Green Tier Legacy Community Committee — Agenda packet

Posted On: 04/21/2026 GREEN TIER LEGACY COMMUNITY COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA Wednesday, April 22, 2026, at 3:00 P.M. This Meeting Will Be conducted Via Zoom Video Conferencing To access the meeting electronically, click: https://zoom.us/j/4439901723?pwd=yAVpi40M1OIqgNufcVUE8XWCUSkKaH.1&omn=97063638580 Meeting ID: 443 990 1723 Passcode: 304078 To connect by phone: 1-301-715-8592 - Meeting ID 443 990 1723# For additional information check: www.sisterbaywi.gov 1 Chair – Louise Howson Staff Representative(s): 2 Paula Anschutz Village Admin Assistant – Sarah Bertges 3 Jill Wiebe Village Administrator – Benjamin Andrews (as needed) 4 Lisa O’Hearn 5 Mary Smythe Public Works Supervisor – Erik Linczmaier (as needed) 1. Roll Call 2. Approval of the Agenda 3. Approval of the Minutes – March 27, 2026 4. Comments, Correspondence, and Concerns from the Public 5. Discussion/Action Items: a. Strategic Planning Framework For 2026 Green Tier Activities b. Reusable Bag Procurement and Design Updates c. Composting Program Implementation Status d. Sustainability Policies for Municipal Landscaping and New Building Project e. Updated Budget Request Consideration for Bags and Composting Equipment 6. Matters to be Placed on Future Agenda, Referred to a Committee, Official, or Employee a. Tree Canopy Enhancement and Reforestation Initiatives b. Protecting Night Skies from Light Pollution 7. Adjournment Public Notice Questions regarding the nature of the agenda items above or more detail on the agenda items scheduled to be considered by the governmental body can be directed to Sarah Bertges , Administrative Assistant, at adminassist@sisterbaywi.gov. It is possible that members of and possibly a quorum of members of other governmental bodies may attend the meeting to gather information; no action will be taken by any governmental body other than the body specifically referred to above in this notice. Upon reasonable notice, a good faith effort will be made to accommodate the needs of disabled individuals through sign language interpreters or other auxiliary aid at no cost to the individual. Due to the difficulty in finding interpreters, requests should be made as far in advance as possible, preferably a minimum of 48 hours. For additional information or to request this service, contact the Sister Bay Village Administration Office at 854-4118, (FAX) 854-9637, or by writing to the Village Administration Building, 2383 Maple Drive, PO Box 769, Sister Bay, WI 54234. Copies of reports and other supporting documentation are available for review at the Village Administration Building during operating hours (8 a.m. – 4 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 8 a.m. to noon on Fridays). The Village of Sister Bay is an Equal Opportunity Employer and Provider 1 1 AD HOC GREEN TIER LEGACY COMMUNITY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES 1 FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2026 2 (Unapproved) 3 4 1. Call to Order & Roll Call 5 The March 27, 2026 meeting of the Green Tier Legacy Community Committee was called to order by 6 Chairperson Louise Howson at 11:01 A.M. 7 8 Present: Louise Howson, Mary Smythe, Jill Wiebe. Excused: Lisa O’Hearn and Paula Anschutz. 9 10 Staff: Benjamin Andrews Village Administrator, Sarah Bertges Administrative Assistant 11 12 Others: Jake Gazlay 13 14 2. Approval of the Agenda 15 Motion to approve the agenda by Smythe, second by Wiebe. Motion carried – all ayes. 16 17 18 3. Approval of the Minutes March 4, 2026 19 Motion to approve the minutes by Wiebe, second by Smythe. Motion carried – all ayes. 20 21 4. Comments, Correspondence, and Concerns from the Public 22 Jake Gazlay introduced himself as a property owner at 2698 South Bay Shore Drive with a 23 background in landscape architecture and custom woodworking. He expressed strong interest in 24 green systems, technologies, and environmental sustainability, stating his desire to learn more about 25 the committee and contribute to future initiatives. 26 Smythe reported that Focus on Energy had extended their grant deadline, which she noted as 27 important correspondence related to Green Tier activities. 28 29 5. Discussion/Action Items 30 a. Work Session; Annual GTLC Report due March 31, 2026 31 Andrews provided background on the annual report preparation process. Staff compiled information 32 in a OneDrive document earlier in the month, with committee members invited to contribute 33 additional information by the 18th. The deadline was extended due to timing adjustments, and the 34 final document represents contributions from both staff and committee members. 35 Andrews emphasized this year's focus on establishing a good baseline for future submissions, noting 36 that any additional 2025 or 2026 activities not captured could be included in next year's report. He 37 acknowledged staff contributions from Erik and Megan. 38 Smythe thanked Andrews and staff for their significant work on the report, particularly noting the 39 effort required for new administration to complete this task within months of joining the village. 40 Andrews suggested that future strategic planning should identify specific objectives, responsible 41 parties, and action steps for 2026 activities. 