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[CALL TO ORDER]
EVENING AND WELCOME TO THEUH, CLERK, COULD YOU PLEASE TAKE THE ROLE, BAKER PRESENT? ASHLEY IS RESIDENT YES.
TOURS ABS ABSENT AND THEN TRIPS HERE.
[PRESENTATIONS]
OKAY.UH, THE FIRST ITEM ON ITEMS ON TODAY'S AGENDA, WE HAVE TWO PRESENTATIONS.
THE FIRST IS THE COOL PETALUMA MONTHLY UPDATE, FOLLOWED BY CITY OF PETALUMA COMMUNICATIONS TEAM OUTREACH PRESENTATION.
THE ONE THAT'S TAPED OVER SO YOU DON'T PUSH IT.
I'M NATASHA JULIANA WITH COOL PETALUMA.
AND HERE TO GIVE YOU OUR MONTHLY UPDATE, WHICH IS TEMPORARILY CROOKED, BUT THAT'S OKAY.
UM, LET ME SEE IF I CAN ROTATE IT REAL QUICK.
THAT WAY WE DON'T GET A NECK ACHE.
ALL RIGHT, SO HERE'S COOL PETALUMA'S UPDATE.
WHAT'S HAPPENED OVER THE LAST MONTH SINCE WE WERE HERE? FIRST OF ALL, UM, A LITTLE SOBERING MOMENT.
IF YOU ALL SAW THIS IN JANUARY.
UH, JUST HAD TO PUT THIS UP THERE BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M SURE, UH, THE COMMISSION IS WELL AWARE OF THIS, BUT FOR THE PUBLIC'S PURPOSE, I JUST WANNA MAKE A POINT OF THE FACT THAT JANUARY WAS THE HOTTEST MONTH ON RECORD AND AT 1.75 DEGREES CELSIUS OVER PRE-INDUSTRIAL LEVEL, THE GLOBAL, UM, GOAL WAS NOT TO CROSS 1.5 DEGREES CELSIUS.
AND, UH, THERE'S DEBATE ABOUT HOW YOU ACTUALLY MEASURE THAT, BUT WE SEEM TO BE WELL ON THE WAY TO BEING PERMANENTLY OVER THE 1.5 DEGREES, WHICH MAKES OUR WORK HERE ALL THE MORE IMPORTANT IN GOOD NEWS.
FEBRUARY, I LOOKED IT UP TODAY, IT WAS, I THINK 1.59.
SO NOT QUITE AS HIGH, BUT STILL NOT WHERE WE WANNA BE, SO WE NEED TO CUT THOSE EMISSIONS IMMEDIATELY.
UM, THERE, UH, AND JUST FOR A LITTLE INSPIRATION ABOUT WHAT WE ARE DOING HERE IN PETALUMA, THAT, UH, THERE'S A WOMAN NAMED KATIE PATRICK, UM, OUT OF I THINK MOUNTAIN VIEW, WHO DOES THESE GREAT, UH, CLIMATE EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATION, PARTICULARLY WITH GREAT GRAPHICS.
IT'S KIND OF HARD TO SEE ON THE SLIDE, BUT I JUST WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU THIS SLIDE THAT THIS VISUAL THAT SHE SHARED RECENTLY ABOUT HOW INDIVIDUAL ACTIONS LEAD TO SYSTEMS CHANGE.
AND THE POINT SHE'S MAKING IS THAT ALL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE HAPPENS IN LOCAL GEOGRAPHIES SPREADING FROM ONE PERSON TO ANOTHER IN COMMUNITIES UNTIL IT LEADS TO A TIPPING POINT.
AND SHE STARTS THE LITTLE PROCESS AT HOME.
AND SO THAT'S WHY I THINK THE WORK WE DO THAT, UM, WE DO IN COLLABORATION WITH THE CITY THROUGH COOL PETALUMA, WHERE WE WORK WITH RESIDENTS IS SO IMPORTANT BECAUSE SO MUCH OF THIS ACTION BEGINS AT HOME.
SO, RECENT EVENTS, JUST TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE UPDATE, WE HAD ANOTHER TEAM LEADER TRAINING.
WE TRAIN 10 NEW BLOCK LEADERS WHO ARE GONNA GO OUT AND CREATE TEAMS OF ABOUT 10 PEOPLE.
SO THAT CAN IMPACT, YOU KNOW, A HUNDRED HOUSEHOLDS AND AT, AT THREE, UH, PEOPLE PER HOUSEHOLD.
LIKE, YOU KNOW, THEORETICALLY THAT COULD BE 300 PEOPLE THAT ARE NOW BEING IMPACTED JUST BY THAT SMALL CREW.
WE ALSO HAD THE SECOND PART OF OUR BOOK CLUB, WHICH HAS BEEN VERY POPULAR.
AND WE HAD A SOLD OUT VIEWING OF JOIN OR DIE, THE MOVIE, THE DOCUMENTARY.
UM, IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT, I I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT.
IT REALLY ENCOURAGES PEOPLE TO GET INVOLVED AND IT TIES BACK HOW OUR INVOLVEMENT IN LOCAL COMMUNITY GROUPS LEADS TO BETTER DEMOCRACIES AND MORE PARTICIPATION IN DEMOCRACY AND UPCOMING REOCCURRING EVENTS.
AND FOR ANYONE WHO WANTS TO JOIN US, WE HAVE PART THREE OF OUR BOOK CLUB WHERE WE'RE, UH, READING WHAT IF WE GET, WHAT IF WE GET IT RIGHT.
AND THAT HAPPENS AT 6:30 PM ON TUESDAY, APRIL 1ST AT CROOKED GOAT BREWING IN THE BACK ROOM THERE.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE ATTENDED THE FIRST FEW.
WE'RE ALSO DOING EVERY OTHER MONTH, WE'RE DOING THE CLIMATE PROFESSIONALS MIXER BECAUSE IT'S BEEN
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SO POPULAR.SO THE NEXT ONE COMING UP IS ON TUESDAY, APRIL 15TH.
AS LONG AS YOU GET YOUR TAXES IN, YOU CAN JOIN US.
AND WE HAVE THE MENDING CIRCLE THAT HAPPENS EVERY MONTH ON THE THIRD THURSDAY IN CONJUNCTION WITH BLUE ZONES.
SO IT'S AT THE BLUE ZONES OFFICE.
YOU CAN FIND EVERYTHING ON OUR EVENTS CALENDAR ON OUR WEBSITE.
AND THEN, SO IN EXCITING NEWS, WE ARE LAUNCHING OUR COOL BUSINESS COLLECTIVE.
WE HAVE A PARTY PLAN FOR TWO APRIL 8TH AT 5:30 PM AGAIN AT CROOKED GOAT BREWING.
'CAUSE THEY LET US USE THEIR BACK ROOM.
AND WE ARE WORKING WITH NAOMI CRAWFORD AND APRIL FREDERICK LOCAL BUSINESS OWNERS.
AND THEN ALSO, UM, A FEW MORE BUSINESS OWNERS ARE ON OUR STEERING COMMITTEE TO HELP LAUNCH A PROGRAM THAT'S SIMILAR TO WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING, RESIDENTIALLY, BUT BUILT FOR BUSINESS.
SO TAKING THEM THROUGH OUR SAME FIVE UH, PILLARS, BUT APPLYING IT TO A BIT THROUGH A BUSINESS LENS SO PEOPLE CAN SHARE BEST PRACTICES AND RESOURCES AS THEY TRY TO GREEN THEIR BUSINESS.
SO WE'RE SUPER EXCITED ABOUT THAT AND WE'VE ALREADY GOTTEN A LOT OF INTEREST.
SO PLEASE SEND ANY LOCAL BUSINESS OWNERS, YOU KNOW, OUR WAY.
WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF CREATING POSTCARDS THAT COMMUNITY MEMBERS CAN, UH, DELIVER TO THEIR FAVORITE LOCAL BUSINESSES SO THAT WE CAN HAVE THIS SORT OF GROUND UP GRASSROOTS INVITATION WHERE THE CUSTOMERS ARE ACTUALLY THE ONES INVITING THEM.
AND THEN IN BIG NEWS, I KNOW WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS FOR QUITE A WHILE, BUT FUTURE FEST AND EXPO 2025 IS GETTING OFF THE GROUND.
IT'S A COMMUNITY-WIDE CLIMATE ACTION FESTIVAL ON SUNDAY, MAY 4TH.
SO MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU, OR MAY YOU BE WITH US ON THE FOURTH AS SOMEBODY HAD SAID.
SO PLEASE, UH, CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE FOR THAT.
AND IT WILL BE COMING OUT IN THE CITY COMMUNICATIONS AS WELL AS WE PARTNER WITH THE CITY OF PETALUMA AND THE PETALUMA CITY SCHOOLS.
AND THAT CONCLUDES OUR UPDATES FOR MARCH.
UH, THE NEXT PRESENTATION WE HAVE IS THE CITY OF PETALUMA COMMUNICATIONS TEAM PRESENTATION ON OUTREACH.
DO I HAVE TO HOLD THE BUTTON DOWN? NO, YOU'RE GOOD.
I AM THE COMMUNICATIONS PROGRAM MANAGER FOR THE CITY OF PETALUMA.
UM, AND I AM HERE JUST TO SPEAK TO YOU AND GIVE US A GENERAL OVERVIEW OF OUR COMMUNICATIONS PROGRAM, UM, AND HOW IT WORKS.
UM, I KNOW YOU AS WELL AS MANY OF THE COMMITTEES HERE IN PETALUMA ARE, UM, THINKING ABOUT WAYS TO CHANGE BEHAVIORS AND HAVE A LOT OF INITIATIVES COMING DOWN THE PIPELINE.
UM, SO OUR PROGRAM IS THE VENUE FROM WHICH THE CITY CAN COMMUNICATE ALL OF THESE WONDERFUL IDEAS AND INITIATIVES.
UM, SO I'M JUST GONNA GIVE YOU KIND OF A SPOTLIGHT ABOUT WHAT WE DO.
SO THIS IS OUR COMMUNICATIONS TEAM.
UM, COMMUNICATIONS IS NESTLED WITHIN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND OPEN GOVERNMENT.
OUR PROGRAM WAS CREATED IN 2020, FORMALLY, UM, WITH THE LAUNCH OF COVI.
WE'D DONE A LITTLE BIT OF COMMUNICATIONS BEFORE THAT, BUT THERE WAS NO FORMAL COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT BEFORE COVID, AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN WE NEEDED ONE.
SO, UM, I WAS NOT HIRED AT THE TIME.
MY COLLEAGUE, JESSICA, WHO IS STILL WITH OUR DEPARTMENT, WORKED WITH INGRID VERDE, OUR DIRECTOR OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND OPEN GOVERNMENT TO LAUNCH THE PROGRAM.
UM, AND NOW WE ARE A TEAM OF FOUR PEOPLE LOOSELY.
HOWEVER, I AM THE ONLY FULL-TIME STAFF, SO I AM THE MANAGER OF THE PROGRAM.
JESSICA IS A PART-TIME STAFFER, UM, WHO WORKS THROUGH THE DESIGN GUILD, UM, MOSTLY ON CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS AND ON, UM, PUBLIC WORKS.
UM, THAT'S REALLY THE BIGGEST CHUNK OF COMMUNICATIONS FOR US BECAUSE IT'S WHAT AFFECTS PEOPLE'S DAILY LIVES.
SO SHE'S REALLY DEDICATED TO THAT WORK.
UM, WE HAVE ONE STAFFER, IZZY, WHO WORKS WITH OUR WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA, GETTING ALL OF OUR POSTS UP, MAKING WEBSITE EDITS.
UH, SHE WORKS ABOUT 20 HOURS A WEEK WITH US.
UM, AND THEN MELISSA ABERCROMBIE, WHO YOU MAY KNOW AS OUR PUBLIC ART SPECIALIST, ALSO SPENDS ABOUT 10 HOURS A WEEK WITH HELPING TO SUPPORT OUR COMMUNICATIONS PROGRAM.
UM, AND SHE'S THE AUTHOR OF A LOT OF OUR PETALUMA PROUD PROFILES AND OUR NEW SMALL BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT SERIES.
UM, AND HER ROLE IS REALLY TO HELP BOOST COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
UM, SO THAT IS OUR TEAM, UH, PATRICK.
UM, WE HAVE SEVERAL CHANNELS, WHICH I AM SURE YOU'RE ALL FAMILIAR WITH ALREADY.
UM, BUT WE'RE, WE TRY TO BE VERY STRATEGIC ABOUT WHAT WE SEND OUT AND WHICH CHANNELS WE USE TO DO SO.
UH, WE HAVE OUR COMMUNITY UPDATE EMAILS, WHICH GO OUT EVERY TWO WEEKS.
WE HAVE SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS ON INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK, LINKEDIN, NEXTDOOR, TWITTER OCCASIONALLY.
UM, AND WE ALSO USE, WE ALSO HAVE SPANISH LANGUAGE CHANNELS ON INSTAGRAM
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AND FACEBOOK, AND WE USE WHATSAPP TO REACH OUT DIRECTLY TO SPANISH LANGUAGE RESIDENTS.UH, WE HAVE OUR C CITY WEBSITE, WHICH I'M SURE YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH.
UM, AND IN THE PAST YEAR, WE LAUNCHED A NEW PODCAST, UM, WHICH WE'RE USING AS A WAY TO DO MORE OF A DEEP DIVE INTO ISSUES THAT SOCIAL MEDIA REALLY CAN'T COVER THAT WELL.
UH, WE STILL ALSO DO PRINT MEDIA.
SO WE HAVE, WE ARE SENDING OUT POSTCARDS ALL THE TIME, PRINTING POSTERS FOR NEW INITIATIVES, DOING UTILITY BILL INSERTS, UM, AND THEN EVEN HANGING BANNERS ON CITY BUILDINGS OR ACROSS KENTUCKY AND D STREET.
UM, THE TYPE OF THINGS WE SHARE ARE PRETTY LIMITED IN TERMS OF OUR REQUIREMENTS.
UM, THE FIRST AND MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT WE SHARE IS EMERGENCY PREP AND RESPONSE.
SO WHEN THERE'S A FLOOD, WHEN THERE'S AN EARTHQUAKE, EVERYTHING ELSE ON OUR CALENDAR GOES OUT THE DOOR.
KEEPING OUR COMMUNITY SAFE IS OUR FIRST PRIORITY, UM, AFTER THAT, CITY MEETINGS AND PARTNER EVENTS, UM, ARE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALWAYS TRYING TO KEEP PEOPLE INFORMED ABOUT WHEN MEETINGS ARE HAPPENING, ENCOURAGING ATTENDANCE.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE A LOT OF NONPROFIT PARTNERS WHO HELP US HELP THE CITY EXECUTE OUR VISION.
UM, AND WE TRY TO SHARE THEIR, UM, THEIR EVENTS WHEN WE CAN.
THE LAST THING IS DEPARTMENT UPDATES AND INFORMATION.
SO WHEN THERE IS A NEW PROJECT COMING DOWN THE PIPELINE, WE WANNA BUILD EXCITEMENT SOMETIMES WHEN WE GET A BIG GRANT THAT WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO SPEND TO IMPROVE PEOPLE'S LIVES, THAT'S THE TYPE OF UPDATE THAT WE'RE ABLE TO SHARE ON SOCIAL MEDIA.
WE'RE ALSO TRYING TO BOOST THOSE THREE PRELIMINARY SUBJECT MATTERS WITH ADDITIONAL CONTENT.
SO ADDING IN NEW VIDEOS, UM, INFOGRAPHIC FORMATS.
UM, OUR PETALUMA PROUD PROFILES IN SMALL BUSINESS SPOTLIGHTS ARE NEW, UM, AS A WAY TO INCREASE COMMUNITY SUPPORT, BUILD THAT SENSE OF COMMUNITY HERE IN PETALUMA AND CELEBRATE SOME REALLY AMAZING RESIDENTS THAT WE HAVE.
AND THEN FINALLY, WE ALSO TRY AND TALK TO FOLKS ABOUT THE BIG PICTURE OF HOW THE CITY WORKS.
