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OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK
KAREEMAH FOWLER, CITY CLERK
HEALTH &PUBLIC SAFETY FEBRUARY 18, 2019 5:30 P.M.
UTILITIES
JOINT COMMITTEE MEETING
Committee Members Present: Jo M. Broden, John Voorde, Karen White, Jake Teshka,
Regina Williams-Preston(late)
Committee Members Absent: Oliver Davis, Sharon L. McBride
Other Council Present: None
Other Council Absent: Tim Scott, Gavin Ferlic
Others Present: Graham Sparks, Bob Palmer
Presenters: Julia McKenna, Jackie Brebeck, Sarah Anatolios, Tai
Verbrugge, Joshua Crudup, Dwight Milligan, Caleb Novik,
Analise McKenna, Michael Dunham, Alan Hamlet
Agenda: 1. Common Council Briefing on Climate Change:
Understanding Climate Change in South Bend
a. Climate Basics (30 min)
b. Local Impacts (40 min)
c. Council Member Q&A (10 min)
d. Testimony/Public Comment(10 min)
2. Miscellaneous
Co-Committee Chair Jo M. Broden called the Joint Health and Public Safety and Utilities
Committee meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. She stated, This is a joint committee meeting by two (2)
of the Council's committees. One (1) is one (1) that I chair, the Health and Public Safety
Committee and one (1) that the Council Member to my left, Councilmember Jake Teshka, chairs
the Utilities Committee. I would like to give a little bit of context before we jump into things. The
Council itself normally consists of nine (9) members but you will see there are only four(4) here
tonight. However, the members who are not in attendance will benefit from both an audio
recording of tonight and a video recording of tonight. So, the messages you bring forth and the
information that is exchanged here by our local experts will be shared and available to those
INTEGRITY' SERVICE'ACCESSIBILITY
JENNIFER M.COFFMAr BIANCA L.TIRA1 o JOSEPH R.MOLNAR
CHIEF DEPUTY/DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS DEPUTY/DIRECTOR OF POLICY ORDINANCE VIOLATION CLERK
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Council Members. In addition, it will be part of the permanent record of the City of South Bend
as it relates to these two (2) committees. So, what is said here tonight,just like things from one
hundred(100)years ago,can be found and will be found in the public record going forward. Don't
let that scare you, though. In terms of organization, as I said, we are two (2) committees of the
Council. Each Committee has four(4) members each. We meet in an advisory capacity to the full
Council to look at and study issues and then make recommendations to the full Council. So, the
benefit of this joint committee meeting is that the four(4)members who are present here and others
may join us during the course of this two (2) hour meeting, will have the ability to share tonight's
information, converse and kind of strategize as far as going forward with actual policy.
She continued, I would like to introduce my fellow Council Members. Councilmember Jake
Teshka is representative of the fifth (5th) district. Then, we have Councilmember At-Large John
Voorde and Councilmember At-Large Karen White. So, eleven (11) committees, two (2) tonight
are here gathering in the benefit of the information we exchange being available in audio. One(1)
of the things I would like to point out, too, is you've all probably seen my children and my boys,
I have three (3), one (1) of the programs is EPSN, and there is a really cute kind of thing they do
it's called Your Only Job. I don't know how many people have seen those little segments and
maybe I'm in the minority. I catch that as my boys watch it, but we have two (2) really specific
jobs as elected officials in the City of South Bend. One (1) is to be informed and then write and
vote on ordinances. Ordinances are just a fancy word for our local laws, ok? The second(2nd)part
of our only job is to approve the budget. A budget is just a declaration of how we are going to
spend the collective money that city government acquires by way of taxes and other fees, etcetera.
So, those are the two (2)really important things we do.
She went on, Tonight, in the context of this meeting, I do want to indicate that Councilmember
Karen White has been,at least during my tenure on that Council and I'm sure it predates my tenure,
which has only been three(3)years and I'm in my fourth(4th)year now,she has been instrumental
in chairing the Council's Personnel and Finance Committee. That is where we get down to the nuts
and bolts about reviewing the Mayor's priorities, our department's priorities, and then a final
budget approval on how we will, again, spend our collective dollars. So, while there are two (2)
committees represented here tonight formally, as a side effect is Councilmember White who is
currently the chair of that committee and we kind of have a three (3)-for bonus. I just wanted to
point that out.
She continued,Then, a couple other things. I just want to check overall,how many people,in terms
of tonight's meeting and kind of where we are going, many of you have been long in preparation
for tonight's meeting, how many of you have heard of the One Book, One Michiana project or
have participated in it? (members in the audience raised their hands) She went on, Alright, I'm
going to use that as an analogy to talk about tonight and where we hope to go. One Book, One
Michiana is a program though the St. Joseph County Public Library. It is coming up April 1st
through April 30th. It is a way for all of us, collectively as a community to get invited in one (1)
source, one(1) book as kind of a basic and shared piece of information. From that information,to
read that book,how many people know this year's chosen book or even have it in hand? (members
in the audience raised their hands) She continued, Alright. That shared book, this year, is the
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, it sounds exciting, it is a way for us to come to a collective
understanding, right? We read it, we get an understanding of it and there are several events that
take place over the course of this one(1)month. Then what can happen is we can discuss the book,
question the book, challenge some things learned from the book or we can affirm some things or
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•CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK
be in agreement with them. But, the important process is that it is a shared and collective
opportunity.
She went on, That is what I see tonight as. It is an informational opportunity on this big topic of
climate change. Then our second (2nd) meeting to be held on February 27th, when we reconvene,
is really to look at continuing the conversation about what we value as a community and how we
want to express that, if you would, in a possible ordinance or some type of legislation from my
peers on the Council. I thank you all for coming tonight. I appreciate the information exchange
that is going to occur tonight as well as over the course of our second(2nd)meeting. From a Health
and Public Safety standpoint, I think it is pretty obvious why this is kind of in my wheelhouse,my
interest and members of my Committee. Having said that, I would like to give the floor to
Councilmember Teshka.
Co-Committee Chair Jake Tesha stated, First(1st) of all, I think we should put Climate Change on
the agenda for every meeting because the attendance is outstanding. It is awesome to see all of you
here and especially so many youths. I am a father of a three(3) year old boy and a one(1) year old
girl and I am very interested in hearing what you all have to say about looking toward the future,
the things discussed tonight, and they impact my children's future, as well. In terms of the Utilities
Committee, the things that we look at are some of the things that some people might take for
granted, right? The fact that you walk into your house and you're able to flip on a light and the
light comes on or you flush your toilet and the water goes down. Those are some of the things the
Utilities Committee looks at. We also look at things such as storm water. You may have heard
recent discussions about storm water and what happens to the water when we have a five hundred
(500) year flood, right? Where does that water go? How does our infrastructure meet the standard
of taking care of those issues? Those are things that are discussed within the context of my
committee and that is one(1) of the reasons why we decided to have this joint meeting because so
much of what, I think, we are about to discuss impacts the way our utilities are used and offered
as well as how we construct them moving forward. What type of utilities do we continue to invest
in? What kind of energy do we continue to invest in? Here in the near future, in the context of my
committee, we will have an update from AEP about some of the things they are doing in terms of
the power grid. They are working on a twenty(20)year plan, as well, so,it is a pleasure to be here.
I would like to echo Councilmember Broden's sentiments that we are primarily here to listen
tonight. This is one(1)of a two(2)-part meeting. We want to listen to you and see where we might
go from there,open up this dialogue and broader conversation within our community and see what
types of actions we might be able to take. So, thank you all for being here.
Co-Committee Chair Broden then gave the floor to the presenters.
Common Council Briefing on Climate Change: Understanding Climate Change in South
Bend
Julia McKenna, 400 Peashway Street, stated, I'm seventeen (17) years old and a senior at John
Adams High School. I was asked tonight to give some introductory remarks seeing as this is a
project I have been working on for the past five (5) years, since I was in eighth (8th) grade and it
has finally come to fruition. I thought I would give some context on why we are here tonight, why
I've asked so many people to join me and how we got to this state of communal activism you see
before you. I attended Good Sheppard Montessori school for elementary school all the way through
eighth (8th) grade. That is a school that is focused on land-based learning and sustainability. As
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CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK
part of that school, I learned a lot about gardening,permaculture and climate change. When I was
in seventh (7th) "rade, I was part of a committee and helped plan an academic conference where
we invited Jim Poiser, who is up here taking pictures, to come be one (1) of our speakers. He
returned the next year to our eighth (8th) grade conference and we began talking more. Jim does a
number of things throughout the State of Indiana, working with youth, to start planning climate
change recovery advocacy. I got really connected with him and proposed the idea of hosting a
climate change camp. I'm going to be honest, I was very skeptical. I needed something to do for
three (3) days in the summer and I decided to join him. In the summer of 2015, we had a climate
change intensive camp for high school students for three(3) days at Prairie Winds Nature Farm. I
was the young one (1) of the group, I had just graduated eighth (8th) grade, so, I felt really
privileged to be joining this high school camp. At this climate camp, we talked about a number of
things and watched different videos,but I think what stuck out to me most was one (1) day it was
raining, ironically, and we had to cancel our activities for that afternoon. So instead, we watched
a video called little warriors which is a documentary about Eugene,Oregon,and the climate change
ordinance they passed with a youth-based initiative. I was, to put it honestly, really amazed and
star-struck that these kids had taken a city just like South Bend and they had turned it into one(1)
of the most progressive and sustainable cities in the entire United States.
She continued, I was a bit cheeky and passionate as an eighth (8th) grader and I told Jim we could
do that. I think I underestimated a little bit how difficult policy and grassroots activism can be,but
it was really the start of an honest interest in making South Bend one (1) of those cities. At the
time, I was accompanied by Grace Coman and Matthew Peterson, who were two (2) other youth
who were really invested in my vision and that project. Unfortunately, neither of them could be
here with us today but they encouraged my perspective and spark and I thought, well, if they are
interested in it and they are older than me, this might work. I really dug my heels in and decided
this was a project I wanted to take on even if it was going to take me a long time. My goal was to
finish before I graduate and, as a senior being here today, I would say we are pretty close to that.
