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HomeMy WebLinkAbout8-3-20 Climate Action Commission AgendaIowa City Climate Action Commission Age nda Monday, August 3, 2020, 3:30 – 5:00 p.m. Electronic Meeting, Zoom Platform Meeting Agenda: Electronic Meeting (Pursuant to Iowa Code section 21.8) An electronic meeting is being held because a meeting in person is impossible or impractical due to concerns for the health and safety of Commission members, staff and the public presented by COVID-19. You can participate in the meeting and can comment on an agenda item by going to https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcqfuuhqDoiHtO_mBMTCCXgyPgXgMIMtGhl via the internet to visit the Zoom meeting’s registration page and submit the required information. Once approved, you will receive an email message with a link to join the meeting. If you are asked for a meeting or webinar ID, enter the ID number found in the email. A meeting password may also be included in the email. Enter the password when prompted. If you have no computer or smartphone, or a computer without a microphone, you may call in by telephone by dialing (312) 626-6799. When prompted, enter the meeting or webinar ID. The ID number for this meeting is: 937 9296 1847. Once connected, you may dial *9 to “raise your hand,” letting the meeting host know you would like to speak. Providing comments in person is not an option. 1.Call to Order 2.Roll Call 3.Approval of July 6, 2020 minutes 4.Public Comment of items not on the Agenda (Commentators shall address the Commission for no more than 3 minutes. Commissioners shall not engage in discussion with the public concerning said items). 5.Staff Announcements a.Action items from last meeting b. Updates from Climate Action and Outreach office (see attachment). 6.New Business: a.Review and consider finalizing all metrics (see attachment) b.Outreach and messaging regarding the Climate Action Commission i.What can be done now? ii.What can/should be done after marketing report? c.Equity considerations – (see attached article for discussion) d.Update on working groups i.Buildings (Krieger, Karr, Soglin) ii. Transportation (Leckband, Giannakouros) iii.Outreach (Krieger, Fraser, Holbrook, Bradley) iv.Equity/Adaptation (Tate, Hutchinson) v.Waste (Bradley, Sarsfield) 7.Recap of actionable items for commission, working groups, and staff 8.Adjourn If you will need disability-related accommodations in order to participate in this meeting, please contact Brenda Nations, Sustainability Coordinator, at 319-356-6161 or at brenda-nations@iowa-city.org. Early requests are strongly encouraged to allow sufficient time to meet your access needs. MINUTES PRELIMINARY IOWA CITY CLIMATE ACTION COMMISSION JULY 6, 2020 – 3:30 PM – FORMAL MEETING ELECTRONIC MEETING MEMBERS PRESENT: Madeleine Bradley, Stratis Giannakouros, Grace Holbrook, John Fraser, GT Karr, Matt Krieger, Katie Sarsfield, Becky Soglin, MEMBERS ABSENT: Kasey Hutchinson, Jesse Leckband, Eric Tate STAFF PRESENT: Juli Seydell-Johnson, Sarah Gardner, Ashley Monroe, Brenda Nations OTHERS PRESENT: Benjamin Graham, Cheryl Miller, Lisa Stark, Meg Smolka RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL: None CALL TO ORDER: Krieger called the meeting to order. APPROVAL OF JUNE 1, 2020 MINUTES: Fraser moves to approve the minutes from June 1, 2020. Holbrook seconds the motion, a vote was taken and the motion passes 7-0 (Giannakouros not present for the vote). PUBLIC COMMENT OF ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA: Benjamin Graham gave quick update on the school district progress and climate actions. He stated it has been relatively slow because of the COVID response stuff and most of their admin teams are focused on that. They did get a little climate action stuff in front of the Board in early June and facilities management is going to start the process of looking for a consultant that might be able to Electronic Meeting (Pursuant to Iowa Code section 21.8) An electronic meeting is being held because a meeting in person is impossible or impractical due to concerns for the health and safety of Commission members, staff and the public presented by COVID-19. Climate Action Commission July 6, 2020 Page 2 of 14 guide them on solar as well as wind energy and things of that nature. They are currently putting together a list of qualifications. Lisa Stark stated she is a Green Iowa AmeriCorps member serving with the Iowa City Community School District and unfortunately because of school closures, they're not able to do a whole lot with the School District’s Climate Action Plan, although they are supporting school gardens right now and that's their big push for this summer. Meg Smolka is also an AmeriCorps member working in the School District here in Iowa City. She didn’t have anything specific to share with the group but is just really excited that this even exists at all. UPDATE FROM JULI SEYDELL-JOHNSON, PARKS AND REC DIRECTOR ON TREE REMOVAL AND INCREASING PRAIRIE PLANTINGS: Seydell-Johnson gave an update on tree removals and prairie grass plantings or native grass planting areas beginning with some basic information and then will answer questions. First Seydell- Johnson acknowledged some of the Commission members have received questions from the public about the removals of trees in various locations, and while she is not sure about specific locations, she will go through their process and in what happens when they have to remove a tree. First she noted they do not like to remove trees if they don't absolutely have to. They are planting roughly two trees for every one tree that they must take out. Seydell-Johnson stated there are sometimes when they do have to remove a tree in one of the parks or the street ways because it's a safety hazard and must be removed immediately if there's an there's a danger of it falling, or if it has fallen, hopefully not a person, car, other property. They take those trees down and noted in those street trees there is a large number of the ash borer trees right now that are showing high levels of decline and are becoming a safety hazard. Seydell-Johnson noted in the ash tree case, they are beautiful large trees and some of them look healthier than others but every single one of them that they've taken down has been rotten in the middle and pose a hazard with the next windstorm or storms. Another way that a tree becomes a safety hazard is it impedes stormwater management and a lot of people don't realize that many of the City’s parks actually function as a large part of the City's stormwater management areas. Scott Park Willow Creek, Villa Park on the westside and several others are park land when they're dry, but during rain events are there to collect stormwater and get it off the private properties and down the road. Therefore in a lot of cases they have to remove trees in waterways that have become overgrown in order to facilitate the stormwater management and that would be the case along the trail in Scott Park and along Willow Creek. When a tree is being removed for safety hazards or because of a maintenance activity for stormwater management, the City typically will notify homeowners that are directly adjacent to the property line of where it's happening. They don't do a large public input process because it's not really an option that these trees come out, they're coming out because of other conditions around them. Seydell-Johnson noted another reason they have to take trees out is occasionally for a public improvement, whether that be for a street change or sidewalk change. Occasionally some of the trees have come out in parks as well to make way for other improvements but they typically try to move the improvement like a new shelter or restroom to such a location where it doesn't affect the tree or they don't have to remove a tree. Seydell-Johnson stated they always avoid removing a tree if they can and if they have to make a choice on trees to remove, they choose first trees that are showing others issues or levels of decline. Occasionally they can replant trees and move them to another location. They’ve done that with a number of the park projects, taking out the smaller trees Climate Action Commission July 6, 2020 Page 3 of 14 and either move them to a temporary location and bring them back or move them to a different park and replant them in those parks. So sometimes one may see a tree leave an area in one park, but it's not actually being taken away completely, it's just being relocated to a different area. Seydell-Johnson reiterated the they do replace trees and typically in most years they plant about twice as many trees as are removed. They've been very fortunate to have a lot of funding and actually have more funding right now and are continuing to look for ways to either contract out more tree planting, working with volunteers or find other ways to get more trees planted. They know that there is a real need for planting trees in areas that have a large number of rental housing units, or in lower income neighborhoods. Seydell-Johnson noted this has been a very difficult outreach area for them as they have tried in the past and oftentimes if a property owner is not in the area, they don't necessarily have any incentive to let the City plant a tree that they know that their tenants may or may not take care of. So that's one of the areas that they're still looking for advice and working on different approaches to find more ways to get more trees planted in some of those areas. They also really aim for a diversity of planting and that has been one of the difficulties this year, in particular this spring, because they want to get a variety of species of trees to plant but they rely on tree nurseries around the entire region and with COVID issues they've had a real shortage of trees. Nations noted last month when the Commission met folks were talking about the tree removal along Ralston Creek and there was some specific questions about how that ties in with the creeks and the stormwater management and there was a question about removing trees along streams holding back bank erosion. Seydell-Johnson stated that conversation was about an area near Scott Park and was a joint project with the public works department. Last winter, they had crews out there and they did clear out a number of trees along the creek to open up the creek. It's been replanted with prairie grasses at this point, which they think will be a better solution for a couple things. First of all, it will stabilize the banks and secondly it'll allow them to actually get down and