UM, I USE THE WHERE DO CITY TAXES GO AS OUR EXAMPLE, BECAUSE WE TRIED TO SAY TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE BUDGET LAST YEAR AND CONTEXTUALIZE THAT FOR PEOPLE ON SOCIAL MEDIA.
NORMALLY OUR BUDGET IS NOT SOMETHING THAT IS CONDUCIVE TO SHARING ON SOCIAL MEDIA.
PEOPLE DON'T WANNA LOOK AT IT ON THEIR PHONES, BUT THEY MIGHT BE WILLING TO FLIP THROUGH A SLIDE SHOW THAT SIMPLIFIES THINGS AND, UH, READ A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT.
AND THAT ONE PERFORMED PRETTY WELL ACTUALLY.
UM, WE ARE NOT ABLE TO SHARE OTHER TYPES OF INFORMATION.
SO, UM, WE CAN'T SHARE COMMUNITY EVENTS FROM OUR NON-PARTNER OR NON-PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS.
SO ORGS THAT DO NOT HAVE AN OFFICIAL PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY, UM, WE DON'T DO A LOT OF PROMOTION OF THOSE THINGS, UH, FOR LEGAL REASONS.
UM, IT GETS VERY COMPLICATED AND THEN WE'RE IN A POSITION WHERE WE'RE TRYING TO SAY, WE'LL PROMOTE THIS, BUT NOT THAT.
UM, AND THEN YOU RUN INTO FREE SPEECH CONFLICT.
SO WE HAVE TO BE ACTUALLY BE BE PRETTY CAREFUL ABOUT WHAT WE SHARE.
UM, WE ARE NOT ALLOWED TO FEATURE CONTENT BY OR FEATURING ELECTED OFFICIALS.
UM, AND A NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THIS, BUT THIS IS A FAIR POLITICAL PRACTICES RULE, UM, BECAUSE THAT CAN RUN INTO SORT OF ELECTION SUPPORT.
AND WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE NONPARTISAN, NON, VERY NEUTRAL ABOUT, UM, OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS WE'RE JUST CARRYING OUT THEIR WORK.
UM, WE ALSO DON'T FEATURE STAFF POLITICAL OPINIONS, UM, ON ANY OF THE ISSUES THAT AFFECT OUR LOCAL GOVERNMENT.
WE'RE JUST REALLY THERE TO SHARE INFORMATION THAT PEOPLE NEED TO THRIVE.
UM, IN ADDITION TO ALL OF THE INFORMATION THAT WE SHARE, COMMS DOES A LOT OF OTHER THINGS.
UM, WE HAVE TO LEARN ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT'S GOING ON IN THE CITY.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF OUR TIME HAS TAKEN UP ABSORBING INFORMATION AND MEETINGS.
UH, WE'RE ALSO WORKING TOWARDS A DA COMPLIANCE.
THE STATE IS, UH, MANDATING THAT ALL OF OUR WEBSITES AND SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS WILL BE A DA COMPLIANT BY APRIL, 2026.
UM, WE'VE ALREADY BEEN WORKING TOWARDS THAT, BUT WE HAVE A LOT OF PROJECTS THAT ARE STILL ON THE HORIZON THIS YEAR TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT HAPPENS.
UM, WE ARE BOOSTING OUR LATINX ENGAGEMENT.
WE NOW HAVE A PARTNERSHIP WITH CAFE PUENTE, WHICH IS A, A NONPROFIT HERE, UM, THAT EXISTS TO CREATE THAT BRIDGE BETWEEN OUR ENGLISH AND SPANISH, SPANISH SPEAKING COMMUNITIES.
UM, SO WE HAVE LAUNCHED THAT PARTNERSHIP IN THE FIRST MEETING OF THAT WAS HELD, I BELIEVE, ON THE 11TH.
UM, IN ADDITION, WE TRY TO ANALYZE OUR METRICS FROM ALL OF OUR CHANNELS TO SEE HOW WE'RE PERFORMING AND MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE ENGAGING THE AUDIENCE THAT WE HOPE TO BE ENGAGING.
UM, LIKE EVERY DEPARTMENT, WE ALSO HAVE BUDGETS AND BILLS TO ANALYZE.
UM, WE TRY TO STAY UP TO DATE ON THE BEST PRACTICES AROUND COMMUNICATIONS AND NEW TRENDS.
UM, WE ARE ALSO EXPLORING AI AND WHAT THAT CAN AND CANNOT PROVIDE, UM, FOR A COMMUNICATIONS PROGRAM LIKE OURS.
AND THEN OF COURSE, CORRECTING MISINFORMATION WHEN WE CAN.
UM, BECAUSE THERE ARE, AS YOU I'M SURE ALL KNOW, A LOT OF,
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UM, TRUE AND UNTRUE THINGS THAT POP UP ON SOCIAL MEDIA.SO WHEN WE ARE ABLE TO CORRECT THAT AND POINT PEOPLE IN THE RIGHT DIRECTIONS, WE TRY TO DO THAT TOO.
UM, OUR SOCIAL MEDIA CALENDAR IS SOMETHING THAT I KNOW YOU CANNOT READ ON THIS SLIDE, NOR DO DO I REALLY INTEND YOU TO.
BUT I WANTED TO GIVE YOU A SNAPSHOT OF THE DIVERSITY OF THE TYPE OF THINGS THAT WE ARE TRYING TO PROMOTE ON ANY GIVEN WEEK.
UM, SO THIS IS A SNAPSHOT FROM LAST JUNE, AND WE, OUR EDITORIAL CALENDAR IS IN A SYSTEM CALLED MONDAY.
UM, SO I'M JUST GONNA READ A FEW OF THESE OUT TO GIVE YOU SOME CONTEXT.
UM, ON JUNE 1ST, WE DID AN L-G-B-T-Q PRIDE MONTH POST.
WE ALSO HAD TO REMEMBER TO CHANGE OUR LOGOS ON ALL OF THE SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS, WHICH ACTUALLY TAKES A FEW MINUTES TO DO.
UM, AND ON THE SAME DAY, WE WERE PROMOTING THE LAST DAY TO APPLY, OR THE LAST WEEK TO APPLY TO ALL OF THE CCBS BECAUSE THE APPLICATION WAS RUNNING OUT THROUGH OUR CLERK'S OFFICE ON, UM, LET'S SEE THAT, I THOUGHT IT WAS THE 31ST OF THE PREVIOUS MONTH, BUT IT MUST HAVE BEEN THE LAST WEEK TO APPLY.
LET'S SEE,
THEN WE HAD TO DO A HEAT ADVISORY, THEN TWO DAYS LEFT TO APPLY TO THE CCB.
THEN WE RELEASED OUR PODCAST, PG E WAS HAVING WORK BEGINNING THE FOLLOWING MONDAY, THEN WE WERE BOOSTING THE BIG AIRPORT SUMMER FEST, THE TURNING BASE AND DOCK REPLACEMENTS WERE STARTING, AND WE HAD A POST ON OYSTER COVE.
SO THAT JUST GIVES YOU KIND OF A, UM, A BIG OVERVIEW, AN UMBRELLA OF ALL OF THE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT OUR COMMUNICATION STRATEGY HAS TO TOUCH.
UM, WE OFTEN GET, YOU KNOW, FEEDBACK FROM FOLKS WHO REALLY WANNA SEE THIS OR THAT, UM, ON OUR SOCIAL MEDIA FEEDS.
AND WE ARE TRULY DOING OUR BEST TO, TO MAKE EVERYBODY HAPPY AND AT THE SAME TIME PRESENT, UM, OR CONVEY THE SENSE THAT THE CITY IS DOING REALLY BIG THINGS AND TOUCHING A LOT OF AVENUES.
UM, YEAH, I THINK THAT'S NEXT SLIDE.
AND IF I COULD JUST JUMP IN, JAMESON, I, I THINK THESE, THESE, UH, CALENDARS AREN'T JUST BUILT UP IN A DAY.
LIKE THERE'S WEEKS AND SOMETIMES MONTHS IN ADVANCE TO GET THINGS ALIGNED, RIGHT? SO THAT YOU'RE NOT, IF YOU PUT TOO MUCH OUT IN ONE DAY, THEN THE MESSAGE COULD GET LOST.
SO YOU'RE, YOU'RE REALLY BEING CAREFUL OF WHAT GOES OUT WHEN, SO THAT IT ACTUALLY GETS THE MOST EXPOSURE, WHICH I THINK THIS ILLUSTRATES, YOU KNOW, LIKE ON JUNE 1ST, THERE WERE QUITE A FEW THINGS GOING ON THERE.
SO, UM, AND I THINK IN THE PAST I'VE BEEN GUILTY OF SAYING, OH, CAN'T WE JUST PUT THIS THING OUT THERE REALLY QUICK? BECAUSE THE EVENTS THIS WEEKEND? AND YOUR TEAM SOMETIMES HAS TO SAY NO BECAUSE THERE'S, THERE'S SOMETHING THAT'S ALREADY GOING ON THAT'S PLANNED AND THAT'S RIGHT.
SOMETHING I THINK I NEED TO BE MORE COGNIZANT OF.
UM, BUT THAT'S SOMETHING YOU DEAL WITH ON A DAILY BASIS.
'CAUSE THERE'S SO MANY MESSAGES WE'RE TRYING TO GET OUT.
AND YEAH, WE, UM, WE MEET WEEKLY AS A STAFF TO LOOK AT THE CITY COUNCIL AGENDA, UM, TO FIGURE OUT WHAT'S COMING DOWN THE PIPELINE.
SO OFTEN I'M PLANNING OUT OUR CALENDARS FOR SOCIAL MEDIA, BUT ALSO FOR OUR COMMUNITY UPDATE EMAILS AND OUR WIDER COMM STRATEGY MONTHS IN ADVANCE BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT CERTAIN THINGS WILL BE COMING DOWN THE PIPELINE.
UM, AND I THINK I'LL, I'LL GET TO THIS A LITTLE BIT LATER, BUT WE TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT CHANGE MANAGEMENT AND HOW WE PREPARE THE COMMUNITY FOR BIG TOPICS A LITTLE BIT LATER.
UM, I THINK NEXT SLIDE THOUGH.
I, I HAVE A QUICK QUESTION ON THE HEAT ADVISORY.
IS THERE A FORMAL POLICY AROUND THAT? AND CAN YOU SPEAK TO THAT A LITTLE BIT? OR, I IMAGINE IT'S COMING FROM THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT, BUT I'M JUST CURIOUS ABOUT THAT.
THERE IS, USUALLY IT WILL COME FROM, UM, TOM JORDAN, OUR EMERGENCY MANAGER.
UM, I FORGET WHAT THE, I WANNA SAY IT'S 85 DEGREES WHEN THE COOLING CENTERS ARE TRIGGERED.
AND THAT CHANGED OFFICIALLY LAST YEAR.
UM, IT'S, WE USUALLY WILL DO A HEAT ADVISORY IF THERE'S GONNA BE A STRETCH OF HOT WEATHER, NOT JUST ONE PARTICULARLY HOT DAY.
UM, BUT FOR HEATING, FOR HEAT ADVISORIES AND COLD ADVISORIES, IT'S WHEN THAT, UM, OPEN SHELTER OR COOLING OR HEATING CENTER IS TRIGGERED, ESPECIALLY TO BE, UM, CONSIDERATE OF OUR HOMELESS POPULATION WHO SOME OF, SOME OF WHOM DO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND MAKING SURE THEY KNOW WHERE TO GO, WHERE THEY CAN GET THE RESOURCES THAT THEY NEED.
AND, AND NOT TO BELABOR IT TOO MUCH, I, THERE'S A, THERE'S A, A TEMPERATURE THRESHOLD.
LIKE IF IT GOES ABOVE A CERTAIN AMOUNT, THEN YES, AND THEN ALSO IF IT'S ABOVE A LESSER AMOUNT, BUT IT DOESN'T COOL DOWN AS MUCH AT NIGHT 'CAUSE YOU DON'T GET THAT RELIEF, UM, OVERNIGHT, THAT ALSO TRIGGERS IT.
LIKE IF IT'S OVER SEVERAL DAYS, I DON'T REMEMBER THOSE EXACT NUMBERS, BUT, UM, I WANNA SAY IT'S 85 FOR THE DAYTIME TEMPERATURE, BUT I DON'T REMEMBER WHAT THE THRESHOLD IS FOR.
LIKE, IT DOESN'T QUITE GET COOL ENOUGH.
YEAH, WE CAN, WE CAN GET TOM TO GET YOU A REAL ANSWER ON THAT.
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WE, UH, WE REACH WHAT WE HOPE IS A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF OUR COMMUNITY.OUR COMMUNITY UPDATE EMAIL GOES OUT TO, UM, ALMOST 32,000 PEOPLE.
UM, MOST OF WHOM WE BELIEVE OUR PETALUMA RESIDENTS, ALTHOUGH WHO KNOWS HOW MANY PEOPLE IN KA ARE ALSO SUBSCRIBING.
UM, BUT WE'RE, WE'RE REALLY PROUD OF IS OUR, OUR OPEN RATE.
SO 61% OF PEOPLE WHO RECEIVE OUR EMAILS OPEN IT.
UM, SO WE KNOW THAT OUR COMMUNITY IS LOOKING AT THOSE EMAILS.
THEY WANT TO KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON IN PETALUMA.
UH, WE HAVE 5,500 FACEBOOK FOLLOWERS.
UM, OUR PAGE REACH FOR, FOR THIS PAST YEAR WAS 75,000 ACCOUNTS.
SO WE KNOW THAT FOLKS ARE SHARING OUR POSTS, THAT THEY ARE VISIBLE TO PEOPLE WHO MAY NOT BE FOLLOWING US, BUT HAVE CLICKED ON OUR LINKS BEFORE THE ALGORITHM WILL FEED THAT INFORMATION TO PEOPLE.
UM, AND THE SAME THING IS TRUE ON INSTAGRAM.
WE HAVE 70, ALMOST 7,300 FOLLOWERS AS OF TODAY.
UM, BUT OUR, UH, IMPRESSION RATE OR OUR TOTAL ACCOUNT REACH IS CLOSER TO 60,000 PEOPLE.
UM, AND THAT'S ABOUT THE, THE PET POP, EXCUSE ME, THAT'S ABOUT THE PETALUMA POPULATION.
UM, WE ARE ASSUMING THAT SOME OF THESE FOLKS ARE, HAVE THE SAME ACCOUNTS.
PEOPLE HAVE FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM ACCOUNTS.
BUT WE ARE HOPING THAT WITH THE EMAIL AND SOCIAL MEDIA, AND I DIDN'T INCLUDE OUR OTHER ACCOUNTS HERE AS WELL, BUT, UM, NEXTDOOR ALSO HAS A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT, UM, GROUP OF FOLKS THAT WE REACH THERE, UM, THAT WE ARE AT LEAST BEING ABLE TO TOUCH ALMOST EVERY COMMUNITY, UM, AND GET OUR INFORMATION OUT.
UM, AND NOW OUR CHANGE MANAGEMENT, AND THIS IS JUST SOMETHING I THREW IN TO KIND OF GET A LITTLE BIT DEEPER INTO OUR PHILOSOPHY.
UM, IN CITY GOVERNMENT, WE ARE ALWAYS TRYING TO NOT JUST PROVIDE INFORMATION, BUT TO HELP PEOPLE CHANGE THEIR BEHAVIORS BASED ON DIRECTION FROM COUNCIL OR, UM, INITIATIVES THAT ARE COMING UP.
WE WANNA COACH PEOPLE THROUGH SOME OF THE CHANGES THAT ARE GONNA BE HAPPENING, EVEN WHEN IT'S AS SIMPLE AS BIKE LANES.
UM, AND SOMETIMES WE ARE MORE SUCCESSFUL THAN OTHERS.
BUT SOME OF THE PRINCIPLES THAT WE'RE TRYING TO KEEP IN MIND WHEN WE DO OUR COMMUNICATIONS, UM, KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE IS FIRST AND FOREMOST.
IF WE DON'T KNOW PETALUMA AND WE DON'T KNOW WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ONLINE, WE CAN'T DIRECT OUR COMMUNICATIONS TO ENGAGE WITH THEM, TO FEEL RELEVANT, UM, AND TO MAKE THEM UNDERSTAND THAT THEIR GOVERNMENT IS REALLY WORKING FOR THEM.
