Agenda - Environmental Policy Board - 09/16/2019

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used for appliance replacement, not for first-time purchases for new developments. Municipalities are responsible for developing and operating their own rebate programs. The grant funds will cover 75 percent of program costs, with a required 25 percent local match of which residents must pay a portion of the cost for any device or water use audit they purchase. Grant applications will be accepted through September 30, 2019. Staff would propose that the local 25 percent match come from the City's water enterprise fund, with a portion being reimbursed by payments from residents for any device or water use audit they purchase. Councilmember Musgrove asked the anticipated dollar amount of the grant. City Planner Anderson stated that staff has not attempted to begin a grant application or an outline of what the program would look like. Board Member Covart stated that the Board work plan identified attempting to incentivize water and irrigation efficiency and asked if this program would be similar to the rebate program E1k River has. City Planner Anderson stated that staff has not yet attempted to draft a program but confirmed that other cities including E1k River and Plymouth have similar programs. He noted that staff could reach out to cities that have participated in a rebate program in the past to gain input. Motion by Board Member Covart and seconded by Board Member Bernard to recommend that the City Council authorize staff to prepare and submit an application for water efficiency grant funds from the Metropolitan Council. Motion carried. Voting Yes: Chairperson Valentine, Board Member Covart, Bernard, and Moore. Voting No: None. Absent: Board Member Fetterley and Hiatt. 6. BOARD / STAFF INPUT • Review Summer Recycling Event City Planner Anderson reported that the summer recycling event took place in July and noted that the event seemed slower than the normal recycling events. He provided comparison data from the past three years, noting that the material collected at the summer event was lower than previous years, with the exception of comingled materials. He stated that staff will need to do an assessment on the effectiveness of a summer event versus the cost to hold the event. He noted that he will also monitor whether the summer event has an impact on the upcoming fall recycling event. He stated that based on the numbers, perhaps in 2020 Ramsey will go back to offering spring and fall recycling events. Chairperson Valentine asked if the recycling events have been impacted by weather. City Planner Anderson commented that he has yet to be rained out at a recycling event. He stated that he could not pinpoint weather as impacting any of the past events. He noted that another municipality in Anoka County held a recycling event in April on a day that received snow and that city still had a lot of participation. Environmental Policy Board / August 19, 2019 Page 3 of 4