February Meeting Notes

Thirteen BV Green Team members braved the wind, snow and frigid temperatures to attend February's monthly meeting held on the 9th. The evening began with a PowerPoint update to city representatives Dwight Clark (Council at Large) and Dan Galli (Director of Public Service), reviewing our history and current initiatives.

The initiative to Super Charge the Effort to Reduce Waste was discussed. Some ideas included:

1. Dwight indicated that his committee would be looking at the option of automated trash pick up for 2011--many neighboring communities have adopted this. Recycle Bank was one program mentioned that gives residents "recycled credits" which rewards households for expanded recycling.

2. Dan is interested in involvement from the Green Team to assist in expanding recycling in city buildings--what is the best way to set up recycling for paper, including confidential documents, etc.

3. The Mayor is looking into grants to fund a number of bins for a pilot program to recycle in public places. The actual containers that the green team and the Service Center were considering cost approximately $100 each with additional instructions added through a label which the Green Team has requested as part of the teams grant submission to the Cuyahoga County Solid Waste District (CCSWD) for informing residents of bin content by landfill vs. recycling stickers.

4. The BVGT has submitted a grant application to the CCSWD that would fund an awareness postcard promoting recycling to all Bay residents and create landfill vs. recycling labels for the bins in public spaces.

5. The Service Center is looking at establishing a rain garden, per Dan. This is something that the Green Team could assist with. More on this in the future.

The community garden was also discussed. A meeting between the city and the school board to discuss the community garden was held in February with some decisions needed around the insurance, water and funding for start-up costs, including approximately $1500 for crucial deer fencing.

A special thanks to February's guest speaker. Dan Norris spoke to the Green Team on the topic of Organic Lawn and Landscape Care. (See the Feb 17 posting on this site for a recap).

Join us at our next meeting Tuesday, March 9th @ City Hall beginning at 6:30. Make a difference and get involved!