Sustainable Environmental Advisory Commission — Skokie, IL
Date: 2024-09-24

Village of Skokie
 Sustainable Environmental Advisory Commission
 AGENDA

 September 24, 2024
 7:00 pm
 Village Hall Room D/E
 Public Comments: sustainability@skokie.org


  I. Approval of minutes

 II. Old Business

 a. ComEd Event September 3
 b. North Shore Electric Aggregation Consortium Contract Extension
 c. Electric Landscape Field Day September 12
 d. 2024 Q2 Environmental Sustainability Plan updates

III. New Business
 a. Backyard Chickens
 b. Health & Safety Sector Update – A. Likic
 i. Climate Vulnerability Communication Matrix exercise

IV. Other business
 a. FYI: Grow Geo Power Hour September 25
 b. Skokie Business of the Year: Deadline to submit September 30

 V. Public Comment

VI. Next meeting

 a. October 22, 2024
 i. Local Food & Agriculture Sector update
 ii. Buildings & Energy Sector update
 iii. Water & Wastewater Sector update

VII. Adjournment




Document Number: 511765

Memorandum
 TO: Sustainable Environmental Advisory Commissioners

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

 DATE: September 30, 2024

 SUBJECT: September 24, 2024 Sustainable Environmental Advisory Commission (SEAC)
 Meeting Minutes

 Meeting was called to order at 7:07 PM in Conference Room D/E at Skokie Village Hall.

 Present: Chairperson Jennifer Grossman, Vice Chair Jim McNelis, Commissioners Christopher Buccola,
 Andrew DeCanniere, Michael Gershbein, Alma Likic, Emily Okallau, Robert Render, Trustee Liaison
 Ralph Klein, Sustainability Coordinator Lisa Sanzenbacher

 Absent: Commissioners Lisa Gotkin, Olivia Mahoney, Rick Moskovitz, Charles Saxe

 Also Present: Trustee James Johnson

 I. Approval of Minutes

 Minutes from the August 27, 2024 meeting were unanimously approved as amended.

 II. Old Business

 a. ComEd Event - September 3, 2024

 On Tuesday, September 3, 2024, ComEd joined Governor JB Pritzker in presenting Mayor
 George Van Dusen and the Village of Skokie with a $45,000 electric vehicle (EV) rebate check,
 helping to further electrify the Village’s municipal fleet.

 b. Municipal Electric Aggregation

 On Tuesday, September 3, 2024, the Village Board approved a one-year contract extension with
 MC Squared Energy Services (mc2).

 By participating in the program, the Village receives a civic grant to support sustainability
 initiatives. To date, funds helped the Village convert 1,690 streetlights to LED bulbs, saving
 taxpayers on energy costs and reducing Skokie’s carbon footprint.

 c. Electric Landscape Field Day - September 12, 2024

 The Village of Skokie and the Skokie Park District partnered for this recent event, offering
 landscaping companies, facilities and grounds managers, and public and private schools an
 opportunity to learn about and try out commercial-grade electric-powered landscaping
 equipment at the first-ever Field Day, as a part of efforts to reduce noise and air pollution.
 The event was extensively promoted in the community utilizing a number of methods and outlets.

 d. 2024 Q2 Environmental Sustainability Plan Updates

 Sustainability Coordinator Sanzenbacher informed the Commission that 2024 Q2 Sustainability
 Plan updates are now available on the Sustainability webpage. Comments from the August 27th

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 meeting of the SEAC were incorporated into Q2 updates, notably: indication of progress;
 comprehensive overview of every action item; verified by Village staff. Q3 updates are to be
 discussed during the October meeting.


 III. New Business

 a. Backyard Chickens

 Trustee Johnson was in attendance to discuss the potential for allowing residents to keep chickens
 in their backyards, as some communities already do. One such community is the City of
 Evanston, which permits residents to keep chickens in their backyards, provided that they are in
 compliance with the City’s licensure program. As an example, he told Commissioners of one case
 in which a resident had been informed they are not allowed to keep chickens in their backyard.
 By comparison, if that resident had lived in Evanston (approximately half a mile away from
 where they reside), they would have been permitted to do so. Discussion ensued.

 Commissioner Likic spoke of her concerns, stating that while it had not occurred here in Skokie
 or the surrounding area, backyard chickens were permitted where she resided at one time, and a
 rat issue had occurred in that area after neighbors added chickens. She went on to say there were
 probably around eight chickens on a 1/2 acre property. There also was a significant odor problem.

 Chairperson Grossman suggested that, among other benefits, it could help with self-sufficiency.
 People would have a source of eggs, and do not have to worry about the market, shortages, etc.