monitor the creek and keep it free and clear for water to flow through it. One of the problems in that area continues to be snags and things that blocks the water flow along Ralston Creek. Therefore being able to get down there for maintenance and being able to see the creek is something that's very helpful. The City also took some trees out along Court Street at that same time, they were old trees left over from a fence row and there was still barbed wire running through a number of them. They just felt cleaning those out was the best option there as well. Krieger mentioned a priority for replanting in certain neighborhoods, are there other locations that will be prioritized for future plantings. Seydell-Johnson replied that one of their bigger priorities right now are some of the older neighborhoods just north of downtown. Those areas been devastated by the emerald ash borer and they've had a lot of large trees taken out there. Soglin noted Seydell-Johnson mentioned that right now they have a fair amount of funds to get the trees, but there's this limitation of access and staff, understandably, to plant them. Also mentioned was for some rental homes oftentimes it’s a difficult placement because the owner may not live here and the tenant may not take care of the tree. Soglin wondered if there are any way that funds could be used sort of as an incentive. Seydell-Johnson acknowledged that is some of the conversations they've been having of what will it take beyond just having the funds to plant the trees. They've talked about maybe an urban outreach for teens or young people that could maybe do that. They've worked some with the AmeriCorps teams that have done energy audits, to talk to homeowners about tree planting when they go out and do energy audits. It's something that they're going to have to come up with several creative solutions and work towards it. Seydell-Johnson also noted that the lack of staffing due to COVID is at tree nurseries, not a lack of City staff. The tree nurseries rely on Climate Action Commission July 6, 2020 Page 4 of 14 immigrant populations oftentimes to come in and work during the summers and they've had issues with getting enough people to work at the tree nurseries around the Midwest. Hopefully it is just a temporary issue for this year. Soglin stated they also need to talk about prairies and wondered if the City could do maybe a webinar or zoom meeting with folks who are asking these questions, and share information, and then have time for questions and answers. Seydell-Johnson suggested any persons that are asking questions can come to Seydell-Johnson or to Tyler Baird, the new park superintendent. They have had public discussions through the Parks Commission and she think s that would actually be the venue where they would do a presentation and allow for question and answers. In addition, on the City website, under Parks and Recreation, there's a page called master plans and it has updates on park plans. Some of the resources that they have available through that page is tree inventory, where one can see what kind of trees and where they are, also what the condition rating was at last inventory, two years ago. They also have a natural areas plan, which she'll talk about a little bit in the prairie planting areas discussion but they had a natural areas inventory of all of the open space land a few years ago and prioritized the activities that they are doing now to improve the natural areas, whether that be prairies, wetlands, or forested areas. This is any area that's not a real active recreation use. Of course, the park master plan is also on that webpage and that looks at active use park areas. Finally, there was quite a bit of FAQ main information on the prairie establishment and that's all online there including maps of what parks have areas that will be designated for new prairies, this fall and next spring, so the website actually does have quite a bit information. However Seydell-Johnson is always available via email or phone call to answer further questions. Fraser thanked Seydell-Johnson for pointing out the website. He noted it strikes him the probably the people complaining that the City's cutting down trees are not aware there is obviously a very good reason. He wondered if maybe that's something else that the ambassador's can do is aim people to the website. He feels a big ambassadorial responsibility will be to inform the public and the public won't always remember the answer, and perhaps they'll want to refer that answer to a neighbor or to a friend. One of the biggest things ambassadors can do in his opinion is to be really, really knowledgeable about the website and what's on the website related to climate action, etc. and to get people accustomed to coming to the City website. He thinks we assume that everyone knows they can come to the City website, but even he has trouble finding stuff on the City website, much less expecting someone who's never been there just to pop on and see what's going on with trees. Seydell-Johnson agreed and wanted to re-emphasize they don't like to take out trees if they don't absolutely have to. Sometimes they have trees that have been planted in unfortunate locations that they take away from another purpose for that location like the stormwater management and they have to remove them in order to provide for the overall utility of the area. Again the number one reason though that they take out trees is because they have become a safety hazard. Trees have a lifespan and as they reach the end of that lifespan, they succumb off into diseases or structural damage. In the parks kids are playing on the trees all the time so they definitely want the kids to be climbing the trees and enjoying themselves and at the same time be safe. The overall message should be that they have a forestry staff that cares very deeply for the trees and they're just as heartbroken as the neighbors and residents when they have to take down one of these big trees in anywhere in the City. Krieger stated something else that might be good for communication would be to include in the sustainability newsletter from the City a short snippet and directs people to the website. Climate Action Commission July 6, 2020 Page 5 of 14 Seydell-Johnson next talked a little bit about the prairie planting areas. As mentioned earlier they have a natural areas plan that was developed, along with Applied Ecological Services consultants a couple years ago, that included public input, work by the Park Commission and the City Council at that time, and it prioritized restoring natural areas throughout the community. Sometimes these are parks but sometimes there are other areas that Parks and Rec manages for the City such as a well site or some other public land that has been acquired and maybe isn't being used. The natural area plan looked at all those and prioritized areas that had fairly high ecological scores or already had a good head start on having good native populations in them and prioritized the work in those areas. They have done a lot of work at Hickory Hill Park, at Terry Trueblood Recreation Area, Ryerson’s Woods and in the Sand Prairie area, because they determined that those were high priority areas where the resources will make the most impact. Sycamore Greenway would be another one that they look at and Waterworks Prairie Park as well. Seydell-Johnson stated from that they also looked at other areas within the parks that could be converted into prairie grass, and they did this for a variety of different reasons. First of all it will help with less mowing and it is just not the amount of work the mowers are doing, but also to trailer equipment all over the City causes more carbon emissions and more use of gas powered engines. And yes, while it's more efficient for staff they feel that the less mowing is also a better option overall. So they looked at some areas where they could provide natural buffers. They had some areas where there were safety considerations in parks, they felt like providing a buffer area between say, a busy street and a play area with some native prairie grasses would be one way instead of a fence to provide a natural barrier. That helps stabilize the soil along a lot of the creek sides. Also as they clean out those creek sides of some of the larger trees that have been snarling them up, they're able to replace that with prairie grasses and allow them once again access to the creek but also help stabilize the ground. Prairie grasses help with storm water infiltration on site and they provide a lot wildlife habitat. Seydell-Johnson noted they often hear when a tree comes down that they're hurting the wildlife, and the birds won't have a place but what they found is a mature prairie provides more habitat than a single tree or even a few trees for number of wildlife. Now that can be good or bad depending on what one thinks of the wildlife because some of them are snakes and moles and small creatures, but also Iowa’s bird, the Goldfinch, relies on prairie grass for their habitat. So they feel like it is a really good wildlife habitats and will be soon starting with killing off some more of the turfgrass areas and replacing those 18 different sites around the City with prairie grasses. Seydell-Johnson did not have a specific list of grasses they're using because the mix is really specific to the conditions in each park, some of them are more of a wetland area, so they're getting a more wetland mix. Some are on hillsides, which have been difficult to mow and aren't used for active recreation other than sledding in the winter, and they can still be used for sledding. So there's several different mixes that will be planted throughout the City. Seydell-Johnson said they been really fortunate to have additional funding to hire contractors to come in and do some of that work and they're also getting some new specialized equipment for the natural areas staff to be able to do more efficient management of the forested areas and the prairie areas in the years to come. Seydell-Johnson acknowledged the City hasn’t had the best track record of taking care of some of the prairie areas in the past but she has been here about five years and believes it has improved every year since she’s been here. They have more staff excited about prairie plantings and are certified to do prairie burns and have used the help of AmeriCorps to plant and remove species along the way. Krieger had a question related to the public input process, it was mentioned that along with the tree removal the City notifies the adjacent homeowners