04-08-19 Health and Public Safety

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CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK Committee Chair Broden stated, We will miss you but thank you for your hard work on this. All of these have met the important departmental approvals? Mr. Molnar replied, Yes. All of these eight (8) have. Eleven (11) were submitted this year. Eight (8) were approved by all three (3) departments and there are three (3) still on hold. Probably in a month, or two (2) months, you will get a couple of those. Committee Chair Broden then opened the floor to members of the public wishing to speak in favor of or in opposition to this legislation. There were none. She then turned the floor back to the Committee for further comment or main motion. Committeemember Oliver Davis made a motion to send Bill No. 19-17 to the full Council with a favorable recommendation. Committeemember Karen White seconded this motion which carried by a voice vote of four(4) ayes. Climate Change Resolution Draft Therese Dorau, Director of the Office of Sustainability with offices located on the 13th floor of the County-City Building, stated, I'm going to do just a really quick run-through to remind you of what is in the record from our extensive public hearings that were held in February. As a reminder, this material is in the public record for your review. So, on February 18th, we primarily focused on understanding the impacts that climate change would bring to South Bend. Then,on February 27th, we discussed potential local solutions and how the Sustainability Office is already trying to influence solutions, and also how Council could play a role. I want to remind everyone of the benefits to South Bend if we take climate action. Not only will it improve public health and well- being, but it will increase our resilience to environmental hazards. Councilmember Tim Scott arrived at the meeting at 4:29 p.m. Ms. Dorau went on, It will improve quality of life and will bring new and local green-tech employment opportunities. Those are great jobs because they usually involve on the ground work and they cannot be outsourced very easily. Energy and water efficient homes and buildings will reduce utility bills and allow people more economic freedom as well as protecting economically vulnerable households. Air quality will be improved as well, and they will help particularly vulnerable populations like those with chronic diseases, the elderly and the very young. She continued, So,just a reminder about where my office is and,just in case these terms strike you as unfamiliar, mitigation is reducing the emissions that cause climate change whereas adaptation is preparing for climate change that we already expect to happen. So, you can think of that as asking,are we trying to tackle the cause or relieve the symptoms? So,my office has been primarily focused on mitigation efforts. I completed and reported our measurement of greenhouse gas emissions. My next step will be to work with a consultant to set greenhouse gas reduction targets, in hopes of developing a Climate Action Plan.Adaption planning is an essential but a very different process: It involves a lot more technical expertise and some additional resources. Just a reminder about the planning scale,we definitely are doing a lot to target our own impact on the environment and climate through purchasing more sustainable vehicles and improving the sustainability of our facilities,but we really are just a small portion of the overall impact that South Bend has. So, it is EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY I INNOVATION INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f 574.235.9173 TTD574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov 2