Memo - Green InitiativesADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES:
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
MEMORANDUM
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
FROM: Rick Getschow, Hopkins City Manager
MEETING DATE: DATE: November 24, 2009
SUBJECT: Green Initiatives
Background:
A strategy of the City under the goal of promoting smart urban design and
walkability is to explore green initiatives. This was begun with the formation of a
green committee or "green team" earlier this year. The group, representing all
city departments, has been meeting throughout the year. This meeting is an
opportunity for me to report on several of the initiatives that are underway or
being considered in the future.
In addition to a general green team overview, I will highlight the following
programs in more detail:
• Dollar Savings on City Facility Projects
• Green Intern Program
Organic Recycling Program
• City Council Paperless Packets
• 2010 Earth Day Event
Attached as background material is:
1. A State of the Green Committee Report prepared by our green intern
2. Monthly Green E- Newsletter
3. Green Facility Project Savings Worksheet
_State of the Green .ommittee
Report to City Counc
The green committee consists of eleven members: Penny Cleve, Ted Duepner, Rick
Getschow, Garrett Grniet, Alex Keller, Norb Kerber, Martha Manlove, Elizabeth Page,
Shannon Smith, Debbie Spearling, and Jay Strachota,
The committee has been meeting since February 2009, and is continually working to
reduce our environmental impact and increase sustainability.
Four categories where identified for projects.
• Save money /energy
• Educate employees
• Educate community
• Community programs /incentives
The members of the committee have stepped up to be leaders in their respective offices.
It was decided that to be leaders the city needed to improve green practices of city staff
before addressing larger community issues.
The committee began by assessing what Hopkins already does well in terms of the
environment.
• Mandatory watering schedule conserves water
• New lighting in city buildings are motion sensor controlled
• Mandatory recycling for residents
• Plentiful trails for biking and alternative commuting
• Bussing prisoners to Hennepin County jail instead of driving
• IT is reducing the number of servers by virtualizing unneeded ones
A Brainstorming session on what could be achieved produced many good ideas. With
varying levels of implementation difficulty, team members each chose a few to follow up
on.
What we have accomplished to date
The green committee has begun:
1. A bike sharing program
2. Eliminating Styrofoam office supplies from meetings and purchasing, ceramic
mugs are being used instead
3. Hired a green intern: Alex Keller
4. Procured a grant for organics recycling
5. Internal PR campaign, newsletter, and green calendar
6. Earth Day event in conjunction with SuperValu
What we are working towards
Projects in progress:
1. Green purchasing policy for city, suppliers, and vendor contracts
2. Limiting vehicle idling (tracking mileage /gal and usage)
3. Storm sewer stenciling by local churches (reduce dumping)
4. Rain Barrel event for residents
5. Earth Day celebration for 2010
6. Organics recycling for city facilities
7. Reduced city mowing
8. Scanning projects for city documents
9. Reroute heat in city hall from unused rooms in winter
10. "Shred it Day" in conjunction with fire department open house
11. Potential solar or wind projects
12. Reviewing city waste pickup schedule and routes for increased efficiency
13. Paperless city packets (need laptops for city council)
14. Facility upgrades at Pavilion, and cost estimates for greening projects
15. Trail clean -up in conjunction with Super Valu
Projects in Detail
Bike Share
The Hopkins Police Department was able to donate a bike for the program. It is available
for city staff to use while in the office to go to meetings within the city, to go to lunch, or
other local errands.
Eliminating Styrofoam office supplies from meetings and purchasing
The harmful effects of Styrofoam in the environment are widely known. Acknowledging
the facts and choosing to buy paper products instead, which can be recycled, is a small
but important step in eliminating waste from the city offices.
Green Intern/ Organic Recycling Program
Alex Keller was hired in the beginning of July and has been working with Penny Cleve
and Louise Miller on the organic recycling program. In addition he is writing the green
newsletter and researching other potential projects which may assist the city in its efforts
to be sustainable.