UM, WE ALSO WANNA UNDERSTAND THE CHALLENGES.
SO WHEN WE ARE PRESENTING NEW INFORMATION, WE DON'T WANNA BE TONE DEAF, WE WANNA KIND OF UNDERSTAND WHAT PEOPLE ARE FACING, UM, IDENTIFY AREAS OF RESISTANCE.
SO WE ALSO WANNA ANTICIPATE WHAT THE NEGATIVE FEEDBACK MIGHT BE SO THAT WE THINK THAT WE HAVE WRITTEN THIS TO THE BEST OF OUR ABILITY.
UM, ONE PLACE THAT WE'VE FAILED AT THAT RECENTLY WE DID A POST ABOUT THE NEW SCHULLENBERGER AMPHITHEATER.
UM, I DIDN'T ANTICIPATE HOW TRIGGERING THE WORD AMPHITHEATER WAS GOING TO BE, BUT WHAT WE MEANT WAS THERE WOULD BE A CEMENT PAD, UH, WITH A FEW BENCHES AROUND IT AND A SEMICIRCLE SHAPE IN MY HEAD, AMPHITHEATER, THAT WAS THE APPROPRIATE WORD FOR THAT.
AND PEOPLE GOT REALLY UPSET BECAUSE THEY THOUGHT WE WERE BUILDING A REALLY BIG MUSIC VENUE WITH LIKE AMPLIFICATION.
I THINK WE HAD 275 FACEBOOK COMMENTS ON THIS ONE POST.
UM, AND WE WE'RE REALLY CAREFUL, UH, THIS, IT'S NOT JUST ME POSTING THINGS WE'RE MULTIPLE PEOPLE IN OUR DEPARTMENT REVIEW INFORMATION.
UM, BUT IT WAS A REAL LESSON FOR US THAT JUST BECAUSE LIKE WE THINK THINGS ARE FINE, WE JUST ALWAYS HAVE TO HAVE THAT EXTRA LAYER OF REVIEW, UM, AND BE REALLY SENSITIVE TO THE FACT THAT PEOPLE CARE SO MUCH ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT HERE, THAT ANYTHING THAT FEELS LIKE WE MIGHT BE DISREGARDING, UM, THEIR CONCERNS IS COMPLETELY OFF LIMITS TO US.
SO WE HAD TO GO BACK AND I HAD TO APOLOGIZE AND REPLY TO A LOT OF COMMENTS, UM, WHICH I WAS HAPPY TO DO.
BUT THAT WAS AN AREA WHERE WE FAILED TO IDENTIFY SOMETHING THAT WAS GONNA BE TRIGGERING FOR THE COMMUNITY.
SO WE ALWAYS JUST HAVE TO PAY CLOSE ATTENTION, UM, ENGAGE STAKEHOLDERS.
SO I AM TALKING LARGELY ABOUT OUR DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS PLATFORMS, BUT WE ALSO DO A LOT OF PERSON TO PERSON, UM, ENGAGEMENT, ESPECIALLY AROUND NEIGHBORHOODS THAT ARE GONNA BE EXPERIENCING CHANGES.
UM, JESSICA MEDINA AND OUR OFFICE DOES A LOT OF THIS AROUND, UM, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS OR STREET CHANGES, UM, AND REALLY TRIES TO, WE OR A LOT OF DEPARTMENTS REALLY TRY TO ENGAGE PEOPLE WHO ARE GONNA BE AFFECTED BY THESE CHANGES.
SO HOPEFULLY IF YOU ARE, IF THERE'S GONNA BE A MAJOR CHANGE IN SOMEONE'S NEIGHBORHOOD, THE POSTCARD IS USUALLY NOT THE FIRST TOUCHPOINT.
UM, BUT REALLY TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE GETTING FEEDBACK AND THAT WE ARE BEING CAREFUL ABOUT WHAT FEEDBACK WE'RE ASKING FOR.
BECAUSE THE OTHER SIDE OF THIS COIN IS THAT IF WE ARE ASKING FOR FEEDBACK AND HAVE NO INTENTION OF ACCEPTING THAT FEEDBACK, THAT JUST MAKES PEOPLE UPSET.
UM, SO WHEN WE HAVE A PROJECT AND IT'S REALLY, IT'S A SAFETY THING, IT'S,
[00:25:01]
IT'S A CHANGE THAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN.WE HAVE TO EDUCATE PEOPLE AND MAY NOT BE ABLE TO SURVEY THEM IN THE SAME WAY.
SO, UM, BEING REALLY CAREFUL ABOUT HOW WE'RE ENGAGING PEOPLE, WHAT WE'RE SAYING, WHAT WE'RE PROMISING, UM, AND AT LEAST HOLDING THEIR HAND AND BEING EMPATHETIC THROUGH THOSE CHANGES.
TAKING FEEDBACK TO REDUCE RISKS IS, YOU KNOW, HAND IN HAND WITH THAT.
UM, A LOT OF TIMES WE WILL ON STREET PROJECTS, UM, FOR EXAMPLE, THERE WAS A CALL FIELD BRIDGE MEETING ABOUT THE BRIDGE THAT'S GOING IN THERE.
UM, AND I KNOW OUR PUBLIC WORKS TEAM GOT A LOT OF REALLY GOOD FEEDBACK ABOUT WHAT PEOPLE'S CONCERNS WERE OR POSSIBLE PITFALLS ABOUT THAT PROJECT AND THE COMMUNICATIONS AROUND THAT PROJECT, HOW IT SHOULD, HOW IT COULD LOOK, UM, AND TAKING THAT FEEDBACK WHEN IT'S APPROPRIATE INTO ACCOUNT TO MAKE THE PROJECT BETTER IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE ALWAYS TRYING TO DO.
UM, AND THEN PREPARE THE COMMUNITY.
WE DON'T WANNA SURPRISE PEOPLE WITH CHANGES THAT MIGHT UPSET THEM.
UM, IT JUST SORT OF DESTROYS TRUST IN GOVERNMENT WHEN WE ARE ALL WORKING REALLY HARD TO MAKE SURE THAT THE IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE'RE MAKING TO PEOPLE'S LIVES ARE, ARE GOING TO BE A GOOD THING.
SO WE DON'T WANNA, UM, SURPRISE PEOPLE AND THEN PUT, SET THEM AGAINST THE THINGS THAT WE'RE HOPING TO DO.
SO, UM, ONE EXAMPLE, AND I INCLUDE AT OUR SLOW, THE FAST DOWN, UM, CAMPAIGN, THERE IS A STATEWIDE SLOW, THE FAST DOWN CAMPAIGN, IT'S A LOT OF BLACK AND GREEN.
THERE ARE IMAGES OF FLASHING LIGHTS, IT'S KIND OF DESIGNED TO STRIKE A LITTLE BIT OF FEAR.
WE TOOK THE SAME CAMPAIGN TEXT AND TRIED TO PETAL LUIZE IT TO KNOW OUR AUDIENCE.
WE KNEW THAT PEOPLE MIGHT SUPPORT SLOWING DOWN TRAFFIC THAT DID NOT SUPPORT THE IDEA OF CITY GOVERNMENT TELLING THEM TO SLOW DOWN.
SO WE TOOK AWAY THE CITY LOGO.
WE WANTED IT TO BE SOMETHING THAT ANYONE COULD ADOPT REGARDLESS OF THEIR THOUGHTS ON GOVERNMENT.
UM, AND WE MADE IT SORT OF CHICKEN COLORED.
THERE WAS A LOT OF DEBATE, SHOULD IT HAVE A CHICKEN ON IT OR NOT.
WE ENDED UP GOING WITH TEXT ONLY, UM, BECAUSE WE DIDN'T WANT IT TO FEEL TOO, YOU KNOW, UM, TOO CHILDLIKE, I GUESS.
UM, AND WE FOUND THAT BECAUSE WE MADE IT FRIENDLY, WE TOOK THAT GOVERNMENT ELEMENT AWAY, IT WAS PRETTY WIDELY ADOPTED, AND FOR A WHILE YOU COULD SEE THESE SOUNDS SIGNS ALL OVER TOWN, UM, AND REALLY GOT PEOPLE TALKING A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SLOWING TRAFFIC IN A WAY THAT DIDN'T FEEL PRESCRIPTIVE, UM, AND JUST FELT LIKE SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE COULD DO TO BE A GOOD NEIGHBOR.
SO, UM, THAT'S JUST ONE WAY THAT WE TRY AND BRING THESE IDEAS TO LIFE.
UM, AND THAT'S KIND OF MY, THE END OF MY PRESENTATION.
UM, I AM ASSUMING THAT ALMOST EVERYBODY IN THIS ROOM PROBABLY GETS OUR EMAILS AND SUBSCRIBES ON TO OUR SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS, BUT IF YOU DON'T, YOU CAN ALWAYS GO TO CITY OF PETALUMA.ORG/SUBSCRIBE, UM, AND FIND ALL OF THE WAYS THAT WE ARE DISSEMINATING INFORMATION EVERY DAY.
UH, DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY BRIEF COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS ON THE PRESENTATION? NO QUESTION.
I WAS JUST CURIOUS, UM, HOW OFTEN YOU GUYS DO SURVEYS AND IF YOU DO, HOW DO YOU DO THEM? UM, OUR OFFICE HELPS WITH SURVEYS.
USUALLY WE ARE NOT INITIATING THEM.
THEY'RE USUALLY INITIATED BY DEPARTMENTS THEMSELVES WHO ARE SEEKING INFORMATION ON A SPECIFIC PROJECT.
UM, I WOULD SAY OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, WE WE'RE DOING A SURVEY AT LEAST ONCE EVERY COUPLE OF MONTHS ON A DIFFERENT SUBJECT.
UM, IT, IT HONESTLY DEPENDS, LIKE I WAS SAYING EARLIER ON, HOW MUCH FEEDBACK WE CAN ACTUALLY TAKE ON PROJECTS.
SO IF IT IS SOMETHING WHERE THE DESIGNERS CANNOT USE COMMUNITY FEEDBACK BECAUSE THE STREET NEEDS TO LOOK A CERTAIN WAY FOR SAFETY REASONS, OR WE KNOW THAT A BUILDING HAS TO BE SHAPED A CERTAIN WAY IN ORDER TO, UM, YOU KNOW, OR WE MAY BE LIMITATE LIMITED IN WHAT WE CAN TAKE, I ALSO ENCOURAGE OUR STAFF TO NOT JUST IMMEDIATELY JUMP TO A SURVEY BECAUSE WE DON'T WANNA OVER PROMISE WHAT TYPE OF FEEDBACK THE, OR INPUT THE COMMUNITY CAN HAVE.
SO, UM, WE TRY TO BE MEASURED ABOUT THAT.
BUT I'D SAY ONCE EVERY COUPLE OF MONTHS AT LEAST WE'RE SERVING ON SOMETHING.
UM, JUST GOING OVER THE, UH, DIFFERENT TYPES OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE LEVELS OF PARTICIPATION, THE READERSHIP MM-HMM
'CAUSE WHAT WAS NOT INCLUDED WAS, UM, A PCA TV, UH, NEWSPAPERS AND PC AND KPCA RADIO MM-HMM
UH, SO THESE ARE, UH, TRADITIONAL, UH, COMMUNICATIONS AND WE'VE SHIFTED OVER TO BASICALLY, UH, ELECTRONIC MEDIA, UH, AND SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE LIKE.
SO IS IS THERE THAT MUCH OF A CHANGE FROM TRADITION AND OR DO WE STILL GO AFTER THOSE ACCESS POINTS ALSO IN, IN PO YEAH, WE, WE ABSOLUTELY DO STILL, UM, ADVERTISE AND PRINT MEDIA.
UM, WE, I KNOW ALL OF OUR MEETINGS, UM, ARE POSTED THERE.
[00:30:01]
WE ARE MOVING AWAY FROM PRINT BECAUSE WE DON'T FIND THAT IT REACHES THE SAME DIVERSITY OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS.UM, MOST, UH, WE KNOW THAT A LOT OF OUR SENIORS ARE RECEIVING THE PRINT NEWSPAPER.
I RECEIVE THE PRINT NEWSPAPER.
UM, BUT IF WE WANNA BE REACHING A WIDER SWATH OF THE COMMUNITY, DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS SEEM TO BE MORE EFFECTIVE IN IN DOING THAT.
UM, WE, OUR PODCAST IS, UM, A-K-P-C-A PARTNERSHIP, SO WE'RE REALLY GRATEFUL FOR THEM.
AND WE DO, UM, WE'LL PUT ON PSAS, UM, THROUGH KPCA.
THAT USUALLY IS, UM, SOMETHING THAT TOM JORDAN, OUR EMERGENCY MANAGER, IS DIRECTING.
UM, A LOT OF HIS COMMUNICATIONS, HE, HE PARTNERS A LOT WITH KPCA ON RADIO SPOTS.
I KNOW HE RECORDED SOME ON, UH, I BELIEVE IT WAS RAIN LAST FALL AND THAT I THINK HE DID SOME IN ON HEAT LAST SUMMER AS WELL.
AND I THINK THERE'S ALSO SOME, UM, NOTICING THAT WE'RE REQUIRED TO DO IN THE PETALUMA ARGUS COURIER, LIKE MM-HMM
SO WE DO THOSE WHEN NECESSARY.
THE LEGAL NOTICING IS NOT OUR OFFICE THOUGH.
THAT'S USUALLY OTHER DEPARTMENTS.
UH, UM, I WAS A BIG FAN OF THE, UH, THE ONE PETALUMA PODCAST.
BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, IT, IT'S A WONDERFUL WAY TO PASS TIME IF YOU HAVE A LONG DRIVE OR TRAIN RIDE OR SOMETHING.
JUST CURIOUS IF THAT'S COMING BACK AND SELFISHLY HOPING WE CAN GET ONE ON, YOU KNOW, THE CLIMATE ACTION THAT'S HAPPENING IN THE CITY.
'CAUSE I THINK WE HAVE A WONDERFUL STORY TO TELL.
YES, WE WILL ABSOLUTELY BE BACK.
UM, WE RAN INTO SOME STAFFING ISSUES, WHICH DELAYED MY NE MY TWO NEXT TOPICS.
SO I PROMISED ONE ON THE FAIRGROUNDS.
AND OF COURSE, OUR FAIR OR OUR PARKS AND REC DEPARTMENT, UM, IS TREMENDOUSLY BUSY WITH LUMA ICE AND NOW THE FAIR.
SO GETTING ON EVERYBODY'S CALENDAR, UM, HAS PROVED A LITTLE BIT DIFFICULT.
UM, BUT WE WILL BE COMING OUT WITH AN EPISODE SOON, UM, TBD, BUT YES, IT HAS NOT FALLEN OFF THE FACE OF THE PLANET.
STAFF IS JUST, FOR SOME REASON PODCASTS AREN'T THEIR TOP PRIORITY RIGHT NOW.
AND I'D LIKE TO ADD JUST, UH, TO THAT FOR THE ONE PETALUMA NOW, UM, I JUST WAS AT A MEETING, UM, OVER AT BLUE ZONES AND THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT, UM, UH, THE PARADE THAT'S COMING UP AND, AND ALL PARTICIPANTS THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE NONPROFITS AND, UH, SUGGESTION CAME UP THAT MAYBE HAVING A BRANDING OF A, A SINGLE BANNER OF ONE PETALUMA AND ALL THE NONPROFITS WOULD CARRY THAT ALONG WITH THEIR OWN BANNER.
SO THAT WE ACTUALLY EMPHASIZE THAT DURING OUR PARADE.
AND REALLY PUBLICIZE THAT AS A BRANDING THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE ALL, ALL THIS NONPROFITS ARE WORKING TOGETHER AS ONE TEAM.
UM, AND SO I'D LIKE TO SEE THAT HAPPEN IF I, IF WE CAN MAKE THAT HAPPEN.
I WILL CHECK WITH PEGGY, PEGGY ON THE BUDGET CODE FOR THAT.
AND HEALTH DISTRICT SAID THEY MIGHT HAVE MONEY FOR THAT, FOR US TO DO THAT.
SO WE HAVE SOME REPRESENTATIVE THERE FROM THE HEALTH DISTRICT.
I LOVE THE PLUG FOR THE PARADE.
[GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT]
ON THE AGENDA IS GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT.UH, WE ALSO, IN A SHORT WHILE, HAVE A PUBLIC HEARING ON SINGLE USE FOOD WEAR ORDINANCE.
SO IF YOUR COMMENT IS RELATED TO FOOD WEAR, PLEASE RESERVE THAT.
UH, IF YOU HAVE A GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT RELATED TO CLIMATE ACTION, NOW IS YOUR CHANCE.
DURING GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT, THE PUBLIC IS INVITED TO MAKE COMMENTS ON ITEMS OF THE PUBLIC INTEREST THAT ARE WITHIN THE COMMISSION SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION, AND ARE NOT LISTED ON THE AGENDA.
THEY'RE LIMITED UP TO THREE MINUTES PER PERSON, DEPENDING ON THE NUMBER OF PERSONS TIME WILL BE ALLOCATED ACCORDINGLY.
DO WE HAVE ANY SPEAKERS OR SPEAKER CARDS? UH, NO PRIOR PUBLIC COMMENT.
WE HAVE, UM, SOMEONE RIGHT IN THE BACK RAISING THEIR HAND.
YOU CAN MAKE A COMMENT AND THEN, UM, AFTERWARDS, IF YOU COULD PROVIDE YOUR NAME TO THE CLERK.
I WANTED TO TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO INTRODUCE MYSELF.
I'VE JUST RECENTLY RETURNED TO SONOMA COUNTY FROM KAUAI, WHERE I SPENT 17 YEARS AND THE LAST FIVE, ALMOST SIX YEARS IN DISASTER PREPAREDNESS, SPECIFICALLY AROUND DISASTER SHELTERS, ALL HAZARD SHELTERS.
SO, UM, I HAVE KIDS AND GRANDKIDS IN SEBASTOPOL.
WE CHOSE TO STAY AWAY A LITTLE BIT SO THEY HAVE THEIR SPACE.
UM, SO WE WERE VERY EXCITED TO JOIN PETALUMA.
UM, CERTAINLY HAVE SPENT TIME IN PETALUMA BUT HAVE NEVER LIVED IN PETALUMA.
I'M REALLY ENJOYING, WE LIVE ON EAST SIDE.
UH, BUT I REALLY WOULD LIKE TO BE ABLE TO, UM, BECOME INVOLVED IN THE DISASTER PREPAREDNESS EFFORTS IN PETALUMA OR SONOMA COUNTY IN GENERAL.
UH, I JUST WENT TO THE, UM, SONOMA VALLEY EVACUATION STUDY PRESENTATION A WEEK OR TWO AGO.
[00:35:01]
UH, AND SO, UH, MY BIG FOCUS HAS BEEN FOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS IS KEEPING PEOPLE ALIVE.AND SO I KNOW THAT THERE IS SOME SORT OF A PROJECT AT THE FAIRGROUNDS.
I'D LOVE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THAT.
UM, I HAVE, I'VE HAD TO HAND WRITE MY PHONE NUMBER AND EMAIL ADDRESS ON HERE 'CAUSE THE NEW STUFF HAS NOT ARRIVED.
BUT MAYBE IF I COULD HAND THOSE TO YOU.
I THINK THERE'S ONE FOR EVERYBODY.
UH, THE PICTURE ON THE FRONT IS A PROJECT ON KAUAI.
UM, SO PLEASE FEEL FREE TO REACH OUT IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALLOWING ME TO INTRODUCE MYSELF.
UM, YOU KNOW, OUR EMERGENCY MANAGER, TOM JORDAN, IS GETTING A BIT OF A SHOUT OUT TONIGHT.
I ENCOURAGE YOU TO INTERFACE WITH HIM.
UH, I ALSO KNOW THE SONOMA COUNTY SAFETY ELEMENT OF THEIR GENERAL PLAN IS ONGOING.
AND, UH, THERE WAS A RECENT WORKSHOP AT SUG HALL ON THAT, UH, THE CONSULTANCY TETRATECH IS MANAGING THAT EFFORT OF THE SAFETY ELEMENT THAT'S COUNTYWIDE.
UH, I ENCOURAGE EVERYONE WHO, UH, HAS A FOCUS AROUND ADAPTATION.
UH, ADAPTATION IS DEALT WITH AT THE CITY AND COUNTY LEVEL IN OUR CURRENT SAFETY ELEMENTS.
SO WE DON'T HAVE ANY REAL ADAPTATION PLANNING, UH, CURRENTLY ONGOING.
AND SO THAT EFFORT IS BEST HOUSED UNDER THE TOPIC, TOPIC OF SAFETY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS APPROVAL OF MINUTES, UH, AS ANYONE HAVE ANY CHANGES OR CORRECTIONS TO THE MINUTES.UH, THE MINUTES ARE DEEMED ACCLAIMED OR APPROVED, AND WE ARE MOVING ON TO PUBLIC
[PUBLIC HEARINGS AND MATTERS FOR CONSIDERATION]
HEARINGS AND MATTERS FOR CONSIDERATION.UH, THIS IS THE DISCUSSION OF THE SINGLE USE FOOD WARE DRAFT ORDINANCE.
THANK YOU CHAIR PETERS, OR VICE CHAIR ACTING CHAIR PETERS, UH, FILLING IN FOR CHAIR ASHLEY, WHO IS REMOTE TODAY.
UM, AND I'M SURE SHE'S GOING TO CHIME IN VERY SHORTLY AND I'LL SHARE MY SCREEN FOR THAT.
BUT TO GIVE JUST A, A BRIEF INTRODUCTION ON THE ITEM, UM, AS EVERYONE IN THE, UH, RESOURCE CONSUMPTION AD HOC IS AWARE, UM, THIS IS AN ITEM THAT THAT GROUP HAS BEEN DISCUSSING.
UM, SINGLE USE FOOD WEAR ORDINANCE.
IT'S A, UM, SPECIFICALLY MENTIONED AS AN ACTION TO TAKE IN THE BLUEPRINT FOR CLIMATE ACTION.
AND, UM, AND ACTUALLY THE, HOW THE AD HOC HAS WORKED IT IS, IT, UM, ALSO ENCOMPASSES THE FOOD WASTE AND SPECIAL EVENT PERMITTING, UM, ASPECT OF, OF THE BLUEPRINT.
THAT'S ANOTHER, UM, BLUEPRINT ITEM AS WELL.
UM, SO THE AD HOC SUBCOMMITTEE HAS MET, MET, UH, NUMEROUS TIMES TO DISCUSS, UM, WHAT ELEMENTS WOULD BE INCLUDED IN A, UH, FOOD WEAR ORDINANCE AND FOOD WAR.
FOR THE PURPOSES OF, OF THE RECORD IS, UM, TYPICALLY THINGS THAT YOU GET FOR, TO GO FOOD.
SO IT COULD BE DISPOSABLE ITEMS LIKE FORKS, KNIVES, SPOONS, CUPS, UM, YOU KNOW, CONTAINERS, UM, THAT NOT ARE NOT INTENDED, UM, TYPICALLY, UM, FOR REUSE.
UM, NOT DESIGNED FOR THAT SPECIFICALLY.
SO TO BRIEFLY SUMMARIZE THE ELEMENTS OF THE DRAFT ORDINANCE THAT'S BEING, UM, PRESENTED TONIGHT, UM, THERE WOULD BE A REQUIREMENT FOR REASONABLE FOOD WEAR IN, UH, DINE-IN SLASH SIT DOWN RESTAURANTS.
UM, A CHARGE ON EACH, UM, FOOD WEAR AND FOOD WEAR ACCESSORY ITEM THAT IS GIVEN FOR TO GO FOOD, WHICH THE RESTAURANTS WOULD RETAIN.
AND THAT THESE, UM, REQUIREMENTS WOULD ALSO APPLY TO CITY FACILITIES AND CITY SPONSORED EVENTS.
UM, THINGS THAT REQUIRE A PERMIT FROM THE CITY AS WELL.
UM, AND FROM HERE, UM, I THINK THE INTENT WAS TO GET INITIAL FEEDBACK FROM THE CLIMATE ACTION COMMISSION ON THESE ELEMENTS, UM, AND PRESENT FINDINGS THAT THE AD HOC HAS DONE FROM THEIR INITIAL OUTREACH EFFORTS TO THE COMMUNITY AND FOLKS THAT WOULD BE COVERED BY THIS, THIS DRAFT ORDINANCE.
AND, UM, FROM THERE, UM, STAFF WOULD TAKE THE ORDINANCE, UH, WE WOULD DO A MORE, UH, A DEEPER ANALYSIS OF, OF WHO WASN'T COVERED IN THAT OUTREACH BY THE AD HOC.
UM, AND THAT COULD INCLUDE DIRECT OUTREACH TO RESTAURANTS, UH, IT COULD INCLUDE SURVEYS AS WE HEARD.
UH, THERE'S MANY OPTIONS JUST IN THAT LAST PRE PRESENTATION
[00:40:01]
ON HOW TO GET THE WORD OUT AND HOW TO GET FEEDBACK ON THAT.UM, SO, UM, SO WE COULD, IN, IN THE STAFF REPORT IT TALKS ABOUT DOING THAT AFTER, UM, COMING BACK TO THE CAC IN APRIL, UM, I THINK WE COULD HAVE A DISCUSSION ON WHETHER THE CLIMATE ACTION COMMISSION IS INTERESTED IN STAFF DOING THAT BEFORE A DRAFT ORDINANCE WOULD COME BACK, UM, TO HERE, SO THAT YOU'RE KIND OF INFORMED ON, ON THAT ADDITIONAL ANALYSIS OR IF YOU JUST WANT TO MAKE YOUR ANALYSIS AND THEN STAFF WILL DO THAT ANALYSIS BEFORE IT GOES TO COUNCIL.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE COULD DISCUSS.
UM, IF, COULD YOU SAY THAT AGAIN? SORRY.
SO YEAH, SO THIS IS KIND OF THE INTRODUCTION RIGHT NOW.
AND, AND EITHER THE CAC IF IT FEELS LIKE IT HAS ENOUGH INFORMATION COULD DIRECT, UM, THE SUBCOMMITTEE TO COME BACK NEXT MONTH WITH LIKE ITS FINAL.
OR WE COULD GO OUT AND DO THAT, UM, DEEPER OUTREACH TO THE COMMUNITY AND COME BACK WITH THOSE RESULTS BEFORE THE CIC MAKES ITS FINAL RECOMMENDATION BEFORE GOING TO COUNCIL.
SO THERE'S KIND OF TWO DIFFERENT PATHS TO GO.
ONE'S KIND OF LIKE, WE, WE FEEL LIKE WE HAVE A GOOD PULSE ON THIS ITEM, LET'S GO FORWARD WITH IT.
OR WE WANT MORE FEEDBACK BEFORE WE MAKE A DECISION ON THAT.
SO WITH THAT, I THINK THAT'S ENOUGH PREAMBLE.
UM, AMY, ARE YOU THERE? WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO SHARE MY SCREEN? I AM HERE, THANK YOU.
YEAH, IF YOU COULD SHARE THE SLIDESHOW, THAT'D BE GREAT.
SO I JUST WANTED TO SUMMARIZE WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING AND HOW WE'VE BEEN DOING IT FOR YOU.
UM, AND THEN AT THE END I'LL HAVE SORT OF SPECIFIC QUESTIONS THAT WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR, UM, THE COMMISSION'S FEEDBACK ON NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
UM, SO A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND.
I THINK PROBABLY MOST PEOPLE ON THE COMMISSION ALREADY KNOW THIS, BUT THE CITY WAS LOOKING INTO PASSING A FOOD WEAR ORDINANCE, A FOOD WEAR WASTE ORDINANCE IN 2020, BUT THEN THE PANDEMIC HIT AND THEY DIDN'T WANNA PUT MORE PRESSURE ON RESTAURANTS THAT WERE ALREADY STRUGGLING.
AND SO IT WAS SORT OF PUT ON THE BACK BURNER.
UM, ALL OTHER, AT THIS POINT, ALL OTHER JURISDICTIONS IN STOMA COUNTY HAVE PASSED A VERSION OF THIS FOOD WEAR WASTE ORDINANCE.
UM, PARLIAMENT ONLY PASSED THE POLYSTYRENE BAN.
UM, SO WE HAVEN'T PASSED LIKE A MORE THOROUGH ONE.
UM, THE CITY WA IS ALREADY POISED TO REEVALUATE THIS ORDINANCE.
UM, THE, THE SORT OF THING THAT THEY WERE STUCK ON WAS THE IMPLEMENTATION OF IT BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T WANNA JUST GIVE LIP SERVICE TO THIS TOPIC.
THEY WANTED TO ACTUALLY BE ABLE TO IMPLEMENT IT.
AND SO, UM, THAT WAS A SORT OF A PROBLEM THAT WE WERE TRYING TO ADDRESS FOR LIKE HELP ADDRESS FOR THEM.
UM, AND THEN, UM, I THINK YOU ALL KNOW THIS ALREADY, BUT THE CONSUMPTION AD HOC CHOSE THE LOW HANGING FRUIT BECAUSE THE CITY WAS ALREADY INTERESTED IN DOING THIS.
UM, AND THEN AS PATRICK MENTIONED, UM, WE ALSO HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT AN EVENT WASTE MANAGEMENT, UM, PLAN.
UM, AND SO THAT'S RELATED TO THIS, BUT NOT, YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE A VENN DIAGRAM.
UM, JUST GIVING YOU A QUICK OVERVIEW, I'M NOT GONNA GO INTO ALL THE DETAILS, BUT, UM, SO FAR WE'VE BEEN IN THE DRAFTING OF THE ORDINANCE PHASE AND SO WE'VE DONE A BUNCH OF RESEARCH.
UM, WE'VE LOOKED AT MARINS AND SONOMAS, NAPA COUNTY, SANTA RAFAEL, SANTA ROSA, AND OTHER PLACES THAT HAVE BEEN PASSING ORDINANCES AND JUST SORT, SORT OF COMPILED THE BEST OF, UM, INTO A DRAFT.
AND SO THAT'S WHAT YOU'VE BEEN GIVEN.
UM, THIS NEXT, THIS NEXT WE, THE WAY THAT WE SORT OF ENVISION IT, AND I, AS PATRICK SAID, WE CAN DO IT ONE OF TWO WAYS, BUT THE WAY WE ENVISION IT IS THAT NOW IS THE GATHERING INPUT PHASE.
UM, AND, UM, SO WE WANNA HEAR FROM YOU, WE WANNA HEAR FROM THE COMMUNITY.
IF THE CITY'S GONNA PUT OUT A SURVEY, OF COURSE WE'RE SUPER INTERESTED IN WHAT THAT, WHAT THAT IS.
UM, AND THEN, UH, THE CITY OF COURSE IS GONNA HAVE INPUT ALSO.
UM, THEY'RE GONNA HAVE THEIR LEGAL LOOK AT IT AND, YOU KNOW, FIGURE OUT THE IMPLEMENTATION.
UM, AND THEN FINALLY WE'LL TAKE ALL THAT FEEDBACK IN, SYNTHESIZE ANOTHER DRAFT, UM, AND BRING IT TO YOU.
AND, AND WE'RE HOPING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE CAN ALL AGREE THAT IT'S, YOU KNOW, GOOD 'CAUSE WE'RE GONNA BE INCLUDING, UM, ALL YOUR FEEDBACK, UM, AND THEN RECOMMEND THAT THE CITY TAKE IT TO THE COUNCIL.
UM, JUST FYI, UH, THE PROCESS OF DRAFTING IS, WE MET ON AVERAGE EVERY TWO WEEKS.
IT WAS, SOMETIMES IT WAS ONCE A WEEK AND SOMETIMES IT WAS A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN TWO WEEKS IN BETWEEN.
BUT WE, WE TRIED TO GET A MIXTURE OF DAYS AND TIMES TO ACCOMMODATE, UM, DIFFERENT PAR PARTICIPANT SCHEDULES.
UM, IF YOU ADD ALL OF OUR HOURS TOGETHER, IT'S OVER A HUNDRED HOURS OF INPUT THAT WE'VE, WE'VE HAD FROM, YOU KNOW, ALL THESE DIFFERENT PEOPLE.
