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Councilmember LeTourneau stated he felt the role had its own identity. <br />Board Member Bentz stated that it involves getting feedback. <br />Community Development Director Gladhill asked if it fit within the "present several perspectives" <br />role. There was no objection voiced. <br />Board Member Valentine wondered if there were tools such as a blog that would be available to <br />make it easier for people to bring their concerns to the City. He felt that role belonged under <br />"education." <br />Board Member Lewis stated this falls under communication as a component of "community <br />education" and improving lines of communication. <br />Councilmember LeTourneau explained his proposed roles. "Discovery" would entail a deep dive <br />into a topic to arrive at a formal conclusion or good recommendation. He did not think the City <br />Council had time for this but it would be nice to have citizen input and he felt the Board could <br />deliver a lot of value. The "preserve accountability" role is so that the City does not wander away <br />from what is important and to hold the Council, staff and projects accountable from an <br />environmental perspective. His "set direction" role is related to the "new technologies" role and <br />is intended to address the need to be proactive in looking at trends on the horizon such as ground <br />water supply. <br />Board Member Valentine spoke about the ground water issue in White Bear Lake. <br />Community Development Director Gladhill commented that the ground water supply is one of the <br />key issues, part of the long-term plan in the Comprehensive Plan, and asked the Board for thoughts <br />and feedback on Councilmember LeTourneau's suggested roles. <br />Community Development Director Gladhill stated the Board could establish "promoting <br />environmental awareness and conservation practice for citizens" as a broad goal and then get into <br />advising the Council on policies; reviewing development proposals; and, communicating and <br />educating the citizens by presenting several perspectives that touch on discovery, accountability <br />and bringing forth new technologies. He suggested staff use this as a framework for the Statement <br />of Purpose that will be brought back for the Board's consideration. <br />• <br />Board Member Valentine stated that the Board would then have something to work with. <br />The Board reached consensus on the content of the proposed Statement of Purpose. <br />Community Development Director Gladhill asked the Board what makes a policy board different <br />from a task board and if the Board wanted to expand on the issue under the lens of the Statement <br />of Purpose. <br />Board Member Lewis stated his opinion that this Board as it is currently structured operates as a <br />policy board in title only and that renaming the Board would help to clarify its function. He does <br />not know if a task force would be the correct term, but he does not think it is a policy board. He <br />Environmental Policy Board / December 1, 2014 <br />Page 6 of 12 <br />