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•CITY OF SOUTH BEND I OFFICE OF THE CLERK
<br /> actually fund and do what we say we want to do as a community. Sometimes, though, our
<br /> community gets out ahead of issues, right? And it says, 'we want more'. So, I think what I am
<br /> envisioning and what I'm talking about with other members on the Council, is that with regard to
<br /> the request that was given to us is to actually look at a Climate Action Plan. That was the context
<br /> of that ask or the history of that ask that was well-presented,very expertly,in our previous meeting.
<br /> The question is where do we go from here? I think that Therese has provided background and I
<br /> hope we all have an understanding of the initiatives that she has in her wheelhouse within her
<br /> department that she's been sheparding along with a lot of different partners. I think that was very
<br /> evident tonight and the same could be said about MACOG and their role and responsibilities in
<br /> the community. With regard to getting to a plan, we're looking at that similar collaboration and
<br /> that process that is informed both by bringing together the Administration and bringing together
<br /> our community experts. We certainly have some in the audience tonight and beyond these doors
<br /> we are very rich. Then we certainly have the expertise that is not in a body, it's actually in
<br /> documents with regard to what other cities are doing and where they're finding the most bang for
<br /> their buck and the most impact. And the last piece would be our community as a whole. I think
<br /> important to all of this is the underlying question, what do we value? What will we value? That's
<br /> important throughout the whole process because it can guide us in a plan but it can also get us to
<br /> the really important thing, getting the plan done. And of course for the adults in the room it's
<br /> probably easy to imagine but most actions require support and dollars, and as taxpayers, you help
<br /> drive those values and point us as Council Members to those values and where to look to get those
<br /> funds. So, having said that, I think what I would like to do is to share the thought that in terms of
<br /> timeframe, we had initially spoken about in April, really bouncing off of these two (2) meetings,
<br /> really keeping the momentum and the energy, and really specifically looking for some action. It
<br /> could be a resolution that gets at some of the goals and strategy pieces that Therese lined up with
<br /> regards to the consultant. That basically takes what is now in the Administration's lane and brings
<br /> the Council to view that and say is it a priority. If it is, and we all say yes, then we as a Council,
<br /> speaking on your behalf can say, go for it, go all out. So,that's kind of an April thought. And then
<br /> as the year progresses, we'll have the goal in mind to get to an actual plan. I hope you heard very
<br /> clearly what Therese was thinking of and the experts. We will be looking to to deal with the
<br /> mitigation side, not so much the adaptation side. Not that the adaptation side is less important to
<br /> us as a community, but we are already on that track, correct? I'm not switching the words, right?
<br /> But not that we have any less interest in one (1) tract versus the other tract, but I think instructive
<br /> from the individual from Notre Dame and her fine remarks is that you want to make sure that you
<br /> have a shared value. Everyone knows the importance of a plan, and can pick out three (3) to five
<br /> (5) strategies, in their case I think they did seven (7) and look for where can we get wins. Where
<br /> can we get impacts and see movement fast?
<br /> She continued, So, to that end, I think what I'd like to do at this point in the meeting is pivot to the
<br /> public comment and allow you to use these next twenty-five (25) minutes or so to comment on
<br /> what you heard tonight specifically, or from the last meeting, and just share with us some of your
<br /> thoughts. Then what we'll do, we'll purposely schedule follow up meetings after this with a goal
<br /> in mind of getting the planning groups, getting the work groups going and intentionally rolling up
<br /> our sleeves on this in a really quick timeframe. My goal is to have a lot of this baked in in terms
<br /> of a plan. I'm departing the Council at the end of this year. We have significant changes, perhaps,
<br /> on Council and certainly in our Administration upstairs in the Mayor's Office. So,I think that what
<br /> we do between now and after this meeting, and out of this meeting, all the way to December is
<br /> important. And I hope that timeframe doesn't scare anybody because good policy and good plans
<br /> take time. They take broad, smart input so we don't go off on some wrong track. We can't afford
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