for specific projects but is there is there a public input process established for review or input feedback on any specific project or just the overall plan. Seydell-Johnson replied that there was public input during the natural areas plan, as well as presentations made to the Park Commission and Council and public input that way. In general when Climate Action Commission July 6, 2020 Page 6 of 14 they do a park renovation for active use areas or aesthetic changes to a park where there are options for the public to consider they have neighborhood meetings where they send out letters to a half mile radius around each park. They also announce through social media, and tend to do them with Party in the Parks or other events so they can get a fairly good group of neighbors and have a lot of good neighborhood input for things like playgrounds, shelters, pathways, etc. When the change is simply an area of the park, a landscaping change or maintenance change, removing a tree or in this case changing some of the underused areas to prairie they don't necessary do a public input process for that. The reason they don’t do a public input for each individual change is because it's following the natural areas plan and they have several criteria for choosing where the prairie areas are. Seydell-Johnson acknowledged that tripped them up, obviously a little bit with the prairie areas, some of the neighborhoods were more not wanting the prairies than others, so they made changes after the fact, but they did have a good process and a good amount of criteria for choosing those locations in the first place. Seydell-Johnson doesn’t see larger projects coming up in the next few years, but they'll definitely be looking at ways of having better communication in the future. Seydell-Johnson acknowledged there was also a question about some of the private lots, like the residential lots, that they maintain, along Taft Speedway and Normandy wondering if they could plant more prairie in those areas and the answer to that is that they maintain those as a neighborhood and although we have some smaller prairie establishments in the Normandy area they have not extended that to larger areas and those vacant lots. They just mow those because they're part of the neighborhood. This is the same with some of the lots along the river on Taft Speedway, the City had actually said that they would like to make those prairies but the neighbors there were not in favor of that so they will be mowed to blend into the neighborhood. Soglin asked if there is any kind of comparison to keep track of what is the cost both in terms of dollars of the upkeep versus if it had been in prairie, and also the greenhouse gas differences. Soglin noted that if they can show over time that the cost is high, then maybe there's a way to appeal to the neighborhood or there's some kind of other trade off, to the benefit is to the community as a whole. Seydell-Johnson replied that's definitely possible as those are areas they actually contract out for mowing so they can very quickly calculate the cost. Soglin said she looking for the actual dollar and also what the accounting of the greenhouse gas emissions maybe. Nations noted that's something that they're going to be looking at in the recent grant that Iowa City is a part of from USDN (Urban Sustainability Directors Network) and they're going to be looking at the carbon sequestration from trees and as much as they can in prairies and they're going to be looking at some of those as well as how much carbon is sequestered from area gardens that use compost added to them. Sarsfield had a quick question about the prairies, are they really only focused on City owned land or is the City looking to partner with any institutions within the City. Is there any sort of outreach to encourage private companies to donate their land to prairie. Seydell-Johnson stated up to this point, they have been concentrated only on City owned property. Interestingly, though, since the Council discussions on this a few months ago, they have been approached by a couple different private property owners, homeowner associations, asking if the City would be interested in in doing some prairie on their areas. The City has not pursued those at this time, with COVID and everything else happening right now they don't have the capacity at this time. But they are keeping a list of those so in the future it can be explored. Climate Action Commission July 6, 2020 Page 7 of 14 Nations asking about planting cover crops. Seydell-Johnson said they typically do that anytime they have disturbed soil and they do it as quickly as possible so that they have covered crops until other things grow in. With regards to doing cover crops over the community garden areas, Seydell- Johnson noted that is an interesting question and doesn’t have an answer, it's something that they would need to discuss with the people that have been renting the garden plots as they're pretty particular about what the City does during the offseason. She did acknowledge however that the soil could be vastly improved through composting or something in those garden plots. Krieger thanked Seydell-Johnson for her presentation. STAFF/COMMISSION ANNOUNCEMENTS: Action Items from last meeting: Nations asked if the recap of actionable items from the last meeting worked well, they were in the minutes and also emailed out to everyone right after the meeting. There were no objections from the Commission. Nations also wondered if the zoom directions were an issue as it is unusual that Giannakouros and Tate aren't here and was wondering if it didn't get on their calendars. Nations acknowledged more than one person had some issue as they have to do it in that way that people have to register for the meeting and cannot get in without the registration link. Nations just wants to make sure the meeting gets on everyone’s calendar. It is a complicated process and different than other zoom meeting but is necessary so they don't get zoom bombed. If anybody is not getting that notice of agenda and registration links, let her know. Next, Nations pointed out it was added to the agenda about the public comments so that people don't think that the Commissioners are being rude by not addressing them, it states that Commissioners can't engage with the public. Nations did email the Grannies about the parks question with the cover crops and will follow up with them on what Seydell-Johnson shared with the Commission today. Soglin updated the co-benefits sheet and it is in the Google Doc. Nations will make sure it is in the Commission packet next time so the public will know that it's there too. Nations is still working on locating the website for transportation where one can see how it offsets greenhouse gases. She did share with the Commission the two Gazette stories about communication. She also called Johnson County motor vehicles and asked about the data for the electric cars, which was kind of interesting. They said they don't have that data, the State does and it is by county. Nations found the link with the information, it's a quarterly update of how many electric vehicles are registered and as of right now it's like, something like 484. The information does go away at the end of the year, so we will have to keep track of that. The online version of the action item list should have been posted today or if it's not, it should be online for the public tomorrow. It will be updated every other month and posted online. The working groups were supposed to think about public input methods, and any input on metrics. The discussion on equity will be given later in the working groups updates and questions for the Parks Department were just answered by Seydell-Johnson’s presentation. Climate Action Commission July 6, 2020 Page 8 of 14 Discussion of updated work plan for “Accelerating Iowa City’s Climate Actions”: Nations stated she took the Excel spreadsheet with the phase one actions and for 35 actions from the Accelerating Iowa City's Climate Action and rearranged those in a way to see the status of each. First of all they are ordered in what month we were going to start working on those and so you can see the first one in buildings is like April, May, June, July and in that order. For the actions that we have been currently working on, we gave two different types of status, some that are in development (shaded green), which staff are working on getting ready to roll out but not quite underway for the public to use, such as the realtor work that the buildings group is working on. The other type (in darker green) are things actually in progress and counted as underway. So all of the actions shaded green we're actually working on but are in various stages of development. The action times in yellow are not started yet, because they can’t start all 35 at once. However all of these were supposed to be started by the end of the calendar year and of the 35, they only have seven that are not started yet. Nations added this is for all City staff to work on, and they are making sure that they are actually implementing what they said would. They also have the equity focus on the ones that it applied to and will show that they are considering those in our actions as well. Nations wanted to highlight a few of the items. First of all, last month Wendy Ford talked about the Green Business Recognition Program and they are about ready to accept applications for that, it should go online in the next day or two. If anyone knows of any businesses that you think should apply, or you would recommend, you can either recommend them or let them know that they should apply. They are still finalizing the funds, but there should be a $500 recognition fund for them and they really want to promote the businesses that are doing a great job and are working consistently towards the things in the Climate Action Plan. The EV readiness plan which you've been hearing about for a long time, is very close to having a signed agreement. Nations had hoped to finish the greenhouse gas inventory for 2019 but still needs a few numbers from other people, so hopefully next month she can give an update on that. Krieger asked what was the document that was that is to be posted to the website, is it this complete list or is it the more abbreviated one. Nations said it will be the complete list to show the public what actions staff and Commission members are working on regarding the Climate Action Plan. Monroe next gave an update on the Request for Proposal (RFP) for the marketing plan. First she wanted to add to Nation’s list of