HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_Environmental Advisory Committee_3/8/2023 b
MINUTES
ENVIRONMENTAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE (EAC) MEETING
VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA, FL
MARCH 8, 2023 2:00 PM VILLAGE COUNCIL CHAMBERS
CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL
The meeting was called to order by Chair Bradford at 2.00 p.m. A roll call was taken by Deputy
Village Clerk Mary Ann Grieser
Present were:
Thomas Bradford, EAC Chair, Member Robert Shaw, Member Brad Freese, Member Jill Wenta
and Member Russ Redman.
Late were:
Member Jessica Namath.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
New EAC Members Jill Wenta and Clay Damon were sworn in by Deputy Clerk Mary Ann Grieser.
MOTION: Vice-Chair Shaw made a motion approval of the agenda. Member Freese seconded the
motion. Carried unanimously 4-0 (absent: Member Namath).
COMMUNICATIONS FROM CITIZENS
There were none.
PRESENTATIONS
1. A Climate Action Plan for the VOT
Building Support Administrator Lynne Britt presented a power point, which started from
page 20 of the backup. She presented information on: transportation, bike lanes, tree
canopy, virtual meetings, electric charging stations, energy initiatives, photocells, fpl solar
together program, wildflowers in Linear Park, reduce waste disposal, reduced paper
consumption, limited pesticides, reusable water bottles, and improvements to water
treatment plants.
Mr. Jake Leech, Senior Program Officer with ICLEI ( Local Governments for Sustainability)
joined the meeting via Zoom at 2:30 PM. He spoke of climate actions at the federal level
and addressed electric vehicle infrastructure "alternate fuel highways", and vulnerability
assessments at the state level. He believed electrifying as much as possible was part of
FPL's initiatives. Real Zero and Solar Together were FPL programs for solar energy.
Member Wenta asked about solar panel life expectancy being approximately 30 years,
which was also the break even time frame. Mr. Leech agreed and added the amount of
solar panels going to landfills was still relatively low at this time.
Vice Chair Shaw asked about the Inflation Reduction Act and the possible 30% savings.
Mr. Leech believed there could be some savings in taxes, but was not sure.
Jessica Namath asked about the mitigation of sea grass, sea walls, and possible
incentives. Mr. Leech was not aware of any incentive programs but recommended
reaching out to the county.
Chair Bradford asked about future projects. Lynne Britt was only aware of what had been
presented.
Member Wenta asked where solar panels would be located if public buildings, and the
safety aspects of having panels on roofs or buildings.
Carports were an idea for solar panels according to Chair Bradshaw.
The group asked about large pickup trucks being necessary to move small equipment.
They encouraged using efficient vehicles within the Village.
Lynne Britt was tasked with providing the information to the EAC. Goals and policies would
need to be created and brought to Council for further review. The Committee would need
to establish goals and time frames. 2050 was a standard time frame for net zero according
to Mr. Leech.
The Committee would make a list as to what to consider. There were no other municipalities
that had brought forth initiatives that had been implemented as of yet.
Utility Director Marjorie Craig spoke to the group and revealed that optimizing pumps would
help to reduce greenhouse gasses and could offer financial savings as well. Carports were
a good idea if grant money was available.
Clear Point solar panels did not work out at the Recreation Center size wise.
The group felt that the local government was the place to start with, although some felt that
residents could be educated at the same time. A questionnaire was suggested to send out
to the residents. There was a consensus to focus on the government first. The group would
come up with thoughts and ideas for further discussion.
CONSENT AGENDA
2. MINUTES: February with slight modification
MOTION: Vice-Chair Shaw made a motion to approve the Consent Agenda as
presented. Member Freese seconded the motion. Carried unanimously 5-0.
END OF CONSENT AGENDA
REGULAR AGENDA
OLD BUSINESS
3. Re-visit of Draft Recommendations on the Housing Element of the VOT
Comprehensive Plan for Consideration of the Village Council and Staff
Member Redmond would prefer not to weigh in on items unrelated to the environment.
Member Freese did not want to make decisions related to 127 and 142 and 1 .4.4. Chair
Bradford would modify those item numbers to be "fine as written".
NEW BUSINESS
4. EA Recommendations and Incentives for Green Buildings and Green Infrastructure
for Consideration of the Planning and Zoning Board, Village Council and Staff.
Chair Bradford acknowledged there was nothing currently in the Village code regarding
green building, and incentives would need to be offered in order to encourage participation.
Structural, financial and tax incentives were positive motivators for the green initiatives.
Member Wenta Jill would reach out to the Green Building Council for further information.
COMMENTS OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS, VILLAGE COUNCIL LIAISON AND STAFF
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
ANY OTHER MATTERS
5. Meeting Task Assignments
ADJOURNMENT
MOTION: Regular Member Seat 5 Redman made a motion to adjourn the meeting Member
Namath seconded the motion. Carried unanimously 5-0.
Lori McWilliams, Village Clerk