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Sustainability Advisory Board

July 24, 2024 ·5:00 PM Final Revised

Parking Department - Conference Room

Agenda PDF Minutes PDF 📹 Watch video Official record ↗

Agenda — 16 items

  1. 1 CORAL GABLES SUSTAINABILITY ADVISORY BOARD WEDNESDAY, JULY 24, 2024, 5:00 P.M. PARKING & MOBILITY SERVICES OFFICE 204 MINORCA AVE. ZOOM: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82049614201 MEETING AGENDA
  2. 1. Roll Call / Introductions
  3. 2. Approval of May SAB Meeting Minutes Approved on Consent Agenda
  4. 3. Discussion on Additional 2024 SAB Meeting Dates Approved on Consent Agenda
  5. 3. Public Comment: 2 minutes each guest
  6. 4. 2024 Commercial Beautification Awards Vote Approved on Consent Agenda
  7. 5. Coral Gables Tree & Mangrove Working Group Proposal – Cristina Vidal i. Cristina Vidal and her mother, Diana Vidal, presented a proposal for a tree and mangrove working group. The research Cristina did focuses on the pending tree inventory and potential for natural capital accounting. She highlighted the use of advanced technologies like GIS and lidar for tree mapping. Suggested integration of iTree engine with Cartograph for ecosystem service benefit calculations. The Board is very interested in this working group and the research Cristina has done, they would like to discuss this topic more in the next meeting and possibly pass a resolution letting the Commission know that they support this effort.
  8. 6. Keep Coral Gables Beautiful Program Updates i. Recent Events: 1. My Squad Earth Month Event – Wednesday, May 29 a. This event was rescheduled due to the My Squad’s availability in May instead of April. The event took place in the clubhouse at Ruth Bryan Owens Park. This event was a seedling planting event using reusable materials and educated the club members of the importance of native and pollinator plants. There were 16 participants in attendance during this event. 2. NexTrex Program Launch & Unveiling Event – Friday, May 31 a. KCGB’s plastic bag and film recycling program is has launched at the Adult Activity Center There was a presentation on the program with detailed information on the recycling process. Ten participants attended the program launch and presentation, including Mayor Lago, who initially brought this recycling idea to the Sustainability team’s attention. There are collection bins in three city locations and has become very popular with 32 pounds of plastic film taken to Sprouts to be processed and recycled by NexTrex. 3. Ingraham Park Cleanup – Friday, June 7 a. This event was a first for KCGB as there has never been a litter cleanup event at Ingraham Park. This park is right on the waterway, and it is very important that litter does not enter the channel. There were thirteen volunteers at this cleanup, and they removed 113 pounds of litter from the area. This event was in collaboration with the Parks and Recreations department. 4. Fewell Park Invasive Removal & Native Planting – Friday, June 28 a. This is a native “pocket” park, the intention is to have a pineland ecosystem type of landscape in Coral Gables, and the Greenspace team has been managing the park very well. 174 native plant species were planted during this event by sixteen very dedicated volunteers. This event was in collaboration with the Greenspace Management team. This event was funded by Keep America Beautiful’s Great American Cleanup Grant and the native flowers were purchased using the grant money. ii. Upcoming Events 1. Summer Downtown Community Cleanup – Monday, August 26 a. The third Downtown Community Cleanup of this year is around the corner on August 26 beginning at 5 p.m. The event will begin at the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce and will end with a refreshing bite at Freddo Gelato. iii. 2024 Litter Index Scores 1. This year the Community Litter Index was held on July 22 and four Board Members assisted with the voting process. The score was 1.380 and shows that Coral Gables is still a very clean city. How the litter index is done is by taking 360-degree recordings of the streets in Coral Gables and viewing the videos with the Board members who volunteered. The reason the Community Litter Index is important is to consider the litter status throughout the years and have records that shows the status visually. This is an affiliate requirement to keep Keep Coral Gables Beautiful in good standing with Keep America Beautiful.
  9. 7. Commercial Beautification Award Presentation & Voting i. The Board voted on the nominations for the Commercial Beautification Awards. The nomination period is from March 1 through April 30 and the public is able to nominate local businesses for the award during this time period. The criterion for the award is based on how well a business keeps their storefront and if they do not have any violations. Many businesses were nominated for the 2024 Commercial Beautification Award but only four made it to the voting round. These four were Beauty & the Butcher, Leggenda Bridal, Henrry Styles Salon, and Maiz y Agave. The Board voted with the set criteria in mind and awarded two out of the four locations. Beauty & the Butcher and Maiz y Agave were awarded the Commercial Beautification Award. The restaurant owners will be presented the award during a Commission Meeting and be recognized by the Commission.