42 43 b. Earth Day Activities; Door County Big Plant Planning 44 Howson reviewed progress on the May 9th tree giveaway event at Piggly Wiggly, confirming the 9 45 AM to 3 PM timeframe. She reported completion of several action items from the February meeting, 46 including venue confirmation and tree procurement coordination with Jeff for 180 trees at $600 47 cost. 48 The committee discussed tree tag design and printing logistics. Howson will coordinate with 49 Innovative Printing regarding card stock donation and printing of 180 tags, potentially using multiple 50 designs from Lisa's submissions. 51 2 Minutes of the March 31, 2026 Meeting of the Green Tier Legacy Community Committee - Unapproved 2 For event promotion, Andrews offered to create a simplified poster using Canva, focusing on 1 essential information (who, what, where, when) with clear call-to-action messaging. The committee 2 agreed the current poster design was too text-heavy and needed streamlining with Green Tier logo 3 inclusion. 4 Distribution planning identified key locations including banks, grocery stores, libraries, post offices, 5 and administration buildings. Committee members will divide distribution responsibilities, with 6 Howson handling Bailey's Harbor area and coordinating with SBAA for social media and bulletin 7 board posting. 8 Everyday is Earth Day Festival Participation: 9 Wiebe reported on Earth Day Festival opportunities at The Kress on April 25-26, particularly 10 Saturday's 9:30 AM to 1 PM activities. She discussed potential "seed bomb" making stations as a kid-11 friendly activity, leveraging her early childhood education background to develop appropriate 12 programming with festival organizers. 13 The committee discussed signage needs for event identification, considering feather banner options 14 for future budget planning. For immediate needs, Andrews suggested using existing plastic sign 15 holders with 8.5x11 poster designs. 16 Budget Considerations: 17 Current budget status shows $2,500 allocated for 2026, with $600 committed for trees, leaving 18 approximately $1,900 available. Previous estimates for reusable bags totaled $3,000, requiring 19 additional budget consideration. 20 Smythe recalled successful voluntary donation collection during previous tree giveaways, suggesting 21 implementation of donation jar for community members wanting to contribute to environmental 22 activities. 23 24 c. Composting Facility Discussion 25 Howson provided updates on commercial food scrap pickup program development in coordination 26 with Jess from climate change coalition. Mike Schneider, former Clearing director, has volunteered 27 for weekly Wednesday pickups in Sister Bay. 28 Program Participants: 29 Confirmed participants include NWTC commercial kitchen, Analog Coffee, and Goose & Twigs. The 30 program is circling back with Al Johnson’s due to their high volume. Wild Tomato and Happy Coffee 31 have not yet committed, with Howson volunteering to follow up directly. 32 Discussions continue with Piggly Wiggly, though implementation faces challenges due to frequent 33 inspections and regulatory considerations. The new deli manager, Nick, is working with organizers 34 on potential participation. Northern Grill and Waterfront Restaurant have not yet been contacted, 35 with Howson volunteering to reach out. 36 Infrastructure Requirements: 37 The program requires 5-gallon buckets with screw-top lids at an estimated cost of $750. Additionally, 38 the village would need to provide approximately 10x10 foot storage space where Mike can rinse 39 buckets and store them inverted between pickup cycles. 40 Andrews agreed to consult with Erik regarding potential space availability in the parks building, 41 noting the need for consistent access timing coordination. 42 Funding Considerations: 43 The climate change coalition indicated potential mini-grant availability to cover Mike's compensation 44 and potentially half the bucket costs. This would require village contribution of approximately $375 45 for buckets. 46 Andrews suggested exploring business cost-sharing for bucket expenses, questioning whether 47 participating restaurants might contribute to equipment costs as part of program participation. 48 Committee members emphasized preference for maintaining no-cost program to maximize business 49 participation. Wiebe suggested starting with free program model and reassessing sustainability 50 options after establishing participation patterns. 51 3 Minutes of the March 31, 2026 Meeting of the Green Tier Legacy Community Committee - Unapproved 3 Program Timeline: 1 Memorial Day target launch date provides adequate preparation time. Implementation depends on 2 space availability confirmation and funding arrangement finalization. 3 4 d. Sustainability Policies Discussion 5 The committee discussed various sustainability policy initiatives, including cups and straws for village 6 events and sustainability standards for municipal projects. 7 Event Sustainability: 8 Wiebe reported on Door County Coalition (DDC) plans to pilot compostable cups at Belgian Days as a 9 trial program. The committee identified Marina Fest (Labor Day weekend) as the most viable Sister 10 Bay event for similar pilot implementation, involving vendor coordination and fire station 11 cooperation for pancake breakfast service. 