I then joined a group called IMatter which is a national online campaign that helps youths organize
sustainable activity to become climate change recovery activists in their own city. Through that, I
founded the Youth Climate Task Force which was the first (1st) of many steps in creating this
climate-based activism you see here today. We had a lot momentum and a lot of youth but very
little experience and very few connections.
She went on, With I Matter, I helped create a report card for the City of South Bend that analyzed
their approaches to sustainability and their carbon footprint. It was through this that I met Therese
Dorau,the Director of the Office of Sustainability, and I kind of badgered her for data that she was
reluctant to say that South Bend didn't actually have. This was especially because the County is
responsible for a lot of different divisions such as waste management. A lot of information on the
report card actually went in as unsure or don't know and South Bend actually got a D on the report
card for sustainability. I was really impressed and shocked by that because I had grown up in this
City where sustainability was central to my education and to see this D in the report card, I was
really surprised. I thought oh my gosh, this is maybe a little bit more work than I thought it was
cut out to be. We kind of stopped meeting with the Youth Climate Task Force and we lost a little
bit of that initial passion and youth I had been interested in. Through this, I was also watching
cities throughout Indiana and the United States kind of finish this dream that I had envisioned for
South Bend. I worked with students in Carmel, Indianapolis and Lawrence and watched them pass
their own climate resolutions and I'm not going to lie, I was a little bit jealous and disappointed
that they had been able to take this dream that I had started and be able to finish it before I even
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CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK
kind of hit my feet running on the ground. But, I decided reluctantly to keep going. My sophomore
year, I was asked to join a Green Ribbon Commission for the City of South Bend which is a group
of mostly adults,well,all adults,in the City of South Bend who work together to create sustainable
discussions around what is going on in the Michiana area.
She continued,Through that,I thought there was maybe enough momentum to keep us going.That
is when I was approached by students at Notre Dame, Dr. Phil Sakimoto and Dr. Laura Dassow
Walls. They were really interested in taking a class, the Sustainability Principles and Practices
class of 2017 to take a more detailed and academic approach to getting more research done about
South Bend and Indiana, in particular, with regards to climate change and sustainability. So, they
were able to create a fifty (50) page document that outlines sustainable practices in Indiana, the
shortcomings of climate change work in Indiana and where climate change recovery could really
flourish in our area. It was the first(1St)time that we had a really detailed and academic perspective
on the issue I had been working on and so it validated, for me, a lot of the work that we had been
doing. Joining with them, I was then approached by Ms. Velshonna Luckey and helped create the
Robinson Community Learning Center Climate Change Club. I'm going to pass it off to my fellow
youth up here so you kind of get the connection of how they are related to this,but I would like to
say thank you so much. This has been a long time coming and I am so happy to be here tonight.
Jackie Brebeck, 1855 Vaness Street, stated, I'm a senior at Notre Dame. I'm very proud of Julia
and all of the work she has committed to this. To pick up where Julia left off, I was in that class at
Notre Dame that started working with Julia and with Montessori School students to produce that
fifty(50)page report and a draft climate ordinance. That is how I became involved. I and another
student from that class, Tyler Newsome,joined the Climate Club last year and began working and
creating more youth involvement through that. I met Josh in that club and Tai is currently helping
out, as well, and that is how it all came together in the end to bring us here today. We have been
working, all of us together, with Councilmember Broden and Therese to make this Council
Meeting happen and have the Robinson Center Climate Club, Montessori School students and
other youth in South Bend to be here today. So, thank you for having us.
Ms. McKenna stated, Before we continue, there have been so many people that have been so
instrumental in helping us get here and I would like to take a moment to thank some of the people
who have gotten us to this point. So really quickly, if I read your name, please go ahead a stand so
we can recognize the sheer number of people we have in this room who have been integral in
getting us here. Jim Poiser, Grace Coman, Matthew Peterson, Therese Dorau, Dr. Phil Sakimoto,
Dr. Laura Dassow Walls, the students from the sustainability principles and practices class of
Notre Dame of 2017, Dr. Rachel Novik, Maddie McGuire, Jo M. Broden, Ms. Velshonna Luckey,
Todd Johnson, all of my Climate Champions and my youth involved in this project. They are
central to this project and I would just like to thank them.
Co-Committee Chair Broden stated,And, if I might add, former Councilmember Randy Kelly. He
linked me into all of this coincidentally a year ago today. So, thank you.
Sarah Anatolios, 1604 E. Jefferson Boulevard, stated, I am a fifth (5th) grader at Good Sheppard
Montessori School.This(referencing a slide in a presentation which is available in the City Clerk's
office)is a basic diagram showing the Greenhouse Effect which some could say is the real problem
seeing as climate change is a natural process that is the change of the Earth's temperature and
weather patterns over time. As you can see, it starts with the energy from the Sun warming the
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Earth.The energy of the Sun goes through the ozone layer,a layer of oxygen that keeps our harmful
ultraviolet rays from getting to our earth. Some of the Sun's energy escapes back into space.
However, now that we are producing large amounts of carbon and other greenhouse gases with
practices such as fossil fuel burning and factory farming, the sunlight is being held by greenhouse
gases in the atmosphere and making the Earth warmer. As well, the greenhouse gases are starting
to damage our ozone layer and there is a seasonal hole above Antarctica that has been caused by
these greenhouse gases damaging the ozone layer.
Tai Verbrugge, 18370 Dunn Road Apt 2104, stated,Thank you, Sarah. I'm a senior at Notre Dame
studying accounting and sustainability. So, the greenhouse effect is relatively straightforward
logic. The more carbon dioxide there is in the atmosphere, the warmer our planet gets. As such, it
is important we track atmospheric carbon levels and make sure that they don't get too high. The
metric we use to track this is carbon parts per million. So, out of every million molecules in our
atmosphere, how many of those million are carbon dioxide molecules? For the past 10,000 years
before the industrial revolution in 1800, so before humans started burning fossil fuels in mass,the
average was around two hundred and eighty (280) parts per million. By the 1950's, after the
industrial revolution, that number climbed rapidly to three hundred and twenty (320) parts per
million. Fast forward to 2015, our annual average is now around four hundred (400) parts per
million. For a better sense of what these numbers mean, we can look at this video (embedded in
the presentation and also available in the City Clerk's Office) that has been prepared by the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or,NOAA. They are a federal agency, so their
data is relatively sound.
He continued,We will speed up the first(1St)minute or so, and I would like to direct your attention
to the graph on the right side of the screen. The one (1) on the left is kind of a microcosm, it is
how carbon parts per million changed throughout a single year. The graph on the right, that red
and blue line, they show how our carbon parts per million in the atmosphere changes year after
year. We can see that it is a gradual increase. It doesn't plateau, and it doesn't go down. Year after
year, carbon is concentrating more and more in our atmosphere. Now, it does fluctuate a little bit
every year. That is a natural phenomenon. Plants produce more carbon dioxide in the winter and
less in the summer. That explains the little dip in the red line every year. But, overall, it increases
year after year. At around one (1) minute it will stop at 2015 and you'll see it peaks around over
four hundred (400) parts per million. Then, actually, it will zoom out to show how drastic this
change is. That green line goes back in time to show just how far and how high carbon emissions
have grown over the past few years. It keeps zooming out to the point of tens of thousands of years
and you'll see on that right side, that top, that is where we are right now. The point is,hundreds of
thousands of years before now, carbon has never been as highly concentrated in the atmosphere as
it is now. There is a natural cycle, yes. However, we are at four hundred (400) parts per million
which breaks very far out of that natural cycle.
He went on, The logic from the greenhouse effect, the more carbon in the atmosphere, the hotter
our planet will be. To see proof of that, we can look at NOAA's list of the hottest years ever
recorded. So,they started keeping track of average annual globaltemperature in 1880. As you can
see (referencing a slide in the presentation), the top four (4) hottest years on record have all
occurred in the past five (5) years. Out of the top ten (10) hottest years ever, since 1880, nine (9)
out of those ten (10) have occurred since 2000. That is not a surprise. As we just saw, carbon
emissions keep reaching new heights and because of that, we keep experiencing record-breaking
levels of heat. So, what is the world doing about this? Have we ignored this problem?
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CITY OF SOUTH BEND , OFFICE OF THE CLERK
He continued, Climate change isn't something new thought up a couple of years ago. The
greenhouse effect was actually discovered over one hundred(100) years ago, and ever since then,
climate change has been widely debated. That began to change in 1988. In 1988, Dr. James
Hanson,then the NASA Director of the Institute for Space Studies,testified before Congress about
the impending perils of climate change. This marked a turning point, thrusting climate change
more into the public eye and out of the fringes. That same year, the United Nations and the World
Meteorological Association established the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the
IPCC. That is a coalition of some of the world's leading scientists in climate and climate science.
They are basically the world's foremost expert body on climate science. Since their founding, the
IPCC has released five (5) general assessments throughout the years. Each general assessment
basically says the same thing: the planet is getting warmer and humans are causing it through our
carbon emission. Unless we change, there are serious environmental consequences coming down
the pipeline. The main difference between each of these reports is the certainty with which the
IPCC makes these claims. They have progressed from use of terms such as 'we are unclear' to 'we
are virtually certain that climate change is happening.' I note this because the IPCC is a rigorous
scientific body and they don't use terms like `virtually certain' lightly.
