Meeting Minutes and Agendas

Contact info and meeting minutes:

Contact info:

Minutes: Moving Toward Sustainable Skagway
February 2, 2009 3pm Library

Attending:
Julene Fairbanks
Dorothy Brady
Emily Willis
Shelby Surdyk
Anna Marchant
Nola Lamken
Mike Corsmo
Mike introduced ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainablity, an organization we as a group, as a city could possibly join and benefit from conectedness.
Discussed recycling including composting of: tin, glass, plastic, newspaper, aluminium, scrap paper, garbage and pre-cycling or conservation.
Julene introduced discussion on educating Skagway households and businesses of ‘what ‘is in place to date enabling Skagway residents to recycle and or pre-cycle. She will spearhead an initiative to gather all the facts and publish and distribute them with APT mailout.
Discussion continued with the question: What is needed to recycle plastic, newspaper and on what education needed to pre-cycle or an effort not to use or buy commodities packaged in plastic?
There was a mention of a compator for baling plastic bottles and a comment that it would take a 3 year storage period for shipping to be economically feasible. This to be looked into by Julene.
Dorothy spearheading a communal composting initiative looking at Gustavis model. A Bobcat needed and a location, 7 pastures suggested, to contact Tim B., and 7 foot fencing required as black bears deterent. Dorothy also spearheading further development of community gardens to include workshops on starting seedlings and farmers market.



Cont’d 2/2/09 meeting of Moving Toward Sustainable Skagway
Anna will spearhead initiative to get bearproof trash recepticals, recycle recepticals at camp ground and to beautify campground, specifically: tree barrier between train tracks and campground, flower plantings and to find avenues to encourage and educate seasonal workers to dispose of trash to prevent visits from bears.
A discussion followed on alternative forms of energy: geo thermal, wind, hydro, tidal (feasibility at West Creek with Marshall Island model) for powering cruise ships while in port. Suggestion to contact Skip as advisor to feasibility.
Proposed farmers market this summer at You Say.
Discussed liasion organizations and possibility of becoming subcommittee of existing non-profit and/or working with existing institutions such as: Skagway Development Corp-Trish, Watershed Council-Alisha, Tribal Council, Assembly-Tim B., Mike C., SE Hydro and Fisheries, Park Service for education and awareness(bear protection or sustainability)
Suggestions: Educate through quarterly flyers mailed with APT bills, Fourth of July float, Spring Stroll, Advertizing weekly meetings with posters up at: You Say, Hardware, Fairway, Airport, Ferry Terminal, City Council, Glacial Smoothie, Library, Rec Center, through church network.

Agenda for 2/8/09:
1. More on education initiative
2. Where to move with joining ICLEI, vote on joining, fee $600
3. Float, who?
4. Market,who?
5. Reports from Julene-information flyers, Dorothy-community gardens and composting, Anna-forum of speakers from related organizations.

Minutes: Moving Toward Sustainable Skagway
February 8, 2009 3pm Library
Attending:
Julene Fairbanks
Shelby Surdyk
Anna Marchant
Emily Willis
Minutes of last meeting read.
Advertizing for meetings and initiatives – Blog site, Shelby to set up gmail site.
Use free space in local newspaper. Who?
Emily will create posters for 12 post board around town. Posters to read: Join the Discussion: Moving Toward A Sustainable Skagway, Sunday afternoon at 3pm at the Library, All Welcome.

Julene will have first quarterly flyer ready to go out with April billing. Flyer to:
1. Promote reduction of electricity consumption at peak times, use of plastics.
2. Inform of what is in place in Skagway to recycle and where.
3. Promote business to use paper bags and not plastic

