OEAC Minutes of Meeting Durham Environmental Coordinating Committee (DECC) December 13,2011

Transcription

1 OEAC Minutes of Meeting Durham Environmental Coordinating Committee (DECC) December 13,2011 Agenda See Attachment A. Attendees Amy Hogan, Region of Durham Anne Edmonds, Town of Whitby, Region of Durham Carlos Salazar, Municipality of Clarington Emilia Gruyters, Township of Uxbridge Meaghan Craven, Town of Whitby Michelle Pearce, City of Pickering Michelle Whitbread, City of Oshawa Suzanne Elston, City of Oshawa 1. Introduction and Opening Remarks Introduction of new member, Emilia Gruyters from Township of Uxbridge 2. Assessment of Film Night Suzanne Elston Payment received from all municipalities, except Durham Region (which is pending) The project was accomplished with a $12 surplus Climate expert panel would have helped to get more discussion going, provide more information on the science of climate change and focus on local issues; residents were interested in how they can help Next time we will: o Ask residents how they heard of event to get idea of how to focus advertising efforts for next event o Count residents to get accurate attendance o Be more aware of what speaker is prepared to discuss and supplement with expert panel Venue was good and will be used again Will start advertising earlier to provide more notice to residents, schools, etc. Discussed possibility of having film festival, over several days Event was successful; put on agenda for next year 3. Report on Oshawa's Garage Clean-out Challenge Michelle Whitbread Benefits of clutter free garage are: o Eliminates needs for idling. o Keeps streets clear for snow removal and waste collection vehicles o Creates safer streets for pedestrians, cyclists and emergency vehicles 30

2 Goal was to have residents dispose, donate or divert their waste and used goods Advertised on City of Oshawa website; Durham Reg ion could have provided better advertising and promotion of the event Partnered with Durham Region, Stewardship Ontario, Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity and ReStore Probably will not do online component next year as there were no online submissions Garage Clean Up remains permanent link on City of Oshawa website Event was a success and is already booked for next year during Waste Reduction Week 4. Future Joint Events like Earth Hour, Earth Day, Film Nights, etc. Whitby is holding star gazing event for Earth Hour Pickering will be having Sustainable Pickering Day at the Pickering Town Centre during the day for their Earth Hour event Clarington and Oshawa have no planned Earth Hour/Day events Pickering is hosting the movie 'Water Life' on March 22 for Canada Water Week; partnering with TRCA and high schools Idea was raised of having a joint webpage (hosted by the Region) where all municipalities can post their events It was agreed that the group will do a better job of sharing event information for cross promotion After much discussion, it was agreed that having a joint event, such as the garage clean-out on one day will not work. It will work best to coordinate the waste events, cross promote and possibly have it as an overall 'challenge' amongst the municipalities but each municipality will organize their own event Events coordinated as a group in 2012 will be the film night (or film festival) and waste challenge. Both events will take place in the fall. It was agreed that it is better to have one or two larger events that are wellorganized and successful, as opposed to many smaller poorly attended events Meeting in January with Oshawa and Durham Region Waste Management to discuss logistics for 2012 waste events; idea of joint organization will be discussed 5.. Durham Partners in Project Green - Status of Approval and Funding At the last DECC meeting on October 11, 2011, DPPG was raised and municipal representatives were informed about an impending request for $5,000 per year from each of the municipal governments for DPPG On October 14, DRRCC requested that DPPG be fast-tracked for early consideration and recommendation to Regional Council as a 'flagship' program for the Region's LAP On November 18, DRRCC approved the DPPG program as proposed On December 1, Joint Committee approved DPPG w ith 3 amendments; develop a formal consultation process for ALL projects when working with 3 1