projects that are timely and upcoming the urban renewal projects are up for first consideration at Council tomorrow night. So those are the economic resources from TIFF areas that will allow them to put that TIFF money towards industrial energy efficiency improvement projects for businesses in those particular areas. Council is seeing that for the first time tomorrow, and that is one of the additional building objectives there. Onto the RFP, before they put out a request for proposals to the public, Sarah Gardner has been really doing a wonderful job of drafting a consultant inquiry for branding and communications strategy about the climate initiatives. These things will primarily focus in areas where there's a variety of audiences and they’re making sure to incorporate elements of equity and a particular population focus. In doing that will give us enough information and templates to work from going forward. Monroe stated the purpose of this project is going to be having someone assess our populations here, the needs we have, compare it with our plan objectives and provide us templates and messaging that will be able to be used throughout our communications about the climate plan and other things that connect to the City and climate actions. Climate Action Commission July 6, 2020 Page 9 of 14 Monroe wanted to gauge the Commission's response to was if there are particular things that we should be looking for as we select a consultant, either something specific that you want them to provide to us, or if there are criteria in which we should be looking at. Typically when we look at our request for proposals, it looks at the firm's experience, their awareness of what our community is, the project scope, the project schedule, and any references that we would look at and cost of the project. So those are the overarching things they look at on a regular basis. Fraser asked what the end product is when the controls are done. Monroe replied the end product is going to be strategic messaging for a variety of populations throughout the community, which can be visual and text or verbal messaging. Soglin thanked Monroe for that explanation and was just wondering since there are several Commission's whose purview has some kind of intersection with what the Commission and what the staff are doing. For example, Parks & Recreation, which they obviously just spent some time talking about that today, so is there a shortlist of commissions that staff would ask the firm to kind of keep in mind and that eventually the messaging can be part of their actions, the different Commission's action, so that Parks & Rec knows what kind of messaging will be going out related to prairies and so forth. Monroe agreed that was a really good suggestion, they haven't gone out and discussed with Seydell-Johnson about messaging for Parks, they have talked with Darian Nagle-Gamm, the transportation services director, with the implementation of the soon to be completed transit study, the messaging that pertains to both the transportation system as well as the Climate Action Plan. There are all those intersecting objectives to be incorporated into the requests and into the outcomes of this proposal. Soglin suggested also that eventually the Planning and Zoning Commission be made aware because again there's goals that relate to issues that they will end up discussing and deciding on in the future. Monroe agreed and acknowledged there is a long list of commissions that somehow will be engaged and need to be informed. Monroe said they can certainly reach out to the commissions and that membership for doing that and right now they are for sure including the staff that are liaisons for those commissions and are incorporating review by transportation services, equity and human rights, and neighborhood and development services because of the connections to buildings and the development aspects. They will add in the commissions as another layer of feedback as well. Krieger stated as part of the qualifications for selection if they should put anything in there about preferred expertise with GIS or mapping, targeting messaging and communications with populations, and that technical expertise. Monroe made note of that. Gardner said they haven't asked for GIS technical capabilities, it's a little unusual for marketing, but they can certainly put it in and see what they get. Nations noted they do have equity mentioned in the RFP. {Giannakouros joined the meeting} Fraser noted it goes without saying that whomever is chosen needs to really have a positive mindset relative to the reality of climate change and the challenges that they're facing. Not to be political, they wouldn't want a company that was a climate denier. They need to have the right mindset and not go with a five-word slogan, such as “learn to live with it”, that is not a positive approach. Monroe confirmed there was no need to worry about that, they are going to make sure that they hire somebody looking at positive behavior change and have it be a call to action. Climate Action Commission July 6, 2020 Page 10 of 14 Monroe thanked everybody for their feedback and they’ll think about all this as they proceed with this process. Another thing she wanted to mention is if there was a desire for a commission member to participate on the selection committee. It would be an opportunity and willingness to review the proposals that would come in and spend some time with staff to select or provide feedback on the respondents. Perhaps take some time to think about that and decide before the next meeting and let Nations know if interested. Fraser added one more comment as a non-staff member of the Commission, he is so impressed with the work that the staff is doing, it's really impressive. REVIEW AND DISCUSS BUILIDNG, ADAPTATION AND SUSTAINABLE LIFESTYLE METRICS: Krieger stated this is coming out of the meetings with the working groups. Nations stated she discussed some preliminary metrics with the buildings working group and they're going to hopefully be discussing those at the next working group meeting. With the adaptation group, they decided that they really need more information to do that, and with this sustainable lifestyle, they decided that those are things that are really going to move the greenhouse gas emissions and they might not even have any metrics for that one. Therefore they’re going to be really carefully looking at these last groups and then hopefully, maybe by the end of next month, they'll have a set of metrics and start gathering the baseline data. Nations noted next month is already August and they want to get something out in September out as it will be the two-year anniversary of the plan and want to show progress. It's going to take some time to gather that data. So she is really hoping to kind of wrap this up and start looking at where in these two years there has been change, they're not going to see any huge changes, but hopefully they can start looking at those and seeing what direction they're going in. So the plan is to have the metrics and two years of data released in September. Krieger stated even though they may not have measurable greenhouse gas emission reduction metrics related to like sustainable lifestyle there are still other metrics or targets or goals that they're trying to track such as the number of businesses that have been recognized for the Green Building Business Recognition Program, or the number of climate ambassadors that we have, etc. Additionally, they can show the number of acres of trees, the number of trees planted, or the number of acres of prairie planted or whatever it may be, they did just learn there is a tree inventory. PUBLIC INPUT ON “ACCLERATING IOWA CITY’S CLIMATE ACTIONS”: Krieger stated they talked about this specifically in the outreach working group meeting, where they actually discussed essentially what Seydell-Johnson brought up on the public input process, and is there already a process in place that we should be tapping into for feedback and building awareness on certain projects. In general it sounds like Neighborhood and Development Services does have an established process we should probably better utilize for all of our climate action base work. Additionally Krieger acknowledged one of the other things that the Outreach Working Group discussed was that this is a primary issue for climate ambassadors going forward now that program is in development. If there are other opportunities that they want to put out there for public input, either on a specific topic are broad based issues, they need to bring those to the table to discuss. So as part of the working groups, please add that to the next agenda. Climate Action Commission July 6, 2020 Page 11 of 14 Fraser commented that the consultants that are going to be working on the messaging should draw from the public. Not just initial marketing messaging, but it's a way to communicate to the public to not only inform, but also making an effort to glean more and more input from the public as they become more and more aware. Nations acknowledged that consistent messaging is key and repetition. Gardner stated that's written into the RFP, they asked them to fold in existing efforts and strategies and help create something that's cohesive. There's nothing preventing us from moving forward on what we want to do now. We'll just get some expert advice on tweaking it in the future. EQUITY CONSIDERATIONS FOR ALL CLIMATE ACTIONS: Nations stated that the Equity Working Group didn't get a chance to really go over this last time but will be talking about the equity focus of the what was put in the packet and looking at and making sure that works. Monroe wanted to let everyone know City Council approved on the 16th of June a 17-point resolution addressing how the City is planning to address and remove systemic racism and also other measures to support Black Lives Matter movement. Staff is thickly involved in pursuing some of those options as well as are several of the other City Commissions, specifically the Human Rights Commission who did provide an official statement on behalf of the commission regarding Black Lives Matter in response to some of the demonstrations across the country and identified ways in which they plan to assist in this effort community wide and the support that they're giving as this community commissioned body. So if this group would prefer that there's some official statement made, following a similar model in terms of connecting climate action to impacts on people of color or other avenues, whatever you may choose to present as