Approved Minutes - 2013-08-19
CITY OF LAKE OSWEGO
Sustainability Advisory Board Minutes
August 19, 2013
Call to Order / Roll Call
Co‐chair Lisa Adatto called the August 19, 2013 meeting of the Sustainability Advisory Board
(SAB) to order at 6:30 p.m. in the Conference Room of the Main Fire Station, 300 B Avenue,
Lake Oswego, Oregon.
Members Present: Lisa Adatto,Sarah Asby, Andre DeBar,Jason Duhl, Vidya
Kale, Mick Mortlock, E. Jay Murphy,
Members Excused / Absent: Gregory Monahan, Matthew Fischer (Youth Member),
Miranda Kraus (Youth Member)
Council Liaison: Councilor Skip O’Neill
Guests: Gary Hanifan, Ron Smith, Kim Smith, Aden and Rick Eilers,
Kavya Sreedhar and father, Priya Judge
Staff: Susan Millhauser, Sustainability Coordinator
Announcements from Board and Staff – None
Approval of Minutes – None
Review City Council Draft Agenda Schedule
Ms. Millhauser reviewed the draft schedule of upcoming Council meeting agenda items,
pointing out the upcoming Redevelopment Agency meeting to review the Block 137
development plan, an upcoming Council presentation on the City’s Sustainability Plan, as well
as Comprehensive Plan update public hearing dates.
Public Comments
Kim Smith, Portland Community College professor, shared information with the Board about
her work with a regional group of educators, non‐profits, and government agencies, among
others, to submit an application for recognition by the United Nations University system as The
Greater Portland Regional Center of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development. She
provided a hand‐out with details of the vision and objectives and how organizations can get
more involved. She asked the Board to think about what role formal and informal education
can play, and mentioned that organizations are providing letters of support for the application.
Co‐chair Adatto inquired when the letters were due, to which Ms. Smith said they would be
needed prior to September 16. Co‐chair Adatto suggested that the Board add discussion of this
topic to the meeting’s agenda.
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Regular Business
A. Review Agenda
Co‐chair Adatto reviewed the meeting agenda and added an additional item: discussion of The
Greater Portland Regional Center of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development
request for support.
Ms. Millhauser noted that Scot Siegel, Planning Director, would not be in attendance so she
would provide a brief (5 minute) update on the Comprehensive Plan.
A.5 Greater Portland Regional Center of Expertise (RCE) on Education for Sustainable
Development
Members of the Board asked Ms. Smith additional questions about the RCE application and
program. Ms. Millhauser noted that if the SAB was in favor of submitting a letter of support for
the application, they would need to make a recommendation to the City Council for their
approval. Ms. Smith described the program in more detail and noted its primary goal is to
support education for sustainable development through a network of regional education
providers. She clarified the RCE would be virtual, with a website, list serve, newsletter, etc., and
that funding was mostly in‐kind. She added that the RCE would receive support and mentorship
from “sister city” RCE’s. She clarified that the UN University is a separate entity from the United
Nations, and focuses locally to support life‐long learners. Mr. Kale observed that the request
and needed response time felt too fast. Ms. Smith shared that all of the application materials
are available for viewing online, and that they don’t necessarily need a letter of support. Co‐
chair Adatto encouraged members to look at the materials, and asked for time on the next
meeting’s agenda to discuss how this new group might be a good partner.
B. Chair/Vice Elections
Co‐chair Adatto requested that the Board wait until its September meeting so that newly
appointed members would be in attendance. The Board agreed. Ms. Millhauser noted that the
interviews of Board candidates should be scheduled soon.
C. New Mission and Duties
Mr. Mortlock reported he had made a recommendation to consider updating the Board’s
Mission and Duties to more clearly state how the Board provides value to the City Council, but
that he had now decided he would rather not bring this to the City Council and open it all up.
D. Comprehensive Plan Update
Ms. Millhauser gave an update on the Comprehensive Plan update, based on her conversation
with Mr. Siegel, Planning Director, and information included in Mr. Siegel’s August 5 City
Council report (available at the web link sent with the SAB agenda). She noted that the Citizen
Advisory Committee was scheduled to continue meeting through the fall to finalize its work and
make recommendations to the Planning Commission, and that all of the upcoming meeting
dates were included on the completion scheduled included in the Council staff report. Ms.