[00:45:01]
UM, WE HAVE THE COMMISSIONERS AND THE YOUTH COMMISSIONER.COOL PETALUMA REPRESENTATIVE, RESTAURANT OWNER, UH, RECOLOGY REPRESENTATIVE, UH, A COUPLE OF PETALUMA BUSINESS OWNERS.
UM, SOME COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT ARE NOT AFFILIATED WITH ANY OF THESE OTHER BODIES.
UM, AND THEN OF COURSE, CITY STAFF, PATRICK, WHO WAS AT MOST OF THOSE NEXT ITEM.
UM, SO HERE'S WHAT WE'RE, UM, THE OUTREACH, THE OUTREACH THAT WE'RE DOING.
SO WE'RE GOING TO LIKE, UH, WE HAD, UM, JAMESON TALK TODAY ABOUT WHAT HA YOU KNOW, THE AVENUES THAT, THAT THEY HAVE.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE WANNA BE USING THAT BECAUSE THIS IS A CITY, A CITY BODY, AND A TOPIC THAT DOES AFFECT THE COMMUNITY.
UM, AND SO PUBLISHING THROUGH THE WEBSITE, SOCIAL MEDIA, THE NEWSLETTER, UM, I REALLY WAS EXCITED ABOUT THE PODCAST.
I'M HOPING MAYBE WE CAN TALK ABOUT THAT.
UM, ALSO I WANTED TO SEND IT OUT THROUGH THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE NEW NEWSLETTER BECAUSE IT DOES AFFECT BUSINESSES.
UM, SO FAR THE, THE PEOPLE THAT I'VE TALKED TO THAT ARE RESTAURANT OWNERS ARE, ARE LIKING THE IDEA BECAUSE THEY GET TO RETAIN THAT 25 CENT CHARGE, BUT THAT'S A VERY LIMITED SIZE OF, UM, SAMPLE SIZE.
UM, THEN OF COURSE WE CAN ALL SHARE VIA, UM, OUR OWN PERSONAL, UM, SOCIAL MEDIA SO WE CAN LIKE, YOU KNOW, FORWARD THE, THE SHARES THAT THE CITY'S DOING.
UM, THE CITY IS CURRENTLY PRODUCING A BILINGUAL SUMMARY FLYER, UM, TO BE DISTRIBUTED DOWNTOWN.
AND THE AD HOC HAS VOLUNTEERED TO GO DOWN AND LIKE SPLIT UP ALL THE RESTAURANTS SO THAT WE CAN BE GIVING IT TO ESPECIALLY THE RESTAURANTS, UM, FOR THEIR INPUT.
UM, AND THEN, OH, I'M ALSO GOING TO, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU GUYS REMEMBER, THERE'S A STUDENT AT, UM, PETALUMA HIGH SCHOOL WHO RUNS A CURRENT EVENTS CLUB.
HE CAME TO THE CLIMATE ACTION COMMISSION MEETING A COUPLE MONTHS AGO.
AND SO I'M GONNA GO ACTUALLY PRESENT THIS TO THE PETALUMA HIGH SCHOOL, UM, CURRENT EVENTS CLUB.
AND THERE'S LIKE, UH, I THINK IT WAS LIKE 30 OR 40 STUDENTS IN THAT CLUB.
SO THAT'LL BE REALLY EXCITING TO HEAR WHAT THEY HAVE TO SAY ABOUT IT.
UM, WE DID ALREADY HAVE A DISCUSSION AT COOL PETALUMA'S QUARTERLY CLIMATE ROUND TABLE LAST WEEK.
UM, WE'RE, WE'RE DOING LISTENING SESSIONS ON ZOOM AND WE'RE DOING VARIOUS DAYS AND TIMES TO ACCOMMODATE THEM.
AND THEN, UM, OF COURSE PEOPLE CAN, CAN EMAIL IN AFTER THEY HEAR ABOUT THIS STUFF THROUGH THESE OTHER OUTREACH CHANNELS.
UM, PUBLIC COMMENTS, WE'VE BEEN INVITING PEOPLE TO DO PUBLIC COMMENT AT THESE MEETINGS.
AND THEN OF COURSE, THERE'S THE AD HOC BREAKOUT GROUPS DURING THESE MEETINGS AS WELL THAT PEOPLE CAN GIVE FEEDBACK.
SO LOTS OF LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR INPUT.
UM, OKAY, SO THE ESSENTIAL POINTS OF THIS ORDINANCE, UM, THE GOAL OF THE ORDINANCE IS TO REDUCE WASTE, LITTER AND POLLUTION WHILE TRANSITIONING TO A CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN PETALUMA.
SO THIS IS NOT, THIS IS A MEANS TO AN END.
IT'S, UM, IT'S TRYING TO GET PEOPLE TO TRANSITION TO THINK ABOUT, OKAY, I'M GONNA BRING MY TUPPERWARE WHEN I GO OUT TO EAT.
I'M GONNA BRING MY OWN TUPPERWARE.
I'M GONNA ALWAYS JUST KEEP FORK KNIFE AND SPOON IN MY BAG.
I'M GONNA BRING MY OWN COFFEE MUG.
I'M GONNA BRING MY OWN WATER BOTTLE.
UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, THE, THE VISION IS THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY THAT WE'RE CHANGING THE WAY THAT WE THINK ABOUT IT.
AND SO WHAT THE STUDIES THAT HAVE BEEN DONE, A 25 CENT CHARGE IS ACTUALLY MORE EFFECTIVE THAN LIKE REDUCING THE COST FOR LIKE BRINGING YOUR OWN BAG OR BRINGING YOUR OWN CUP.
UM, IT'S BETTER TO JUST PENALIZE THE PEOPLE WHO ARE DOING THE BEHAVIOR THAT YOU DON'T WANT.
UM, AND THEN IT INCENTIVIZES THEM TO BRING THEIR OWN STUFF.
THEY'RE LIKE, I DON'T WANNA DO THAT AGAIN.
THAT WAS, THAT'S A RIDICULOUS COST.
AND YOU KNOW, THE THING IS THE COST WAS ALWAYS THERE.
IT'S JUST SOMEONE ELSE THAT WAS PAYING IT.
SO IT WAS LIKE THE COST VERSUS PRICE THING.
UM, SO THE KEY TAKEAWAYS OF THIS ORDINANCE AS, AS WE'VE DRAFTED IT, UM, IS, AND PATRICK WENT OVER THIS A LITTLE BIT, BUT I'LL JUST SAY IT AGAIN.
UM, IT REQUIRES THE USE OF REUSABLE FOOD WARE AND ACCESSORIES WHEN YOU'RE DINING IN.
SO NO, LIKE PAPER PLATES OR WHATEVER.
IF YOU'RE DINING IN AN ESTABLISHMENT, IT REQUIRES THE USE OF, UM, TAKEOUT CONTAINERS BY REQUEST ONLY, AND IT HAS TO COME WITH A 25 CENT CHARGE AND THE CUSTOMER PAYS IT, BUT THE VENDOR GETS TO KEEP THAT MONEY.
AND SO IT HELPS THEM COVER THE COST OF THIS.
UM, THE THING, I'LL JUST TAKE THIS MOMENT TO SAY THAT THE, THE COUPLE OF RESTAURANT, UM, OWNERS THAT I'VE TALKED TO ARE REALLY EXCITED THAT THEY GET THAT THEY'RE, THAT IT'S GONNA GIVE THEM AN EVEN PLAYING FIELD 'CAUSE THEY WANNA BE DOING THIS ANYWAYS, BUT IT'S GIVING THEM AN EVEN PLAYING FIELD WITH, WITH THE REST OF THE PETALUMA, UM, RESTAURANTS.
UM, BECAUSE THEN EVERYBODY'S JUST CHARGING, YOU KNOW, AND, AND IT'S KEEP KEEPING OUR STREETS CLEANER AND, YOU KNOW, LESS WASTE IN THE LANDFILL, WHICH WAS ANOTHER ONE OF OUR BLUEPRINT, UH, TOPICS.
UM, ONE THING WE'RE CONSIDERING, AND THIS IS SOMETHING I'M, I I WOULD, YOU KNOW, EVERY, WE'RE INTERESTED IN HEARING EVERYBODY'S FEEDBACK ON IS WHETHER WE SHOULD HAVE A MAXIMUM
[00:50:01]
CHARGE.LIKE, YOU KNOW, IF IT'S 25 CENTS, BUT THERE'S A MAXIMUM OF, OF A DOLLAR OR $2.
UM, LIKE IF YOU'RE GETTING A BIG GROUP THING AND YOU'RE GETTING, YOU KNOW, EACH, YOU KNOW, 30 PEOPLE'S FOOD AND, AND SO YOU HAVE TO PAY 30 TIMES 25 CENTS FOR FORKS OR WHATEVER.
SO THAT'S A, THAT'S A TOPIC THAT WE'RE STILL KIND OF DEBATING.
UM, IT LIMITS THE MATERIALS THAT THEY CAN USE FOR, UM, THE TAKEOUT ALSO.
AND THEN, OF COURSE, CITY RELATED EVENTS WILL HAVE THE SAME REQUIREMENTS.
SO IF IT'S A PERMITTED EVENT, IF IT'S ON CITY PROPERTY OR IF THE CITY IS HOSTING AN EVENT, UM, HAS ALL THESE SAME REQUIRE REQUIREMENTS.
SO HERE'S, HERE'S WHERE I JUST LIST OUT HOW, HOW YOU CAN HELP, UM, AS A COMMISSION.
UM, AND THIS, THIS ALSO DOES GO FOR ACTUALLY, UM, EVERYBODY
SO IF YOU HAVE DETAILED RELATED, I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY OF YOU HAVE READ THIS ORDINANCE ALREADY, BUT THERE'S, YOU KNOW, THERE'S THREE SECTIONS.
UM, THE FIRST SECTION IS KIND OF WHY WE'RE DOING IT.
THE SECOND SECTION IS DEFINITIONS, AND THEN THE THIRD SECTION IS THE ACTUAL ORDINANCE, UH, DRAFT.
SO IF YOU HAVE ANY LIKE, DETAILED FEEDBACK, IF IT'S LIKE, AH, THIS IS NOT A GOOD DEFINITION OF POLYSTYRENE, THEN THAT KIND OF LIKE SORT OF DETAILED STUFF CAN GO INTO WRITTEN FORM.
AND THIS IS SIMILAR TO THE WAY THAT WE, UM, DID THE BLUEPRINT AT ONE POINT, UM, WHERE WE, YOU KNOW, WE COULD, IT WAS ALL WRITTEN OUT AND WE COULD JUST WRITE NOTES ON EACH, EACH LITTLE PART.
UM, AND SO DETAILED FEEDBACK WOULD BE GREAT IN WRITTEN FORM BECAUSE WE DO WANT THAT, BUT IT, IT PROBABLY DOESN'T NEED TO HAVE A WHOLE DISCUSSION AROUND IT 'CAUSE IT'S PRETTY, PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD.
UM, SO DEB'S GONNA SEND THAT OUT.
UM, AND THEN THE SECOND THING IS FOR DISCUSSION THIS EVENING, UM, THE MAJOR POINTS ARE, UM, THE ONES THAT WE ALREADY OUTLINED.
AND SO THE QUESTIONS FOR YOU ARE, UM, THAT ONE, ONE OR $2 LIMIT, SHOULD THAT BE A THING? UM, IS THIS ACCOMPLISHING OUR GOAL? IS THE ORDINANCE AS WRITTEN, ACCOMPLISHING THE GOAL THAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACHIEVE, WHICH IS TO ULTIMATELY BE A CIRCULAR ECONOMY? UM, IS THERE ANYTHING THAT WE'RE MISSING EITHER GLARINGLY OR JUST SORT OF SUBTLY LIKE, WHAT, WHAT ARE WE MISSING? UM, AND THEN IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE, LIKE, OBVIOUSLY WRONG WITH THIS PLAN, UM, AS WRITTEN.
I THINK THAT'S MY LAST SLIDE, RIGHT? YES.
AND THANK YOU ALL THESE, ALL THESE GREAT BRAINS IN THIS ROOM.
I'D LOVE, I'D LOVE TO HEAR WHAT EVERYBODY HAS TO SAY.
BEFORE I, UH, KICK IT OFF TO EVERYONE, PATRICK, DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER THINGS OR SHOULD WE JUST HAVE A LITTLE DISCUSSION HERE? YEAH, I THINK WE CAN GO TO DISCUSSION.
SO I GUESS I'LL START DOWN HERE.
I THINK GREAT JOB ON THAT AND THANK YOU FOR THAT.
UM, I'VE, I'VE ALREADY HEARD THAT THERE'S SEVERAL OTHER CITIES HAVE, UH, SOME REALLY GOOD PROGRAMS INCLUDING LOS ANGELES AND, BUT, UH, SOME OF THE QUESTIONS REMAIN ON, UM, IF ON THE 25 CENT CHARGE IS A OVERALL CHARGE.
'CAUSE SOME PLACES, SOME RESTAURANTS, ESPECIALLY THE TAKEOUTS, UM, THE LEVEL OF PACKAGING THAT THEY'RE PROVIDING IS, IS QUITE DIFFERENT BETWEEN SEVERAL OF THEM THAT I'VE BEEN TO.
AND SO IF IT'S JUST A STANDARD CHARGE, 25 CENTS, LIKE SOME, UM, WOULD BE ONE OR TWO ITEMS MIGHT BE SHIFTED AND CHANGED FOR.
BUT, UM, I KNOW ONE OF, ONE OF THE PLACES I, I KNOW MY WIFE LIKES TO GO, SHE BRING FOOD HOME FROM, THERE'S ABOUT 10 DIFFERENT THINGS IN A PACKAGING PARTICULATES BETWEEN THE PAPER, THE NAPKINS, THE CONTAINERS, THE LIDS, THE FORKS, THE, UM, LITTLE CUPS WITH SAUCES.
SO THERE'S LIKE ALMOST 20 WHEN WE BRING, SHE BRINGS THE BAG HOME, THERE'S LIKE 20 ACTUAL ITEMS NOT FOOD IN, IN THIS, IN THIS BAG.
UM, SO ONE OF THE IDEAS IS MAYBE, UM, IS THERE ARE MODIFICATIONS WHERE IT'D BE, IS IT 25 CENTS PER CUSTOMER OR PER ORDER AT LEAST.
SO IF THERE'S TWO OR THREE OR OR FOUR HAMBURGERS, IT'S A DOLLAR, NOT 25 CENTS, SO VOLUME MAY MATTER.
UM, SO THAT WAS JUST JUST ONE THING TO THINK ABOUT.
AND THEN ANOTHER ONE IS ON, UM, FOR THE MATERIALS, THERE IS PAPER PLASTIC BAGS, THE VARIOUS CONTAINERS, AND IN THE MATERIALS LIMITED, UM, YOU TALK ABOUT MATERIALS.
SO THAT'S A HUGE DISCUSSION ON WHAT'S GOING TO BE LIMITED OR NOT ALLOWED OR IF IT IS ALLOWED, WHAT TYPE OF CONTAINER.
SO IF IT'S GOING TO BE PLASTIC CONTAINER, UH, DOES IT NEED TO BE THICK ENOUGH TO BE REUSABLE AT HOME AS AN ACTUAL TUPPERWARE TYPE CONTAINER? UM, THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND THEN, UM, AND THEN IN BRINGING IN YOUR OWN CONTAINERS, LET'S SAY I, I WOULD LOVE TO TAKE UP A LITTLE BOX WITH ME AND, AND BRING IT IN, UH, MY OWN LITTLE TUPPERWARE CONTAINERS WITH LIDS AND EVERYTHING AND, AND HAND IT OVER SAYS, PLEASE FILL UP WITH, WITH THE ORDER AND BRING IT HOME.
UM, IF WE CHECKED INTO THE SANITATION RULES, 'CAUSE I KNOW THE FOOD SANITATION RULES ARE REALLY TOUGH IN PLACES
[00:55:02]
AND HOW CAN WE GET, UM, HOW CAN OUR RESTAURANTS GONNA BE OPEN TO THAT? ARE THEY LEGALLY ABLE TO DO THAT? AND THEN FINALLY, THE OTHER, UH, LAST LITTLE BIT TO THINK ABOUT IS FOR THE SCHOOLS.I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF, UM, I KNOW RECOLOGY IS WORKING WITH THE SCHOOLS QUITE A BIT ON THAT, BUT THAT'S A HUGE AREA, PROBABLY ONE OF THE LARGEST, UM, UH, COLLECTION SITES FOR PLASTIC AND PAPER AND UM, AND, UH, UNUSABLE, REUSABLE STUFF THAT GOES IN THE TRASH.