He went on, Now, in 1997, eighty-two (82) countries and the European Union signed the Kyoto
Protocol. The Kyoto Protocol is an international treaty that mandated a monitoring and subsequent
reduction in greenhouse gas emissions for industrialized signatories.Now,the treaty didn't go into
force until 2005,but that didn't really matter because most of the countries that had signed it were
actually exempted from the treaty because they were considered developing countries and it would
stunt their growth too much to try and curb their greenhouse gas emission. The US dropped the
Kyoto Protocol in 2001 and the treaty is criticized by many as a failure. That being said, it did lay
the groundwork for the Paris Agreement. The Paris Agreement started in 2015. France hosted the
twenty-first (21St) Annual UN Climate Change Conference in Paris. The attending countries
created the Paris Agreement which was essentially a stronger version of the Kyoto Protocol. The
Paris Agreement calls on each of the one hundred and eighty-four (184) ratifying parties to
contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emission. Contributions vary, country by country. The
stated goal of the agreement is to limit climate change to two (2) degree Celsius above pre-
industrial levels with the ambitious goal of keeping that change within one point five(1.5)degrees
Celsius. I say this is an ambitious goal because we have already seen an increase of one (degree)
Celsius, so, there is not much wiggle room left. Although the Paris Agreement went into force in
2016, the White House has since signaled that American withdrawal from that is on the table. So,
it is clear that federal help in this is not necessarily coming.
Committeemember Regina Williams-Preston arrived at the meeting at 6:01 p.m.
Ms. Brebeck stated, I will next be discussing the impacts of climate change, building off of what
Tai had described about global warming. So, this graph here (referencing a slide in the
presentation) is from a recent IPCC report. It shows how much our Earth could warm in a high
emissions scenario in red and a low emissions scenario in blue. As you can see, in the high
emissions scenario it reaches about six (6) and in some even more recent reports it has been
projected to maybe reach seven (7). In the low emissions scenario, it keeps it under two (2). As
Tai mentioned, the goal was to keep it under two (2) degrees Celsius but the IPCC this year
released a new report advocating for policies to really aim for under one point five (1.5) degrees
Celsius. This is because the impact of one point five (1.5) degrees Celsius are already going to be
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CITY OFSOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK
drastic on the Earth's ecosystems and inhabitants. This is especially because most organisms live
in what we call microclimates. So, specific soil temperatures, moisture, wind movement,
vegetation and these things can all be sensitive to small changes in temperature.Next,I will discuss
some of the main impacts global warming will have.
She continued, First (Pt) of all, changes in precipitation, with storms we've seen this in South
Bend already. There will be more flooding. Global warming intensifies both drought and storm
effects. Droughts are intensified because of greater evaporation and surface drying due to the
higher temperatures and storm effects will be intensified due to greater evaporation as well. And
also,because the water-holding capacity of the air actually also increases seven percent(7%)every
one (1) degree Celsius of warming. That means there is a lot of increased water vapor in the
atmosphere. This supplies storms with more moisture, causing more damage. Overall the dry
regions of the world will become drier and wet areas will become wetter. Areas that are
experiencing water scarcity will be feeling more pressure and areas already being damaged by
floods will also experience more drastic effects.Next, I will be discussing the impact on the ocean.
She went on, So, the ocean is absorbing heat and energy from our atmosphere which leads to
warming and is also absorbing about thirty percent(30%) of all the carbon dioxide that we put into
the atmosphere. That is more than people expected it to be able to. So, it is doing us a big favor
there. However, this leads to acidification in the ocean. This warming and acidification really
threatens the marine environment and is currently the most vulnerable environment and suffering
the most from the impacts of climate change already. A large part of this is due to coral bleaching
which increases with warming and acidification. You can see here (referencing a slide in the
presentation)on the ride side of the right-hand photo,that is a bleached coral compared to a healthy
coral right next to it. This happens because, as I said, of the warming and acidification. It changes
the natural environment the coral is supposed to live in and it can no longer support life. A lot of
life and biodiversity in the ocean depend on coral reefs and people also depend on coral reefs.
About thirty-seven percent(37%)worldwide live within one hundred(100)kilometers of the ocean
and this means coral reefs support these people through food, income, protection from storm
waves, and this is why they are very important to human populations.
She continued, Another dire impact is the rising sea level. This is mainly due to two (2) reasons.
First (1St) is thermal expansion. As the water is heated, it expands so the water takes up more
volume. There is also increased melting of land-based ice. So, land that used to be on Antarctica
or Greenland or in glaciers,when that enters the ocean,it very directly increases the sea level.This
impacts coastal populations. There has already been forced emigration even in the United States
from it in the islands off the coast of Louisiana. One (1) country, Kiribati, is looking for land to
buy because their island is going to be completely flooded soon. It is a very pressing reality for
them.
She went on,Now, I will talk about a climate change effect that is a little closer to us. A couple of
weeks ago, we all had the pleasure of experiencing the polar vortex. It is named the polar vortex
for a reason, it should stay there. What keeps it there is the jet stream. The jet stream is strong
when the difference between the polar temperature and the temperatures closer to the equator is
large. When that is a smaller difference, as you can see in the graphic, the jet stream weakens, and
it becomes a wavy one (1) which allows cold air go south from us and warm air to go up. When
we were experiencing the polar vortex, Alaska was actually warmer than us and having not a bad
day. So, that is one (1) very real scenario that has already happened in South Bend.
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She continued, Going into the health effects of this and building on the polar vortex, number one
(1) is that extreme weather events and temperatures can have drastic impact on human health.
Fifteen(15)homeless people froze to death in Chicago during the polar vortex. In general, elderly,
young and people with chronic diseases are sensitive to extreme temperatures, both hot and cold.
There are many studies that show that extreme temperatures increase hospital visits as well as the
mortality of these groups. Additionally,more extreme storms will occur with more frequency and
higher intensity which increases mortality as well as susceptibility to damages. Secondly, disease
spread is another main health effect that will be happening with climate change. Mosquitoes carry
diseases such as malaria, dengue fever and zika. These mosquitoes have already been bringing
these diseases to new areas and their habitat will continue to expand with climate change as they
thrive in high temperatures and humid weather. This poses one (1) of the greatest global health
risks.The WHO has even named it as the global health risk.As these diseases have severe physical,
economic and other consequences. Lastly, pollutants also have great effects on health. They are
also largely responsible for an increase in disease risk. Here is a photo of Beijing, China. One (1)
day it is clear, and, on another day, it is choked with smog. One (1) way pollutants cause disease
is through increasing the likeliness of cancers and respiratory illnesses. Another way is through
pollutants in water sources which can be responsible for disease transmissions such as cholera.
Lastly, another pollutant is microplastics. There have been many studies on how microplastics,
which are plastics so small even normal filters can't stop them getting into water sources, have
been building up in organism's stomachs and are in a lot of what we consume today.
Joshua Crudup, 17727 Tanager Lane, stated, I would like my main man Dwight to help me present
here. He is going to help me debunk the myths and misunderstandings. The first(1St)is that climate
change is nothing new and it is a part of our natural cycle. Now yes, climate change is a part of
our natural cycle. However, if you look at this graphic (referencing a slide in the presentation),
from 1950 to right now, the carbon emitted into the atmosphere has increased exponentially and,
really,dangerously. It's horrible. If you look at the parts per million,it has gone from three hundred
(300)to four hundred(400). That is not a myth.That is something we have facts and hard evidence
on. The next myth is that climate change is scientifically still up for debate.
Dwight Milligan, 227 South Frances, stated, These companies (referencing a slide in the
presentation) show that climate change is real and is not fake, like other people think.
Mr. Crudup stated, These are scientifically backed institutions that have said climate change is
affecting the Earth and environment and we have to do something to change it. This is not a myth.
This is not something we have to blow off. This is something we have to face head-on. It is not up
for debate. It is something we see in our everyday life. In South Bend, even, you can see the
fluctuations in the climate. It was negative fifty (50) degrees and the next week it's fifty (50)
degrees. It is not up for debate. It is something that happens, and we need change. The next myth
is that cold weather streaks are proof that climate change can't be real. Like this graphic says, if
we are sinking, why are we hundreds of feet up in the air? Our climate is a very complex system.
As Jackie said, we have things such as the polar vortex where if there is low pressure, it expands.
Now yes, we still have seasons, but it is so complex that you can't really just say that just because
it's warm one (1) day that climate change is not real. If you went to school, you would learn that
climate is over a many number of years and it is not just the day or the temperature. So,yes,climate
change is real, and we are trying to put in regulations to improve things and stop the climate from
changing so drastically. Some say climate change may be real,but there is no proof it is caused by
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humans. There is a lot of proof. There is so much proof. As you look at this graphic, it points that
out.Naturally, yes, you have the temperature changes and carbon is already in the atmosphere,but
when we have things such as cars and factories that pump carbon into the atmosphere, it makes
the greenhouse effect, when the rays hit off the Earth and try to escape back into space, when we
have more carbon in the atmosphere, it traps the heat that comes from the rays and makes the
atmosphere more warm. Now, if you look at this graphic, it shows that we are really the ones who
are really changing the climate. We have to be the ones to change because we are the ones who
are doing this harm to our Earth.
Caleb Novik, 1148 Ridgedale Road, stated, I am in fourth (4th)grade. Some people may think that
climate change won't affect us. But just because Indiana isn't near a sea or isn't hot, doesn't mean
that climate change won't affect us. It is going to cause polar vortexes making weather go to the
extreme. Also, it will cause giant floods. We had two (2) five hundred (500) year floods and one
(1) 1,000-year flood in just the past four (4) years. Climate change also causes heat waves. For
example, we just had a two (2) day heat wave in 2017. So, climate change affects all of us. It is a
global issue and we need to change. The carbon dioxide isn't just going to go away over time. It
is going to keep piling up. That is why we need to act, and we need to act now because climate
change isn't going to make itself better unless we make it better.
Analise McKenna, 410 Peashway Street, stated, I am a fifth (5th) grader at Good Sheppard
Montessori School. Too expensive. That is a common excuse not to do a lot about climate change.
