Monday, December 16, 2019
Meeting Minutes
Attendees: Sandy Ritterson, Jeanine McCarthy, Tom Whittaker, Betsy Kochvar, Anne Peterson, Robin Nash, Melissa DeFeo, Liz Kunkle, Terry Dason, Patricia Gainsberg
GGNF Community Partners Update
· Liz Kunkle, Go Green Winnetka founding member and Zero Waste Consultant for Collective Resource, sat in on our meeting to discuss how GGNF can continue to partner with Go Green Winnetka in the new year. GGNF looks forward to our organizations, which have a shared history and shared goals, working together on more community education projects/events in the future.
· Chamber of Commerce will be making Chamber events zero waste with the help of Chamber member, Collective Resource. Other Chamber members can leverage Collective Resource’s expertise in zero waste event planning for a fee.
· Chamber of Commerce is also looking to recognize outstanding citizens at its annual recognition lunch. We are invited to nominate any Northfield “people of note.”
Village of Northfield Update
· New holiday decorations and lighting around town are a big hit with residents. Pleased to have a lovely alternative to throwing away string lights after the season. Public works will be removing the lights after the holidays and storing them for next year.
· 2040 plan is still a work in progress. Public draft will be coming out in early January.
· Skokie Valley Trail (with amended route) received funding for Phase 2 with two grants! Now Northfield only needs to contribute 10K to the project. Union Pacific would only allow Northfield to use their right-of-way if the Village purchased the entire right-of-way from Chicago to Milwaukee, which is a tactic used to deter use of their land, so Northfield is now looking at squeezing into the Village right-of-way that is currently home to Fields parking lots.
· Pollinator Garden Update
o Everything is planted. Garden requires three years of maintenance moving forward as it matures. Village didn’t win a grant for a viewing platform, but Melissa is looking into other grants. Village can’t solicit donations directly for the garden, but the Northfield Park Foundation could allocate funds for a bench and/or viewing platform.
o Trex, the company that collects plastic bags at local groceries and the Winnetka Community House to make into planks (for decks and benches), runs a contest each school year to increase awareness of the kind of plastics that we can bring to these recycling drops. Each regional winner receives a bench made of Trex materials. Contest runs from November to April and the winner is whoever collects the most bags by volume. Mariano’s has a bag drop off and so does Jewel. Stores don’t advertise that they collect even though Trex pays for the bags. More community education can be done about plastic bag recycling since drop off locations don’t really promote it. Could do collect in the schools as well. Liz says Stephanie Hicks shicks@trex.com is the Trex contact for schools. Can get recycling bins from her. Anne will look into bag recycling and the contest for D29 schools.
· Cannabis business activity in Northfield was tabled. Discussions will reopen next year, giving Northfield a chance to see how it goes in other towns that are allowing dispensaries like Northbrook and Skokie.
· State of the Village League of Women Voters event takeaway is that Northfield’s retail sector is vibrant. Medline may be physically expanding on their corporate headquarters campus.
· Jan/Feb newsletter articles are due this week! Melissa will report on the holiday lights and why Northfield made the change.
· Tree Planting Update
o Betsy has been planting trees with Northfield Public Works through the Open Lands tree/land conservation Treekeeper program. She observed that many of the trees planted by the Village had “mulch volcanoes,” which are detrimental to tree health. Public Works employees have been retrained on how to plant properly using “mulch donuts” instead. Trees will be a big part of climate change mitigation. We can reduce the temperature of cities by 5 -10 degrees by planting trees. Saima Abassi from Go Green Wilmette is also a treekeeper. Liz will get Betsy in touch with her.
· Christmas Tree Recycling
o Waste management will pick up real trees, wreaths, and garlands (remove all lights/decorations) curbside January 2nd and January 9th. Any trees left curbside after January 9th go to a landfill.
o If you’re going out of town and need to dispose of your tree before January, the Northfield Park District, in partnership with Nels Johnson Tree Care, offers a tree drop off in the Community Center parking lot from December 16 through January 5. Trees must not be bagged and cannot be decorated or taller than six feet. Trees that are recycled will go to a composting or chipping facility, where they will produce a useful end product.
· Holiday Lights Recycling continues through January 31st at Village Hall and the Park District.
Middlefork School Organic Garden (Patricia Gainsberg)
· Patricia is leading efforts to create an organic garden for Middlefork students. She is seeking groups or individuals to help maintain the garden. Financial backing from private community members and fundraising through the PTO are likely. Discussions continue with the Park District to determine the best location for a garden. Need group/s committed to garden maintenance as part of a future proposal to D29 and the Park District. GGNF supports the idea but we are not gardeners so GGNF is not the right partner for this aspect of the project. Park District summer camp students could help tend the garden over the summer. Group suggests: need parents and students on board; think about the educational aspects of a garden; consider scope, scale, and community partnerships before making the proposal.
Energy Update (Bill Hayes’ notes)
2019 highlights
Monday Jan 13, 2020
9:00 AM - 10:00 AM CST
Go Green Northfield
Planning Meeting
Monday, January 13, 2020
Go Green Northfield
Planning Meeting
Northfield Village Hall
361 Happ Road
Northfield
Join us to help us make change happen!
Sandy Ritterson
Send Email
Printed courtesy of www.wngchamber.com – Contact the Winnetka-Northfield-Glencoe Chamber of Commerce for more information.
841 Spruce Street, Winnetka, IL 60093 – (847) 446-4451 – membership@wngchamber.com