_01212026-120

SAC 1-21-26 Mtg. Minutes – Page 1 Meeting Minutes January 21, 2026 MISSION: “To assure the common good through services essential for a safe, sustainable, engaged and healthy community.” DATE: January 21, 2026 TIME: 3:30 p.m. LOCATION: City Hall, North Conf. Rm. CHAIR: Lily Strehlow RECORDER: Kristina Kuzma, Assistant Planner Members Present: Gail Halmstad, Mary Hedenstrom, Jennifer Peck, Jackson Schmidtke, Lily Strehlow, Janis Tyler Absent: Lindsey Hillesheim, Kristen O’Brien, Andrew Werthmann Staff in attendance: Ned Noel, Blake Herbison, Kristina Kuzma Public in attendance: Yes AGENDA ITEM #1: Call to Order Chairperson Strehlow called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m. AGENDA ITEM #2: Roll Call Chairperson Strehlow called for the roll, and a quorum was met. AGENDA ITEM #3: Open Public Comment Period Lily Strehlow, City of Eau Claire resident, read a letter describing how climate change will impact human migration patterns. AGENDA ITEM #4: Approval of December 17, 2025 Meeting Minutes Member Schmidtke moved to approve the December 17, 2025 meeting minutes, seconded by Member Hedenstrom. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: Members Hedenstrom, Peck, Halmstad, Schmidtke, and Strehlow. Abstain: Member Tyler. AGENDA ITEM #5: Compost Ordinance Updates Chairperson Strehlow stated that while Member Werthmann is not present to lead Committee discussion on this item, public input will still be heard. She then opened the item for public comment. Sue Waits, JONAH Environmental Task Force, stated the organization supports composting as a method of diverting waste. She suggested offering composting at community events. Nicole Kragness, Eau Claire City-County Health Department, stated that the ordinance provides a thoughtful framework for increasing composting. Several implementation details should be further discussed, and key enforcement methods should be clarified. Kragness offered to share her thoughts with the Committee at a later time. Jamie Pappas, Earthbound Environmental, questioned if there will be additional meetings on the proposed compost updates. Kathy Campbell, Seven Mile Creek Neighborhood, stated the ordinance proposal as presented to SAC is well thought out, but believes it creates an imbalance by requiring haulers to provide curbside composting, without providing public education. The idea of giving customers the option to opt out needs to be further explored. Hauler incentives should be discussed. SAC 1-21-26 Mtg. Minutes – Page 2 Sean Partridge, GFL, stated he is interested in learning what GFL can do to help. No additional public comment was heard. Chairperson Strehlow then asked for Committee input. Chairperson Strehlow supports removing the prohibition on transporting compost across property lines. Member Schmidtke noted that in its final form, the ordinance should include regulatory standards, including setbacks for compost facilities in residential yards. Member Peck suggested community partners host a low-cost compost bin sale. Chairperson Strehlow noted the item would come back before the Committee at future meetings and moved to the next agenda item. AGENDA ITEM #6: 2026 SAC Workplan Chairperson Strehlow introduced the 2026 SAC Workplan and noted that the item is back before the Committee after its initial review on December 17, 2025. Strehlow then opened the agenda item for public input. No public comment was heard and the item moved to Committee discussion. Member Tyler requested the following changes to the row titled Promoting Reductions in Greenhouse Gases for New & Existing Commercial & Industrial Buildings: 1) Change the title to Promoting Reductions in Greenhouse Gases for New & Existing Commercial, Industrial, & Municipal Buildings, 2) delete “support existing campaigns to reduce carbon intensive activities” from the Specific Actions of SAC column, 3) delete “consider adding a GHG benchmarking reduction category to the Sustainable Eau Claire Awards” from the Specific Actions of SAC column, and 4) add “work with staff to promote benchmarking of municipal buildings” in the Specific Actions of SAC column. Assistant City Attorney Blake Herbison suggested the following change to the row titled Promoting Reductions in Greenhouse Gases for New & Existing Commercial & Industrial Buildings: 1) Change “provide recommendations to local businesses on priority focus areas for emissions or energy reduction strategies” in the Specific Actions of SAC column to “provide recommendations to City Council and staff on priority focus areas for emissions or energy reduction strategies.” Member Schmidtke requested the following change to the row titled Artificial Intelligence (AI) Data Center Policy Development: 1) Change “review potential policy options to reduce the environmental impact of data centers” in the Specific Actions of SAC column to “review and provide potential policy options for responsible data center development.” Chairperson Strehlow requested the following change to the row title Promote the Establishment of Natural Planting Areas: 1) Add “(75% native requirement)” after “Century Code Update” in the Idea Source