But, in fact, there are many cost convenient ways to help. One (1) is composting. An easy and
cheap way to compost is by creating a worm bin. A worm bin, I will warn you, can take some
work. All you need to have a successful worm bin is ripped up old newspaper, worms and a spray
bottle to keep them seventy-five percent (75%) moist which means not dripping but kind of wet.
When you have compost, cut it up and put it in the bins with the other things and the worms will
compost it. Worm bins aren't the only thing I'm going to talk about. Another cheap way to help
climate change is to plant trees. This costs about two dollars ($2) per pack of seeds. Planting a lot
of trees can be little expensive but think about the big picture. Think about how much carbon those
trees will suck in. Think about how much of that carbon would be replaced with oxygen. Good,
clean, oxygen. My point is, expense should not be an excuse not to help stop climate change
because that is not fair. There are a lot of cheap ways to help stop climate change. So, help our
planet. Help us combat climate change.
Michael Dunham, 52473 Swanson Drive, stated, I am sixteen (16) years old and I'm a junior at
John Adams High School.The first(Pt)thing we have to understand is the we have already emitted
a lot of carbon into the atmosphere and this will cause the planet to warm for a considerable amount
of time. But, this should really not detract from our willingness to combat climate change and, if
anything, it should cause us to act faster. According to the International Institute for Applied
Analysis,which is a global non-profit organization,through sustainable solutions,we can limit the
global increase in temperature to around three (3) degrees Fahrenheit. But, if we don't take any
action and let this stay the way it has been, making it the way it will be, the temperature could
increase by eleven(11) degrees Fahrenheit. Scientists from the University of California, Berkeley
have called even an eight (8) degree increase in Fahrenheit temperature unfathomable. They say
that storms would occur with ten(10)times more frequency,many major cities will go under water
and food production would decrease by a sizable amount.This is for an every-growing population.
Therefore, we need to do all we can to curb the effects of climate change while we still have the
chance.
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He continued, The graph up here (referencing a slide in the presentation) comes from the
International Energy Agency. It illustrates that if we enact sustainable development, by 2040, our
energy-related CO2 emissions would be one third (1/3) of what they would be, and our energy
demand would be around half of what it would be. This is compared to if we continue enacting
current policy. As the data demonstrates, we've already committed a lot of damage. We can still
successfully fight climate change but the only way we can do it is if we start fighting together.
Mr. Verbrugge stated, We know we threw a lot of information at you today and because we have
a meeting next week, we have a list of resources and reading that we would like to provide for the
record (available in the City Clerk's Office).
Alan Hamlet, 1102 North Lafayette Boulevard,stated,My role this evening is to give you a concise
overview of the Indiana Climate Change Impacts Assessment. The Indiana Climate Change
Impacts Assessment was carried out under the auspices of the Purdue Climate Change Research
Center. I'll introduce a couple of my co-authors.Michael Baldwin at Purdue and I lead the Climate
Working Group for the Indiana Climate Change Impact Assessment. Kyuhyun Byun is my PhD
student at the University of Notre Dame. Scott Robeson at Indiana University is an expert in
climate and Melissa Widhalm is an outreach specialist who works for the Purdue Climate Change
Research Center. These(referencing a slide in a presentation which is available in the City Clerk's
Office) are a few resources in case people want to follow up on it. So, there is a nice website and
there are a number of easy-to-read reports for the general public on the Purdue Climate Change
Resource Center's website. There is a journal article that is, again, not too difficult and not too
technical to read for the general public.
He continued, I think the students have done a great job of giving an overview of how things have
been changing and how they have been projected to change. So, we have a lot of information
already about how climate has changed and some projections going forward. Now, as we think
about how the climate is going to change in the future, we become very dependent upon computer
models because, of course, we don't have observations for the future. So, global climate models
are sophisticated computer models that simulate the complex interaction between the oceans, the
land and the atmosphere. The experiments we are going to show today relate to changing the
greenhouse gas concentrations according to several scenarios. So,a high greenhouse gas emissions
scenario is called Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) eight-point five (8.5). That will
be the high end that we will show. Then a more moderate scenario is the RCP four-point five(4.5).
He went on, So, in simple terms, RCP eight-point five (8.5) assumes that we continue to do what
we have been doing.We have a very fossil-intensive economy that is based on the burning of fossil
fuels and other sources. RCP four-point five (4.5) is if we take very significant action right away
to bring things down by the end of the twenty-first (21') century. So, these scenarios are fed into
the global climate models,the sophisticated computer models, and they simulate what will happen
to the Earth's climate,over land,the ocean and so forth. So,what we are doing is we are extracting
the data specifically over Indiana, a relatively small area. So, this (referencing a slide in the
presentation) is the summary of what the global climate models say will happen to Indiana. This
is a graph of what thirty-one (31) different global climate models say. So, there is a range of
impacts. You can see these ranges. The upper-bound is the ninety-seventh (97th) percentile. The
two-point fifth (2.5th) is the lower-bound and then there is a white line here that is the average of
all of the thirty-one (31). This is for the RCP eight-point five (8.5), the red line, and the more
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moderate scenario, RCP four-point five (4.5), is the blue line. There are a couple things I would
like to point out here.
He continued, First(1St) off, there is a big difference between RCP eight-point five(8.5) and four-
point five (4.5). What people do in the twenty-first (21St) century plays a very significant role in
how warm the climate gets in Indiana. So, it is very important what we do in terms of mitigating
or correcting the situation of too much greenhouse gas in the environment. At the same time, if we
look out just a few decades, for example looking out to about the 2040s, there is relatively little
difference between the very aggressive emissions scenario based on business as usual and the
strong mitigation scenario.This suggests that we very likely have brought already a certain amount
of warming and there is relatively little we can do in the context of a few decades. So, we need to
be prepared for significant warming, even if we successfully mitigate and create a better future for
our children.
He went on, The other thing I want to point out is that these changes are extremely large. So, even
for the ensemble mean, the mean of the thirty-one (31) realizations we have here, these models
suggest that we will see more than ten(10) degree Fahrenheit warming. And the high end of these
scenarios, again, the ninety-seventh (97th) percentile of all of that ensemble, shows nearly fifteen
(15) degrees Fahrenheit warming. Those are average conditions. Those are not the extremes. If
this happens, we will suffer severe impacts in Indiana, as a nation and as a globe. Lastly, these are
the actual observations of temperate. You'll notice in the Dust Bowl years, the 1930s and 1940s,
it was very warm, warmer than what the climate models say. They don't simulate, directly, the
Dust Bowl years. But, in general, the climate models do a pretty good job of reproducing the
climate that we had seen in the past. There is a pronounced seasonal cycle to these impacts, as
well. I won't talk about these too much but if you look at the pattern for the 2080s, the greatest
warming is in the summer month and this pattern just, essentially, intensifies through time from
the 2020s, the 2050s and into the 2080s. This is the seasonal cycle on the x-axis from January to
December.
He continued, Now, we could do the same analysis for precipitation that we have done for
temperature. What we see here is a more complicated pattern. We have very strong increases of
twenty-five to thirty percent (25% - 30%) in the winter and spring. Essentially, all of the climate
models give us the same answer. Indiana will be a wetter place during those seasons but in the
summertime, we have a mix. Some models say it will be wetter and some say it will be dryer.
Overall, on average, it will be a somewhat dryer climate. A better way to think about it is we will
see warmer and drier as well as warmer and wetter summers at different times in the future. We
should expect variability to be a dominant factor there as opposed to the winter and spring where
all the climate models are showing us that things are becoming wetter.
He went on, So, we have different levels of certainty about different kinds of impacts. How will
this affect Indiana in terms of impacts? I think, judging from the temperature projections I've
already shown you, you can imagine that extreme heat may become a very significant issue. In
fact,this is the case. In all of these slides I will be showing you,it will be three(3)areas of Indiana.
St. Joseph County, Vanderburgh County and Marion County. So, we have southern Indiana, the
middle part of the State and the northern part of the State. So, let's take the worst-case scenario
first (1St). If we look at places in Vanderburgh County, historically, they have about ten (10) days
per year that are above ninety-five (95) degrees Fahrenheit for the daytime high. If we go to the
RCP eight-point five(8.5), the worst-case scenario to the 2080s, we see almost one hundred(100)
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days per year that are above ninety-five(95)degrees Fahrenheit.That is all of the summer and part
of the spring and fall. Again, those are the averages, not the extreme years. If this occurs, it will
be an unrecognizable climate. This is be accompanied by a, very likely, high humidity condition
as well.
He continued,Now, for South Bend,it is not as bad. It is a bit cooler up here. Historically,we have
about three (3) days per year that are above ninety-five (95) degrees. Again, going to the worst
case, by the 2080s we see almost sixty (60) days per year, on average. So, extreme heat is very
likely to play an important role which, as the students have already pointed out, results in human
health impacts especially in cities related to heat, humidity and air quality especially in older
people or people with existing health problems. Outdoor recreation may be impacted in the
summer months. It may be very difficult for people to do things that they have traditionally done
such as going for a run in the evening. It may be a life-threatening event if you have health issues.
There will be an impact on agricultural,terrestrial and aquic ecosystems. Forests, fish and wildlife
will experience dramatically different conditions. For example, I have doubts about whether
Midwest forests will look anything like they do now if we have something like those fifteen (15)
degrees of warming. A fire may be become part of the natural ecosystem in those kinds of
conditions. As I will show you later, energy supply and demand are also quite sensitive to
temperature.
He went on, Not too surprisingly, if we have a warming climate, frost days would change. Just
looking at South Bend, historically, we have about one hundred a twenty-seven (127) days per
year that the minimum temperatures are below thirty-two (32) degrees. As we go forward, in the
worst case,we have seventy-one(71)days. So,we have a pretty significant reduction in frost days.