rationale for being a support for these efforts in whatever way you choose or want to communicate would be fine. It many not have to be an official statement, it could just be in the form of correspondence to Council, just addressing however the Commission feels if you want to pursue that route. Monroe is not going to infer that the Commission should have a statement, but if they choose to go that path, they're certainly welcome to and she thinks it would come best through correspondence to Council. Giannakouros stated they are going through a similar process with his office at the University of Iowa and trying to figure out how to calibrate a statement within an institution. He thinks that because Iowa City has been so proactive in coming up with a 17-point plan, he would hate the Commission to try to say anything different than that message. Conversely, though, he does think they should think about how they are more artfully indicating that they are addressing through the climate commission, these inequalities, and part of that is having an equity task group subgroup, It would be nice to say something to Council to the effect we are aware of the intersections here and that we want to do something. Fraser echoes that as it’s important to fit under that umbrella of the 17-point plan the City has already voices, otherwise it becomes controversial. I think the biggest message and we can keep it pretty simple, is we recognize the systemic nature of the situation we're in and we're going to constantly be aware of that. He acknowledged that's hard to do because by definition we've all got blind spots. But the fact that we admit that it's systemic, and we've got blind spots, and we constantly are cognizant of that, that's about all the message we really need as long as we go along with what the City is doing and he totally agrees with what the City is doing. Soglin asked if the equity committee could perhaps get a copy of the Human Rights Commission Climate Action Commission July 6, 2020 Page 12 of 14 example and propose a draft for the rest to see. Nations will get the copy of what the Human Rights Commission to share with the Equity Working Group. UPDATE ON WORKING GROUPS: Equity and Adaptation: Krieger noted no one from this working group was present at the meeting to give an update. Waste: Sarsfield gave an updated noting a lot of their actions are things that they want to do in person like doing different tours of waste management systems. So that's been a little bit of an issue during COVID. Bradley has been talking to the LENA Project and also Table to Table about how they're managing and to see what we might be able to plug into there. Buildings: Soglin stated they met with Nations and discussed the metrics and she’ll have an initial draft on that part tomorrow so they can discuss more at the July 20th meeting. They also went over the development density and carbon footprint topic in relation to the original climate action goals and will discuss that more also on at the July 20th meeting. Karr updated the group that the Johnson Clean Energy District was using their grant to get some LED light bulbs and distribute those in as equitable away as possible. Soglin reiterated Nations mentioned they have reached out to the realtors and are looking for a way where energy scores of some type could be added to the listing with house goes up for sale and the realtors have indicated some limitations so maybe they can discuss that at the building groups and whether there's some creative ways to get around those. Transportation: Giannakouros said they did not have anything significant to report. Outreach: Krieger stated they got an update on the climate festival planning, and Gardner has been leading that effort. Now that it's all virtual, it sounds like there's some good material there for a focus on each topic each day of the week both with activities planned in both virtually and some even in person with limited capacity. But then there's also challenges that people will be able to do partake in during the entire week. They're also doing some outreach to area businesses and organizations as part of the efforts and building a group of partners to participate. They talked a bit about the climate ambassador program, and how there's a proposal that's being reviewed by staff right now and training modules being developed. This is something that is one of the actions that will have a big impact on many things in our mission here and all the projects the City is working on. Finally, as already mentioned they talked a little bit about that public input process and the kind of communication failures of a couple of the more recent projects and what can be done to help that effort in the future. Fraser added he would still want very much to work with Gardner on the ambassador program, and keeps waiting for the ability to have a face to face meeting, but that’s likely not going to happen so Climate Action Commission July 6, 2020 Page 13 of 14 should just start zooming because it very critical to move forward. Fraser acknowledged the challenge they’re all facing is when all these plans were made in the last several weeks it was based on what was happening that was fairly optimistic, and all of a sudden trend are going the other direction. So it's a very challenging time for all of us. RECAP OF ACTIONABLE ITEMS FOR COMMISSION, WORKING GROUPS, AND STAFF: Nations gave a recap of the actionable items. 1.She will add the co-benefits to the August packet. 2.She will send that link about transportation and how to offset greenhouse gases. 3.She will find the draft of the Human Rights Commission statement about the recent developments and share that with the whole Commission. 4.She will work to make sure the meeting zoom invitations get to all the members. Nations noted she will be out of the office next week, the 13th through the 17th, back on the 20th. She will be unavailable to be reached by email. ADJOURNMENT: Krieger made a motion to adjourn. Giannakouros seconded the motion. A vote was taken and the motion passed unanimously. Climate Action Commission July 6, 2020 Page 14 of 14 NAME TERM EXP. 10/7/2019 11/4/2019 12/2/2019 1/6/2020 2/10/2020 3/9/2020 5/4/2020 6/1/2020 7/6/2020 8/3/2020 Madeleine Bradley 12/31/2022 -- -- X X X O/E X X X John Fraser 12/31/2020 X X X X X X X X X Stratis Giannakouros UI Rep X X X X X X X X X Grace Holbrook 12/31/2021 X X X O/E O/E O/E X X X Kasey Hutchinson 12/31/2022 -- -- X X X X X X X GT Karr 12/31/2020 X X X X X X X X X Matt Krieger 12/31/2020 X X X X X X X X X Jesse Leckband MidAmerican Rep X X X X X X X X E Katie Sarsfield 12/31/2020 X X O/E X X O/E X X O/E Becky Soglin 12/31/2022 -- -- X X X X X X X Eric Tate 12/31/2021 X X X X X X X X E KEY: X = Present O = Absent O/E = Absent/Excused NM = No Meeting -- -- = Not a Member CLIMATE ACTION COMMISSION ATTENDANCE RECORD 2019 - 2020 Climate Action and Outreach Office Updates: July 2020 Recent Activity Community-wide Climate Action o Climate Action Grants o FY2020 grants 10 grants completed at end of June 2 FY2020 recipients received an extension due to COVID-19 o FY2021 grants 7 grants awarded: Iowa Valley RC&D, Field to Family, FilmScene, Beadology Iowa, Oaknoll, Bicycle Happiness, Green Iowa AmeriCorps 2 awards being finalized: Bohemian Hotel, St. Mark’s Methodist Church On hold: Award to Johnson Clean Energy District o Climate at Work (Green Business Recognition Program) o Program launched 7/7, new application deadline: 7/31 o Seven applications received so far o Annual CAAP metrics and tracking o Finalizing draft of all five categories of metrics for annual tracking Events o Monarch Festival: August 1, 8, 15, 22 o Restructured as a virtual event with different activities for each weekend in August o Turning over to Parks and Rec next year o Farm to Street Planning Committee o Event cancelled o Climate Festival: Sept. 19-Sept. 26 o Schedule of events finalized and website (icgov.org/ClimateFest) launched; additional features of the webpage (interactive maps, etc.) to be added in as developed o Outreach to businesses and organizations underway o Utility insert ads issued 8/1, first press release to go out 8/4, weekly social posts from now through the end of the festival Marketing RFP o RFP finalized and should go out next week, regional firms identified o Expecting to receive proposals through August and convene selection committee in mid- to late September Climate Ambassadors o Training modules in development; expect to start building webpage in August Ongoing Projects Equity Outreach Program o Received update of Equity Report (some minor additions still needed), work with equity working group, and introduce to community groups to begin equity outreach program development Implementation of Accelerating Iowa City’s Climate Actions, tracking and reporting o Continuing to work the plan for the 2020 actions – focus on tree planting, industrial TIFs, business awards o Starting to think ahead to 2021 goals Reporting and Metrics o Annual community-wide GHG reporting and reporting – data collection still in progress for CY 2019-waiting for data from Eastern Iowa Light and Power and MidAmerican o Data collection of CAAP metrics for prior two years, once metrics are finalized Current Grant Projects o IEDA-Eastern Iowa EV Readiness Planning- contract awarded to ICF, scheduling kickoff meeting o Heartland Carbon Sequestration – underway, identifying local projects to quantify, topics to research, considering community project Communications (with part-time Sustainability Communications Assistance) o Ongoing monthly Sustainability Newsletter o Working on communications strategy, news releases, water bill inserts Municipal Energy and Climate (with part-time Climate Action Assistant) o Municipal utilities tracking and analysis o Start tracking water usage of municipal facilities o Municipal GHG inventory reporting (~ every 5 years) o Staff Climate Committee – municipal climate plan o Working with staff to incorporate GHG reductions and increasing sustainability practices within City operations Ongoing Sustainability Groups and Committees o USDN groups, Innovation Fund grant committee, annual meeting o Heartland (Midwestern) Monthly calls, annual meeting o Johnson County Sustainability Working Group, quarterly meetings Date: July 29, 2020 To: Climate Action Commission From: Ashley Monroe, Assistant City Manager Re: Summary of proposed private tree planting project Climate Staff and the City Manager’s Office has been communicating with Parks and Recreation about the action identified in the Accelerating Iowa