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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-22-19 Health and Public Safety . 'S0UTII. PEAC,E;;. 1865 OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK KAREEMAH FOWLER, CITY CLERK HEALTH &PUBLIC SAFETY APRIL 22, 2019 6:00 P.M. Committee Members Present: Jo M. Broden, John Voorde, Karen White Committee Members Absent: Oliver Davis Other Council Present: Tim Scott,Jake Teshka, Regina Williams-Preston, Sharon L. McBride(late) Other Council Absent: Gavin Ferlic Others Present: Kareemah Fowler, Bianca Tirado, Graham Sparks, Bob Palmer Presenters: Jo M. Broden, Karen White, Jake Teshka Agenda: Bill No. 19-33- Climate Action Plan Resolution Committee Chair Jo M. Broden called to order the Health and Public Safety Committee meeting at 6:00 p.m. She introduced members of the Committee and proceeded with the meeting. Bill No. 19-33- Climate Action Plan Resolution Councilmember Jo M. Broden stated, In terms of the presentation, I will give a few introductory comments and then I will invite the co-sponsors to comment, as well. Then, we will go to public comments shortly after, and then take a recommendation. So,in terms of opening comments,most of the information was purposely provided in the document itself and the cover letter. What I would like to do is highlight a couple things, if I might. The document is long, and I ask for your forgiveness in advance. The purpose was for it to be instructive and educational as to the science of climate change. Today, with me to help with any questions relative to the presentation on the science aspect of it is Doctor Phil Sakimoto from the University of Notre Dame. As many of you know, there were quite a few experts that testified in front of the Joint Health and Public Safety& Utilities Committee. Councilmember Sharon L. McBride arrived at the meeting at 6:02 p.m. Councilmember Broden continued, So hopefully you will recognize in the document the strong science that was presented in a real compact way. Then also, as part of the resolution and then keeping the consistency with what was presented two (2) weeks ago in Committee, the document recognizes the City of South Bend and its various efforts. Many of those come out of the Office of Sustainability. Through this mayor's leadership,and even predating Mayor Pete to Mayor Luecke, INTEGRITYI SERVICE'ACCESSIBILITY JENNIFER M.COFFMAN BIANCA L.TIRADO JOSEPH R.MOLNAR CHIEF DEPUTY/DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS DEPUTY/DIRECTOR OF POLICY ORDINANCE VIOLATION CLERK EXCELLENCE I ACCOUNTABILITY I INNOVATION I INCLUSION I EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 1227 W.Jefferson Blvd.I South Bend,Indiana 46601 I p 574.235.9221 I f 574.235.9173 I www.southbendin.gov 40 CITY OF SOUTH BEND ; OFFICE OF THE CLERK we've had some very strong activities over the years that most of us have had a small role in. Additionally, Council Members have served before me. I would like to recognize here, today, Therese Dorau from the City of South Bend's Office of Sustainability. I believe Jamie Morgan is here to represent the Mayor's Office. She went on, The last piece is to recognize that this is just one (1) of many steps going forward. To that end, hopefully it will provide insight to the process that brought us here as a Council, the input from our community including our science and youth communities, and hopefully then it will be instructive to others throughout the State of Indiana as they look to some of these types of activities. Since we last presented, I wanted to just share some pieces of information with you. Tai Verbrugge has been very instrumental in the process as one (1) of our climate youth champions and was involved in the very first(1st) class at Notre Dame. He has been very active. On Friday of last week, several members in the community contributed to an educational event and I wanted to submit this for the record (available in the City Clerk's Office). This is a real basic primer that I wanted to enter into the record. The other hot off the press. The Environmental Resilience Institute of Indiana University conducted a survey of 1,002 Indiana residents about their views on the environment and climate. I'm not going to read this to you, again, in the interest of time, but you will see some pretty interesting statistics there. As we move, hopefully in a favorable way on this legislation tonight, it will be addressing some of these concerns of our fellow Hoosiers (the article is available in the City Clerk's Office). I'm sure we will have some folks chiming in tonight in support of this. Having said that, I want to turn it over to our co-sponsors for any comments, if you'd like. Councilmember Karen White stated, I'm very pleased to be a co-sponsor of this particular resolution. I particularly like the process that got us to this point as well as the relationship and collaboration between the Administration. It is well-written, and it also gives the steps in terms of moving forward as we look toward moving from a resolution to an ordinance.Again,all the various individuals that have really given their time and expertise to really help us frame this particular resolution, thank you. It is very exciting, and I look forward to moving it to the next phase. Councilmember Jake Teshka stated, I would like to echo Councilmember White's sentiments there. I also want to thank Dr. Sakimoto, Notre Dame students, Therese, the Youth Champions and all the folks that lent their voice to this process, coming out to the two (2) meetings that were held earlier this spring. I thought it was important for this to be a bipartisan thing, so, that kind of left one (1) outfit for me. But, I was not pressured into doing this and I support this on my own free will. I was at the Goshen Founder's Day event where Mayor Stutsman gave his speech. They've been doing some really great things over there in terms of alternative energy and solar. We even watched a video at one(1) of our meetings that pertained specifically to Goshen. He said something very poignant and I was trying to remember what it was, but trust me, it was poignant. Essentially, the bottom line was that we don't have to always agree. There are those folks in our country and community who might say that climate change is cyclical or not man made and other things. We don't necessarily have to agree on that point to move forward. We can move forward just out of our shared love for our Earth and the fact we want our children and grandchildren to live here. There are a lot of practical things we can agree on. We can bring folks from all different viewpoints to the table. This shows that the majority of Hoosiers do believe that climate change is happening and impacting us on a day-to-day basis. The other comment I've received is what can the City of South Bend do about climate change when you've got these bad actors like China and other places around the world? To that I say, we have to do something. If we as human beings, EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY INNOVATION INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 1227 W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f 574.235.9173 111)574.235.5567vv vvv.southbendin.gov 2 4)CITY OF SOUTH BEND I OFFICE