We also have a longer frost-freeze season as a result of this. So, this (referencing a slide in the
presentation)shows the historical averages from 1915 to 2013. Between the last freeze in the spring
to the first(1St) freeze in the fall, on average, we have about one hundred and eighty(180) days. If
we go forward now to the 2050s, for the ensemble mean, we have about two hundred and twelve
(212) days. This is a longer growing season and this has a number of impacts. Plant hardiness
zones will change. Again, looking at St. Joseph County, and it's similar throughout the State, we
go from five-B (5B) to six-B (6B), so one (1) full zone. These plant hardiness zones are based on
the average minimum temperatures in the winter time. So, if we look at southern Indiana, for
example,we see historically that is about six-B (6B). So, you can think of this as northern Indiana
is becoming a lot like southern Indiana in terms of plant hardiness.
He continued, This has many different impact pathways, certainly for agriculture. We may see
sensitive crops like corn,which does not like very high temperatures,become increasingly difficult
to grow in southern Indiana. But we may see opportunities throughout the State, perhaps, to have
multiple crops because of a longer growing season. So, there are positives and negatives.
Recreational gardening, those who like plants sensitive to cold temperatures may be able to grow
them here. That is a good sign. We expect, once again, impacts to fish and wildlife. So, for
migratory birds, the timing of their migration may not coincide with food supplies in the
environment because plants are not necessarily triggered by temperature. They could be triggered
by light or other factors. We may see increased exposure to pests and diseases such as mosquitoes
and ticks, as you saw already in the student's presentation. We also expect to see plant and animal
invasive species doing better in this extreme climate than the native plants that currently live in
Indiana.
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He went on, When I went for a walk with my family on January 5th at Potato Creek State Park, we
were very surprised. When we got back to the car, we had a lot of ticks on our dog. This was a
relatively warm day, it was about fifty (50) degrees Fahrenheit. But, there had been freezing
temperatures prior to that time. So, these (referencing a slide in the presentation) are deer ticks.
They are a small tick that carry Lyme Disease in some cases. They actually have an anti-freeze
component to their life cycle. So, a short period of freezing temperatures or even longer will not
kill them. And when the warm temperatures come on a particular day, they become almost
immediately active. So,this suggests that there may be recreational opportunities for people in the
winter time because it's warmer but there are also hazards that will emerge at this time.These ticks
could be a serious health threat if they carry Lyme Disease.
He continued, We also see changes in precipitation, as I've shown you already. So, if you would
remember, we have increasing winter precipitation and increasing spring precipitation, but it is
warmer, so the phase of this precipitation will be different. We have the rain versus snow aspect
of this. So, this metric we compare the percent precipitation falling as snow. So, we look at all of
the precipitation that falls from November to March and we look at what fraction of that is falling
as snow. So again,looking at just St.Joseph County, about forty percent(40%)of the precipitation
that comes in the winter time falls as snow, historically. Again, if we go out all the way to the
2080s and look at the RCP eight-point five (8.5), the worst-case scenario, we see about sixteen
(16) days. We still have a snow occurring in South Bend, so winter will not go all the way away
and we will still have snow, but we will have significantly less in those months. This has some
very significant impacts and I think we have had some recent experience with things I will show
you in just a moment. Winter flooding and stormwater impacts is one (1) impact pathway that
absolutely is affected by this. Water may be positively affected in that we may have greater
recharge coming in the winter months. So, we are going to have a lot of events where we have
snow and then rapid melting. Thinking back to this winter, actually this is very much an analog
for how climate change might look. We have snow, but it doesn't last very long. So, higher soil
moisture in winter and spring is very likely to be there because instead of that snow being stored
on the surface, we have melting that increases the soil moisture. That creates precursors for these
large flooding events.We also expect to see erosion in transported nutrients from farm lands.These
fallow fields are no longer covered with snow and the snow armors the landscape and stops those
nutrients from being washed into the rivers. So, if we have intense rain storms in the winter time,
which we expect, maybe even thunderstorms in the winter time, then we expect to see a lot more
nutrients washed into the rivers which ultimately effects the Great Lakes and many other water
bodies down-stream.
He went on, So these are just a few pictures. This is the aftermath of record-breaking rain fall that
occurred in August 2016. This is my son and a neighbor canoeing on our park. We had about eight
(8)inches of rain that occurred in twenty-four(24)hours. That is about a 1,000-year rainfall event.
Then, we had record-breaking flooding of the St. Joseph River in South Bend in February 2018.
According to the calculations that my graduate students and I did, this was a 2,5000-year flood.
This was caused by an intense rain on snow. So, we had a lot of snow on the ground that rapidly
melted, sort of priming the pump if you will, then we had over five (5) inches of rain over three
(3) days which created this perfect storm of flooding. My neighbor was severely impacted. This
(referencing a picture in the presentation) is my basement with 8,000 gallons of water in it. That
is about knee-deep. So, the sewers were blocked up and there is a floor drain but it's trying to
prevent the sewage from coming into the house. So, nothing could get out and the ground water
was coming in from the sides and not having anywhere to go.There were many finished basements,
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fortunately mine is not finished, but this is another impact pathway for South Bend is basement
flooding. If we look at future projections, then, for the St. Joseph River, this again shows us that
these patterns of increasing risk are likely to continue. By the 2080s, again, for the RCP eight-
point five(8.5) scenario, the ensemble mean shows a forty-five percent(45%) increase in the one
hundred (100) year event for the St. Joseph River. This suggests that these events that were once
the 2,500-year event are now much more frequent.
He continued, Snow Days are likely to decline. So, we track the number of days above two (2)
inches and this has some important implications. Reduced effort in cost associated with snow
removal, so again, some good news there. Probably fewer school closures due to snow impact,
fewer transportation impacts but there may also be loss of winter recreation activities. In particular,
downhill skiing seems to be in high jeopardy. To close, heating demand we expect, not
surprisingly,to go down in the winter time with warmer temperature. We see in St. Joseph County
and throughout the State, perhaps, a thirty percent (30%) reduction in heating degree days which
is a measure of how much energy is lost from structures due to temperatures being colder than
sixty-eight (68) degrees Fahrenheit. Whereas cooling demand goes up quite substantially,
multiplied by a factor of four(4).Together,though,these result in lower energy use by most people
in Indiana.
He went on,These are some of the impact pathways there. We may have problems with increased
electrical demand in summer. For example,needing more capacity and grid reliability to be found.
As I mentioned, about a five percent (5%) reduction in annual energy cost for consumers and
businesses related to the fact we have thirty percent(30%)lower in the winter,which is our largest
cost,but strong increases in summer. I won't go through all these conclusions which I think I have
covered. I thank you very much for your attention.
Co-Committee Chair Broden stated, Thank you very much. Just a note, all of these PowerPoints
will be available for the public (available in the City Clerk's Office). She then called a five (5)
minute recess at 6:40 p.m.
The Joint Health and Public Safety and Utilities Committee reconvened at 6:45 p.m.
Therese Dorau, Director of the Office of Sustainability for the City of South Bend with offices
located on the 13th floor of the County-City Building, stated, I want to, now that we have been
introduced to the basics of climate science and the expected impacts here in South Bend, I wanted
to share a little bit about where these greenhouse gases are coming from(referencing a presentation
which is available in the City Clerks' Office) here in South Bend, specifically, and how we know
that. Some of this is a little technical so I might gloss over some parts, but we can come back to
those in a further conversation,just to make up some of our time.
She continued, So, a greenhouse gas inventory is basically an accounting exercise that measures
the activities that cause emissions and then estimates the quantity of greenhouse gases from each
of those activities. Like all accounting exercises, this provides municipal insight into how an
organization is functioning. Also, like accounting exercises, it has a thick rule book, right and
wrong,high quality and low-quality approaches. So, the value of a greenhouse gas inventory, and
I'm really focusing on the value from a decision-making perspective, is that is creates a baseline
that allows us to track changes and trends in emissions over time. It also helps us better understand
the sources of greenhouse gases and the impacts, locally, and then identify the best emissions
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reducing opportunities that we have, which could be a specific source of emissions, a specific
sector of our community or a particular fuel type. So, it truly helps us narrow in on where the best
impacts are. There are some ways a greenhouse gas inventory is not particularly valuable, and I
want to make sure you are aware of those so that you don't have unreasonable expectations of
what we can do with this information. It is not great for comparing between cities. Cities are in
different climate zones, and have different industrial and infrastructural capacities in their
communities that affect emissions. So, for example, we don't have a landfill within the City of
South Bend. We don't have the level of heavy industry that another community in the region might
have. So,it is difficult to compare apples to apples between communities. It is better used internally
as a benchmark. I also want to make sure we understand that emissions are estimated from the
activities. So,you really aren't going to be able to know exactly what the emissions will be because
the climate is such a complex system. We won't be able to pinpoint specific results of actions. It
is a complex system and we can follow the trends, but emissions estimates are just estimates.
She went on,I want to talk a little bit about the scale of measurement.There are two(2)approaches
that are commonly used. One (1) is more of a bottom-up which estimates emissions from our
known activities, like those that we track with our organization's business management systems.
How many therms were on our gas bills last year? How many miles did each City vehicle travel?
The operational inventory is really only a subset of emissions overall. You would have to add up
the City of South Bend, Beacon Health, Lippert and each resident and business in town, their
inventories,if we really wanted to add it into the inventory. It is just not feasible to get that number.
So, the top-down procedure estimates emissions from activity in the community relies on partners
who provide data. Sometimes it's data and sometimes it's estimates. Sometimes it is based on
models. So, it is more of an estimate than what you can do for your internal inventory. We
completed our operational inventory in 2016 for 2015 data. And you completed our community-
scale inventory this past summer for 2017 data. So, we have taken a crack at both of these and
have some initial numbers to share.