Millhauser also noted that Comprehensive Plan goals and policies related to the City’s sensitive
lands program were not being updated at this point, pending resolution of program’s
implementation with Metro. Mr. Kale inquired as to the status of Metro’s decision regarding
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sensitive lands. Councilor O’Neill shared that the City had received comments back from Metro
requesting more detail and that the ball was in the City’s court.
E. Work Plan Update – Community Outreach
Mr. DeBar shared that the Green Home and Aging‐in‐Place tour went well, with between 40
and 50 people attending. He noted the tour highlighted the energy efficiency, solar panels,
green and aging‐in‐place remodeling features, and water‐efficient landscaping.
Ms. Adatto asked if anyone had given a Sustainability 101 presentation yet. Members noted
they were having difficulty following up with people who had requested more information.
Everyone agreed that summer was a challenging time to connect with people, and that the
kinks were still being worked out. Ms. Millhauser noted a letter to neighborhood associations
and other community groups had been drafted but not yet sent. Co‐chair Adatto suggested
waiting until the fall before sending.
F. Work Plan Update – 100 Mile Challenge
Mr. Kale reported that outreach is still a challenge and that he would like to reach more
students. Ms. Millhauser noted that people are continuing to sign up leading to increased
participation. Ms. Murphy noticed that while doing outreach at the Farmers Market and Bike
Fair this year she noticed more people had heard of the Challenge than in the past.
G. Council Update
Councilor O’Neill provided the Board an update on recent Council activity. He suggested that
SAB could help the City’s sustainability efforts by doing additional research to bring out
additional benefits for consideration, such as the LED streetlight replacement project and
purchase of large vehicles, such as fire trucks.
H. City Projects of Board Interest – Status Update
Block 137 (Wizer's Block) Redevelopment
Councilor O’Neill provided an update, noting that the Redevelopment Agency (LORA) Board had
agreed to contribute $5 million, as outlined in the development agreement, to cover building
permit fees, system development charges, and construction excise taxes. He observed that
public testimony to the LORA Board focused on the size of the development and potential
impacts. Co‐chair Adatto stated the Board had submitted a letter in support of the project and
wondered other ways to be involved. Councilor O’Neill suggested the Board continue to follow
the project and grab onto issues they can help solve, especially if members can attend meetings
and submit testimony. Co‐chair Adatto mentioned she would like to find a way to meet with the
developer either at the next SAB meeting or at another meeting. Ms. Millhauser agrees to
follow up with Brant Williams, the City’s project manager, to find out if the developer could
attend the next SAB as well as if additional presentations would be scheduled.
Boones Ferry Road Improvement
Ms. Millhauser shared a project fact sheet with information about Phase 1 of the project, from
Madrona to Oakridge/Reese, including planned improvements, preliminary cost estimate, and
proposed funding sources. Councilor O’Neill opined that additional engineering studies needed
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to be completed to establish the total cost, and he was uncertain the urban renewal district
could generate enough tax increment to fund the full set of proposed improvements.
I. Progress Report – Sustainability Plan for City Operations
Ms. Millhauser gave the Board an overview of the Progress Report, noting updates made since
the last Board meeting, shared the proposed process to review and update the Sustainability
Plan, and asked for feedback. Board members provided feedback about some of the Progress
Report’s content, including how the City’s employee excellence award works and
recommending that the City look at centralized procurement. Regarding the process to review
progress and update the Plan, the Board suggested that it would be helpful to have a Board
member serve on the staff steering committee, as well as a Council member. Ms. Millhauser
agreed to incorporate these suggestions in her staff report to City Council.
Ms. Asby made a motion, seconded by Mr. Kale, which passed unanimously (yes‐5, no‐0), as
follows:
The SAB recommends that the City Council authorize the formation of an ad‐hoc steering
committee comprised of City staff, an SAB member, and a Council member to review the
Progress Report and develop an updated Sustainability Plan for City Operations.
Adjournment
The next meeting was scheduled on September 16, 2013. There being no other business Co‐
chair Adatto adjourned the meeting at 8:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Susan Millhauser
Sustainability Coordinator