The organic recycling program was just awarded a grant from Hennepin County. The
grant will provide the resources to make participating in the program easy to understand
and follow for city employees, as well as providing the necessary carts, compostable
bags, and educational materials. We will educate employees about the benefits of
organic recycling and proper recycling procedures. Our goal is to kick off the program at
the December quarterly. Originally we hoped to begin at the September quarterly.
However, difficulty in finding a vendor to comply with our requirements has caused us to
push it back to the December Quarterly.
A trial run of the organics program was done at the City's employee picnic. A successful
introduction of the process and what employees can expect to encounter once the
program begins was lead by Ted Duepner and Alex Keller. Most staff understood what
to do with out any help while others needed to be told what goes where.
Jay Strachota, Shannon Smith, and Ted Duepner have stepped up and volunteered to be
the organics info rep at the Arts Center, City Hall, and The Depot, respectively. We still
need someone for the Fire House, Activity Center, and Police Department, while the
pavilion will be lead by a team of their staff.
Internal PR campaign, newsletter, and green calendar
The green committee is working diligently to spread the word about green practices and
what people can do to help. The green newsletter is an example of this, providing tips
and new information to help staffers understand environmental problems better. Also it
highlights what we are doing and recognizes excellent work being done by city
employees.
Building Maintenance Upgrades
Norb Kerber has been working diligently to increase the efficiency of City facilities.
Motion sensor controlled lights have already been installed in bathrooms at City Hall, and
a new hand dryer will go in shortly at the Public Works Building. Currently Norb is
working on estimates for some of the upgrades including; downsizing the hot water
circulation pump saving on heating costs, installing setback heat systems (lowering temp
when not in use) in the Activity Center, a boiler upgrade, which is scheduled for 2011 but
hopefully can be moved up to 2010, installing Carbon Dioxide Detectors in City Hall and
the Police dept. HVAC systems, installing remote mounted setback thermostats in the
Public works vehicle storage.
Trail Cleanup
In conjunction with Super Valu's Green Team our Green Team is helping with a trail
cleanup next Saturday September 19 2009. Picking up trash and promoting community
involvement in environmental stewardship.
con erve,
Ze&cale
Plat) Ymart
Team
So what really is worse for the environment?
- Each year, an estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion
lastic bags are consumed worldwide.
- Plastics do NOT biodegrade. Rather, they
hotodegrade, a process in which sunlight
reaks down plastic into smaller and smaller
ieces.
It can take up to 1,000 years for a high- density polyethylene
astic bag to break down in the environment.
- Plastic bags are on the top 10 list of most common trash items
ong the American coastline (both on land and in the water).
- Paper bags generate 70 percent more air
ollutants and 50 times more water pollutants
ian plastic bags.
- 2,000 plastic bags weigh 30 pounds, 2,000
aper bags weigh 280 pounds. The latter takes
p a lot more landfill space.
— It takes 91 percent less energy to recycle a pound of plastic
han it takes to recycle a pound of paper. It takes more than
our times as much energy to manufacture a paper bag as it
Joes to manufacture a plastic bag.
The winner is...... Neither
Choose reusable bags!
www.msnbc.com /id/18538484 -Sources: reusablebags.com, NRDC and
ional Coastal Cleanup 2005 Report from the Ocean Conservancy)
GREEN PROJECTS COST SAVINGS;
Projects completed by 2009.
1. Shutting down Boilers during Summer Months.
2. Motion sensors lights and exhaust fans.
3. Setback Thermostats, PW.Vehicle Storage.
4. Setback Pneumatic Heating System Activity Center.
5. Carbon Dioxide controlled ventilation, Police Dept.
6. Air hand dryer, PW men's Bath.
7. Setback thermostat, Council Chambers.
8. Recycle surplus refuse containers
A ti. NvAL
Estimated Savings.
$4,000.00
$800.00
$2,000.00
$1,800.00
$1,200.00
$150.00
$200,00
Recycling/Reuse