SO, UM, IF WE GET WITH THESE RULES APPLY TO THE CAFETERIAS, WHICH ARE BASICALLY BUSINESSES RUNNING INSIDE THE SCHOOLS AS WELL AS, UH, WHEN THEY'RE SELLING STUFF DIRECTLY TO CUSTOMERS.
SO THOSE ARE THE THINGS I'M, I'M BEING, UM, I'D BE THINKING ABOUT IN THIS PROGRAM AND, AND LOOKING AT THROUGH THE ORDINANCE.
SO I'LL LEAVE THAT JUST AS A, SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT IN IDEAS TO, TO SHARE AND DISCUSS.
UH, MOVING DOWN, DO YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS OR FEEDBACK? WELL, SINCE I'M INVOLVED, YEAH, I DON'T HAVE ANY PARTICULAR FEEDBACK.
I'M MORE INTERESTED IN HEARING WHAT YOU ALL HAVE TO SAY.
BUT I AM CURIOUS ABOUT SORT OF THE PRACTICAL APPLICATION, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, THE LINE ITEM THAT SAYS TAKE OUT ITEMS BY REQUEST.
AND I'M THINKING, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE IN, LET'S SAY, A RESTAURANT WHERE YOU'RE ORDERING, YOU KNOW, IMAGINE A THAI RESTAURANT AND YOU'RE GETTING SOME PO HAI AND SOME SOUP AND SOME SAUCES, AND YOU SAY, I WANNA BRING MY OWN CONTAINERS.
WHAT'S THAT EXPERIENCE LIKE? SO IN OTHER WORDS, YOU'RE NOT REQUESTING TAKEOUT CONTAINERS.
YOU WANNA BRING YOUR OWN AND BRING THE FOOD HOME IN YOUR OWN CONTAINERS.
SO YOU SHOW UP AT THE RESTAURANT WITH, YOU KNOW, A BAG FULL OF TUPPERWARE OR WHATEVER.
AND WHAT'S THAT EXPERIENCE LIKE FOR THE RESTAURANT AND ARE THEY GOING TO BE AMENABLE TO THAT? HAVE ANY RESTAURANTS EXPRESSED ANY CONCERNS THAT IT MIGHT REDUCE THEIR BUSINESS? UM, JUST, JUST CURIOUS ABOUT THAT.
WELL, I THINK THE RESTAURANT WOULD, I MEAN, THE CUSTOMER WOULD HAVE AN OPTION IF, IF THEY JUST SAID THEY WANT TO COME AND PICK IT UP IN THE RESTAURANT'S CONTAINER, THEN THEY PAY 25 CENTS FOR THAT CONTAINER.
AND THE OPTIONS WOULD BE LIKE, UH, CUTLERY.
SO IF THE, IF THE CUSTOMER REQUESTED PLASTIC CUTLERY OR, OR CUTLERY, THEN THERE'D BE A CHARGE FOR THAT.
SO WE THINK THAT MOST PEOPLE WHO ARE COMING TO PICK UP A TAKEOUT ORDER, TAKE IT HOME AND EAT IT WITH THEIR OWN CUTLERY AND THAT MOST CUSTOMERS NOT GONNA ASK FOR ADDITIONAL CUTLERY FOR A CARRYOUT ORDER.
DON I UNLESS THEY'RE WRONG IN A PICNIC OR SOMETHING.
YEAH, I DON'T THINK MY QUESTION WAS CLEAR.
I'M SAYING I WANNA COME TO THE RESTAURANT, I WANNA BRING MY OWN TAKEOUT CONTAINER, RIGHT? YEAH.
I'VE GOT MY OWN CUTLERY AT HOME, RIGHT? SO I DON'T, I DON'T WANT THE TAKEOUT CONTAINER AT ALL.
SO I GUESS YOU'D HAVE TO SPECIFY THAT WHEN YOU PLACE YOUR ORDER THAT I'M COMING IN WITH MY OWN, I MEAN, WE HAVEN'T WORKED OUT ALL OF THE EXACT DETAILS YET, AND WE HAVEN'T RECEIVED A LOT OF FEEDBACK FROM RESTAURANTS, SO WE DON'T KNOW HOW THEY ARE GONNA WANNA HANDLE THAT.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S A SCENARIO THAT I THINK NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED.
I JUST EXPERIENCED THAT JUST LAST NIGHT.
I WENT TO HAVE IT BURGER AND GOT FIGURED OUT HOW TO DO IT ONLINE AND OR MAKE THE ORDER.
AND IN THE ORDER, DO YOU WANT NAPKINS, CHECKBOX, DO YOU WANT UTENSILS? CHECKBOX, DO YOU WANT THESE EXTRA SAUCE CONTAINERS? CHECKBOX, YOU ACTUALLY CHECK 'EM DOWN AND SOME OF 'EM ACTUALLY HAD PRICES ON IT.
SO YOU WANT THESE EXTRA LITTLE ADDITIVES.
UM, SO IN THE APP, AND IF WE'RE, WE'RE MOVING TOWARD A VERY MUCH, EVEN IN THE RESTAURANTS, SOMETIMES THERE'S NOW APPS THERE RIGHT ON THE TABLE THAT YOU HAVE TO USE.
SO I THINK IF WE'RE MOVING TO THAT DIRECTION, UM, I SUSPECT THAT'S GONNA BE VERY DOABLE.
IF, IF THAT'S BECAUSE I THINK EVERYONE'S GOING IN THAT DIRECTION, MAYBE, BUT I'M JUST ENVISIONING A WHOLE BUNCH OF DIFFERENT DISHES, DIFFERENT SIZE CONTAINERS, DIFFERENT TYPE CONTAINERS.
I WANNA BRING MY OWN AS THE RESTAURANT GONNA GO.
HECK NO, WE CAN'T HANDLE THAT.
I, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, ALL THOSE EXAMPLES YOU GAVE ME WERE NOT THE ENTREE, RIGHT? I'M TALKING ABOUT THE ACTUAL FOOD ITEMS. SO I'M SAYING THAT I THINK THERE'S SOME PRACTICAL SCENARIOS THAT HAVE TO BE PLAYED OUT, YOU KNOW, IN A MORE REALISTIC WAY TO ACTUALLY MAKE THIS WORK, UM, AND AVOID THOSE CONTAINERS, PERIOD.
I, I DON'T WANT THE CONTAINERS AT ALL, BUT I'M ENVISIONING A CHALLENGE, UM, GETTING TO THAT POINT IN THOSE SITUATIONS.
DO YOU HAVE ANOTHER, DO YOU HAVE ANY MORE?
[01:00:02]
OKAY, PLEASE.UH, YEAH, I WOULD BE INTERESTED JUST TO ADD AS A, A, UH, SOMEONE WE SHOULD BE CONTACTING ON OUR LIST IS PETALUMA FOOD TAXI, SINCE THAT'S, YOU KNOW, THEY DO TAKE OUT, UH, THAT'S WHAT THEY DO.
UM, AND YEAH, I, I SHARE THE SAME CONCERNS AS, UM, COMMISSIONER EDM MINSTER.
I THINK REALISTICALLY JUST ON A, LIKE, WHAT THE AVERAGE PERSON'S GONNA DO, THEY'RE GONNA END UP PAYING WHATEVER THIS FEE IS, AND WE HAVE A 10% SALES TAX IN THE CITY, AND THEN YOU'RE GONNA ADD THIS FEE.
AND TO BE HONEST, I DON'T REALLY GO OUT VERY OFTEN BECAUSE IT'S SO EXPENSIVE NOW WITH THE SALES TAX AND, YOU KNOW, UM, I JUST WORRY THAT THIS MAY HAVE SOME UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES.
UM, SO I WOULD JUST WANNA THINK THROUGH THESE THINGS CAREFULLY AND MAKE SURE WE'RE GETTING A WIDE DIVERSITY OF LIKE, TYPES OF RESTAURANTS, NOT JUST HIGH END RESTAURANTS.
UH, WE WOULD REALLY WANT TO, YOU KNOW, BE AS DIVERSE AS OUR COMMUNITY IS IN TYPES OF RESTAURANTS, SO THAT WE'RE HEARING FROM, FROM PEOPLE, UM, OF ALL WALKS OF LIFE.
AND, UH, BUT OTHER THAN THAT, I THINK THE VAST MAJORITY OF IT IS FANTASTIC AND LONG OVERDUE.
SO THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK ON IT.
UM, AND I APOLOGIZE IF THIS HAS ALREADY BEEN COVERED AND I MISSED IT.
UM, I JUST WONDERED WHAT THE CONVERSATION WAS AROUND COMPOSTABLE AS OPPOSED TO REUSABLE, UM, CONTAINERS.
UM, 'CAUSE I KNOW, UH, QUITE A NUMBER OF PEOPLE ARE USING COMPOSTABLE CONTAINERS, AND SO, UM, I'M JUST WONDERING, YEAH, WHAT WAS THE CONVERSATION AROUND THAT AND ARE THEY ALLOWED IN THE ORDINANCE OR NOT? DO YOU WANT, DO YOU WANT ME TO ANSWER THAT? UM, DAN, I THINK WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA, YOU KNOW, WANT THE RESTAURANTS TO USE COMPOSTABLE CONTAINERS AND, AND GIVE THEM SOME GUIDELINES AND SUGGESTIONS ON WHAT KIND OF CONTAINERS THEY SHOULD BE USING.
SO IF, IF THE CUSTOMER'S COMING IN AND THEY WANNA PAY THE 25 CENTS AND THEY WANT THEIR FOOD IN A CONTAINER, THAT CONTAINER SHOULD BE COMPOSTABLE.
BUT CAN IT BE CARDBOARD CON COMPOSTABLE AS OPPOSED TO REUSABLE PLASTIC COMPOSTABLE IS MY QUESTION, I GUESS.
NO, I DON'T THINK WE WANT REUSABLE PLASTIC, DO WE, AMY? SO THERE'S A COUPLE DIFFERENT, UM, THERE ARE SOME THINGS IN THERE THAT SAYS, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T WANNA USE THESE MATERIALS.
AND SOME OF 'EM ARE PLASTICS, BUT, UM, AND COMPOSTABLE IS ENCOURAGED AND, YOU KNOW, A SERVICE LIKE SPARKLE WOULD ALSO BE ENCOURAGED.
UM, AND PART OF THIS THAT MAYBE ISN'T WRITTEN IN THERE IS THAT, YOU KNOW, PART OF THE CONVERSATIONS THAT WE'VE BEEN HAVING IS ABOUT EDUCATING EDUCATION.
SO EDUCATING, YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW, COOL, PETALUMA'S GOT THE BRING YOUR OWN CUP KIND OF EDUCATION PUSH.
UM, AND EDUCATING THE BUSINESS OWNERS, LIKE RESTAURANT OWNERS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE, THESE ARE THE MATERIALS THAT ARE GOOD, LIKE, HERE ARE YOUR, HERE ARE SOME OPTIONS THAT WE KNOW OF THAT ARE GOOD, YOU KNOW, TO HELP THEM TRANSITION FOR THOSE THAT NEED THIS TRANSITION STILL.
UM, AND THEN IT WOULD, WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE IMPLEMENTATION, RIGHT? THAT WAS THE CONCERN WITH THE CITY.
WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, UM, HAVING IT BE TIED WITH A BUSINESS LICENSE.
SO WHEN YOU GET A LICENSE THAT SAYS THAT YOU CAN SELL FOOD IN PETALUMA, THEN THERE WOULD BE A THING THAT YOU SIGN THAT SAYS, I UNDERSTAND THAT.
LIKE, THIS IS A THING AND HERE'S WHAT THE CONSEQUENCES ARE IF I'M NOT DOING IT.
AND, YOU KNOW, KIND OF WITH THAT PROCESS IS, IS A LITTLE BIT OF EDUCATION ABOUT, ABOUT HOW TO IMPLEMENT IT.
I MEAN, I THINK THAT POINT SHOULD BE MUCH CLEARER IN THE ORDINANCE.
YOU KNOW, I JUST SKIMMED IT, BUT IT DIDN'T JUMP OUT AT ME THAT, UM, THE COMPOSTABLE, YOU KNOW, PAPER BASED PRODUCTS WERE ALLOWABLE.
UM, AND I THINK THAT LIKE, YOU KNOW, FOR ALL THE TINY LITTLE CONTAINERS THAT YOU'RE PROBABLY NEVER GONNA USE AGAIN, PROBABLY WOULD BE BETTER TO HAVE THEM BE COMPOSTABLE.
UM, AND I ALSO THINK JUST OVERALL MAKING IT AS SIMPLE AS POSSIBLE, LIKE REALLY STRIPPING IT ALL DOWN AND LIKE, YOU KNOW, MAKING IT AS SIMPLE ORDINANCE AS POSSIBLE, BOTH FOR THE CITY TO IMPLEMENT AND ALSO FOR, FOR RESTAURANT OWNERS TO UNDERSTAND LIKE, YOU KNOW, IT SHOULDN'T HAVE LIKE SIX POINTS THAT YOU HAVE TO READ AND, YOU KNOW, SO MANY DEFINITIONS THAT IT'S CHALLENGING, YOU KNOW, TO REALLY UNDERSTAND.
AND SO YOU KIND OF WANT TO SAY MAYBE, YOU KNOW, HERE'S A COUPLE OF OPTIONS THAT YOU CAN USE, YOU KNOW, UH, COMPOSTABLE PAPER-BASED OR, YOU KNOW, NATURAL FIBER BASED AND THEN COMPOSTABLE PLASTICS.
UM, AND HERE'S SOME VENDORS, YOU KNOW, AND THEN LET PEOPLE MAKE THEIR OWN CHOICE RATHER THAN BEING TOO
[01:05:01]
PRESCRIPTIVE, YOU KNOW? 'CAUSE I THINK WHEN YOU GET TOO PRESCRIPTIVE, IT'S HARD FOR VENDORS TO FIND SOMETHING THAT SUITS THEM, YOU KNOW, THAT MEETS THEIR PRICE MOD, YOU KNOW, MODEL.AND FOR EXAMPLE, YOU KNOW, WHEN I GO TO LUNCHED, YOU CAN CHOOSE THE PLASTIC REUSABLE CONTAINER, YOU CAN CHOOSE THE CARDBOARD CONTAINER.
AND, AND THAT'S LIKE, IT'S NICE TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THAT CHOICE, BUT I DON'T THINK EVERY BUSINESS BUSINESS OWNER COULD HANDLE RECI, UH, REUSING THE RECYCLABLE CONTAINERS.
LIKE, YOU HAVE TO HAVE SPACE AND A PROCESS FOR GETTING THOSE BACK, YOU KNOW? SO I'M JUST SUGGESTING THAT YOU GIVE PEOPLE CHOICE INITIALLY, AND MOSTLY YOU'RE TRYING TO GET RID OF THE BAD PLASTICS.
YOU CAN ALWAYS TAKE ANOTHER STEP LATER WHEN PEOPLE GET ON BOARD WITH THIS FIRST STEP.
YEAH, THAT IS ACTUALLY ONE CONCERN THAT I HAVE, UM, IS WE SAY A FEW THINGS THAT YOU CAN'T USE, BUT THERE'S PROBABLY OTHER THINGS THAT THEY SHOULDN'T USE, EITHER THAT ARE NOT GONNA MAKE IT ON THE LIST, OR THEY THAT ARE GONNA APPEAR AND NOT BE ON THE LIST.
AND SO, UM, MAYBE YEAH, BEING MORE CLEAR ABOUT WHAT WE'RE GETTING AT
WHICH WOULD GIVE A, WHICH WOULD GIVE SOMEBODY THE OPTION TO SAY, HEY, LOOK, I JUST FOUND THIS NEW PRODUCT AND IT MEETS THE CRITERIA THAT YOU'VE SET OUT THAT IT'S NOT, UM, YOU KNOW, BIO ACCUMULATING IN PEOPLE'S BODIES.
