Seward Environment Committee

April 19, 2010

Matthews Park Building (warming room)

In attendance: Carol Greenwood, Rick Greenwood, Jim Scheidt, Mark

Sulander, Mike Trdan, and guests for 2nd half of meeting: Linden Hills
Power and Light (Felicity Britton and Tom Braun)

Meeting called to order at 7 pm.

1. Approve agenda, March meeting minutes:

Carol G. noticed under item 5 in Mike Trdan's minutes for the March 15
Environment Committee, that the minutes included information about
the Pilot Program proposal that were not actually discussed at the
March 15 meeting.

Carol noted that Mike's minutes said:

"After discussion with city officials on March 9, it was decided to drop

the food waste collection portion of the grant and focus on improving
the recycling collection in a pilot area in the Seward Neighborhood."

Carol could not recall and her notes did not show that the removal of
the organics collection from the pilot proposal was discussed at the
March 15 meeting. Carol asked that the March 15 minutes be
corrected, which was done.

Carol noted that Sheldon wants a letter written from the Environment
Committee in support of the "Campus Beyond Coal" initiative by
students from the University of Minnesota.

2. Budget report

Carol reported on funds remaining for education, including $2,002 in

education funds, etc and will get an updated report to us. About $45
has been set aside for DVD copying. Gayle Prest, Mpls. Sustainability
staff, did not need any DVD's. $500 allocated from NRP funds for
Holly's internship salary was paid by the Climate Change Innovation
Grant, and the NRP money is now available for other expenditures.

SNG would like us to submit a tally of volunteer hours that we give to

our work with the committee and SNG. We should keep a running tally
and then report those hours to SNG in September.

3. New/ Ongoing Business

Mark reported on the Hiawatha Project proposal by Xcel Energy/

latest hearings

Mark was at all four of the public hearings held April 5 and 6 at Plaza
Verde on Lake St. He was concerned that Sheldon Main's testimony at
the hearing did not include any reference to the total length of the
proposal being over 12 miles (and therefore should include Xcel to
undergo a full Certificate of Need process to prove the need for
additional power. Sheldon also did not mention that Xcel has proposed
a huge power capacity for the project of 10-12 times more power
capacity than Xcel has said our area actually needs.

Mark had given Sheldon and the rest of the SNG Board a lot of
information at their March meeting about those and other issues.
Bottom line: Mark thinks that the information indicates that it is only a
matter of time until Xcel Energy announces that it wants to extend
high voltage lines across the Seward Neighborhood.

Mark's concerns about high voltage lines crossing the Seward

Neighborhood, stem from Xcel Energy's 2007 Transmission Report
(required by the Minnesota Legislature) and Xcel's report to the 2008
Mepps transmission group.

Both reports (when taken together) described Xcel's full transmission

plans of 12 miles in our area: from Hiawatha Av. heading east across
Seward, then crossing the river and continuing into St. Paul and
connecting up with a large new substation near highway 280 and I-94.
The rest of the line would continue further south across Minneapolis,
Richfield, and into Bloomington for a total length of over 12 miles.

So Xcel's own reports from 2007 and 2008 directly contradict their
more recent claim that the Hiawatha Project has a total length of just
1.4 miles

Seward Enhanced Recycling Pilot Program Proposal

Mike T. gave an update. He said he just received a copy of revisions

by Susan Young at the City of Minneapolis at 4:30 this afternoon (Mike
did not hand out copies of the revisions of the proposal or budget at
the meeting).

Mike said that Susan Young has now submitted the revised grant
proposal to Hennepin County. He says that the next step is for John
Hines and Paul Kroening at Hennepin County to be in a review process
of all the proposals for grant money in recycling programs, beginning
in about 2 weeks.

Mike had presented the proposal at the City of Minneapolis recently.

He was at the Transportation-Public Works sub- committee of the City
Council last week. He was closely questioned by chair Sandra Colvin
Roy, but the proposal passed 5-0. It then passed on the Ways and
Means consent agenda. The proposal was finally passed at the full City
Council last Friday on their consent agenda.

The grant asks for $76,000 (out of a total $300,000 grant pool) at
Hennepin County for these types of recycling proposals. The City of
Mpls. will supply in-kind funds valued at $39,560. The City will utilize
excess recycling containers the City now has in storage. City will also
require some different types of equipment to do the recycling pickup.

Mike will be curious about who will do the review of these proposals
(various city recycling directors, etc), how many applications were
received and for what dollar amounts. By the SNG Board meeting this
Tuesday or Wednesday, Mike should know more about those issues.
Mark had some questions and Mike went into further detail about how
the grant would actually be run: Susan Young will be in charge of
spending the $76,000, the truck equipment, etc. Susan would also be
in charge of the selection of a consultant(s) at a cost of about $45,000.
The rest of the $76,000 is for truck leasing fees and publicity.