City Climate Actions Report - Encouraging Tree Planting (in coordination with Project Green). In staff discussion, the following framework has evolved, and we would like to solicit informal feedback from the Climate Action Commission Members before proceeding. The plan is to promote tree purchase through local nurseries, from a preferred species list (for planting diversity). Private property plantings will help encourage additional tree canopy, promote shade and reduced energy consumption, and focusing upon private planting will enable a greater number of trees planted and cared for, than City plantings and areas managed by Parks and Forestry. The program will provide vouchers for discounted pricing (still to be determined but starting with 50%) for tree purchase, possibility of delivery and planting fees paid by the City. Instant rebates will go directly to the customer during purchase and arrangement with the nursery and the City will pay the nursery for the cost balance for the trees being purchased through the program. Equity considerations include monetary, physical ability to both acquire/transport and/or plant new trees. Staff still needs to define how those with income or special requests can be accommodated but the intent is to accommodate ability to pay and ability to plant, including a sliding scale for discount, and paying for other services as needed. Staff made an initial contact with local nurseries to explore interest/ability to work with the City on a rebate program to promote a higher volume in private plantings. They are interested in such a program and are currently assembling a list of stock, along with City Forestry staff, should the project go forward. This will also help to establish a total available program budget, which will be sourced by the Emergency Levy Tax revenue. We have discussed a “take-and-go” tree giveaway as part of the tree planting effort but have concerns that if it is the only option, time, place, ability to transport plantings, and other factors could approach inequitable program design. This option could be supplementary at a later date and needs further discussion, including incorporation of more community groups. Staff believes that Project Green could be an excellent educational and promotional partner, rather than an ongoing steward of the planting project/program. Other community organizations could assist, but staff or the Commission will need to connect to see how they would like to participate. As part of the promotion and the nursery interaction, attention will be given to tree care and education about the value and significance of trees in our neighborhoods and yards. The proposed timeline for this pilot discounted tree “buy & plant” program is to promote in August and September 2020, with plantings at resident leisure, and continue a larger push into Spring 2021. Updated 2017 Fair Trade 101 Use this information to educate yourself and others about how Fair Trade works and its impact on communities around the world. “Fair Trade is a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency, and respect, that seeks greater equity in international trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of, marginalized producers and workers.” – World Fair Trade Organization Fast Facts •There are over 2,000 Fair Trade producer organizations in more than 70 countries around the world. •There are tens of thousands of Fair Trade products on the market, including coffee, tea, chocolate, flowers, fruits and vegetables, grains, apparel, artisan crafts, and more. •Fair Trade began with the sale of handicrafts and artisan goods in the 1940s. The first Fair Trade certification launched in 1988, with coffee as the first Fair Trade certified product. How Fair Trade Works •Economic, social, and environmental standards provide sustainable livelihoods, promote safe and healthy working conditions, protect the environment, enable transparency, ensure gender equity, and empower communities. •Third-party certifiers develop and certify against standards, with regular audits to ensure the standards are being met. The primary third-party certifiers in the U.S. are Fair Trade USA, Fairtrade America, and IMO’s Fair for Life label. •Fair Trade is “market-based” because it relies on the combination of business and socially-conscious consumers to support the movement by purchasing Fair Trade products. What Fair Trade Does •Fair prices and credit: Farmers and workers receive a guaranteed minimum price for their products (or the market price if it’s higher). Depending on the product and quality, there may be other premiums and bonuses, for example if the product is certified organic. •Fair labor conditions: Fair Trade farmers and workers enjoy freedom of association and safe working conditions. Forced child and slave labor are strictly prohibited. •Direct trading relationships: Importers purchase from Fair Trade producer groups as directly as possible to eliminate unnecessary middlemen and empower farmers and workers to develop the business capacity necessary to compete in the global marketplaces. •Democratic and transparent organizations: Fair Trade farmers and workers decide democratically how to invest Fair Trade premiums, which are funds for community development. Fair Trade committees provide opportunities for leadership regardless of gender. •Community development: Fair Trade farmers and workers invest Fair Trade premiums in social and business development projects like scholarships, schools, leadership training, and organic certification. •Environmental sustainability: Harmful agrochemicals and GMOs are strictly prohibited in favor of environmentally sustainable practices that protect workers’ health and preserve valuable ecosystems. Fair Trade Premium Projects •COSURCA, a coffee cooperative in Colombia, invested in building a cupping lab to empower farmers to understand and improve the quality of their coffee, and ultimately fetch higher prices. •Farm workers at Wholesum Harvest in Sonora, Mexico, purchased a school bus to improve access to the local elementary school. •Workers at CORA, a Fair Trade sugar producer in Paraguay, purchased an ambulance – the only one in the municipality. •Loans from the Fair Trade premium have enabled workers at the Maud Tea Estate in Assam, India, to start small dairy businesses, diversifying their income. Fair Trade Campaigns is a powerful grassroots movement mobilizing thousands of conscious consumers and Fair Trade advocates at schools, on campuses and in communities across the United States. We are part of a global effort to normalize Fair Trade as an institutional practice and consumer preference across 24 countries and on six continents. How it Works •The core of our model is empowering Fair Trade advocates to educate their communities and build consumer citizenship. •Fair Trade Campaigns recognizes towns, colleges, universities, schools and congregations in the US for embedding Fair Trade practices and principles into policy, as well as the social and intellectual foundations of their communities. •We provide tools, resources and support events to launch and grow local Fair Trade Campaigns in your town, university, school or congregation. •Awareness and education are key ingredients in making Fair Trade an institutional practice and consumer preference. Mission Our mission is to grow a nationwide community of passionate, lifelong Fair Trade advocates. As advocates, their commitment will inspire others to support the Fair Trade movement in its efforts to seek equity in trade and create opportunities for economically and socially marginalized producers. Fair Trade Towns, Colleges, Universities and other communities embed Fair Trade values and purchases into mainstream business and institutional practices. History Over 1,500 communities and thousands of schools and congregations on six continents have joined together to alleviate poverty through Fair Trade. Efforts started in 2000 in a town called Garstang (UK). For nearly 14 years the global Fair Trade Towns movement has inspired thousands of communities to pave the way for driving impact through institutional and consumer purchasing decisions. Fair Trade Colleges & Universities also grew out of Fair Trade work in the UK. The movement ensures that Fair Trade products are sold and served at campus-owned and operated outlets. Fair Trade Campaigns formalized in May 2013. Leaders from Fair Trade Town and Fair Trade College & University campaigns teamed up with organizations like Fair Trade USA, Fair Trade Federation, Catholic Relief Services Fair Trade and Green America to build a mission and strategic plan. The mission and plan unified all of the types of campaigns under one umbrella and expanded our scope to include additional types of institutions such as congregations and schools. Who We Are How Fair Trade Campaigns Empowers Individuals and Communities to Make a Difference Organizational Structure Fair Trade Campaigns currently includes Fair Trade Towns, Fair Trade Colleges & Universities, Fair Trade Schools and Fair Trade Congregations. Fair Trade Campaigns utilizes an innovative shared governance model referred to as a ‘Big Tent’ approach, in which National Steering Committees (NSC) of volunteers work with paid staff to determine direction and strategy, as well as execution of campaign objectives. The three staff members are housed at Fair Trade USA, which provides direct staff and programmatic supervision, as well as support for fundraising, office space, equipment, and other resources. The NSC is made up of a wide range of stakeholders in the Fair Trade movement. This includes organizers from large and small towns and congregations, faculty and students from colleges, universities and schools of varying size and affiliation, as well as NGOs in the Fair Trade movement. Our Big Tent Approach The NSC has decision making power with regards to determining which systems and certifications are officially recognized as Fair Trade for the purposes of achieving the goals of the campaigns. As Fair Trade USA is a certifier, it is recognized by all parties that there would be an inherent conflict of interests for Fair Trade USA to participate in those particular decisions. The NSC considers each system and certification against a set of previously agreed upon principles developed by the NSC. If a system or certification meets those principles, it is included in campaign materials and recognized as Fair Trade. Fair Trade Campaigns currently recognizes the following systems and certifications: Fair Trade USA, Fairtrade America, IMO Fair for Life, Fair