JOINT OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE ON SUSTAINABILITY

 

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

County Administrative Center – Room 3220

11:30 a.m.

 

MEMBERS PRESENT:  Jai Johnson, Marilyn Pedretti, Brian Fukuda, Dale Hexom, Nick Nichols (arr @11:37), Dorothy Lenard (arr @11:38), and Brad Pfaff (arr @11:46)

MEMBERS EXCUSED:  None 

MEMBERS ABSENT:  None     

OTHERS PRESENT: Steve O’Malley, Tim Kabat, Karl Green, Bryan Jostad, Erica Black, Jim Becker, Wayne Delagrave, Jerry Severson, John Parshall, Brad Lenz, Alice Holstein, Michael Giblin, Kelly Noweki, Maureen Freedland, Cheryl Stephen

 

CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL

Committee Chair Jai Johnson called the meeting to order at 11:36 a.m. 

 

PUBLIC COMMENT

None requested.

 

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

MOTION by Pedretti/Hexom to approve meeting minutes of July 8, 2008.  Motion carried; 3 absent (Nichols, Lenard, Pfaff).

 

CITIZEN MEMBERSHIP

Committee members Lenard and Pedretti, who volunteered to work on the process and/or recommendation for a citizen to replace Nick Nichols who recently became a County employee, noted they were not ready to report back to the committee.  General agreement that all submitted letters of interest will be shared with the committee members via email before the next meeting, and in turn, each committee member will rank in order of preference; the top ranked two will then be considered by the committee at the next meeting.

 

TRAINING WORKSHOP REFLECTIONS

General comments relating to the multiple-session workshops as provided by Terry Gips:  interesting, motivational, educational, and good progress made.  Mr. Gips compiled results of 33 returned workshop evaluation forms; 97% of the responses rated it as excellent, very good or good.  Most responses regarding “biggest challenges in bringing about sustainability” were:  changing culture, educating the public, and buy-in.  Copies of Mr. Gip’s complied evaluations were distributed.

 

Tim Kabat distributed copies of the invoice as submitted by Mr. Gips; total fee was $12,600, plus $1,161.82 for related expenses (lodging, meals, mileage) – total of $13,761.82.  MOTION by Nichols/Lenard to approve, as presented, payment of $13,761.82 which will be split 50/50 between the City of La Crosse and La Crosse County following review by their Fiscal Agents.  Motion carried unanimously.

 

Kabat distributed copies of City of La Crosse vision and action items and reviewed in detail.   Karl Green presented a PowerPoint for La Crosse County’s vision and action plans.  Committee members were asked for input and/or additional items.  (See attachments - City Vision Action Plan          County Vision Action Plan ) 

 

NEXT STEPS AND TIMELINE ON STRATEGIC PLAN COMPLETION

Committee Chair Johnson noted the next steps are to prioritize the action items - determine what can be accomplished in the near term - and refine/finalize long-range goals.  She suggested two work groups be formed – one for the City and one for the County.  Volunteers for the City group:  Chair Johnson, Lenard & city staff, and volunteers for the County group:  Supervisor Pedretti and county staff (Nichols, Fukuda, Green).  Johnson referenced the strategic planning process previously discussed and reiterated the importance of selecting set time frames for long-range and short-term goals, for example, 2 and 10 years. The short term time-frame then determines the frequency of the plan reviews when goals are reassessed, targets are adjusted and new action plans are developed. Kabat noted both city and county should be somewhat consistent in format.  Work groups will report back their progress at the next meeting.

 

Due to time constraints, the following agenda items were not discussed:

- WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT UPDATE

- BASELINE INFORMATION

- INFORMATION ON LOCAL FOOD PURCHASING

- DISCUSSION RE POSSIBLE CONSULTING OF CARBON FOOTPRINTING FOR THE CITY

       & COUNTY 

- REVIEW COMMITTEE ROLE

 

INFORMATION SHARING

Supervisor Paff noted on September 23 from 9:30 a.m.-3:00 p.m., there will be a walkable communities tour for those interested in challenges and opportunities of the aging population; cost is $15 which also includes lunch. 

 

ITEMS FOR THE NEXT MEETING & MEETING DATE

General agreement to hold the next meeting on Thursday, September 11th at 11:30 a.m.    

 

ADJOURNMENT

MOTION by Nichols/Lenard to adjourn the meeting.  Motion carried unanimously.  The meeting adjourned at 1:03 p.m.

 

Disclaimer:  The above minutes may be approved, amended or corrected at the next committee meeting.

 

Cheryl Stephen, Recorder

Edited by Committee Chair Jai Johnson