She continued, I want to give a little bit of background on scopes of gases focusing on where we
can make the most impact because a scope really does indicate the amount of control and influence
an organization has over their emissions. So,scope one(1)is direct emissions.Those are emissions
sources that are owned or controlled by the City which include vehicles and fuel burning
equipment in our facilities. Scope two (2) is called indirect emissions because that is electricity
generation. We control how much electricity we use but we do not control how that electricity is
generated in most cases. We do have a couple small solar installations,but primarily,we don't tell
I&M how to run their power plant. Then, scope three (3) are things that are really difficult things
for the City to control because we don't have ownership or control over it. Scope three (3) is
usually, actually, someone else's scope one (1). So, a lot of times, an inventory does not try to
capture it because someone else may already be capturing it. For example,you can see(referencing
the presentation)that one (1)of the scope three(3) uses is employee and business travel. If you're
flying with American, those would be the City's scope three (3) emissions because our employee
is flying on American,but that would be American Airline's scope one(1)emissions because they
are the ones burning the jet fuel.
She went on, So, we really want to focus on scope one (1) and scope two (2) and that is what we
have done both in the operational inventory and the community inventory. I want to talk also a
little bit about which gases are included, just so that you know that there is some stuff that we
don't really talk about in the framework of community inventories. So, these three (3) gases are
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the ones. There are six (6) main greenhouse gases and the City reports carbon dioxide, methane
and nitrous oxide. Those are most applicable to municipalities. The other three (3) gases result
from very specific industrial processes which we, as a City, don't own or control and, for the most
part, don't have in our community. Some gases do have stronger warming effects than carbon
dioxide and that is one(1) thing I think is important to understand. So, for example, nitrous oxide
has a warming potential three hundred (300) times greater than carbon dioxide. So, for every
molecule of nitrous oxide in the air, it can cause three hundred (300) times more warming than a
molecule of carbon dioxide. Emissions of each gas are converted to carbon dioxide equivalents so
that they can be accounted for in the same way. So, that would be like converting multiple
country's currencies into US dollars, so you can better compare and have a dialogue about it. So,
we are just focusing on those three(3) gases.
She continued, So, our operational emissions, we understand the basics of greenhouse gas
inventories, so how is the City of South Bend contributing to emissions with our day-to-day
operations. I'll share with you the results of our 2016 operational inventory. The four (4) primary
sources of greenhouse gases that we identified are stationary combustion of natural gas, which
includes any gas used in buildings such as space heating and water heating. For example, Venues,
Parks & Arts just installed these new boilers at the Martin Luther King Center. The second (2n1)
one(1)is consumption of electricity that can be in buildings and also by our water and waste water
infrastructure, street lights and traffic signals. Mobile combustion by City vehicles ranging from
passenger cars all the way to heavy-duty vehicles. Lastly, the treatment of waste water because
chemical and biological waste water treatment, those processes directly contribute emissions. So,
they are creating some of those other gases aside from carbon dioxide.
She went on, So, our total emissions by source is shown in this pie chart(referencing a slide in the
presentation). Electricity was the greatest. About two thirds (2/3) of our emissions come from our
electricity use and second(2nd)is mobile combustion from the vehicles that we own. You can also
look at it not only by source but also by scope if you want to get a feel of that controllability factor.
So, scope one(1) considers stationary,natural gas in buildings,mobile and waste water treatment.
Then scope two (2) is solely electricity. So, I think it hard to talk about how much a metric ton of
carbon dioxide is. Is it tall, short,big,how much does it weigh? It weighs a ton but what does that
even mean, it's air. So, I think it is helpful to use equivalencies that relate it in terms that we can
understand. The EPA has an excellent greenhouse gas equivalency calculator which allows you to
put energy information or emissions information in and get out something that is a little more
meaningful. So, we look at our City operational emissions in terms of cars driven for one(1) year
on the road. You can see that our scope one (1) emissions for fuels that we use, as a City, equates
to about 3,600 extra cars driving around on the road for a year. Then, the electricity we use, in
emissions terms, accounts for another 5,300 on the road. That is in addition to the actual cars that
we actually drive on the road.
She continued, It is also helpful to break down emissions by department, again, because we are
looking for how we can make an impact. So, I want to point out our top three (3) winners of the
emissions challenge. Utilities is about twenty-five percent (25%). Public Works and Engineering
is at about sixteen percent (16%) and that is weird, but I'll explain why. And then the Police
Department is at about ten percent (10%). You'll notice that most of the administrative functions
have very low contributions to our overall footprint because we are paper-pushing bureaucrats and
we don't drive a lot or go out to fires and take care of things like that. So, most of the other
departments have between five and ten percent (5% - 10%). I want to point out what we thought
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were the primary sources in those top three (3)user departments of the greenhouse gas emissions.
So, for Utilities, it is not a surprise they have a large electricity need. We have pumps that are
getting fresh water out of wells, conveying water and sewage all over town to the treatment plant,
and then the actual treatment process for both water and waste water. So, it is a very energy
intensive situation and the utility industry is really hopeful to try and address the energy water
nexus. In Engineering, street lights actually contribute to ninety-seven percent (97%) of this
footprint. It is surprising,but the reason is because the electricity accounts for the street lights were
financially assigned to the Engineering Department and street lighting is one (1) of our most
significant users of electricity in our organization as a whole. So, street lights alone create more
emissions than any other department except Utilities.Then,the rest of engineering's footprint falls
in line with the other administrative offices. So,that was just an accounting label that we had been
using and that is why it ended up in here. Then the Police Department is the third(3rd)most emitter
in the City and about two thirds (2/3) of that was from their vehicle footprint but the rest of it
would be from their building. All of these have multiple sources, but these are just the top three
(3) that we recognized.
Co-Committee Chair Broden interjected,Public Works and Solid Waste is a near fourth(0),could
you distinguish that from your utilities? Or, you could do that later if you would like.
Ms. Dorau replied, That would be ninety-five percent (95%) fuel from Refuse Trucks and they
have a pretty small facility.
She went on, So, South Bend's Community emissions then, so, operational inventories are a good
place to start and I'm glad we got to practice that a little bit to start thinking about greenhouse gas
accounting. To really truly be able to tackle climate change, it is not enough to just focus on us but
the whole community. Greenhouse gas accounting, as a field, has actually been trending in this
direction over the past five (5) years. So, operational inventories are still important, but they are
not the end-all be-all that they once were. Most communities are being asked to raise the bar and
really try to create a community inventory. When we decided to participate in the global covenant,
we were required to complete a community-scale greenhouse gas inventory. So, the global
covenant really considers it a building block for any other actions or programs the government
might be interested in.
She continued,We joined ICLEI which is a collaboration of local governments worldwide because
that provided training and support for climate and environmental action. Specifically, they offer a
ClearPath software that makes it a little more straightforward with someone who has the staff of
one (1) person to complete a greenhouse gas inventory. So, we are really excited to have them as
a resource and we joined a training cohort to facilitate that process. I talked about the rulebook a
little bit. The global protocol for community scale greenhouse gas emissions inventory, we like to
call it the GPC,basically provides the rules. I will not read it to you just as I wouldn't read to you
from the tax code but I just want you to know that protocol is built into the ClearPath software and
it ensures that although you wouldn't compare our inventory to San Antonio's apples to apples,
you can trust they were performed in the same way and they include the same sources while
considering those sources in a similar way. It really makes sure we have a quality and repeatable
inventory. And then transparency is a big part of being part of the global covenant as well. The
results of our inventory will be reported to the Carbon Disclosure Project along with all the other
cities that are a part of the global covenant which has about 4,000 cities now. It is big, and it is
global.
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She went on, So, drawing your boundaries and scopes as a community is a little bit different
because we don't have access to the data in the same way we would if it was our organization. It
is important to set your boundaries and scopes so you're not counting someone else's emissions
and you are being accurate on what you can and cannot control. So,the global protocol sort of lays
out where your sources could be in a community setting and whether they are scope one(1),direct,
scope two(2),electricity related,and then scope three(3),things outside of your control.For South
Bend, specifically, this was a good way to identify who our data partners were going to be. It is
important to think back to the value of an inventory because the why is very important on how you
pick your boundaries and scopes. So,what are the sources of the emissions that are relevant to our
community? Which activities do we think we can influence?
She continued, We wanted partnering data from NIPSCO, the Airport, South Shore, and Indiana
Michigan Power.We did calculate landfill even though we don't have any landfills in South Bend.
We tried to include a lot of these things to challenge ourselves in understanding where the data
comes from. All that partner data and all the data the City has is all entered into ClearPath where
those up to date protocols and factors from the rule book are then applied automatically. Here are
the results of the community inventory(referencing a slide in the presentation). It gives us an idea
of the sectors where reduction can make a big impact. You'll see that transportation is the biggest
sector at thirty-one (31%) percent and that is from passenger vehicles all the way up to truck,
freight and also includes planes and trains. That is the biggest source. That is a challenging area to
reduce but it is good to know where we need to be tackling. Commercial,industrial and residential
energy use are all about one fifth (1/5) and this includes both natural gas and electricity and any
other energy they might use. So, they are all about twenty percent (20%) in those three sectors of
our community. For example, Solid Waste is really low because we don't have any landfills within
City limits. Our water and waste water treatment are also very low because our treatment plant,
the processes they use are pretty efficient. Smaller communities tend to create more greenhouse
gases because they use less advanced treatment technologies.
She went on, What this means in total is the slices of that pie add up to 1.3 million metric tons of
carbon dioxide equivalencies. Of which, the City operation is about three percent (3%). So, other
businesses,if they did their inventory,it would be a much smaller fraction of South Bend's overall,
but because we have the honor of offering trash collection, waste water treatment and all the
services we do provide,ours is a little bit bigger than if you went over to 1' Source and asked them
to do a footprint. To put that into perspective a little bit more,that is about 7,000 rail cars worth of
coal, which, if those are unit trains, that is seventy (70) trains long worth of coal just for South
Bend. Or, 3 million barrels of oil. So, we've discussed the causes and impacts of climate change
in South Bend with these three (3) presentations, I hope everyone is proud of the work they did
because I am extraordinarily impressed with your passion, preparation and patience. It was a lot
of information, not all of it was positive but I hope it was empowering because now that we have
this information, when we reconvene next week, we can really focus on solutions. Thank you.