Program would cover about 720 homes, about 22-23 blocks at about
30 homes per block. Mike: There is no chance of composting being
added back into the grant proposal (this phase of program). Mike
thinks that in the next grant in one year, that compost could then be
included.

Timeline: there will be a review of all grant proposals in 2 weeks, then

proposals go to a subcommittee of the Hennepin County Board and
then to the full County Board. Mike will attempt to meet with
Commissioners: McLaughlin, Stenglein, and Randy Johnson and
perhaps one other commissioner.

Rather than the original length of 6 months, Susan Young now wants
this to go for 11 month total length of project. This will be 2-sort
recycling vs. the 6 or so sort we now have in the City.

Mike also mentioned that there will be a June recycling workshop held
by the Association of Recycling Managers. Mike is the new chair of
that organization.

Mike suggests that overall, we try to be creative in working with/ and

sometimes going around the various obstacles that are now in place to
improved recycling. One suggestion: consider a paper shredding event
with a large shredding truck. A 4-5 hour event could attract 150
people and take care of 4-5 tons of paper.
Linden Hills Power and Light: Felicity Britton and Tom Braun

Carol G. asked how they engaged volunteers:

Felicity: We used a "Compost Captain" network. She said that "you

believe people you know". So if residents know the people that are
coordinating the program as fellow neighbors then its more effective in
convincing residents to get involved.

They went out to a number of community events with a tri-fold

brochure explaining their program, a clipboard and table. Eventually,
they had several hundred people that had signed up as interested.
These were also asked if they would like to be a block leaders. They
couldn't get the community crime prevention leader info, so most of
the info came from the neighborhood organization.

They then put out the word to come to a first meeting to learn how to
be a block club leader. They put out several hundred invite's from the
sign-up list and actually had 60 people show up on a very, very, cold
night in early 2008. Many had already been composting on their own--
so this was a "choir" of current composters. Had a map there-- for
these people to sign up to be a block captain or recommend others on
other blocks to be a captain.

Soon they had 150 signed up to be block-club captains.

Tom: best if you let people do things the way that works best for
them. E.G. one volunteer doesn’t' like to answer his own door-- but
turned out to be one of the best door-knockers for the new program.
Another example: they also did not mandate what kind of containers
for residents to use on their own kitchen counter-- eg green plastic--
wouldn't be agreeable with a lot of people with fancy marble
countertops-- so it's best if they can figure out what they want on their
own. Same thing for other aspects of getting people to adopt the
program…

There is no funding for LHP&L staff salaries from Hennepin County.

They have 10 volunteers on their board. Their group operates
primarily on donations from some larger family foundations from the
Linden Hills neighborhood. Had a $40,000 initial budget, but last year
only had $400 come in, so they're "coasting" on the original $40,000.
Got some smaller amounts, like about $600 in from ice cream socials.
Program is explained at the socials too.

Mark: How can we really do this pilot program with no money available
to reimburse our volunteers?
Mike: Ideally none of us will have to spend a whole lot of time on this if
this works the way I think… when I was at the City, in the very
beginning we got over 3,000 volunteers to put out the collection
reminder signs, etc.

Overall timeline: they had their organizing meetings early 2008 and by
September 15, 2008 they announced to the neighborhood that carts
were coming from the city. In about 2 weeks the captains managed to
get about 900 people then signed up for the carts. It then went very
flat as to growth. So the majority of people got involved in the first 3
weeks. They now have about 1500 people involved (of the 4,000
households in the neighborhood).

Their own original goal was for 42.5% of all households in Linden Hills
to participate which would have been 2,560. By contrast, Susan
Young decided to have no set goals, did not want to mandate any
goals for the pilot program. Just let it evolve as it would.

We can also point out that money is saved for the city when people
don't need to put out their 90+ gallon black cart.

Felicity: they use a separate truck for compost collection now. Best if
they can change that so that one truck can collect both compost and
trash at one time.

By contrast, to the "opt-in" type program, suburbs Minnetonka and

Wayzata were "opt-out". People had to call a number to say they did
not want to participate. Susan Young does not want to do that,
because the carts are so expensive (about $50 per cart). Doesn't want
people to store Christmas ornaments, etc. in their cart.

Susan pointed out than when the larger city gets involved it would be
very expensive when you get 160,000 homes in the program, that
would be about 3 million dollars for carts at $50 per cart.

Currently County pays $15/ ton for organics, but must heavily
subsidize dealing with organics, because real cost to deal with it is $40
per ton. Regular garbage is around $43 per ton tipping fee.

