Agenda - Council - 06/23/2015 - Laserfiche WebLink

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he can start to put together timelines to consider. He talked about taking the water resource topic and trying to break it down. He presented ideas on how the City could start to put together some educational information on each of the subtopics. He stated that he realized this deviates from the discussion at the March meeting in which the Board was going to come up with educational topics. He stated that he did receive suggested topics that are included in the case. He stated that after the Board discussion in March and discussions with other Staff, there was a realization that water resources is a topic that aligns with the City' s legislative platform. Acting Chairman Valentine asked the Board for support of the water resources topic and/or other topic suggestions. Board Member Hiatt stated that he thinks it is a smart move to align with the legislative platform. He suggested coordinating the education with the City Council's work on the legislative platform. Board Member Lewis stated he likes the water resources idea, but he would like to have the topic be quantifiable. He would like to have a benchmark and objective within the community. He likes the idea of having a challenge thrown out and feels it begs for more community participation. He stated that his intention would not be to mandate but to encourage participation on a citizen and business level. City Planner Anderson stated that the goal would be to relate the concern to the public, demonstrate the problem such as water usage in the summer, educate the public about things that can be done to reduce water usage, and then issue a voluntary challenge to the community. Acting Chairman Valentine stated that the Board has to be careful that it doesn't look like a regulation. If it speaks to someone' s desire to contribute to the solution of a problem, he thinks it is a good idea. City Planner Anderson suggested a contest of some sort involving citizens that use the municipal water system. If citizens can demonstrate their reduction, they would qualify for some sort of credit or rebate. This would be more of an incentive than a regulation. Board Member Hiatt stated that the primary goal is educating the community about water usage. The Board would want to see a change in practice as a result of the education. It needs to be very carefully stated upfront that this is not a mandate. The best education would be that they would want to do it and it would be good to have some measurable outcome that reflects that the Board' s education has had an impact. He stated the importance of keeping the focus on educating the community and looking for a change in practice. City Planner Anderson distributed a water conservation handout entitled Diverse Measures Ensure Conservation Success. He stated that the handout was forwarded to him today and it was suggested that it be given to the EPB. It was not necessarily intended for discussion. City Council Liaison LeTourneau brought up a communication by Connexus Energy that compares individual consumption ratings with their neighbors. He suggested this may be a tool to consider if we have access to that type of information. Environmental Policy Board / May 19, 2015 Page 5 of 7