  10. 8. Sustainability Related City Commission Items i. Resolution accepting KAB Cigarette Litter Prevention Program cash grant to be put towards KCGB’s new cigarette litter program 1. The CLPP cash grant was accepted by Commission during one of the recent Commission meetings. The cash grant is for $3,848 and will be used to purchase No Smoking signs to be installed at city parks where there is a no smoking ordinance. Ten cigarette receptacles will be installed in the downtown area and two more will be installed at Ruth Bryan Owens Waterway Park. The collected cigarette butts will then be recycled through TerraCycle. ii. Update regarding NexTrex Plastic Film Recycling 1. The update at Commission was about the NexTrex Unveiling Event at the Adult Activity Center. Mayor Lago brought it up at the Commission meeting as he was the one who brought this program to the attention of the Sustainability team. This brought more public awareness to the program as well. iii. Discussion on Jolt EV Charging Stations 1. Currently, the city only uses ChargePoint electric vehicle charging stations but there are conversations with Jolt on the subject. There will be more updates in the future, but as of now, the city is staying with ChargePoint.
  11. 9. Standing Agenda Items i. Sea-Level Rise Update 1. The Vulnerability Assessment progress report has been submitted to FDEP. Progress reports will be continued to be submitted quarterly. Once the consultant finishes the draft report, it will be presented and shared with the Board for input. ii. Water Quality Update 1. A grant has been submitted with NOAA, UM Waterkeeper, and FIU, to continue the study of the water quality that has been going on for the last two years. Phase one and two of that project have been completed. More funding is being requested so that phase three can be implemented with the research found from phases one and two. This is to help remove debris from the waterways as well as focus on nitrogen and phosphorus which causes eutrophication. 2. The Southeast Climate Conference is in Key West this year and is one of the largest gatherings of sustainability professionals, companies, professors, and governments. It is from December 16 through the 18. 3. The Sustainability Management Plan has been completed and updated from 2015. The last step is to send it to the Communications Department so that they can add the final touches.
  12. 10. Member Comments i. Anabella: 1. Interested on the status of the Green Business Program. It is already on the website and has been sent to some local businesses already. It will be promoted through different channels to have as many businesses as possible certified and the Sustainability team will help guide any interested businesses to have greener practices to help them become certified. 2. There will be a Lunch & Learn during Earth Month at the Chamber of Commerce to help promote the Green Business Program. This will be planned for April of 2025. ii. Gabi: 1. The PTSA did award Coral Gables Senior High School with an award based on the school’s green initiatives. 2. This was Gabi’s last SAB meeting, and she will be leaving to Smith College in Massachusetts on August 27 to study environmental policy. She will be dearly missed and her insight as the Board’s Youth Appointment has been incredibly valuable. 3. The next Youth Appointment will be voted in hopefully next meeting. Gabi offered to send the contact information of the high school to keep in contact with them after she is gone. iii. Jasper: 1. Interested in the CLPP program and requested that one of the cigarette receptacles be brought to the next meeting to have a better visual of what will be placed throughout the city. iv. Joe: 1. Joe raised concerns about lack of recycling bins in some city areas. The Sustainability team plans to conduct an inventory of recycling facilities across the city. There will be a follow up discussion on a potential resolution for more citywide recycling program. Commissioner Fernadez would support the resolution. Diego went on to discuss this matter saying that there are recycling bins at the park Joe had visited, Kerdyk Park. Parks and Recreations does keep an inventory of the recycling bins throughout all the parks. The Sustainability team will be working with Parks to have sustainable component added to the events permits for anyone who would like to host a private event at one of the city parks. This can add the requirement for people to recycle during their party. After Joe had brought this to the attention of the Sustainability team, they will begin an inventory of the recycling bins throughout the city including the buildings and parks. This is valuable because the city does need the assistance of Board Members who can be the eyes for the city’s Sustainability team. The Board can vote to bring this recycling program to the attention of the Commissioners at a Commission meeting.
  13. 9. Discussion on Remaining 2024 SAB Meeting Dates
  14. 11. ADJOURNED: 6:52 p.m.
  15. 13 Next Meeting – Wednesday, August 28, 2024, at 5:00 P.M.
  16. 14 NOTE