column. Member Tyler noted the 2026 SAC Workplan doesn’t include a row addressing transportation and suggested reaching out to Transit Manager Katrina Running for ideas. Chairperson Strehlow requested that the SAC staff liaison reach out to the Transit division. Chairperson Strehlow suggested voting to approve the Workplan with the proposed amendments. Staff person Kuzma noted that the document is not ready to advance, as given the proposed changes, additional staff review will be required. SAC 1-21-26 Mtg. Minutes – Page 3 Assistant City Attorney Blake Herbison suggested voting on the proposed amendments to the 2026 SAC Workplan. Member Tyler moved to approve the amendments as proposed, seconded by Member Peck. The motion passed unanimously. AGENDA ITEM #7: Xcel Energy Future Collaborative Workplan Chairperson Strehlow provided an update on the Xcel Energy Future Collaborative Workplan. The document is currently under review by Xcel Energy and not ready for Committee approval. The item must be postponed until the February 18, 2026 meeting. AGENDA ITEM #8: 2025 Sustainable Eau Claire Awards Chairperson Strehlow introduced the 2025 Sustainable Eau Claire Awards and noted that due to the Committee’s desire to distribute awards earlier in the calendar year, the Committee must vote to open the 2025 awards cycle as soon as possible. Strehlow also noted that while changes to the structure of the Sustainable Eau Claire Awards cannot be implemented until the 2026 cycle, the Committee should discuss desired updates. She then opened the agenda item for public input. Sue Waits, JONAH Environmental Task Force, encouraged moving the awards cycle earlier in the year and suggested sending a flyer seeking nominations to community partners. Waits also requested an online application for the submittal of nominations. No additional public comment was heard. Chairperson Strehlow opened the item for Committee discussion. Member Peck suggested that moving forward, the Committee should help with promoting the awards and seeking nominations. She supports the idea of an annual theme for the awards. Member Peck then motioned to open the 2025 Sustainable Eau Claire Awards Cycle as soon as possible, with awards to be handed out at Eau Claire Earth Fest, to be held on April 18, 2026. Member Halmstad seconded and the motion passed unanimously. Member Tyler suggested applying for a grant with the Office of Sustainability and Clean Energy to help with promotion. Staff person Noel explained that given the accelerated timeline, we cannot apply for the grant for the 2025 awards cycle; however, SAC does have a small budget for promotion. Members suggested promotion methods such as social media, the City Manager’s newsletter, flyers to community partners, and Volume One. Staff person Noel noted that Committee Members can submit nominations as well. Chairperson Strehlow requested that staff send out notice of the awards to the Chamber of Commerce and the Eau Claire Area School District, as well as create an online application. Member Hedenstrom suggested hosting a reception for award winners in the future. AGENDA ITEM #9: SAC Participation in Eau Claire Earth Fest Staff person Kuzma announced that the Committee will have opportunities to participate in Eau Claire Earth Fest, to be held on April 18, 2026. This includes volunteering and staffing a booth. The Committee will need to vote to determine if members will participate and if so, what that participation will look like. Once staff members have direction, they will arrange participation with event organizers. Chairperson Strehlow informed the Committee that the event runs from 10 AM – 4 PM. SAC 1-21-26 Mtg. Minutes – Page 4 Members Peck, Hedenstrom, Halmstad, and Tyler offered to staff a table at the event. Member Hedenstrom offered to volunteer at the event as well. Member Hedenstrom made a motion approving the Sustainability Advisory Committee to sponsor and staff a table at Earth Fest, seconded by Member Peck. The motion passed by the following vote: Aye: Members Hedenstrom, Peck, Halmstad, Tyler, Schmidtke. Abstain: Member Strehlow. Chairperson Strehlow then opened the agenda item for public input. No public comment was heard. Discussion and Direction AGENDA ITEM #10A: Future Agenda Items Members requested the following future agenda items: • Data center presentations – energy & water use • Building Energy Savings Program presentation • 2026 SAC Workplan AGENDA ITEM #10B: Announcements • Chairperson Strehlow announced that Rob Weber and Steve Betchkal have stepped down from SAC. Strehlow also stated that Member Hillesheim and Member Tyler’s terms will expire in April and that they should let staff know if they’d like to seek a second term. • Member Tyler announced that the library will be hosting a monthly sustainability series, starting in April. • Member Schmidtke noted that we will need to appoint officers in the near future. Staff will check bylaws to determine at which meetings appointments should occur. AGENDA ITEM #8: Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 5:16 p.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Kristen O’Brien, Secretary