Agenda - Environmental Policy Board - 10/07/2013

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o E -mail your resolution /contact information. This will allow the MPCA to set up a web account on the GreenStep Cities web site for your city. If your resolution names a city entity, please include a contact person's name, phone, e-mail and postal address, which will appear on the public web site. ➢ Congratulations! You are now recognized as a Step One GreenStep City! Use Step One recognition artwork /materials located on your city log -in page to let others know of your accomplishment. 3. Post initial information on the GreenStep Cities web site. o Enter simple information: city population, approximate number of city staff, city category, city web site address, names of any participating township(s) / school district(s), and contact information for one person who will serve as your city's GreenStep contact. o Provide brief detail on best practices previously implemented. For example, if you check off the action Promote biking, walking and transit under the Mobility Options best practice, tell us: • How many, for example, bike racks the city /the city and its partners installed • A web address on your city web site (if any) that talks about your efforts (or upload a planning document you may have used, such as an area bike plan) • Any success measures (such as: bike path use increased 20% during 2005) • Any key partner(s) you may have worked with (for example, a local bike rack company) • The name and e-mail of the person most knowledgeable about this accomplishment so that other cities seeking to replicate your success can learn from it. Some cities may find it easier /cheaper to use a student intern to gather and post this information. Contact the MPCA's GreenStep Cities program coordinator to see if a RETAP member can help you with the inventory and posting. 4. Get organized to begin work on implementing best practices. o As needed, educate city staff and officials about sustainability. Sustainability may not be the term used by your city, but current actions the city may be taking to increase city resiliency to financial pressures, to increase livability and to prevent future environmental costs certainly fall under the sustainability focus of GreenStep Cities and should be understood by elected and appointed officials and staff. o Convene a small working group. The GreenStep contact /coordinator for the city should call together key people within city government (and outside of city government as appropriate at this stage) to make decisions such as the following. This group might be an existing or new city staff green team or an existing or new citizen commission or task force: • How to work with existing city /civic groups and initiatives to implement best practices • Who should be on a GreenStep steering committee (which could be an existing group), what this committee needs to do (e.g., review progress on implementing best practices), and how often it needs to meet • How often the GreenStep steering committee should report back what to the city council o Specify implementation action(s) and a few lead people. A GreenStep steering committee — which could be the initial small working group or a city commission — should take the short list of best practices the city identified in its resolution for implementation, and identify: • Which specific action(s) under each best practice will be investigated /worked on • Which people - "best practice leads" - should prepare a simple work plan for how to implement the action(s) o Prepare a simple work plan for implementing selected best practice. Have best practice leads — these could be non -paid community members, or members of a city environmental commission -