OF THE CLERK nobody took that first(1St) step,if nobody did something to take incremental change, we obviously wouldn't be where we are today. So, I wholly support this. We can have further policy debates in terms of what this means for different ordinances down the road,but this resolution has my whole support. Thank you all that have participated in the process to this point. Committee Chair Broden then opened the floor to members of the public wishing to speak in favor of or in opposition to this legislation. City Clerk Kareemah Fowler, City Clerk with offices located on the 4th floor of the County-City Building, stated, I would like to speak in favor of today's resolution. I think it is long overdue. I was talking to some people in Indianapolis that are working on climate change resolutions and they are looking forward to this resolution as well as all the updates and changes. Phil Sakimoto, Professor at the University of Notre Dame with offices located at the Main Building, stated, I just want to commend Council for coming to this point of this resolution. It says so much about what the City of South Bend is all about. It sets an example for the State and other cities. Talking about Goshen, I understand they are going to vote tomorrow. So, you will get it in before them. I also expressly look forward to getting on with the implementation phases. Thank you, Therese, for your work on this. Murray Miller, 23698 Western Avenue, stated, I'm not opposed to the climate change, however, I am concerned about jobs that will be lost. Oil and gas industries will be the people that lose their jobs. I'm a little bit concerned about that. Everything else is going up and natural gas is one(1)of the things that stays relatively stable.I'm concerned,and I hope those concerns are addressed when you talk about climate change. Thank you. Councilmember Broden had five(5)minutes for a rebuttal. Councilmember Broden stated, There are several statements here that the Council is resolving to do. I want to highlight, in particular, the second(2°d) one (1). Therefore, be it resolved, the South Bend Common Council requests this plan be completed by the Fall of 2019. And side note, that is referencing the Climate Action Plan deadline date, and the Administration's planning process include appropriate stakeholder feedback. Another side note, we encourage individuals to obviously be a part of that if they have similar concerns. Consider Council and Administration priorities, including but not limited to opportunities for climate action to increase social equity, maximizing benefits and minimizing impacts on individuals and businesses; and consideration of any action through the lens of the"triple bottom line." This approach posits we can slow the pace of climate change in ways that save money, build a better quality of life for our residents, that includes all residents, and drive economic growth. She continued,That is an affirmative statement that is embedded in this resolution. I am committed to that and I encourage anyone who signs on today that,by your affirmation, that is something that you, too, share in that commitment. Councilmember Tim Scott stated, My hometown is St. Louis. In 1939, they literally had a smog problem because most of the fuel for the city was coal, oil and wood. It was to the point it was so bad that, during the day time, all the streetlights were on. It was like night in the winter time. It wasn't until the spring winds that it basically blew away. So,when Councilmember Teshka stated EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY INNOVATION INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f 574.235.9173 I I D574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov 3 •CITY OFSOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK that we need to do something, we take our first (1St) step. We know, in China, this is the same thing. They have such bad smog days that they close school. So, it takes all of us to do our small part and set that example. I want to thank each one(1)of your Council Members for this resolution. This is our first(1St)step. The thing I'll say tonight as well, and I'll ask the kids as well, you know, we are doing it for them. We aren't all John Voorde's age but what we do now has in impact on them down the road. Things that I've seen back when I was a kid in the 1970's, if we could have done better then, we could be farther along on this now. So, I want to thank you all. This is the first(1St) step and it can lead to more. Committeemember John Voorde stated, This, when you think about it, becomes one (1) of those no-brainers. Of course, we need to do this. To promote this initiative, maybe we ought to adopt a theme song. I would suggest High Hopes. Happy days are here again. Committeemember Karen White stated, I'm pleased about that section in the resolution because it speaks to the concerns that Mr. Miller raised. It puts in those safeguards so, as we move forward, we are mindful of the work that will come out of it. I appreciate that being brought to our attention. I also want to make sure that when individuals approach you and have questions,we respond with what is in the resolution. It is a working draft as we move toward a resolution. Councilmember Sharon L. McBride stated, I appreciate the collaboration and Councilmember Broden spearheading this and her efforts to ensure the Council is looking out for the community. I'm very pleased to be part of the process. Since I've been on Council, I've seen us make great strides in connecting everyone and bridging those gaps. Councilmember Scott asked, Is that Mayor of Goshen a Republican or a Democrat? Councilmember Teshka replied, I believe he is a Democrat. Councilmember Scott replied, Oh, okay. Councilmember Broden stated, I did submit one(1) other item into the record (which is available in the City Clerk's Office). It is to give context to the presentation and it was the agenda from Friday's event. Also, within this resolution, there are some short-term action steps for Council regarding education and leadership opportunities. One (1) of those will be, hopefully soon, an opportunity to go to Notre Dame and actually have a world-class presentation on this issue that was shared with international leaders. Both the Council candidates and members of our community will be invited to that very shortly.We will send out a doodle poll to nail down people's availability for that/. Committeemember White made a motion to send Bill No. 19-33 to the full Council with a favorable recommendation. Committeemember Voorde seconded this motion which carried by a voice vote of three (3) ayes. With no further business, Committee Chair Broden adjourned the Health and Public Safety Committee meeting at 6:18 p.m. EXCELLENCE I ACCOUNTABILITY I INNOVATION INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227 W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f 574.235.9173 TTD574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov 4 ®CITY OF SOUTH BEND 1 OFFICE OF THE CLERK Respectfully Submitted, r2g. a,f. Jo . Broden, Committee Chair EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY INNOVATION INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f 574.235.9173 TTD 574.235.5567 vwwi.southbendin.gov 5