Mark: will there be a Seward anaerobic digester? Carol G: Katya

Pilling at Seward Redesign is working with a community farm proposal
at the Bystrom Bros. industrial site, which would possibly use some
compost, not sure where the compost would come from.

Carol to Felicity: what about the smell?

Felicity: she had toured a facility in Australia in a pretty industrial

area. She thought that she remembered that it handled about 40 tons
of garbage a day. Had grocery stores, McDonalds material. It did
smell "garbagey". Manager said that he got about 2 complaints a year
if the wind was just right...

Mike noted that the MN. Landscape Arboretum in Chanhassen had to

shut down a compost site recently, because of garbage odor and
complaints from wealthy landowners nearby. Felicity: they are
planning to open a new location soon.

Re Rock-Tenn: Felicity says they call it the "Midway" location. Pete

Klein of St. Paul Port Authority is in charge. Has a lot of obstacles to
meet the end of year deadlines.

Would be 50,000 tons per year, which would be 120-125 tons per day.
Urgency: trying for 30% (Federal energy tax credits, etc.) that expire
by the end of the year. Trying to get funds from LCCMR for this
proposal. The Midway digester would also have to have all their
permits approved by the PCA, etc. by December 31, 2010.

They are shooting for a cost of $40 per ton, but they would actually
have to meet or beat the current tipping for haulers of $15 per ton. To
reach the $15 rate, would require them to get Hennepin County to
subsidize them to reach the same $15 per ton figure that they
currently pay to haulers for organics.

So haulers would take the material to a transfer station and it would

have to be separated at a transfer station in Brooklyn Park, or Empire
township, or perhaps a new Arboretum site. Mike: if its just food
waste, it can be taken to some hog farmers too.

Felicity: Linden Hills is currently diverting about 5 tons per day, not
enough to be a reliable source for the Midway digester.

So the St. Paul Port Authority (Pete Klein) is out signing up a number of
big sources right now for the Midway proposal: nursing homes, U of M,
HCMC, Hennepin Co. jail etc. to get their 125 tons a day. Plan to make
electricity there and shooting to reduce the emissions (from use of fuel
oil). Says she thinks it may be one of the highest pollution sources in
MN.

Felicity: we were looking at doing a 10 ton a day digester ourselves,

but it doesn't make sense to do that, if this facility can be built.

Carol: what about emissions?

Felicity: Pete is talking about running the biogas through a generator

to make electricity. He does not plan to clean the gas to run it to put it
into a gas pipeline, which could cost quite a bit.

If he can sell the electricity to Rock-Tenn, he can get renewable energy

credits and replace the fuel oil they use now. That would be a net
reduction in emissions from the current use of fuel oil.

Mark: aren't they using natural gas there? Felicity: they use some
natural gas, but I think it's mostly fuel oil.

Felicity: Midway is now putting out an RFP. Requirements of

proposers: must have 3 digesters in operation. One of those must
have been in service for at least 3 years and have 3 years of emission
data. Alan Muller is doing some research on A.D. emissions.

Carol: what about the smell? Felicity: it shouldn't with vacuum doors
and everything . The one that Felicity said that she toured in Australia,
at about 5 blocks away, she didn't really think that she could still smell
it.
Mike: in an urban environment, there's only so much space to put
things.

Mark: there's also the problem of only so much (clean) air to deal with
in the city. Rep. Clark got a bill passed re cumulative pollution levels in
response to the wood burning power plant proposal near Hiawatha and
Lake. We have to watch the total air emissions in any given area and
here we may have a digester proposal with unknown air emissions.

Summer Neighborhood Canvas

Mike: there have been a lot of revisions suggested for the survey.
Pages and pages of suggested questions so far. Thinks the main
purpose should be a shorter survey to make sure that residents know
that the group exists and what the neighborhood group does.

Carol: we should make sure that they know that SNG has an
Environment Committee concerned about air, water, green space, and
other sustainability issues.

Matthews Solar Computer repair:

Rick reported on repairs to the computer at the school that is used to

report the solar system performance data. The hard drive has been
replaced and the expanded memory installed, but there's still some
glitch in the software. Hope to have it running in the next several
weeks.

Greenspace/ cleanup

Jim S. : The cleanup is Saturday. Community Garden: banner is up

to recruit new members. Carol: can contact Peter Fleck to get any of
your info out on the internet.

Jim: garden plots are $25/ month. Thinking about raising it. Still
discussion about cutting down the tree. Jim would prefer that it
continue to be trimmed instead of being cut down.

Other items on agenda to be referred to next month's meeting

Meeting adjourned 8:56 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Mark Sulander