Green Tier Legacy Community Committee — Minutes

AD HOC GREEN TIER LEGACY COMMUNITY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES 1 WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2026 2 (Approved as Amended) 3 4 5 6 7 1. Call to Order & Roll Call 8 The August 12, 2026 meeting of the Green Tier Legacy Community Committee was called to order by 9 Chair Louise Howson at 3:31 P.M. 10 11 Present: Louise Howson, Jill Wiebe, Lisa O’Hearn, Mary Smythe, Paula Anschutz. 12 13 Staff: Benjamin Andrews Village Administrator, Sarah Bertges Administrative Assistant 14 15 Others: Mike Schneider and Jess Reinke (CCCDC). 16 17 2. Approval of the Agenda Motion by O’Hearn to approve the agenda as presented, second by Wiebe. 18 Motion carried- all ayes. 19 20 3. Approval of the Minutes – July 8, 2026 21 Motion by Wiebe to approve the minutes as presented, second by Howson. Motion carried-all ayes. 22 23 4. Comments, Correspondence, and Concerns from the Public 24 No public comments, correspondence, or concerns were received. 25 26 5. Discussion/Action Items 27 a. Composting Program Updates; DC Climate Change Coalition 28 Jess Reinke and Mike Schneider of the Climate Change Coalition of Door County (CCCDC) presented 29 an update on the composting pickup program, which launched in late May 2026. The program is in 30 its eleventh week with eleven participating businesses, including two located in Ellison Bay. Pickups 31 occur on Wednesday mornings, with Schneider logging weights weekly for potential future grant 32 applications. Approximately 7,000 pounds of compostable material have been collected to date. 33 Schneider described the current logistics: buckets are collected and weighed on-site, transported to 34 Mighty Wind Farms for composting, rinsed at the Sports Complex community garden, and stored at 35 the Logerquist Farm. The committee acknowledged that consolidating rinsing and storage at a single 36 location would improve efficiency. The CCCDC indicated a willingness to contribute funding toward a 37 small storage shed at the community garden site. Howson noted that the Parks Committee would be 38 visiting Logerquist Site on September 8th and would assess available space at that time. Any 39 budgetary consideration would be incorporated into the Parks Department budget review. 40 The program is expected to conclude the Wednesday following Fall Fest, with October 21st or 28th 41 discussed as possible end dates. Reinke noted the volunteer team is near capacity at the current 42 scale of eleven participants. 43 Reinke also informed the committee of two additional opportunities: a grant through a company 44 called Can It, funded by Ball Corporation, aimed at supporting recycling infrastructure at large 45 festivals (deadline: end of September, awards: mid-October); and a recycling field trip to GFL's 46 sorting facility in Menasha scheduled for September 17th, departing Door County at approximately 47 8:00 AM. 48 49 b. Strategic Planning; Green Tier Legacy Committee 50 Minutes of the August 12, 2026 Meeting of the Green Tier Legacy Community Committee – Approved as Amended 2 Andrews noted that the strategic planning document had not been fully completed since items were 1 assigned at the previous meeting. The committee reviewed sections of the document in session, 2 focusing on three goal areas: Organizational and Governance, Engagement, Communication, and 3 Education, and Sustainability and Environmental Impact. 4 Key assignments and discussion points included: 5 Organizational and Governance: Existing framework entries were reviewed and noted as 6 substantially in place. Grant identification and writing responsibilities were discussed, with Andrews 7 clarifying that staff would provide support and that committee members with specific project 8 interests should take the lead. The committee acknowledged the need to identify funding priorities 9 before targeted grant searches could be conducted. 10 Engagement, Communication, and Education: O'Hearn was confirmed as lead for the village website 11 updates. Bertges confirmed the ability to print posters in-house, with 11-by-17 format noted as the 12 likely standard. A quarterly poster initiative was discussed, with October identified as the target for 13 the first issue. Outreach to local organizations was discussed; Northern Door Activism was identified 14 as a potential partner. Attendance at Environmental Council of Door County (ECDC) events was 15 flagged as a low-priority but worthwhile activity, with Smythe agreeing to monitor the ECDC 16 calendar. 