Suggestion to use Sustainable Juneau website and to copy resolution as model for Skagway resolution
Mention of Community Forum initiative of Alisha with speaker from Haines in March or April at Elks after hamburger feed. Flyer to advertize above forum? Who?
Flyer to promote plastic recycle. Who? Need for recycle bins distributed in public places. Who?
Abundance of Aluminum cans left in and around harbour and campgrounds.
Wish List (or need funds for the following):
1. Bob Cat for community composting
2. 7 Pastures to use for community composting
3. Shed at community gardening
4. Greenhouse for starter plants
5. Baler for tin cans (will crusher for aluminum work for tin?)
6. Paper shredder for composting
7. Shredder for plastic bottles
8. Storage hanger for tin, plastic and aluminum(3 year storage for financial feasibility).
9. Funds for printing flyers
10. Trees
11. Gardening tools
12. 7 foot fencing around commumity compost
13. Bear proof trash recepticles
14. Recycle recepticles for public places and campground.
15. Flowers for campground
16. Vehicle and equiptment for watering lightpole flower boxes on Broadway
To be cont’d
Discussed peak hour burning of deisel and education to reduce use of electricity peak hours.
Gather info: when, how much? Jaqueline, Park Ranger a resource for information. Who?
Suggestion: promote restaurants to deliver used cooking oil, comprehesive plan to fuel incinerator, find out how much paper needed for incinerator efficiency the remainder can be used in composting, Set up vounteers to collect cookingoil, coffee grounds, and compost from restaurants.Who?
Alisha working on business recognition for green and sustainable practices:
Electric vehicles
Cooking oil for bio fuel at incinerator
Coffee grounds for community composting
Separation and delivery of compost for community composting
Recycling
Alternative to plastic water bottles
Use of paper bags not plastic for customers purchases
Apply Social business practices: see Muhamad Yunus; on economic sustainability the future of capitalism in Creating a World without Poverty.
Finding a means to power cruise ships while in port
Use of electricity
Care of Employees: housing costs and conditions, living wage,condition of campground as a concern for all employers.
Washing of commercial buses on streets, detergents used-go straight into rivers and sea. So wash vehicles over ground for filtering and use biodegradable detergents
Roofing rents for solar panels and for greening to filter water for building use.
Anna to spearhead Forth of July Float initiative and Spring Stroll Initiative:
Float: A pile of recycle and or new recycle bins, ideas welcome
Stroll: Focus of how individuals can reduce pollution into our local rivers and sea: Natural detergent recepies, Education on natural cleaning products-demonstrations, Information on polluting detergent, which are the most polluting and suggested alternatives.
Agenda for 2/15/09:
1.Gather info and/or contact Haines recycle
2. Contact Grant with questions
3. Create a phone tree for blog site.
4. Arrange meeting of members of other organizations and groups working toward sustainabiliyto get an idea of their focuses and goal: long term and short term
5. Brainstorm possibilities, no ceiling: edible containers for yogurt, electric buses, water bags instead of water bottles, promote non disposable water bottles, what?, biodegradable trash bags, paper bags, awards for social business and for sustainable green business practices.

Binder of minutes, contact info, resource info, hard copy of blog, data info on wast measurement, costs and measure of improvement and progress toward long term goals to be kept in periodical section of library and to be kept current by Anna.
Millenium goals for reducing and or Context for creating in time period : Anna to do a visual, Shelby to present.
Julene: ask Grant How much, weight, what, when peak hours, APT for conservation education and awareness education.


