Agenda - Environmental Policy Board - 10/07/2013

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Organizing steps to becoming recognized as a GreenStep City Of Minnesota's 855 cities, approximately 500 are under 1,000 in population, 83% are under 5,000 in population, and 35 have a population over 25,000. With such a diversity of cities, no one set of process steps will fit all cities in organizing work to become a GreenStep City. Depending on your city, work may start mostly at the city staff, city council or citizen commission level and fit well into existing plans and efforts, moving later to incorporate and leverage work efforts by civic organizations. Or the impetus for implementing GreenStep best practices may start with a civic group and be mostly done by community members and community organizations, with the city council in a supportive and active role as needed. Adapt this guide as best fits your city and the individuals who are working to make your city a GreenStep City. 1. Build community knowledge and interest. o Anyone can start this: a city staff person, an interested citizen, a city commission or task force member, a mayor, city council member, business association member, civic association member, environmental or public health group, renewable energy advocate, etc. o Determine into which category your city fits. Cities with greater capacity for making civic improvements are able and challenged to implement more best practices and "harder" actions. Answer 11 simple questions to determine whether your city is in category A, B or C. o Become familiar with GreenStep best practices and which of them other cities in Minnesota have implemented. Determine your city category so you know the minimum number of best practices your city must have implemented to be recognized as a GreenStep City, Step Two and Step Three. o Talk with key people and organizations in your city, discuss at existing meetings, and convene special meetings to discuss as appropriate. o Invite, as needed, a GreenStep program representative to come visit your city and talk about GreenStep. Contact the MPCA's GreenStep Cities program coordinator to find out who might be available to visit your citizen's group, or city staff, city commission, or city council. o Inventory completed, planned and desired best practices. Some cities find it important to prepare this inventory, at a very simple summary level or at a detailed level, before seeking a city council resolution. Consider using a student intern or community volunteer to do this, or, for a more detailed inventory, contact the MPCA's GreenStep Cities program coordinator to see if a RETAP member can help you. o Discuss with an official city body. This could be a city council, a council committee, a city commission or task force, or some other group charged by city government to work on civic improvement. 2. Approve a city council resolution to work toward GreenStep Cities recognition. o Use the sample resolution and modify it as needed in discussion with city council members or in a city council committee meeting. o Introduce a resolution to the city council. Depending on the practice in your city, more or less detail will have to be spelled out in the proposed resolution. o Specify in the resolution — or direct city staff to determine later — (1) a GreenStep coordinator for your city (the coordinator could be an existing city staff person or entity, or task force, or an appointed community member), and (2) a short list of which GreenStep best practices the city initially plans to implement (to help the GreenStep program better understand city interests).