Co-Committee Chair Teshka stated, In the interest of time, we have decided to forego Committee
and Council Member Q&A and open the floor to comment from members of the public.
Mae Sollmann, 1626 South Wood Avenue, stated, I•'m in fifth (5th) grade at Good Sheppard
Montessori School. I've lived in South Bend since I was four (4) years old and one (1) of my
favorite things to do was to play outside. It still is to this day. But,because of climate change, our
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future generations may not be able to safely enjoy the wonders of nature outside. We need to start
taking action now. Climate change is happening everywhere. Just think of the flooding that has
happened here in South Bend recently. That is not ok. Also, climate change may even be hurting
newborn baby's lungs. We need to change the way we are treating our plant because without it,
where would we stay? What would our lives be like? Most importantly, how would that affect all
the life on earth? So, please. A great way to start is by making the right decision today. We need
to save our planet. Thank you.
Rose Kelly, 301 Peashway Street, stated, I'm in fifth (5th) grade at Good Sheppard Montessori
School.
Rebecca Anatolios, 1604 E. Jefferson Boulevard, stated, I am in fourth (4th) grade at Good
Sheppard Montessori School.
Ms. Kelly stated, I have always loved waking up to a winter wonderland outside my window.
Ms. Anatolios stated, Nature is our world. This threat has been very hard on it.
Ms. Kelly stated, My teacher loves snow. I'm going to tell you a story about my teacher when she
was a baby. Her mom was returning from a friend's house and it was very snowy and icy. Her
mom slipped and threw my teacher into a snow pile, who was currently asleep. My teacher didn't
wake up from her nap. From then on, she has loved snow. But soon, we are not sure if there is
going to be any more snow.
Ms. Anatolios stated, This is why I really hope you can help stop climate change. It means a lot to
both of us. Today, we are speaking for justice. I am really glad to be here. I hope that you will pass
this ordinance and save our beautiful and treasured Earth.
Ms. Kelly stated, Thank you.
Sarah Anatolios, 1604 E. Jefferson Boulevard, stated, At first (1St), the facts don't add up. How
could the same phenomenon cause a polar vortex and huge wildfires? Is it even scientifically
possible to give the same explanation for a hurricane and a drought? Even if there is such a force,
wouldn't it be too powerful to stop? When it comes to climate change, we have a lot of questions
and it seems like we don't have enough answers.Really,though,we just don't have enough people
willing to accept the answers and that has to change. My name is Sarah Anatolios and I am a fifth
(5th) grader at Good Sheppard Montessori School. What matters to me is that I am not an adult in
a world plagued by natural disasters. What matters to me is that government officials realize these
things are happening and do something to stop them. That is the chance you are getting. Climate
change cannot be stopped entirely by one (1) person, but the opportunity you are being given is
not just to involve yourselves, but to involve the whole City. That can do a lot. So, think about it
and think about the lives of all the people who you could affect with this ordinance. ThankY ou.
Grace Kelly, 301 Peashway Street, stated, I am one (1) of many kids who loves nature, the
outdoors, and the change of seasons. My personal favorite is spring. There is something about the
gentle, earthy feeling which hovers in the atmosphere that pulls me outside the moment I get home
from school. I love the feeling of spring. But last year,the spring of 2018, it seemed to me that the
spring weather I love only lasted a week before diving straight into summer. How, don't get me
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CI'T'Y OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK
wrong, summer is great too, but the shortened jump from freezing to hot didn't seem right to me.
I really missed out on spring. New research is showing that with the impacts of climate change,
extreme weather might become the norm. We could jump right from hotter and hotter summers to
the frigged twenty (20) below winters we experienced just a few weeks ago. There wouldn't be
much of an in between. So, please, I encourage you to take action so that kids like myself can
enjoy the spring weather for more than a week. So that winter-loving kids can enjoy the snow
without the worry of getting frostbite after three (3) minutes. So that all kids can grow up in a
world that they love. Thank you.
Julia McKenna, 410 Peashway Street, stated, I'm a senior at John Adams High School and I'm
seventeen (17) years old. According to the Arctic Council, there will be no more arctic ice by the
time I turn fifty (50). According to the World Resources Institute, global flooding could triple
before I turn thirty(30). By the end of the century, NASA predicts that global temperatures could
rise by as much as seven (7) degrees Fahrenheit. This is the world that I live in. A world that is,
by all accounts, destined for avoidable tragedy. A world that will be, and is, plagued by disasters
that harm millions, if not billions, of people. There is no denying that climate change is upon us.
It is too late for speculation and too late to debate climate skeptics. It's been too late for too long.
As you already heard,five(5)years ago when I was in eighth(8th)grade, I started thinking of ways
I could combat climate change. In my wonderfully passionate young perspective, I decided to
begin the process of creating a climate change ordinance for the City of South Bend with the love
and support of a very long list of amazing adults, like Andrew and Mara Garvey, and my many
peer supporters around me. I won't repeat the many details of what you already heard was a very
long and very hard process, but the point is, we're here. We are here because this isn't a political
gamble or a naive eighth (8th) grader's wish. We are here because this is our future. For too long,
we have sidestepped around climate change, too worried about cost, doubts, and for whatever
excuse people have given. But, you owe it to us, to me, to fix this. This is our world, our future,
our everything. If we don't do something about it now, we won't do something about it ever. And
that is not fair. You can't deny us our future. I am more than thrilled to be here with you tonight
and I commend your continued work on this issue. We have come here today to start a chapter in
our commitment to a better world. To a world where children won't have to worry about getting
lung cancer from industrial pollution. Where we won't need to constantly fear catastrophic
disasters that threaten to demolish whole coasts of the United States. Where islanders won't have
to claim refugee status because of rising shorelines. If we don't act now, we push further into a
world ravaged by disease, poverty, environmental racism and by complete and utter disregard for
science and the value of data. Our most vulnerable community members will be disproportionally
affected by extreme weather events and increasing environment degradation. My kids will grow
up in a world on the verge of collapse. I will grow up in a world on the verge of collapse. To me,
this isn't a game, an extracurricular or a resume builder. This is me five (5) years from now. This
is me ten (10) years from now. Thirty(30) years from now. Fifty (50). This is me now and me in
the future. It is up to you to do something about it. Thank you.
Jackie Brebeck, 1855 Vaness Street, stated, I will be entering a public comment for Tyler
Newsome who really wishes he could be here. The City of South Bend and the people in it are
something I hold near to my heart. Over the last few years, Notre Dame,people from the City and
youth have been working together to make an impact with progress towards a climate ordinance.
I firmly believe South Bend can be a difference maker and we have the willingness and the power
to make this work. Being a sustainability minor has opened my eyes to what is happening in our
world and what we can do to help mitigate climate change. This would be a step in the direction.
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Being a student athlete at Notre Dame allowed me to make an impact with our community and
help teach the youth about climate change. This is very important to me because if we can shape
the minds of our youth, then the future is bright for our world. Council action on this issue would
both set an example for our youth in South Bend and inspire them to continue fighting for a
sustainable future. Thus, I am eager to see Council action on climate change. This great City and
everyone in it deserve it. Thank you.
Henry Perillo, 457 Keough, stated, I'm a senior environmental science major at the University of
Notre Dame. I come tonight to support this ordinance but also share a little bit about myself and
my choice to be an environmental science major. The other day, I was fortunate enough to have
an op-ed published in the South Bend Tribune rebutting an argument that had been placed in late
December about the effects of climate change and how they were being exacerbated.
Unfortunately, that is not the case. In fact, it is quite the opposite. The importance of science and
policy cannot be understated or overstated. I just want to echo the comments said tonight about
not really my world I'm worried about but the world of my children and of my friend's children.
Quite frankly, I'm terrified for them. I ask you to take action on this issue and not let this pass by
while we still have the chance. Thank you so much.
Dr. Philip Sakimoto, 219 Coleman-Morse Center, stated, I'm a professor at Notre Dame and I
direct the program in academic excellence and I teach in the minor of sustainability. I have three
(3) things to say to you. First (1St) of all, I want to make it very clear, and on the record, that
everything you've heard today from the young people here, they prepared all of that on their own.
Jackie, Tai, and Julia were the mentors for the younger kids. We adults had absolutely nothing to
do with the preparation of that presentation. Although, I'm sure that Dr. Walls and I would like to
think that just a little bit of what they might have learned in our sustainability class had something
to do with it. Secondly, I want to point out that, and maybe my information is a little bit out of
date, if the City of South Bend passes this climate resolution ordinance that we are talking about,
we will be only the second (2nd) city in the country to do so. Other cities have passed resolutions,
which are of course non-binding, but for an ordinance that has the strength of law, this would be
land-breaking.Number three(3), you know, our City seems to be getting a lot of national attention
lately. We have this Mayor who is out there constantly talking about how the things done with
South Bend is an example of what could be done for the entire Country. Wouldn't it be great, to
within the next month or two(2),hand Mayor Pete a climate recovery ordinance for his signature?
Can you imagine him bringing that to the national stage saying, look, this is what we did in South
Bend. This is what the entire country can do. So, it is a lot more than what happens in our
community. We have the ability here to change the nation and the world. Thank you very much.