12 Discussion noted that most Sister Bay events have limited beverage service complexity compared to 13 larger festivals, with concerts in the park primarily using canned beverages rather than cups. 14 Municipal Landscaping Policies: 15 Smythe referenced previous meeting discussion about developing sustainability policies for village 16 landscaping projects, particularly emphasizing native plantings and environmental considerations for 17 the new municipal building project. 18 19 6. Matters to be Placed on Future Agenda, Referred to a Committee, Official or Employee 20 Items identified for future agenda inclusion: 21 ● Strategic planning framework for 2026 Green Tier activities 22 ● Reusable bag procurement and design updates 23 ● Composting program implementation status 24 ● Sustainability policies for municipal landscaping and new building project 25 ● Tree canopy enhancement and reforestation initiatives 26 ● Updated budget request consideration for bags and composting equipment 27 28 7. Schedule Next Meeting 29 The next Green Tier Legacy Community Committee meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 22, 30 2026 at 1:00 PM. 31 32 8. Adjournment 33 A motion was made by Smythe, second by Wiebe to adjourn the March 27, 2026 meeting of the 34 Green Tier Legacy Community Committee at 11:59 A.M. Motion carried – all ayes. 35 36 Respectfully submitted by Sarah Bertges, Administrative Assistant 37 4 Green Tier Legacy Communities Quarterly Member Meeting Monday, March 30, 2026 (Brief notes by Lisa O’Hearn) Wisconsin Food Waste: Insights for Legacy Communities Sarah Murray, Recycling and Solid Waste Section Manager, Wisconsin DNR Casey Krausensky, Solid Waste Coordinator, Wisconsin DNR Breaking down food in landfills creates lots of methane which is very bad for climate change. Study on Wisconsin found: Yikes! That’s a lot of residential waste! 5 New requirement for RUs (responsible units - ie. a village) to educate residents about food waste and composting - we should post updated info on our website. Check out the DNR website for more info and things we can link to. Need to increase composting capacity within the state, existing facilities wouldn’t be able to manage all food waste if it were to be composted. Seems as though composting regulations might be a barrier, but maybe it is just misunderstanding what they are? Don’t need licensing to compost < 50 cubic yards. Next step up: Subscription services can also be a great option rather than having a municipality run their own compost site. Notes from community updates: Janesville - working on a chicken & duck ordinance - currently only on chickens ;) Wisconsin Rapids - adding two locations to the register of historic places Bayfield - adding fast EV charging stations Ashland - doing solar and microgrid assessment Bay Lake RPC - renewal energy inventory Phillips - doing energy efficiency inventory Eau Claire - navigator program looking at energy efficiency improvements Monona - looking for best path to fully use the GTLC scoresheet to move the needle! Wauwatosa - wetland restoration funding received Gibraltar - West downtown project with canopy control and storm water mitigation Waupaca - energy efficient rec center expansion, most left over food given to food pantries 6 Building Community Composting: Infrastructure, Engagement & Statewide Support - Susan Schuller - Executive Director, Recycling Connections (began 10 years before Wisconsin Recycling Law went into effect!) Public Access to Recycling and Composting - The community (Steven Point) removed recycling containers since they ended up being too contaminated. Worked with UWSP students to test potential for increasing recycling (SP has garbage cans that can accommodate pizza boxes!!) on random bins on a number of Sundays in March / April - Approx. 25% of downtown waste was bottles and cans - so recommend just recycling bottles and cans! Don’t worry about other stuff (pizza boxes can be a big problem) - Additional testing done by RC in summer - Add recycling bins next to the waste bins where possible Community Based Food Waste Reduction Strategies - Suggest fine tuning recycling strategies first - USDA - Prevent food loss, Prevent food waste, Increase the recycling rate for all organic waste, Support policies that incentivize and encourage food loss and waste prevention and organics recycling - Compost - at the source OR drop-off sites OR curbside collection - each one is a bit more difficult - Incentives to homeowners to home compost?? Every home produces about 600 lbs of food waste per year. Since you’re doing it at home - there is no carbon footprint to implement! - Drop off kiosks - have a code for access to compost bins - don’t want contamination issues - 30 compost facilities in Wisconsin are approved to accept food waste vs the 286 licensed composting facilities (yard waste). 