent out via email. All those present indicated
they were able to do so.

Commissioner Saxe said that we had the subcommittee structure in the past, and so he
was thinking that we could start by using that as a model. If you were on a subcommittee,
you might identify Action Items that might relate to that subcommittee. Then, each
subcommittee could take a chunk of those and, working with Staff Liaisons Slankard
and Zimmerman, as well as with other Village staff, we could figure out what the
subcommittee could be involved with. Staff Liaison Zimmerman stated that the way it is

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structured through the Village is that she would have to put us in touch with whomever
is in charge of that particular sector, and then take it from there.

Commissioner Saxe noted that, during our December meeting, Staff Liaison Zimmerman
had mentioned that many of these Action Items are very much related to internal staff
functions. That said, there are some areas where the SEAC could be involved. Additional
discussion ensued.

Staff Liaison Zimmerman also advised Commissioners that, as they are going through
the list of Action Items, they should think about the time commitment required for each
of these items. Obviously, they want everyone to participate, but they would like us to
consider the time commitment that would be required for each, and how many Action
Items we are able to commit to.

Commissioner Saxe said that, when Commissioners are selecting from among the Action
Items, they could first look at the major categories / areas and see what might be of
interest (e.g. Buildings and Energy, Land Use and Housing). You can start there, and then
just work with that one section. That might help make it a little more digestible.

Staff Liaison Zimmerman said that they could also consider the phases. Staff looked at all
of the phasing, because there might be something that they need to start on now in order
to be able to complete it in eight years. In general, however, most on the Staff have
started on the Phase 1 Action Items. So if, when selecting from among the Action Items,
you were to limit yourself to Phase 1 Action items, that could be a nice way to limit it as
as well.

Commissioner Okallau said that it would also be helpful for us to hear from Village Staff
in terms of where they think we could be helpful. Additional discussion ensued.

Staff Liaison Zimmerman said that she thinks what would be helpful, for now, is to
put any Action Items we have an interest in helping out with into the document that
Commissioner Saxe provided. She will then be able to provide team leads with
contacts.

Commissioner DeCanniere noted that, when it comes to Action Item WM 2-4 in
particular, it seems to him that he may have some of what they are looking for already
done. For example, they seem to want to put information regarding biking, walking and
public transit together, and then make that information available to the public. He said
that he already created brochures, which could be made available as PDFs on the Village
website, regarding biking and public transit in the community. Those just haven’t been
used. Then, of course, there is the brochure about refuse and recycling, which has been
available for some time now.

Staff Liaison Zimmerman noted that the Village’s new Sustainability webpage is
scheduled to launch around February 1st. One of the cross-cutting actions she is
aware Meredith Gioia (Communications Manager for the Village of Skokie) is looking

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 for help on is if we have any resources that are good enough, he could then add links to
 the webpage. She wants those links to be vetted by the Commission, so that we don’t
 have too many, and so that we don’t have competing information, or the like.

 Commissioner Saxe said that he thinks that part of our role is to serve as liaisons, to be
 in communication with the community. Even though some of the Action Items that
 are listed do happen to be outside the scope of what we, as a Commission, are able to do
 directly, we can be cognizant of them and of what is going on. He noted that he has many
 conversations where people will ask him about what is going on. He can certainly take
 that information, and he is able to communicate what is happening, and is able to spell
 out what can be expected. For example, we can let people in the community know what
 the staff is doing, some of the things that are currently in the pipeline, etc. Similarly, we
 could provide feedback as to what we are hearing in the community. He said that he has
 always seen this as part of an advisory commission’s role — having more ears and eyes
 out in the community, in order to be able to have that kind of exchange.

 Commissioner Gershbein noted that perhaps there is also the potential for us, as a
 Commission, to work with other interested parties within the community. Staff Liaison
 Zimmerman noted that Commissioners Mahoney and Render showed interest in
 the Green Leadership Awards.

 Vice Chair McNelis noted that the Skokie Park District is doing things that are consistent
 with the Village’s Environmental Sustainability Plan. He said he thinks there could be a
 good opportunity there, if we were able to coordinate with them on certain things.
 Staff Liaison Zimmerman said that we have started to do just that. For instance, they have
 already been a good partner when it comes to the compost drop-off sites. She went on to
 note how everybody has been great, and how there is just a lot of momentum within the
 community right now — not only among the Village staff, but also the when it comes to
 Skokie Park District, the schools, etc.

III. Public Comment

No public comments were received.

IV. Next Meeting

Based on the expected availability of Commission members, the next meeting will be held on
Tuesday, February 28, 2023.

V. Adjournment

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 8:02 PM.




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