IT'S NOT A POLLUTANT, IT'S, IT'S REUSABLE OR, AND OR COMPOSTABLE, AND THEREFORE SHOULD BE OKAY.
SO MAYBE MORE PLAIN LANGUAGE IN THE ORDINANCE ITSELF.
I'M REALLY GLAD YOU BROUGHT THAT UP.
QUESTION ABOUT THE COMPOSTABLE STUFF, BECAUSE MY UNDERSTANDING HAS BEEN THAT VIRTUALLY ALL OF THE FOOD WARE LABELED AS COMPOSTABLE IS NOT IN FACT COMPOSTABLE WITH RECOLOGY CURRENT, UM, VENDORS.
SO THAT REALLY HAS TROUBLED ME FOR A LONG TIME THAT PROBABLY THERE'S A LOT OF, UH, WASTE CONTAMINATION, YOU KNOW, RECYCLING CONTAINERS THAT HAVE, OR THE GREEN WASTE BINS THAT HAVE THINGS LABELED COMPOSTABLE PUT INTO THEM THAT AREN'T ACTUALLY COMPOSTABLE.
SO I THINK WE HAVE A REAL PROBLEM WITH THE ALLEGEDLY COMPOSTABLE CONTAINERS, AND I'M NOT AWARE OF ANY THAT ARE IN FACT, COMPOSTABLE HERE, THAT ARE ALSO, LET'S SAY, MOISTURE PROOF, BECAUSE EVEN THE PAPER ONES ARE LINED WITH A THIN LAYER OF PLASTIC, WHICH IS NON COMPOSTABLE.
SO HAVE A LOT OF CONCERN ABOUT THIS.
AND SO THEN IT WOULD BE ENCOURAGED TO USE THE REUSABLE ONES, YOU KNOW, TO RE TO USE ONES THAT LIKE THE, LIKE THE, I GUESS THE QUESTION YOU WERE ASKING EARLIER, LIKE, BECAUSE YOU'RE, YOU'RE, YOU'RE RIGHT.
I'M NOT AWARE OF ANY GOOD, UM, LIKE ESPECIALLY HOT CONTAINERS THAT ARE NOT, UM, YOU KNOW, HAVE, THAT DON'T HAVE LIKE THE LINING THAT'S KIND OF, THAT'S LIKE PLASTIC IN THERE.
UM, THERE MIGHT BE SOME NEW ONES COMING OUT THAT HAVE, IS IT BAMBOO OR SOMETHING? ANYWAYS, THERE'S SOME, SOME INTERESTING NEW STUFF THAT'S COMING OUT, BUT IT'S NOT QUITE LIKE READY YET IN THE INDUSTRY AS FAR AS I KNOW.
AND, AND WE'RE, AND WE'RE AWARE OF THAT TOO.
SO WE WOULD SPELL OUT THERE, THERE ARE SOME PRODUCTS OUT THERE THAT ARE COMPOSTABLE, BUT JUST NOT HERE, YOU KNOW, SOME, SOME CUPS WORLD CENTRIC IN PARTICULAR.
SO WE, WE WOULD JUST RECOMMEND THAT THEY USE THE, THE VERY BEST THAT THEY CAN.
AND I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANY RIGHT NOW OR HARDLY ANY, LIKE, UM, SHE SAID, UM, HOT CUPS THAT ARE AVAILABLE THAT ARE COMPOSTABLE, IT'S ALL GOES IN THE LANDFILL.
SO WE CAN REDUCE THAT AND, AND THEN THEY CAN USE THE, THE TYPE OF PLASTIC THAT'S REUSABLE.
I MEAN, IT'S NOT A PERFECT SOLUTION, BUT WE'RE MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
IF, IF I CAN JUMP IN, UM, THE COUNTY OF MARIN HAS A PRETTY COMPREHENSIVE LIST.
I DON'T THINK ANY OF 'EM ARE FOR HOT FOODS.
LIKE I DON'T THINK YOU COULD FIND A, A SOUP CONTAINER THAT'S PAPER THAT'S COMPOSTABLE IN, IN THE TRUE SENSE OF, OF THE WORD.
UM, BUT MARIN COUNTY DOES HAVE A REALLY COMPREHENSIVE LIST.
IT'S, IT'S SEVERAL PAGES LONG OF DIFFERENT PAPER TYPE PRODUCTS THAT AREN'T LINED, THAT ARE COMPATIBLE WITH COMPOSTING FACILITIES, UM, LOCALLY.
UM, THAT WOULD BE A GOOD BASIS AND WE COULD REFER TO THAT, UM, TO GIVE FOLKS GUIDANCE.
UM, SO I, I THINK THAT, UM, THAT'S JUST KIND OF THE, THE QUESTION THAT I THINK THE AD HOC IS TRYING TO FIND.
LIKE, IS IT, IS IT REPLACING ONE DISPOSABLE ITEM WITH ANOTHER, OR IS IT TRYING TO FIND, UH, A REUSABLE ITEM AND, AND DO WE DO THAT NOW OR IS IT PHASED OR IS IT AS, UM, NEW PRODUCTS COME ONLINE, THEN
[01:10:01]
IT BECOMES EFFECTIVE AT THAT POINT? UM, I THINK THOSE ARE QUESTIONS TO ANSWER BECAUSE I, I, I WOULD SEE A LOT OF PROBLEM IF YOU, IF YOU GOT SOME FU AT A THAI RESTAURANT AND YOU WERE TRYING TO BRING YOUR OWN CONTAINER AND THEY'RE LIKE, LET ME, LET ME TAKE THAT BACK TO THE KITCHEN AND FILL IT UP FOR YOU.UM, THEY, THEY MAY NOT BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
THERE MAY BE HEALTH CODE ISSUES WITH THAT.
SO, UM, TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THAT LINE IS ON, ON REDUCING THE WASTE, BUT ALSO NOT CREATING A SITUATION WHERE THE RESTAURANTS ARE JUST, THEY, THEY CAN'T COMPLY WITH IT BECAUSE THERE'S SOMETHING INTERFERING.
AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD DO AS STAFF.
UM, IF YOU TELL US WHAT YOU WANT TO SEE IN IT, WE'RE GONNA BE DIGGING DOWN AND FIGURING OUT WHAT IS LEGAL AND WHAT IS, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE FEEDBACK FROM RESTAURANTS IS, UM, ON THESE CERTAIN THINGS.
BUT IT'S JUST KIND OF HARD TO GO IN THERE WITH LIKE THIS UNIVERSE OF THINGS THAT SAY, DO YOU WANNA REDUCE WASTE? AND I THINK EVERYBODY WOULD AGREE THAT YES, THEY DO.
BUT WHEN YOU GET DOWN INTO THE DETAILS, AND THIS IS REALLY, I THINK, GREAT INFORMATION THAT THE COMMISSION'S PROVIDING HERE, UM, FOR THE SUBCOMMITTEE TO CONSIDER MAYBE SOME THINGS THAT, UM, HADN'T HADN'T FULLY GOTTEN DOWN THAT, THAT RABBIT HOLE YET ON.
SO, UH, I WOULD ACTUALLY LIKE TO SEE A FULL ON PRESCRIPTION OF USE OF COMPOSTABLE THAT ISN'T, I MEAN, THIS REALLY TROUBLES ME BECAUSE I, I VIEW IT AS BORDERLINE FRAUDULENT.
AND I THINK THERE ARE RELATIVELY FEW PEOPLE WHO ARE AWARE THAT THINGS THAT THEY BLITHELY BELIEVE ARE COMPOSTABLE ARE IN FACT NOT COMPOSTABLE.
SO THAT IF, IF, UM, FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS WANT COMPOSTABLE CHOICES THAT THEY SHOULD HAVE TO GO THROUGH A SCREENING, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE TO BASICALLY CONSULT WITH RECOLOGY TO DETERMINE THAT IT IS IN FACT COMPOSTABLE.
BECAUSE OTHERWISE I DON'T WANNA SEE IT HERE.
I I MIGHT DISAGREE WITH THAT THOUGH.
'CAUSE IT'S, IT'S THE, LIKE THE COM COMPOSTABLE FORKS ARE ACTUALLY REPLACING THE PLASTIC FORKS THAT ARE WORSE, YOU KNOW? AND SO I I, I FEEL LIKE MY GENERAL STATEMENT WOULD BE, DON'T LET THE PERFECT BE THE ENEMY THE GOOD HERE.
YOU KNOW, LIKE I WOULD TRY AND CRAFT SOMETHING THAT GETS YOU 80% OF THE WASTE REDUCTION AND NOT TRY AND GET EVERYTHING.
'CAUSE IF YOU'RE GONNA TRY AND GET EVERYTHING, YOU'RE GONNA DRIVE EVERYONE CRAZY WITH DETAILS, JUST LIKE THIS CONVERSATION, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? SO LIKE, GET ALL THE BIG STUFF FIRST AND TRY AND SIMPLIFY IT.
THAT MAKE SENSE? I GUESS BEFORE WE GET, WE'RE GETTING A LITTLE BIT OF BACK AND FORTH HERE, LET'S HAVE, UM, COMMISSION MEMBER KRISHNA PROVIDE HIS COMMENTS.
WELL, I THINK THAT OBVIOUSLY MOST OF THE COMPOSTABLES AREN'T REALLY COMPOSTABLE PER SE AROUND HERE.
AND THEY COULD EVENTUALLY BE COMPOSTABLE IF WE HAD THE CORRECT FACILITIES, BUT CONSIDERING THAT THEY WOULD PROBABLY NEVER REACH THE CORRECT FACILITIES, THEY'RE NOT REALLY HELPFUL, BUT THEY'RE BETTER THAN THE PLASTICS WE HAVE AND IT'S LESS EMISSIONS.
AND BACK TO THE PRICE LIMIT ON LIKE HOW MUCH YOU CAN CHARGE, I THINK THERE SHOULD BE SOME KIND OF LIMIT, BECAUSE OTHERWISE I THINK MAYBE PEOPLE WHO ARE ORDERING FOR LIKE LARGER CATERING WOULD MAYBE NOT ORDER AT ALL.
UM, AND I'LL PROVIDE A COUPLE QUICK COMMENTS AND WE CAN DRILL ONTO THIS, UH, PARTICULAR, UM, YOU KNOW, WELL I'LL EVEN DESCRIBE IT, BUT, UM, I GUESS MY FIRST THOUGHTS ON THIS IS, UM, TO SOMEWHAT MIRROR THE SUCCESS OF THE PLASTIC STRAW BAN, WHICH WE'VE DONE STATEWIDE.
YOU KNOW, I REMEMBER WHEN THAT FIRST HAPPENED AND CERTAIN PLASTIC STRAW FANS THOUGHT THE SKY WAS FALLING, RIGHT? AND HERE WE ARE, AND THE STRAWS ARE MOSTLY GONE.
AND, YOU KNOW, OCCASIONALLY YOU'LL GET A WET PAPER STRAW AND IT'S LIKE, UH, YOU KNOW, BUT MOST OF THE TIME, LIKE THE STRAWS ARE GONE AND WE HAVE WON THAT BATTLE.
SO I'M COMING FROM THAT PLACE.
AND SO IN THE PARTICULARS OF THE LIKE, QUESTION THAT WE'VE BEEN DEBATING JUST NOW IS LIKE, DOES IT DISPOSABLE TO DISPOSABLE COMPOSTABLE QUESTION MARK OR DISPOSABLE TO REUSABLE, UH, I WOULD FIT IN THE DISPOSABLE TO DISPOSABLE CAMP, I GUESS.
UM, SO IF EVERYONE COULD WEIGH IN ON THAT PARTICULAR TOPIC VERSUS THE MORE HARD LINE,
[01:15:01]
LIKE DISPOSABLE TO ONLY COMPOSTABLE BLACK AND WHITE, IT'S CLEARLY COMPOSTABLE VERSUS LIKE DISPOSABLE TO EH, ALMOST COMPOSTABLE, YOU KNOW? SO LET'S PROVIDE SOME FEEDBACK ON THAT.I'M IN THE GET RID OF THE PLASTICS IN FAVOR OF SOMETHING THAT'S PROBABLY POSSIBLY DISPOSABLE.
AND THEN SOME PEOPLE, I GUESS COULD GO, I DON'T EVEN WANT TO GO TO DISPOSABLE COMPOSTABLE, I WANT TO GO DISPOSABLE REUSABLE.
SO THERE'S SORT OF THREE OPTIONS OUT THERE IF WE COULD ALL WEIGH IN ON, UM, MAYBE COUNCIL MEMBER SHREDS.
SO, UM, MY PREFERENCE AT THIS POINT, UH, I SWEAR I AGREE WITH WHAT EVERYONE IS SAYING.
UM, AND THERE'S LIKE MINOR DIFFERENCES OF OPINIONS, BUT I THINK WHERE WE NEED TO GO IS WE NEED TO START ASKING THE FOLKS THAT ARE GONNA BE IMPACTED THE MOST, WHICH IS THE RESTAURANTS AND EACH, AND THERE'S DIFFERENT LEVELS OF RESTAURANTS, DIFFERENT TYPES OF RESTAURANTS THAT MAY HAVE VERY DIFFERENT, UM, PRACTICALITIES INVOLVED IN THIS.
SO I THINK OUR NEXT STEP IS, UM, TAKE WHAT WE HAVE PUT TOGETHER A PROGRAM OF WHAT IT MIGHT ACTUALLY LOOK LIKE, WHERE THERE'S ORDINANCES, AND THEN THERE IS THE OUTCOME OF WHAT IS THE ACTUAL CONSEQUENCE? WHAT IS IT GONNA LOOK LIKE, WHAT THESE ORDINANCES ARE IN PLACE, AND THEN SAY, OKAY, RESTAURANTS, CAN YOU MEET WHAT THIS PICTURE LOOKS LIKE IN THE END? NOT JUST SAY, HERE'S AN ORDINANCE TO COMPLY, BUT HERE'S WHAT WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE HAPPEN AS A POSITIVE THING, RATHER THAN JUST A NEGATIVE REGULATORY TYPE OF THING COMING AT, AT YOU.
AND THEN MAYBE, HOPEFULLY THEY WILL SEE THAT AS WE'RE PROVIDING A SOLUTION THAT'S UNIFORM ACROSS THE BOARD, RATHER THAN JUST SAYING, WELL, YOU MAY NOT DO THIS, THIS, OR THIS.
SO THAT'S WHY I WOULD LIKE TO, UH, MAKE SURE THAT THE ORDINANCE IS TONED IN CONJUNCTION WITH A, HERE'S THIS RESTAURANT HERE AND THIS RESTAURANT HERE, AND YOU'RE ALL GONNA BE COMPETING ON A FAIR EQUAL LEVEL AND THAT SOMETHING THAT'S GONNA WORK.
AND EACH OF YOU HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF PLAY AND SOME OPTIONS HERE.
YOU CAN MOVE THIS WAY OR THAT WAY TO MEET THE ORDINANCE, BUT THERE'S SOME, A PRACTICAL LEVEL PLAYING FIELD HERE.
DO YOU ALL AGREE OR DO YOU REALLY WANNA TWEAK IT? SO I WOULD SAY WE NEARLY NEED THAT INPUT, UH, FOR THIS DISCUSSION AT THIS POINT, UH, RATHER THAN HAVING US REALLY DISCUSS IT AT THIS POINT.
I KNOW WHAT WE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE, BUT WE, I THINK THEIR, THEIR, THEIR VIEWPOINT IS MORE IMPORTANT ON THIS THAN OURS.
MAY I ADD THREE POINTS? UM, UH, WE DO THE RESTAURANT PEOPLE, THE PEOPLE WHO OWN RESTAURANTS ARE A MAIN, UM, CONCERN.
BUT I THINK THE CONSUMER IS EQUALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE THEY'RE THE ONES THAT ARE GONNA BE PAYING AND THEY'RE THE ONES THAT ARE GONNA HAVE TO BE BRINGING THEIR OWN THING.
SO I, I DO THINK ALSO JUST GENERAL PUBLIC, LIKE WE WANT EVERYBODY'S INPUT ALSO.
UM, THE SECOND ONE IS, I JUST WANTED TO SHARE THAT.