Trade Federation, and the World Fair Trade Organization. This ‘Big Tent’ approach to governance and inclusion of multiple labels and systems is unique globally. It is a model that is growing in interest among other national Fair Trade campaign initiatives and has already inspired several other countries. Joining the Movement We currently have over 250 active campaigns across the country, raising awareness and driving institutional purchasing of Fair Trade products. To earn Fair Trade status, organizers must meet criteria such as: •Building a core team or steering committee •Documenting product availability •Gaining attention from the media •Sourcing Fair Trade products at events and meetings •Passing Fair Trade resolutions within local governments Interested in starting a Fair Trade campaign in your community? Learn more at fairtradecampaigns.org/organize Quick Facts •In 2006 Media, PA, became the first Fair Trade Town in the U.S. •The largest Fair Trade Town in the U.S. is Chicago, IL •In 2008, University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh became the first Fair Trade University in the U.S. •UCLA is the largest Fair Trade University in the U.S. •In 2010, Emma Willard School in Troy, NY, became the first Fair Trade School in the U.S. •In 2014, Our Lady of Assumption in Claremont, CA, became the first Fair Trade Congregation in the U.S. •There are over 250 active campaigns in the U.S. •Fair Trade Campaigns hosts several promotional programs each year, including Fair Trade Month, World Fair Trade Day, Back to School, and Fair Trade Your Finals Date: Signed by Mayor: CITY OF IOWA CITY, In the year 2020, resolved by the City Council of the City of Iowa City, as follows: WHEREAS, Fair Trade certification is an innovative, market-based system that promotes fair labor practices, healthy and safe work environments, and family sustaining wages through the productions of food and other goods; and WHEREAS, sale of Fair Trade certified goods helps small producers, often in developing countries, gain direct access to international markets in order to increase living standards and economic standards; and WHEREAS, production of Fair Trade goods is achieved through sustainable and ecologically friendly means, thus contributing to the future of a healthy planet for all; and we all have a responsibility to be aware of the impact that our consumption has on the communities that produce the goods we purchase; and WHEREAS, we consumers have a voluntary choice to make such purchases of Fair Trade goods; and WHEREAS, we recognize that supporting our local economy by purchasing locally and ethically produced goods and services is in keeping with the values of Fair Trade; and WHEREAS Fair Trade practices align with Iowa City’s commitment to addressing Climate Change and improving Human Rights locally and globaly; and WHEREAS, the City of Iowa City has the opportunity to lead by example and present a model of social responsibility​ for other towns and cities to follow; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED ​that when purchasing goods for the City, the City of Iowa City will consider procuring local and Fair Trade products​ when those products are available, meet applicable City standards, and comparably priced to the alternative; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this City Council encourages the members of our community to do likewise; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City of Iowa City and visitors to the city will gain a greater understanding of what is and what is not Fair Trade, in order to make educated decisions; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this City Council supports Iowa City’s initiative to become a ​Fair Trade Town​. *** Or if that seems like a stretch we could use this line instead: NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED ​that the City Council of Iowa City supports the efforts of organizations that work to increase consumer awareness of and commitment to poor farming and artisan communities around the world through Fair Trade​; Proposal to Designate Iowa City a Fair Trade Town Background: Since 2017, the Iowa City Fair Trade Coalition (ICFTC) has been working with local businesses, organizations, and educational and faith-based institutions to increase awareness of Fair Trade, social justice, and ethical purchasing. As a local chapter of Fair Trade Campaigns, USA, The Iowa City Fair Trade Coalition seeks to educate our community on the importance of Fair Trade and ethical purchasing and the intersections between fair trade, sustainability, social and environmental justice, and human rights. Additionally, we seek to work with local institutions, businesses, and purchasers to increase the availability of Fair Trade products and the capacity in which Fair Trade products are procured by local institutions. In 2019, The Iowa City Fair Trade Coalition worked with University of Iowa Housing and Dining, the Office of Sustainability, University of Iowa Student Government, as well as the Office of the President to designate the University of Iowa as the first Fair Trade University in the Big 10 Network, and only the second Fair Trade institution in the state of Iowa. What is Fair Trade? Fair Trade is a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency, and respect, that seeks greater equity in international trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of, marginalized producers and workers. Fair prices and credit​: Farmers and workers receive a guaranteed minimum price for their products (or the market price if it’s higher). Depending on the product and quality, there may be other premiums and bonuses, for example if the product is certified organic. Fair labor conditions​: Fair Trade farmers and workers enjoy freedom of association and safe working conditions. Forced child and slave labor are strictly prohibited. Direct trading relationships​: Importers purchase from Fair Trade producer groups as directly as possible to eliminate unnecessary middlemen and empower farmers and workers to develop the business capacity necessary to compete in the global marketplaces. Democratic and transparent organizations​: Fair Trade farmers and workers decide democratically how to invest Fair Trade premiums, which are funds for community development. Fair Trade committees provide opportunities for leadership regardless of gender. Community development​: Fair Trade farmers and workers invest Fair Trade premiums in social and business development projects like scholarships, schools, leadership training, and organic certification. Environmental sustainability​: Harmful agrochemicals and GMOs are strictly prohibited in favor of environmentally sustainable practices that protect workers’ health and preserve valuable ecosystems. Becoming a Fair Trade Town: The City of Iowa City has the opportunity to further its commitment to environmental sustainability, social justice, and human rights. Once designated a Fair Trade Town, Iowa City will be recognized by Fair Trade Campaigns, USA as the ​First ​Fair Trade Town in Iowa, positioning Iowa City as a leader in the state and in the midwest. After designation, the Iowa City Fair Trade Coalition will work with appropriate staff in the city to procure Fair Trade products when they are available, as dictated in the proposed resolution. Additionally, the ICFTC will hold events to educate the community on international trade, fair trade, and its broader local and global implications while working with local stakeholders to increase the availability of fair trade products in our community. Proposed CAAP Metrics Buildings o % renewable grid energy (electricity) from MidAmerican Energy and Eastern Iowa Light and Power o % renewable from U of I Power Plant o Residential energy – combined electric and natural gas ghg emissions o Commercial energy – combined electric and natural gas ghg emissions o Industrial energy – combined electric and natural gas ghg emissions o Municipal buildings -combined electric and natural gas ghg emissions Transportation o Total Vehicle Miles Traveled (from DOT)—divided by population o Bus Ridership (provided by Transit: “Annual Unlinked Trips”) o Transportation Mode Split from American Community Survey (Census data) o Annual estimates for commuting: bike, walk, etc. o Number of Registered Electric Vehicles in Johnson County (either % or by population) o County data can be found online here: https://iowadot.gov/mvd/stats/2020EVPHEV.pdf o Johnson Co. 2019: 549 (through March 31, 2020) o Municipal only: City vehicle VMT/city vehicle gasoline consumption Waste o Total Landfill Tonnage (from Iowa City Landfill)—divided by County population o Recycling and/or organics tonnages Adaptation o Percent tree canopy – data may not be available annually o Total number of stormwater management projects – cumulative total of City cost share projects o Number of new trees planted – cumulative total of City cost share project Sustainable Lifestyle o Climate Action at Work -number of organizations recognized o Climate Ambassadors – number of individuals who have completed program Equity and Co-benefit Review Guidance for IC Climate Action Commission June 1, 2020 Equity: All people have full and equal access to opportunities that enable them to attain their full potential. Equity differs from equality in that the latter gives each person the same thing to achieve fairness whereas equity gives each person what they need to achieve fairness. Please note that “justice” involves removing a systemic barrier that led to inequity. 