Jackie Brebeck, 1855 Vaness Street, stated, This time I am reading my public comment. South
Bend has become a home to me in America. I especially came to love it when I spent a summer
here and really got to explore all that the City has to offer while working at Bowman Creek
Educational Ecosystem. Through the summer internship, the Robinson Center and through just
being here, I've become very invested in this community. The community and the future of the
people living here is important to me and I want to see this issue addressed for them. I also want
to see this issue addressed for my home and for the world. Thus, I will spend most of my time
talking about the island home I grew up in, Taiwan, to bring a different perspective. I began
studying sustainability when I realized that my home is already suffering from the impact of
climate change and it is projected to suffer even more in the future. The weekend I left my home
for college, I saw the ridiculous power of a super typhoon that tipped trains,bent metal mailboxes,
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closed roads and blew over electricity lines with all the trees blown down, as well. The next year,
Taiwan was hit by two (2) super typhoons and one (1) normal typhoon in the span of two (2)
weeks. Super typhoons used to be something one (1)wouldn't see much more than a few times in
a lifetime.Yet now,we are expecting them every single year.These are costly, and lives are always
lost.Taiwan is relatively good at dealing with it but other places in the region suffer more casualties
during these typhoons. Some in the thousands. Earlier I spoke about disease spread. My senior
year of high school, I watched one (1) of my best friend's be threatened by dengue fever. She
caught one(1) of the worst strains and was at risk of organ failure. She was in the hospital for two
(2)weeks and her skin was red for a month after because so many of her blood vessels had popped
while she had the fever. Dengue fever used to only threaten the south of our island, occasionally,
but now it is spread to be a rising threat to even where I live in the north. I am honestly very scared
to see what the future holds for my island. Sea level rise is projected to affect the costal populations.
Our coral reefs are projected to potentially die in the next thirty(30) years. As a scuba diver since
the age of twelve(12), I've been devasted to see the amount of bleaching that has already occurred.
Additionally, Taiwan is the most mountainous island in the world with two thirds (2/3) of the
island consisting of mountains. This means the changes in temperature have already drastically
impacted the country and will continue to affect the agriculture industry that operates within
microclimates on the mountains. I wanted to share the plight of my home to remind everyone that
although this is local action, this is not just about South Bend. The more places that join the
movement to mitigate climate change,the better our chances of reducing impacts projected for the
future and the better our chances of saving the livelihoods of millions of people around the world.
I am saying we need this in South Bend and we need this for the world. Thank you.
Tai Verbrugge, 18370 Dunn Road Apt 2104, stated, You've definitely heard me speak enough
tonight. So, I will not offer my own comment. I did, however, want to note the submission of
twenty-four (24) letters written by elementary school, middle school, high school students, some
college students and some other local citizens of South Bend(available in the City Clerk's Office).
I apologize, I am going to speak more. As Jackie mentioned, we help run an after-school climate
club at the Robinson Center. Some of the students there were not able to make it tonight, so, they
wanted us to relay what they care about and why they think climate change is important. So,
Dwight, who actually spoke today, cares about nature and the north pole. He doesn't want the
arctic to be destroyed. He wants both the north pole and the polar bears to stay. Malachi and Riley
care about animals and they don't want to see them go extinct because of climate change.
McKinley's favorite flowers are roses. Shawnna's is the chrysanthemum. Crystal likes flowers,
too, and they don't want them to die with changing temperatures and seasons. Casey cares about
flooding because it makes people have to move from where they want to live. Sincere feels bad
for polar bears and especially for sharks because they are his favorite animal and their ocean
environment is suffering the most. Yanni's favorite animals are dolphins and she wants to protect
them from warmer oceans, and this is word for word what she said, and from ocean acidification.
Joanne's house flooded twice and she is scared it will happen more because climate change will
make it rain harder. Tania likes chocolate and she is worried there won't be as much of it in the
future because the places where cacao can be grown are already being affected by climate change.
Patrick likes outdoor activities like biking and if it gets too hot or too cold, he is worried he can't
go outside as much. He's also worried about pollution making it harder for him to breathe. Thank
you.
Josh Crudup, 17727 Tanager Lane, stated, I would like to give my speech. So, a wise man once
said with great power comes great responsibility. We, as humans,have had the great responsibility
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and power to be the ones who are at the top of the food chain. The ones who have the intellect to
change for good or for the worse. Or, for the good and for the bad. We, as humans, have been
selfish and have only thought about ourselves. We have neglected the Earth and our home that we
so much take for granted. We wake up every morning and we eat from this Earth. We only survive
with the nutrients that come from the Earth. Recently, we have been doing things such as
deforestation of the Amazon Rain Forest,which are the lungs of our Earth. With that,we are seeing
species go extinct that we've never even discovered in the rain forest. With our lack of care, we
have made these plastics that somehow end up in the ocean and you have things such as the big
pile of plastic in the ocean the size of Texas that is killing species of the ocean. You have birds
eating plastic. You have fish and turtles thinking this plastic is food. You might be sitting there
asking how can we relate this back to South Bend? We, as the people of South Bend, every single
one (1) of us has the responsibility to make sure we keep our Earth and we uphold our Earth. We
are the stewards of this creation and I ask you, Council Members, please, pass this ordinance and
that we might start this momentum in the United States. We might recover the harm that we've
done so that we can do better on the Earth. Thank you.
Co-Committee Chair Broden stated, First (1st) and foremost let me just thank you all. What you
have done tonight for our community and for our Council is provide compelling science and
compelling testimony. Speaking for myself, you are my boss. I am a public servant. You hired me.
So, with this Chair, and in this role, and in this time in my life, I value, so deeply, what you have
said tonight, the individuals in this room and the individuals who have contributed to all that has
come before us tonight. With great power,great ability,and that is a responsibility I will take going
forward.
She went on, So, next steps. Tonight, there was an ordinance request. You've invited us to listen.
Your voices will not go unheard. Your plea will not go unanswered, as far as I can help it. Next
steps will be to have a second(2nd)follow-up meeting to this,hitting some real basics and specifics.
We have a full agenda, another two (2) hours or hour and a half, dedicated to a follow-up to
tonight's meeting scheduled for Wednesday,February 27th, same place,same time,from 5:30 p.m.
to 7:30 p.m. We hope to continue the conversation, continue gathering information but also
continue getting public input. Within this timeframe of this meeting and the following meeting,
we will do our best to fill out the public record as much as possible in terms of the formal minutes,
the documentation that was provided, the PowerPoints, most especially the letters that other
students throughout the community provided. That way, as I said, early on, we all start from kind
of the same starting point. So, those are our plans.
Ms. Dorau stated, Generally speaking, tonight was about making sure that we all had the basis of
information needed to understand the problem and start thinking about solutions and also to hear
from the public and hear why climate change was important to you. That was the goal of tonight.
Next week will be focused on local solutions. We are inviting a couple of speakers to talk about
ways in which we have already started addressing climate change challenges. I will be talking
about what the City has been doing. We will also be talking with MACOG about some of the
transportation and renewable energy work they do. Then, we will have a little bit of a dialogue
about what we would be interested in Council doing and where they think they want to go, and
then have additional public comments. That is really a special time for anyone who is working on
a climate-related or a sustainability-related project and talk about the local solution they are
bringing to the community. They really do want Council to feel there is already a lot of momentum
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410 CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK
around these issues. This was really focused on the problem and next week will be focused on
what are some of the solutions.
Committeemember Karen White stated, I would like to thank the public and especially the young
people. I had the opportunity to visit, along with Councilmember Broden, the Robinson Center
where they made a presentation. It was just so encouraging. All of the young people, you've done
an excellent job clearly sharing your thoughts and wishes for the climate and environment which
we live in. I am very appreciative, and I look forward to the meeting next week.
Committeemember Regina Williams-Preston stated, I want to also say thank you to all. It was a
great presentation and great information. I'm really looking forward to moving toward solutions.
I have to say, unfortunately, I won't be able to attend that entire meeting, either. So many great
things happening. There's a meeting about the same time next week Wednesday,6:00 p.m. to 8:00
p.m. at the Civil Rights Heritage Center with Community Action for Education. We'll be working
with Todd Cummings,the Deputy Superintendent for South Bend Schools to look at where we are
going which is another extremely important conversation. What I would like to offer, request or
ask is seeing the recording of this and that and figure out ways to engage the entire community in
this conversation moving forward. So, thank you again.
• AAA,
Co-Committee Chair Teshka stated, I would just like to echo some of the sentiments, and thank;
especially, the young people. Gosh, if I had half as much drive when I was in middle school and
high school as you guys do,maybe I would be running for President. I don't know. But,thank you.
Thank you for all the hard work that you've put into this. The research, the hours of dedication,
and for bringing it before us tonight. As Councilmember Broden and as Ms. Dorau had mentioned,
this is kind of a starting off point for a broader conversation about what next steps might look like.
I look forward to engaging you guys and the rest of the public in that conversation.
Co-Committee Chair Broden stated, Then last announcement, I promise, I would just like to
recognize Therese Dorau. In terms of her availability, accessibility, her outright smarts on all of
this, we are very blessed in our community. Very few people understand, she is almost entirely
that Office of Sustainability. She really has been carrying a huge workload for many, many years
and has been doing an outstanding job. I think tonight, at least from my standpoint, you have just
batted it out of the ballpark. I am actually going to stand, applaud and recognize you for your great
effort.
She went on,Then, last announcement, from at least the Health and Public Safety Committee side,
the Council had passed a biased crime resolution.As a follow up to that,there are some information
pieces on your way in if anyone is sort of interested in tracking that issue. There was a significant
vote down in our State House and I thought this might be a good opportunity for those gathered,
if you want information about another important issue for our community.
Co-Committee Chair Teshka stated, For Utilities, the next thing we are looking at is an update
from AEP sometime in the next month or so. Then we are also looking to hear back from Public
Works on their progress with the EPA in terms of our CSO issue. Other than that, that is it.
Co-Committee Chair Broden announced, And an invitation, at any point, you can contact your
South Bend Common Council Members. First (1st) initial, last name, at southbendin.gov. So, you
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don't have to think about these four (4) walls as the limitation. Call us, write us, any time. You
can find us on the City's website. Thank you, all.
With no further business, Co-Committee Chair Broden adjourned the Joint Health and Public
Safety and Utilities Committee Meeting at 7:37 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
,. 7:::,,t,..„......„
Broden, Co-Committee Chair
Jake Teshka, Co-Committee Chair//
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