18 sites and companies offer curbside composting - WI composting council established in 2025 with committees of education, membership and legislative. Currently 50 members. www.recyclingconnections.org/wcc - International Compost Awareness Week - May 3 - 9, Compost! Feed the Soil that Feeds Us (compostfoundation.org/icaw-home) - Free Webinar - Spring Into Backyard Composting - 5/7 at 4pm by Recycling Connections Food Scrap Stop in Fitchburg - Ben Schulte - County wide program which allows any Dane County resident to get a code to access bins - Half the Fitchburg population lives in multi-family buildings - this allows everyone the opportunity to compost - Started at end of October 2025 - since then (through end of February) at about 250 individual registrants and approximately 6000 lbs of food scraps Village of Egg Harbor / Climate Change Coalition - Jess Reinke - Converted green site in 2019 to allow food waste - Currently collect from 6 different restaurants, average of 175 buckets of food scraps annually - Ask for small donation ($50 per year) - but done free of charge - Partners with Gibraltar Ecology club to divert food waste from cafeteria - You can be a little bit silly when marketing compost! - 1400 lbs of food waste collected at the DC Triathlon!! More notes from Community Updates: Wausau - program at library on Community Food Systems and backyard gardening Stoughton - considering a pocket neighborhood Rock County - small compost site at community garden Beloit - Compost bin workshop including bin sold out last year - same for rain barrel program this year! Egg Harbor - working on wetland protection 7 From: Beyond Pesticides <alerts@beyondpesticides.org> Date: April 18, 2026 at 9:02:03 AM CDT To: Mary Smythe <dick.smythe@yahoo.com> Subject: On Earth Day, become an advocate for organic parks! Reply-To: alerts@beyondpesticides.org Plus, further individual actions! (U.S.-based Action) 🌳 On Earth Day, Become an Advocate for Organic Parks 🌳 Dear Mary, The first Earth Day marked the beginning of a worldwide movement to protect the Earth from threats such as oil spills, raw sewage discharged into waterways, toxic chemical dumps, rampant pesticide use, the degradation of important habitats, and wildlife loss—a movement that led to passage of crucial environmental legislation, which is now at risk. While we try to ensure that the gains of the past years are not lost, we can act locally to improve our local environments. Does your community have a pesticide-free park managed with organic practices? Do you wish it did? The time to take action to protect those parks and create new ones is now. In partnership with major retailers like Natural Grocers and Stonyfield Organic, the Beyond Pesticides’ Parks for a Sustainable Future program provides in-depth training to assist community land managers in transitioning two public green spaces to organic landscape management, while aiming to provide the knowledge and skills necessary to eventually transition all public areas in a locality to these safer practices. 📣 Become a Parks Advocate. Beyond Pesticides will develop materials for your community. Also, please consider taking one of the Actions below! ⬇️ • If your community is one of a growing number across the country that has taken action to protect its citizens and environment by adopting organic policies and practices in its public spaces, 📣 please take this opportunity to thank your community leaders. However, be aware that the pesticide industry is seeking to take those policies away from you. Message: Thank you so much for implementing pesticide-free, organic policies and 8 practices in our parks and public places! I love to spend time in our parks, knowing that I will not be exposed to toxic chemicals. It is great to know that toxic chemicals will not run off from our public spaces into streams and other water. It is wonderful to know that flowers in our parks can provide nectar to pollinators who face so many threats these days. In honor of Earth Day, thank you on behalf of our local community. • If your community has not yet taken action to protect its citizens and environment by adopting organic policies and practices in its public spaces, 📣 tell them how much you want them to do so. Message: When I learned about how many communities protect their citizens and local environment by transitioning to organic landcare in parks and other public places (https://bp- dc.org/tools-for-change), I became jealous. I asked why we can't do the same in our own community. Pesticides used in parks, playing fields, and other public places threaten our health—especially that of our children, who are closer to the ground and have greater exposure. Pesticides and chemical fertilizers run off, finding their way to streams. They also threaten pollinators, who are at risk from multiple threats. Communities no longer need to figure out how to do this alone. Beyond Pesticides' Parks for a Sustainable Future (https://bp- dc.org/sustainable-parks-land-care-training) program aims to bridge the gaps resulting from staffing constraints and tight budgets, allowing communities to pilot the transition to organic land care on two public sites. I urge you to email info@beyondpesticides.org (mailto:info@beyondpesticides.org) or call Beyond Pesticides at 202-543-5450 to get started. Thank you! 