17 Sustainability and Environmental Impact: Discussion of a community leaf/brush collection site was 18 deferred pending further research into costs and logistics. Ephraim's brush site was noted as a useful 19 reference point. The committee discussed planning an invasive species removal event, tentatively 20 targeted for Earth Day 2027. 21 Andrews reminded the committee of the open meetings law regarding walking quorums and best 22 practices for inter-meeting communication. All substantive committee communications should be 23 routed through staff rather than distributed directly among members via reply-all email. 24 The strategic plan was not completed during this session. The committee agreed to revisit it at the 25 next meeting. 26 27 c. Reusable Bags; Follow-Up 28 The committee reviewed the reusable bags that had been ordered — 500 units at a cost of 29 approximately $5.50 each. The bags were presented and well-received. Four large cases are 30 currently stored at the Village Hall office. The committee discussed distribution logistics for the 31 Marina Fest booth and agreed on a suggested donation of $5.00 per bag, with no formal residency 32 verification requirement. Individuals requesting multiple bags would be politely encouraged to be 33 considerate of other attendees. No formal policy limit per person was established. 34 35 d. Marina Fest Booth Coordination; September 5 & 6, 2026 36 The committee confirmed participation in Marina Fest on Saturday, September 5th and Sunday, 37 September 6th, 2026. A 10-by-10 tent has been secured at no charge. Tables and tablecloths will be 38 provided. The following volunteer schedule was established, contingent on confirmed event hours 39 (estimated 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM): 40 ● Saturday, September 5: Howson, Smythe 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM; Wiebe, O’Hearn 1:00 PM – close 41 ● Sunday, September 6: Howson 10:00 AM - 1:00PM; Wiebe 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM. Howson to assist 42 with teardown 43 Wiebe confirmed 2025 Marina Fest Hours were 10:00 AM-6:00 PM. 44 Outreach to Anschutz regarding availability was noted as a next step. 45 Booth materials to be brought include reusable bags, recycling magnets (remaining inventory), a 46 waterfall display fixture for bag presentation, a filled sample bag demonstrating capacity, a donation 47 jar, and two informational posters: 48 ● A poster recognizing the eleven businesses participating in the composting program, 49 incorporating their logos along with the CCCDC and Green Tier logos. 50 Minutes of the August 12, 2026 Meeting of the Green Tier Legacy Community Committee – Approved as Amended 3 ● A poster identifying four key local invasive species, based on materials previously distributed to 1 committee members. 2 3 6. Committee Updates 4 Andrews noted that materials included in the packet covered relevant correspondence and 5 informational resources, including a League of Wisconsin Municipalities resource and a video on 6 walking quorum requirements. A DNR Green Tier webinar wrap-up regarding the Wisconsin 7 Sustainable Purchasing program was also included. Andrews noted that a follow-up webinar is 8 scheduled for August 31st and that committee members had received a calendar invite. Smythe 9 confirmed attendance at the August 31st webinar and noted she would be prepared to share 10 updates on the composting program and the CCCDC partnership. The committee discussed the 11 Wisconsin Sustainable Purchasing program briefly and agreed that, given the Village's small scale 12 and local purchasing priorities, the most practical step would be to share the resource with relevant 13 department directors for their awareness. 14 15 7. Matters to be Placed on Future Agenda, Referred to a Committee, Official or Employee 16 The following items were identified for inclusion on future agendas: 17 ● Strategic planning document — continued review and completion 18 ● Marina Fest recap and bag distribution outcomes 19 ● Composting program update — deferred to approximately November 2026 20 ● Wisconsin Sustainable Purchasing program — informational follow-up with department 21 directors 22 23 8. Next Meeting 24 The next meeting of the Green Tier Legacy Community Committee is scheduled for Tuesday, 25 September 8, 2026 at 8:30 AM via Zoom. 26 27 9. Adjournment 28 A motion was made by Wiebe, second by O’Hearn to adjourn the August 12, 2026 meeting of the Green 29 Tier Legacy Community Committee at 5:13 P.M. Motion carried – all ayes. 30 31 Respectfully submitted by Sarah Bertges, Administrative Assistant 32