Minutes: Moving Toward Sustainable Skagway
February 15, 2009

Attending:
Julene Fairbanks
Shelby Surdyk
Anna Marchant
Danielle Fuzzard
1. Read Minutes
2.On Emily Willis request there was further discussion on use of movement and meetings crossing other initiatives in Skagway. Anna to contact Alisha, Watershed Council, Tribal Council, Assembly members for Forum.
3. Shelby has set up blog site at Bloggers.com/sustainableskagway, username: sustainable skagway@gmail.com, password: Yonderblue
4. Minutes and agendas for meetings to be posted on the blog by Anna.
5. Visual of context (millenium goals, long term goals) to be created by Anna by March 8. To be used as business model for grant acquisition, ie: measure pollutants in Pullen Pond, a salmon spawning water, from run off from detergents used by tour businesses to wash their commercial bus on the street, clean up by 2011, etc.
6. Folder/notebook donated by Anna for catch all and hard copy of minutes and agends to be kept in periodical area of library.
7. Information:
A. Danielle suppplied information about g diapers. Directed to post it on the blog and will go out in a quarterly flyer in future.
B. Stuart Brown to convert buses to electricity power.
C. River and Sea take in flow of detergents for commercial bus washing on street. To be brought to the attention of tour businesses in education program and recognition program for greening businesses in Skagway, Watershed Council. Suggest alternatives to location of washing vehicles: either special wahing facility to catch detergent polluted wastewater or wash where wastewater is filtered through ground and /or support business to use bio-digradable detergents.
8. Julene to report on her research on :
A. What is in place in Skagway for recycle.
B. What business can do
C. What households can do.
D. Progress on success of mail out.
9. Dorothy to report on Community Composting social business progress.
10. Anna to report on Forum, Visual of Moving Toward Sustainable Skagway Context and Mission, and post minutes on Blog.
11. Anna proposed recognition awards for Skagway bussinesses and institutions and Shelby said Watershed Council is working toward that.
12. Danielle porposed a fundraising project for school of selling starter plants. Shelby suggested using workshops at school for space. Suggested that Danielle work with Dorothy and Shelby on project.
12. Anna suggested that we can all be thinking of solutions, even to the largest tasks. Perhaps a competition challenging individuals to envision a sustainable future community of Skagway. What would in look like. No holds barred. Electric trams, vehicles, small vehicles picked up from depots of carts, like shopping carts and left in other depots, co-op gardens, community composting, ordering through food co-ops, farmers market, alternative power for cruise ships in port, green lighting, 100% recycle, conservation and reduction of recycle, flat roof gardens, wind block islands at intersections down State, Broadway, and Main,etc. The process could be encouraging, energizing and create the metaphysical space for the how of solutions to manifest.
13. Agenda for 2/22/09:

Moving Toward Sustainable Skagway
February 22, 2009 3pm Library

Attending:
Dorothy Brady
Nola Lamken
Emily Willis
Anna Marchant
Julene Fairbanks
Shelby Surdyk
Jasmine Viehe
Elaine Furbish


1. Minutes read.
2. Continued discussion on non-toxic detergents. Talk of a Health Fair, Spring Stroll for educationand demonstrations.
3. Dorothy reported on Community Compost, Community Gardens and tree and berry planting. A discussion followed. Shelby suggested during Clean Sweep the students help plant trees.
4. A short meeting as a book review on economic and environmental sustainability followed at 4pm.
Agenda for 3/1/09:
Alisha to report on her work toward sustainable Skagway and Watershed Council role.
Petition letter to Representative, Senator and Governor.
Islands at intersections.

Sustainable Skagway Minutes, March 1, 2009, 3:00 PM, public library mtg room

Present: Anna Marchant, Nola Etta Lamken, Jeff Boudreau, Kalie Thomas, Shauna Thomas, Mavis Irene Henricksen, Barbara Dedman, Charlotte Irwin Jewell

Minutes read. Anna requested attendees please read the blog site to learn proceedings from past meetings rather than take time to repeat them each time.
Mavis expressed her interest in economic development and curiosity about this group’s connections.
A need was expressed to co-ordinate with the Skagway Traditional Council.
Alecia, from the Watershed Council, will give a presentation at the next meeting.
A petition letter to government representatives is being composed.
Keeping meetings to one hour will conserve time and facilitate busy people staying involved.
“Local Governments for Sustainability,” a brochure left by Mike Korsmo from a conference he attended in Anchorage, was passed around.

Anna asked how people envision a sustainable Skagway and when they expect this can be accomplished. She suggested creating a context, which will help create reality. She proposed making a visual chart showing where we are now and where we’d like to be, specifying time frames, goals, and objectives.

Dorothy Brady took the lead on community garden and compost creation.
Julene and Shelby Fairbanks started work on education and recycling.

Those present presented their interests, hopes, and information:
Nola said she wants to see town trees preserved; places where summer quiet can be found; recycling; and alternative energies such as are now found in Nome (wind), Kotzebue (tide), and Eagle (river), and also other places she’d heard transform cold water into a heat source. She suggested Skagway might create an environmentally sound system and export clean energy.

