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1 Orange County Commission for the Environment Meeting Summary March 9, 2015 Richard Whitted Meeting Facility, Hillsborough _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ PRESENT: Jan Sassaman (Chair), May Becker, Peter Cada, Tom Eisenhart, David Neal, Bill Newby, Rebecca Ray, Gary Saunders, and Lydia Wegman ABSENT: Loren Hintz, Donna Lee Jones, Jeanette O’Connor, Sheila Thomas, David Welch STAFF: Rich Shaw, Brennan Bouma GUESTS: Lynne Gronback _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ I. Call to Order – Sassaman called the meeting to order at 7:30 pm. II. Ad ditions or Changes to Agenda – None. III. Minutes – Sassaman asked for comments on the February 9 meeting summary. Wegman motioned to approve; seconded by Ray. Approved unanimously. IV. Reports – Sassaman introduced Lynn Gronback, noting that she is a candidate for appointment to the CFE. Sassaman reported that he attended the February 13 meeting of the Solid Waste Advisory Group (SWAG) during which the members discussed different options for funding the County’s recycling program for the unincorporated areas. He asked Becker whether she had followed-up on her earlier inquiries about the County’s food waste collection and composting efforts. Becker said she had not. Sassaman asked Becker to follow the budget deliberations and report back as needed. Sassaman asked staff if CFE members would be asked to help out at the April 24 Earth Evening event. Wegman and Gronback expressed interest in helping out if needed. Intergovernmental Parks Work Group – Wegman reported on her recent meeting as a liaison member of the IP Work Group. The group is comprised of representatives from town and county parks and recreation programs, including the City of Mebane. Wegman said at the most recent meeting the members heard about the Hillsborough Riverwalk, Churton Street pedestrian improvements, Cates Creek Greenway, the Cedar Grove Community Center, UNC recreation programming and master facilities plan, Blackwood Farm Park, Hollow Rock Park, and Chapel Hill greenways. Orange Unified Transportation Board – Saunders reported on his recent meetings as a liaison member of the OUT Board. He described some of the state and local transportation issues addressed by that board, including NCDOT funded projects, opportunities for bicycle rights of way along roadways, the NC Mountains-to-Sea Trail, transit system updates, the Hillsborough circulator bus, the statewide transportation improvement plan, and ADA planning. NC Clean Tech Summit – Bouma reported on some of the issues discussed at the recent NC Clean Tech Summit at the UNC Institute for the Environment. He noted there were 500 people in attendance to hear about improvements and innovations for solar