3 lower tier municipalities, submit a report on the financial implications of each program in the LAP and review DPPG after 1 year DPPG goes to Regional Council for approval on December 14 It was agreed that many lower tier municipalities have the same questions; they are unsure of their responsibilities, level of financial commitment required, role of all partners and they lack a complete and full understanding of the LAP itself and its associated programs 6. Durham Climate Change LAP - Phase 2 Brian explained DRRCC and staff workplan for 2012 During the first quarter, communication with municipalities and stakeholders is key Brian discussed seeking Council approval on the Plan versus individual Programs and asked for input from the group o The Region would like to get Council approval for the overall conceptual Plan o As Programs are further developed with budget and staff implications, seek Council approval on individual Programs, or a small group of Programs o This will be discussed in more detail at future DECC meetings It was suggested that visit each Municipal Council in January and February; give them a report for information on the LAP to keep them informed and up to date 7. The Need to Strengthen Communication and Consultation It was agreed that because of recent communication issues with DPPG, committee members have to take more responsibility in sharing issues that are discussed at meetings with their senior management, especially proposals brought to the committee The committee may have to become more formalized if it is going to be used as a venue for communication of potential financial and staff-use implications at all municipal levels DRRCC and DECC meeting minutes will be circulated to all municipalities to promote information sharing o DRRCC minutes will be forwarded by or the Clerks Department o DECC members will forward minutes to appropriate senior staff in their municipality It was suggested to the group that they may want to provide a report to their respective Councils similar to Town of Whitby Report PL 56-11; an information report on the Region of Durham's Local Action Plan 8. TNS Workshop on Embedding Sustainability into the Culture of Municipal Government Brian encouraged group members to attend this workshop when the Toronto session is rescheduled for January or February 2012; he thought it wou ld be a good way to have committee members instil the same message in our respective municipalities 32

4 Meaghan attended the recent Vancouver workshop and thought it was well run and worth attending Members will attend if budget allows; cost is $500 per person 9. Climate Change Adaptation Planning for Durham In the third quarter of 2012 the Region will start to work on a community adaptation plan Group was asked for input and invited to think about this plan for discussion at future meetings Suzanne mentioned a CBC interview on the Yellowknife Adaptation Plan It HappensI /ID= News from Around the Table Brian and Amy shared information on Municipal Leaders Forum; group that meets every quarter if other committee members are interested in joining Anne shared that the Terms of Reference for the Whitby Sustainability Advisory Committee were brought to Council a few weeks ago o It was suggested that the committee have a stronger leadership role, rather than just advisory o Council recommended altering the ToR and staff is examining how the committee will be most effective 11. Other Business Emilia asked as a new member, how she could be most effective in the group o It was agree that everyone's role is information sharing o In future, she can provide update on North Durham Sustainability Committee and its plans 12.Next Meeting No scheduled date for next meeting 33

5 Action Items No. Topic Action Item Owner Target Date 1 Region payment for Investigate Amy ASAP film niqht 2 January Waste meeting Provide date to Amy/Brian so Amy can Michelle Whitbread attend 3 Article on banning Forward to group Suzanne Completed bottled water in Ajax Dec TRCNDilion Forward notes to group Suzanne embedding sustainability workshop 5 Event Information Share with group ALL Continuous 6 DECC meeting minutes Share with senior management ALL Continuous 34

6 REVISED AGENDA Durham Environmental Co-ordination Committee (DEC C) Tuesday December 13, :00 to 4:00 PM Room 1-D, Regional HQ Attachment A 1. Introductions and Open ing Remarks 5 minutes 2. Assessment of Film Night - Polar Impacts with Mark Terry, Nov. 10/11 Suzanne Elston 3. Report on Oshawa's Garage Clean-out Challenge Michelle Whitbread 4. Future Joint Events like Earth Hour (Mar. 31/12), Earth Day (April 22/12) and Film Nights etc 10 minutes 10 minutes 15 minutes 5. Durham Partners in Project Green - Status of Approval and Funding (see Attachments) DRRCC approval Joint Committee discussion and approval Status of municipa l contributions Regional Council consideration (Dec. 14/11) 15 minutes 6. Durham Climate Change LAP - Phase 2 Status report Next steps 10 minutes 7. The Need to Strengthen Communication and Consultation 15 minutes 8. TNS Workshop on Embedding Sustainability into the Culture of Municipal Government 15 minutes 9. Climate Change Adaptation Planning for Durham 15 minutes 9. News from Around the Table 10 minutes 10. Other Business 10 minutes 11. Next Meeting 7 r JJ