🌎 Click HERE to access links connected to further actions, including the following: • Create your own pesticide-free space in your backyard. Advertise your commitment with a Beyond Pesticides “Pesticide Free Zone” sign. Please share with us pictures of your organic yard or local park. Tell us why your pesticide-free parks are important to you. • Switch from a conventional to organic diet and drastically reduce the levels of pesticide in your body, with one week on organic food showing a 70% reduction in glyphosate in the body, according to one study.   • Get ready to grow your spring garden the organic way by "Springing Into Action." • Join us in celebrating, propagating, and educating about a misunderstood and beneficial plant: clover.  The targets for this Action are U.S. mayors, as available in the system. If your mayor is not listed, please send their office an email! One tool is the USA.gov "Find and contact elected officials" page, which also lists other options for finding local elected officials in your community. ↪️ For more information, please stay tuned for the Daily News post on April 20, 2026, in celebration of Earth Day! Thank you for your active participation! Stay tuned for an upcoming Action! Organic advocates are gearing up to participate in the hearing process and the semi-annual meeting of the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) this spring to protect 9 and enhance the integrity of defined, certified, and enforceable organic standards as an alternative to harmful chemical-intensive practices. As a means of taking on the challenges of health threats, biodiversity collapse, and the climate emergency, the review and updating of organic standards requires the public's involvement in the current public comment period—to keep organic strong and continually improving. Thank you for your continuous support and commitment to creating a world free of toxic pesticides, —The Beyond Pesticides Team   Need to update your contact information, email preferences, recurring contributions, or payment information? It's easy! >> SELF-SERVICE PORTAL . Support our vital work. JOIN TODAY or MAKE A DONATION . Learn more about Parks for a Sustainable Future! Beyond Pesticides 701 E St SE, Suite 200 Washington, DC 20003 United States www.beyondpesticides.org If you believe you received this message in error or wish to no longer receive email from us, please unsubscribe. 10 Page 1 STAFF REPORT Date: April 22, 2026 To: Green Tier Legacy Community Committee Re: Strategic Planning – Green Tier Author(s): Benjamin Andrews, Village Administrator Action(s) Requested: ☐ Ordinance ☐ Resolution ☐ Motion ☒ Receive/File POLICY ISSUE(S) “Should the Green Tier Committee develop and adopt a Strategic Plan for 2026–2027 to better align its sustainability initiatives, priorities, and performance expectations?” BACKGROUND INFORMATION The Green Tier Committee has expressed a desire to more clearly define its goals, priorities, and implementation pathways for the 2026 –2027 cycle. A Strategic Plan is a formal document that outlines key objectives, identifies priority actions, and establis hes a shared framework for decision‑making. Developing such a plan will help the Committee ensure alignment with the Village's sustainability goals, optimize the use of resources, and support transparent communication with residents, partners, and elected officials. How to Develop the Strategic Plan: 1. Establish Purpose and Scope • Confirm what the plan will cover: environmental priorities, program development, outreach strategies, and performance goals. • Identify the planning timeframe (2026–2027). 2. Conduct an Assessment of Current Conditions • Review ongoing projects, past accomplishments, and lessons learned. • Identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges (SWOC). • Assess community needs, regulatory requirements, and partner feedback. 3. Define Strategic Priorities and Goals • Draft high-level goals aligned with Village sustainability objectives. • Establish measurable outcomes 11 Page 2 4. Develop Action Steps • Identify specific projects, timelines, and responsible parties. • Determine the resources required (staff time, funding, partnerships). 5. Adopt and Implement the Plan • Present the draft to the Committee for review and revisions. • Approve the final plan and begin implementation. 6. Evaluate and Update • Review progress quarterly or semi-annually. • Make adjustments as necessary to respond to new opportunities or challenges. Purpose of the Strategic Plan: • Provide clear direction on priorities and expected outcomes. • Improve coordination and decision-making. • Help allocate staff and financial resources more effectively. • Enhance transparency and accountability. How the Strategic Plan Should Be Utilized: • As a guiding document for all Committee activities and recommendations. • As a decision-making tool to ensure new proposals align with established goals. • As a communication platform to inform the public and elected officials. • As a performance measurement tool to monitor progress and adjust efforts. • As a resource prioritization framework for budgeting and staffing. PRIOR ACTION/REVIEW The Committee has previously expressed the need for a structured process to guide planning and evaluation. No formal strategic plan has been adopted for the upcoming cycle. 12 Page 3 Framework Goal: Objective: [Goal] Strategic Objective # Strategic Objective Additional Information Priority Potential Cost/Funding Source(s) Timeline Assignment [Objective] 13