 Commissioner Okallau said it is a good idea, but that it takes a lot of water, feed and energy to
 produce eggs. We are very disconnected from certain aspects of our lives, but this could help
 people understand what it truly takes (in terms of energy, etc.) to have animal protein available to
 us. She also spoke of the potential health benefits as well, saying that there is a difference in the
 gut flora of those who grew up where chickens are kept versus those who did not grow up in such
 an environment. This could be another argument for permitting backyard chickens.

 Commissioner DeCanniere suggested that perhaps this issue could be researched further. We
 could reach out to a number of other municipalities, to better determine their requirements,
 experiences, etc., just as the issue of backyard composting had been researched some years ago.

 Vice Chair McNelis asked whether, if permitted, this would just be for personal use. It was
 confirmed that we are talking about people being potentially being permitted to keep backyard
 chickens, which would produce eggs, for personal use — not for commercial use.

 Sustainability Coordinator Sanzenbacher said it sounds as though some arguments in favor of
 allowing residents to keep chickens in their backyards include an increased connection to a food
 source, learning about where that food comes from, and that there may be potential health
 benefits as well.

 Additional general discussion ensued as to ordinances, what permitting backyard chickens in
 Skokie might look like / entail (e.g. ordinances, potential requirements, etc.)

 The Board of Health is discussing this matter at their October 10th meeting. The SEAC would
 need to give recommendations to the Board of Health prior to the October 10th meeting, or an
 SEAC member would need to attend the meeting to summarize recommendations.




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 b. Health & Safety Sector Update - Commissioner Alma Likic

 Commissioner Likic provided Commissioners with an update on the Health & Safety Sector.
 This included updates on how the Village is communicating warming and cooling center
 information, focusing on vulnerable populations; providing emergency communications in
 multiple languages and via multiple platforms; climate change impacts and adaptation training;
 awareness of the potential mental health impacts of climate change; educating/engaging
 empowering the public on the health and safety risks of climate change impacts; and ensuring that
 the Village’s mission-critical, emergency services and healthcare facilities are prepared for the
 impacts of air quality, extreme heat and cold, flooding, and power/infrastructure failure.

 Commissioner Render inquired whether the Village might be able to provide some seasonally
 appropriate safety reminders. Every Village meeting should begin with a safety reminder. He
 went on to say that digital communication is not always the best or only way in which to
 communicate with the community.

 i. Climate Vulnerability Communication Matrix exercise

 Sustainability Coordinator Sanzenbacher introduced Commissioners to the
 Climate Vulnerability Communication Matrix. Further discussion ensued.

 Among the questions we need to be asking: When are we communicating
 information about a particular hazard? What do we want to communicate?
 What is the appropriate medium? How are we missing certain populations?
 How can we address this?

 It was suggested that some ways to reach people in economic distress could be to
 post information at the Niles Township Food Pantry, at the Skokie Public Library,
 as well as in parks and schools in the community.

 Chairperson Grossman said that she feels as though when information is put out
 there regarding climate change, people are not always receptive. However, if the
 messaging puts things in terms of actual, tangible effects on people, then that
 may be more effective.

 Commissioner Render asked whether the Village should recommend specific
 safety packages or preparedness kits, explicitly stating what those kits ought to
 contain.

 IV. Other Business

 a. FYI: Grow Geo Power Hour - September 25, 2024

 Commissioners were asked to share the link to a Grow Geo Chicagoland presentation on
 geothermal heat pumps, co-hosted by the Village of Northbrook, via their social media accounts.
 This presentation will be on Zoom. The link takes you to a page that allows you to register for the
 Zoom presentation.

 b. Skokie Business of the Year: Deadline to submit September 30th

 Commissioners were reminded that the deadline to nominate a business for Business of the Year
 is September 30, which is fast approaching. Businesses that participate in the Skokie Green
 Business Recognition Program are among those that may be nominated. A list of those businesses
 has been provided to Commissioners for their reference.

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 c. Pumpkin Smash

 Volunteers are needed for the Pumpkin Smash on November 3, 2024 from 7:30 AM to 12:30 PM.
 If interested, Commissioners should email Staff Liaison Zimmerman by October 28th.
 Event will take place on the northwest corner of Oakton Street and Floral Avenue, across from
 the farmers market.

 V. Public Comment

 No public comments were received.

 VI. Next Meeting

 Based upon the expected availability of Commission members, the next meeting will take place on
 Tuesday, October 22, 2024. The meeting will cover both Local Food & Agriculture and Buildings &
 Energy.

 VII. Adjournment

 There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 8:24 PM with a motion from Commissioner
 Gershbein, seconded by Commissioner Buccola.




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