Jeff expressed interest in the group's present status, wanted to learn what other groups are doing, and to define a base, then create an organization with sub-committees, public relations, and network communication.

Kalie wanted that “winter doesn’t come so fast”, and to learn.

Shauna recommended “refuse, reduce, re-use, recycle.” She wanted to help any way possible, with particular excitement about sustainable energy, her “passion” being state-of-the-art solar/wind combinations, which her dad installs in remote areas. She wanted to change the fact that there’s no state law to buy back power. She wanted energy independence, including such changes and also, gardening.

Mavis mentioned that the Eagle river flow project earlier mentioned is run by AP&T, the same that runs local hydro projects. She said Bob Grimm is dedicated to renewable energy. Each cruise ship burns more energy than Haines and Skagway combined. She has been very disturbed that Upper Lake hemlock trees above 1800’ elevation are suffering, probably due to diesel fumes. The railroad, buses, and fish boats will have to change their engines by 2012, but no such legislation applies to cruise ships. Princess Tours pioneered plug-ins and pioneered the idea in Juneau. She said one problem with alternative production is any power must be used year-round to make it economically feasible. For instance, every mile of transmission cable costs about a million dollars. A SE AK intertie would help in such instances as Juneau’s avalanches. Petersburg puts 55% of their water over the dam and pays two cents/kilowatt hour (kw-hr). Tyee, Sitka, Snettisham, and Swan Lake are all federally subsidized and pay ten cents/ kw-hr. With these low rates, Wrangell has gone totally electric. Ketchikan wants their excess. Our local rates are low, at 19 cents/kw-hr, compared to native community rates running 50 cents/kw-hr. The Borough Assembly can send two delegates to the SE Conference and doesn’t send anybody. We need to get on board politically. Mavis has accumulated lots of information and will give a presentation.
Anna will call Mavis for help writing a letter to politicos. Shauna asked Mavis’ ideas about getting credit for excess energy production, such as wind energy. Mavis knows at least two good placement locations, one on the Canadian side and one south of Haines. She said whatever alternatives are developed, a backup will be needed and natural gas is the most environmentally friendly of all backup resources--Skagway needs to get access from the pipeline. We need to contact legislators.

Barb wanted “anything that will make living better here”. She expressed happiness about Goat Lake useage. She said she’s seen “good change”.

Charlotte represented ATIA (AK Travel Industry Association). She’s interested in “the whole sustainable thing” and described how she had made recycling a priority. The ATIA has created a Tourism Best Management Program. Her Pennsylvania background taught her the importance of getting children involved. Already in 2003 there, curbside recycling collection necessitated mandatory household cooperation; citizens were fined for violations. Charlotte suggested since recycling takes time, energy, and costs employers for employee labor, people need rewards such as financial encouragement. One way might be to start with the city getting fines from improper trash disposal [or rewards?]. She mentioned Tom Hall’s connection to recycling, and said Jamie Garnier led the Boy Scouts in an aggressive newspaper recycling effort for seven years. White Pass donated a container, and AML provided transportation for no charge, as it does for other nonprofit ventures. She noted one problem was the excess labor required due to the way the paper was collected. A year’s collections had to be transferred by hand and palletized into an AML container.
Charlotte suggested Stephanie Scott, who held the Haines Energy Fair, come here and share. She said there’s a national project to turn off all lights for one hour and liked the concept of trying it weekly. She suggested making a contribution to Raven Recycling in Whitehorse in exchange for taking Skagway tin and other items there for real recycling. She liked that Raven accepts all plastics numbers 1-6, only separating milk containers. ATIA is considering buying Skagway individual recycling bins.

Canada and California charge five cents on every container. San Francisco City outlawed plastic water bottles. A city in Oregon reportedly outlawed Styrofoam sales. Some cities have outlawed plastic bags, which accumulate in the ocean and devastate life. Charlotte suggested and the group agreed to write a letter thanking Ed Fairbanks for adding the plastic bag recycling container at Fairway Market.

Respectfully submitted, Nola