1.What are the equity benefits? Consider who is being affected or involved in the action and whether all are able to participate and/or benefit to the same degree. Communities/people of different wealth, especially who have lower income or unemployment Communities/people of color Young people People with disabilities Older people LGBTQ community Communities of immigrants and/or limited English proficiency People without employment People who depend on public transit or other non-single-driver transportation Other individuals or communities that have been disenfranchised Will remove, or potentially remove, barrier(s) that caused inequity in the first place (justice) 2.Are there other non-economic or non-direct-GHG-reduction benefits or advantages? Neighbors get to know each other Advances knowledge of some aspect of climate change or sustainability Provides for childhood learning or development in general Leads to access to other education or training for adults Improves air, land and/or water quality Improves access to healthy food Improves healthier living in general Supports biodiversity Makes travel/transit easier/efficient, safer or reliable, especially people who are vulnerable Makes “greener” travel more possible for all: bus, walking, bike, etc. Otherwise supports part or all of action in one of the other action areas: Buildings, Transportation, Waste, Adaptation, Sustainable Living Easily replicable and scalable 3.Are there other economic benefits? Increases home or building value Adds new or advances existing jobs/profession Supports local economy 4.Does it conflict with any other action in the 100-day plan (briefly list action(s))? Buildings Transportation Waste Adaptation Sustainable Lifestyle 7/27/2020 The Pandemic Has Pushed Aside City Planning Rules. But to Whose Benefit? - The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/20/upshot/pandemic-city-planning-inequality.html?searchResultPosition=1 1/3 https://nyti.ms/3eGZf9z The Pandemic Has Pushed Aside City Planning Rules. But to Whose Benefit? As bike lanes and cafes sprout on streets, marginalized residents wonder when their priorities will get attention. By Emily Badger July 20, 2020 One month into the coronavirus crisis this spring, Oakland, Calif., began to restrict car traffic on some streets — ultimately on 21 miles of them — to create outdoor space for residents who suddenly had nowhere else to go. Other cities have also responded with remarkably rapid transformations of urban space that had seemed impossible before the pandemic. Boston announced new bike routes. Seattle converted on-street parking to loading zones for restaurant pickup. Los Angeles and New York expedited permits for outdoor dining on streets and sidewalks. Connecticut lifted rules requiring businesses to have a minimum number of parking spaces. And some of these changes are likely to be permanent. The moves have been cheered by residents eager to use the new amenities and thankful for how fast they have appeared. Turns out, cities can move quickly. But the speed itself — and the changes that cities have prioritized — has also left residents that have long been sidelined in city planning feeling neglected again. Poorer residents weren’t going to restaurants much anyway. Many children didn’t feel safe from violence in public spaces before the pandemic. And in some Black neighborhoods, people have been deeply worried about their streets — but not necessarily whether they can dine on them. “What this moment shows us is that those decisions have never had much to do with true civic engagement,” said Destiny Thomas, an anthropologist-planner who has criticized the lack of community participation in “pop-up” pandemic infrastructure in her native Oakland and elsewhere. “That knee-jerk reaction exposes the power structure, the decision-making autonomy, and the centering of certain people’s comfort and freedoms over others.” It’s not just that cities have been fast to make the changes wealthy white residents value, or that they have allowed cafes on top of streets before fixing drainage under them in poor neighborhoods, say Ms. Thomas and other people of color who are planners. It’s that the process itself has seldom been designed to include marginalized residents, many of whom don’t feel safe on city streets from police violence or community surveillance. The neighborhoods where these residents live also frequently lack better infrastructure, or were pushed into flood plains, because planners neglected them years ago, too. Stripe a bike lane over that damage now, Ms. Thomas said, and that can signal that officials don’t intend to repair what’s underneath. A closed-off street in Oakland in April.Jeff Chiu/Associated Press 7/27/2020 The Pandemic Has Pushed Aside City Planning Rules. But to Whose Benefit? - The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/20/upshot/pandemic-city-planning-inequality.html?searchResultPosition=1 2/3 Latest Updates: Global Coronavirus Outbreak Updated 34m ago Republicans seek to slash expiring jobless payments by two-thirds as part of $1 trillion recovery bill. Trumpʼs national security adviser, Robert OʼBrien, tested positive. A late-stage trial of a potential vaccine will enroll people at 89 sites around the United States. See more updates More live coverage: Markets Questions about who has a say in shaping cities, and what that process should look like, are not new. But the shock of the coronavirus crisis, which cleared public spaces to be a kind of blank canvas, and the calls to treat those spaces with racial equity in mind could force cities to reconsider their answers. Today, visions of urban life reinvented for the future are colliding with unaddressed inequalities from the past. And the urgency of a public health threat is pushing against demands for the long work of inclusion. “There are a lot of urgent problems, and government needs to treat them as urgent, because that’s the only way we’ll solve them,” Ryan Russo, the director of Oakland’s Department of Transportation, said of the city’s Slow Streets program. When it was announced, Oakland residents had been in lockdown for a month, and sidewalks and a popular downtown park were growing crowded. Mr. Russo acknowledges that the city should have communicated more with the public early on. Since the program’s start, Oakland has been running an online survey of how residents use and view Slow Streets, with the results updated online. In a further bid for transparency, the city has published the demographics of respondents to the survey, alongside the demographics of the city. As of last week, 67 percent of people who had taken the survey were white, versus 24 percent citywide. And 40 percent of the survey takers reported a household income of more than $150,000 a year, which is twice the actual share of Oakland residents who earn that much. “It would be very easy for us to just say, ʻWe did a survey and 75 percent of Oaklanders say they support Slow Streets,’” Mr. Russo said. “When you see the fact that it’s disproportionately folks who are higher-income who really enjoy it, and people who are white who are saying that, that’s a very important thing for government to be listening to.” Those survey response rates echo research on public meetings about development, conducted by the political scientists Katherine Levine Einstein, David Glick and Maxwell Palmer. The people who show up for such meetings, thus shaping what kind of housing is built, tend to be older, whiter, higher-income and homeowners. Those are the people with more time for public meetings, the flexibility to show up on a weeknight, and motivation to do so. They also wield the most power when they speak, with their homeowner’s concerns about property values at stake, or with their credentials as engineers, architects or lawyers who have read the zoning code. “Participation processes are broken in two different ways,” said Professor Einstein, who teaches at Boston University. “They’re weaponized by privileged white people. And then when less privileged communities do try to use them, they’re not as effective as a tool for them.” Jeremy Levine, a sociologist who spent several years following community meetings in poorer neighborhoods of Boston, found that those meetings often served to give officials and developers the power to say “the community” is on board. The Coronavirus Outbreak › Frequently Asked Questions Updated July 27, 2020 Should I refinance my mortgage? It could be a good idea, because mortgage rates have never been lower. Refinancing requests have pushed mortgage applications to some of the highest levels since 2008, so be prepared to get in line. But defaults are also up, so if youʼre thinking about buying a home, be aware that some lenders have tightened their standards. What is school going to look like in September? • • • 7/27/2020 The Pandemic Has Pushed Aside City Planning Rules. But to Whose Benefit? - The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/20/upshot/pandemic-city-planning-inequality.html?searchResultPosition=1 3/3 It is unlikely that many schools will return to a normal schedule this fall, requiring SEE MORE “More meetings, better-attended meetings or differently designed meetings will not alleviate these fundamental challenges,” said Mr. Levine, a professor at the University of Michigan. This is the reality as cities consider what it would mean to have more community input: In city planning, participatory democracy has largely increased inequality, not lessened it. “It is inherently unequal,” said Anika Singh Lemar, a clinical professor at Yale Law School and a lawyer who represents developers of lower-income housing and fair housing advocates. “The question is how do you design the process to push back on those inequalities. Saying we can just have a public meeting and that will take care of inequality is like saying, ʻI can just put a $500,000 house on the market, and anybody can bid on it.’” Ms. Thomas, the anthropologist-planner, who leads a team of strategists called the Thrivance Group, says traditional public meetings aren’t her idea of engagement anyway. Instead, she suggests cities could fund community health clinics or food banks already serving these neighborhoods to engage residents on what they need from the city at the same time. City departments could also put community residents on staff to do this work. Ms. Lemar proposes using elementary schools to reach families who would never attend public meetings. Such ideas imply that cities owe some residents and neighborhoods far more effort than they do others. “We need to either reduce the power that the white high-income areas have, increase the power that communities of color and low-income communities have, or do both,” said Michael Lens, a professor of urban planning and public policy at U.C.L.A. He fears that is incredibly hard in practice. But Mr. Russo says Oakland has been trying. In updating a plan for the city’s bike infrastructure last year, the city worked with community organizations in neighborhoods that have warily viewed bike lanes as harbingers of gentrification. The city didn’t make that effort everywhere, Mr. Russo added. And identifying which communities to prioritize, he said, wasn’t hard. “You look at Oakland’s redlining map,” he said, “and you look at where poverty is concentrated, where high asthma rates are concentrated, where we have people hit by cars, where we have traffic collisions.” They are all the same places. A sidewalk restaurant in New York, one of the cities making it easier to offer outdoor dining.Amr Alfiky/The New York Times