UM, SO DONNA, UH, WHO OWNS THE REFILL MERCANTILE DOWNTOWN, UM, AND I WERE TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE BRINGING IN THEIR OWN CONTAINERS.
'CAUSE THEY DO THAT FOR HER STORE ALSO.
BUT SHE SAID THAT PEOPLE DO COME IN WITH DIRTY CONTAINERS SOMETIMES, AND WHAT, AND, BUT SHE HAS A PROGRAM WHERE PEOPLE BRING IN CONTAINERS AND THEY HAVE, UM, ACCESS TO A DISHWASHER THAT HAS A, UM, YOU KNOW, LIKE THE POWERFUL DISHWASHER THAT YOU NEED, I GUESS THAT, UM, AND SO SHE'LL TAKE, LIKE, IF THEY COME IN AND THEY BRING LIKE SOMETHING GROSS, SHE JUST PUTS IT BACK AND THEN THEY WASH IT SEPARATELY AND SHE GIVES THEM ONE OF HER CONTAINERS THAT SOMEBODY ELSE HAS BROUGHT IN.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? SO, AND THEN PEOPLE DO ACTUALLY, LIKE I WAS, PEOPLE DO BRING IN LIKE A BAG OF CONTAINERS THAT ARE REUSABLE TO HER, AND THEN SHE CAN USE THOSE TOO, IF THAT MAKES ANY SENSE.
UM, SO THERE ARE SOLUTIONS TO THAT PROBLEM.
UM, AND THEN THE THIRD THING I WANTED TO MENTION IS THAT SOME OF THE RESTAURANTS DOWNTOWN DON'T HAVE DISHWASHERS.
UM, AND THAT'S WHY THEY USE PAPER.
AND UM, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, UH, YOU KNOW, SPARKLE COULD BE A SOLUTION, BUT SPARKLE IS A LITTLE BIT PRICEY.
BUT, YOU KNOW, IF IT BECOMES A THING THAT WE DO, THEN IT, PEOPLE GET USED TO IT.
BUT ALSO, UM, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT MAYBE DOING A COLLABORATION WITH UCP, WHICH IS, UM, UNITED CEREBRAL PALSY.
THEY DO, THEY TRY TO FIND JOBS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES AND, UM, YOU KNOW, MAYBE HAVING A THING WHERE THEY COLLECT, YOU KNOW, UH, STUFF FROM PEOPLE WHO DON'T HAVE DISHWASHERS AND THEN COME IN, YOU KNOW, AND, AND DISTRIBUTE THE CLEAN ONES, IF THAT MAKES SENSE.
SO WE'RE LOOKING FOR SOLUTIONS TO THESE PROBLEMS. THEY'RE ALL, EVERYBODY'S BRINGING UP REALLY GOOD, UH, THOUGHTS.
UH, AND I HAVE A COUPLE MORE, UH, COMMENTS OF QUESTIONS HERE.
UH, ONE OF THE FIRST, UH, DISCUSSION BULLET POINTS WAS A, A QUESTION AROUND DINING IN AND HOW THIS SHOULD APPLY TO DINE IN VERSUS LIKE, DINE OUT.
UM, I WOULD MAYBE SAY LIKE, WE HOPEFULLY IN THE NOT TOO DISTANT FUTURE HAVE MORE FLEXIBLE DINE IN OPTIONS.
YOU KNOW, WE HAVEN'T HAD THE FOOD TRUCK ORDINANCE REALLY,
[01:20:01]
BUT DOES THAT COUNT AS DINE IN OR NOT? AND SO I THINK IN THE ORDINANCE IT SORT OF BIFURCATES BETWEEN DINE IN AND DINE OUT.AND I WOULD MAYBE QUESTION THE, YOU KNOW, WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH WITH THAT BIFURCATION.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, MY PERSONAL PREFERENCE AGAIN WOULD BE LIKE, IF YOU CAN GET THE DINE IN PEOPLE TO GET RID OF THE PLASTICS IN FAVOR OF SOMETHING THAT'S SLIGHTLY COMPOSTABLE, THAT WOULD BE MY PREFERENCE.
AND I WOULD LIKE TO GET INPUT ON THAT.
I GUESS THE WAY THE ORDINANCE READ, IT'S KIND OF LIKE THE DINE IN, YOU DON'T GET THE OPTION OF THE COMPOSTABLE, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S A, A MISREAD ON MY PART OR IF THAT'S THE GOAL OF THAT, BUT, UM, I DO THINK GIVING THE DINE-IN PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, HOPEFULLY THOSE LIKE PALM LEAF BOWLS OR SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, LIKE THERE ARE GOOD SOLUTIONS OUT THERE THAT ARE HOPEFULLY COMPOSTABLE ONE DAY.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE SECOND DISCUSSION POINT AROUND THE DOLLAR LIMIT, WE HAVE ONE, YOU KNOW, PERSON WHO SAYS PUT A DOLLAR LIMIT ON IT.
I PERSONALLY LIKE CHARGE WHATEVER YOU WANT.
YOU KNOW, IF YOU WANT TO GIVE SOMEONE A WHOLE, IF YOU WANNA SELL THEM A WHOLE REUSABLE TUPPERWARE SET FOR $20, I MEAN, CHARGE 'EM FOR IT, YOU KNOW, LIKE, UH, THE TIKI BAR, I MEAN, THEY SELL VERY, UH, EXPENSIVE TIKI MUGS, YOU KNOW, AND THEY'RE WAY MORE THAN THE DRINK, RIGHT? IT'S LIKE MAYBE SOME BUSINESS DOES THAT, YOU KNOW, GET YOUR THAI FOOD PLUS YOUR ENTIRE REUSABLE LINEUP, YOU KNOW? SO I PERSONALLY DON'T THINK PUTTING A CAP ON THE PRICE THERE PROVIDES MUCH UTILITY.
UM, THERE WAS ALSO DISCUSSION AROUND SHOULD THIS APPLY TO CITY EVENTS, WHICH WE HAVEN'T TALKED ABOUT YET.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, I I MAYBE THERE'S MORE INPUT OR MORE OPPORTUNITY TO APPLY THAT, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, I PERSONALLY THINK IF IT'S THE NARROW DEFINITION OF LIKE CITY SPONSORED EVENTS OR ON CITY PROPERTY THAT, YOU KNOW, WE CAN CONTROL IT A LITTLE BIT BETTER.
UM, AND I GUESS I'M GOING WITH LIKE, LET'S MAYBE HAVE SOMEWHAT OF A MORE PHASED IN APPROACH TO THE EVENTS PIECE OF IT.
UM, OR EVEN IN THE INTEREST OF LIKE KEEPING IT NARROW AND SUCCINCT.
POSSIBLY PUNT THAT WHOLE ITEM TO, I THINK THERE WAS A, AN EVENT WASTE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM WHICH WAS TALKED ABOUT IN THE FUTURE.
AND LIKE, RATHER THAN SHOEHORN THE EVENT THING IN HERE, LET'S GET FEEDBACK ON IF WE KEEP THIS MORE LIKE A VERY DIGESTIBLE PLASTIC STRAW BAND AND LESS LIKE THE CITY'S COMING FOR TO MAKE ME REUSE MY FORK EVERYWHERE.
SO, UM, THAT'S A LITTLE BIT OF MY FEEDBACK ON THE CITY EVENTS PIECE OF IT.
I DON'T KNOW, AMY, IF YOU COULD MAYBE JUST CHIME IN WHAT TYPES OF FEEDBACK YOU WERE LOOKING ON THAT THIRD BULLET POINT.
I'M TRYING TO REMEMBER WHAT THE THIRD ITEM WAS.
PATRICK, CAN YOU PULL UP THE DISCUSSION POINT SLIDE AGAIN? THERE WAS FOUR BULLET POINTS OR FIVE BULLET POINTS.
OH, I SAID, IS ANYTHING OBVIOUSLY WRONG WITH THIS PLAN? ARE WE MISSING ANYTHING? IS THIS ACCOMPLISHING THE GOAL? THOSE WERE THE LAST THREE, THE, THE THIS ONE CITY HOSTED PERMITTED OR RELATED EVENTS HAVE THE SAME REQUIREMENTS.
SO DO PEOPLE HAVE AN OPINION ON THE CITY HOSTED PERMITTED OR RELATED EVENTS? THAT WAS MORE OF A SUMMARY.
THE FIRST THREE BULLETS ARE MORE OF A SUMMARY OF WHAT THE ORDINANCE IS DOING.
AND THEN THE LAST THREE ONES ARE KIND OF QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT, WHAT I'M ASKING FROM YOU MM-HMM
UM, THE, THE ONLY OTHER QUESTION IS IF WE NEED A LIMIT FOR THE, TO GO FOR THE 25 CENT CHARGE, LIKE IF WE NEED TO LIMIT IT.
SO THERE'S LIKE FOUR QUESTIONS THERE.
DO PEOPLE HAVE AN OPINION ON THIS SHOULD APPLY TO THE CITY EVENTS? IT THE WAY IT READS? IT DOES.
I MEAN, I'VE SEEN LOTS OF GOOD PROGRAMS FOR EVENTS.
I MEAN, THERE'S DEFINITELY LOTS OF PLACES YOU CAN CRIB THIS LANGUAGE FROM.
AND IT GOES INTO THE CITY'S CONTRACT.
YOU KNOW, WHEN A, SOMEBODY COMES TO HOST AN EVENT AT A CITY SITE, YOU SAY, HERE'S YOUR CONTRACT AND HERE'S THE WASTE REQUIREMENTS AND THE UM, THE KIND OF THE MISSING PIECES IS THE CITY GETTING OUT LIKE A THREE BIN SYSTEM, YOU KNOW, ON ALL THOSE SITES.
SO YOU'RE RECYCLING COMPOSTABLE WASTE.
AND THAT'S KIND THE SAME THING FOR ALL THE RESTAURANTS TOO, RIGHT? THEY HAVE TO SET UP A THREE BIN SYSTEM.
AND SO MAYBE THAT NEEDS TO BE ARTICULATED.
THERE'S KIND OF TWO COMPONENTS TO EVENTS.
SO WHOEVER IS HOSTING THE EVENTS
[01:25:01]
HAS TO WORK WITH THEIR VENDORS AND THEN THEIR VENDOR CONTRACTS, THEY HAVE TO SPELL OUT CLEARLY WHAT TYPES OF PRODUCTS THE VENDORS CAN USE AND BRING.SO THOSE WOULD BE COMPOSTABLES, THAT'S NUMBER ONE.
AND THEN AFTER THE CONSUMER IS FINISHED WITH THE PRODUCT, YOU NEED TO HAVE IT BE ABLE TO BE SORTED AND PUT IN THE RIGHT BIN AND THEN PROCESSED.
SO WE WOULD HAVE VERY STRICT RULES ABOUT, UM, HOW THAT EVENT, UH, DEALS WITH, YOU KNOW, THE WASTE, HOW THEY, HOW THEY MANAGE IT, HOW THEY SORT IT, THAT SORT OF THING.
I DON'T KNOW THAT IT HAS TO GO IN THE ORDINANCE ITSELF.
I MEAN, IT SEEMS TO ME IT MIGHT LIVE SOMEWHERE ELSE, YOU KNOW? I MEAN, I GUESS THE CITY COULD ADOPT IT AS A POLICY AND THEN IT WOULD LIVE IN THE CONTRACT.
I'M NOT SURE IT NEEDS TO LIVE IN THIS YEAH.
WHERE YEAH, WHEREVER IT LIVES, BUT IT NEEDS TO BE PUT IN, IN, IN THE CONTRACT OR WHATEVER, AND THEN ENFORCED.
BECAUSE IF NOT, THEN YOU'RE JUST GONNA HAVE A FREE FOR ALL AT EVENTS IF IT'S NOT CLOSELY MANAGED AND ALL THE, ALL OF YOUR WASTE IS GONNA BE CROSS CONTAMINATED AND THEN IT'S ALL GOING IN THE LANDFILL.
I USED TO DO RECYCLING AT THE, UM, WHAT WAS IT? WHERE DID THE GIANT SUIT USED TO PLAY? THAT WAS SO FREEZING? CANDLE STICK.
I USED TO DO RECYCLING THERE WITH THE SAN FRANCISCO CONSERVATION CORN.
WE WOULD STAND AT ALL THE RECYCLING BINS AND COLLECT ALL THE RECYCLABLES, AND THAT WAS PART OF THE, THE CALIFORNIA BOTTLE BILL.
YOU KNOW, BUT, BUT THAT'S WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO.
YOU HAVE TO, YOU, YOU CAN'T LET THE CUSTOMER, YOU KNOW, DO THEIR OWN SORTING OR YOU'RE DOOMED.
UH, JUST TO PUT MYSELF, I GUESS, AND YOU KINDA ASK WHICH KIND OF CAMP YOU'RE IN HERE.
SO, UH, I GUESS I WOULD PUT MYSELF IN THE LIGHTER TOUCH, MAYBE A PHASED APPROACH.
UM, GET RID OF THE BAD, THE REALLY BAD PLASTICS AS MUCH AS WE CAN RIGHT NOW ALLOW, YOU KNOW, COM COMPOSTABLE, UH, WHERE TO EVOLVE AND, AND GET TO THE POINT WHERE WE NEEDED TO GET TO.
IF WE TRY AND IMPOSE SOMETHING WHERE WE, THERE AREN'T GOOD ALTERNATIVES OR THEY'RE JUST SO EXPENSIVE, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE MIGHT END UP HAVING SOME, SOME OUTCOMES WE WEREN'T INTENDING.
AND, UM, YEAH, AND JUST MARK ME DOWN AS LIKE, I, I DON'T, I KNOW THAT, THAT, THAT THE, THE RESEARCH SAYS THAT THIS CHARGE IS, IT MIGHT CHANGE BEHAVIOR, BUT I JUST LIKE TO, TO ADMIT TO KIND COMMISSIONER ADMINISTRATOR'S POINT, NO ONE'S BRINGING TUPPERWARES TO A RESTAURANT.
LIKE, LET'S JUST LIKE, NO, NO YOUNG COUPLE IS GOING OUT ON A HOT DATE BRINGING LIKE FIVE POUNDS OF TUPPERWARE.
I MEAN, ONLY THE MOST DEDICATED PEOPLE, RIGHT? LIKE, AND I LOVE THOSE DEDICATED PEOPLE.
I TRY AND DO MY BEST, BUT LIKE, IT'S JUST NOT A REALISTIC FOR PEOPLE TO BRING, YOU KNOW, GLASS TUPPERWARE TO DINE IT, YOU KNOW, WHEN THEY'RE DINING OUT OR, OR GETTING TAKEN.
I JUST, I, I FEEL LIKE I'M NOT LIKE, LIKE IS THAT THEY, LIKE, I REALLY DON'T SEE A FAMILY OF SIX, YOU KNOW, BRINGING A BUNCH OF TUPPERWARES WITH THEM TO THE PIZZA PLACE.
LIKE IT JUST DOESN'T, IT'S, IT'S VERY UNLIKELY TO HAPPEN.
UM, THAT BEING SAID, IF THERE ARE INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS TO HELP THAT PROCESS ALONG, I'M FINE WITH IT.
I JUST, YEAH, I, I'M HOPEFULLY, UH, WE CAN HAVE A LIGHTER TOUCH THIS TIME AND HAVE PHASED APPROACH SO THAT SOME OF THE STRICTER REQUIREMENTS THAT ARE GONNA BE HARDER TO FULFILL PHASE AND OVERTIME.
AND ONE, ONE POINT, AND AMY ALLUDED TO THIS IN HER PRESENTATION, BUT IT IT'S WORTH MENTIONING IS THAT, UM, RIGHT NOW IT THE TO GO CUSTOMER, THE CUSTOMER WHO PLACES THE ORDER, THE RESTAURANT PUTS THE FOOD IN TO GO CONTAINERS AND THEY PICK IT UP AND LEAVE, THEY ARE PAYING FOR THOSE CONTAINERS.
IT'S NOT A LINE ITEM ON THEIR BILL, BUT THE RESTAURANT HAS A COST FOR THOSE CONTAINERS AND THE CUSTOMER IS TAKING WITH THEM, QUOTE UNQUOTE, FOR FREE.
SO WHAT THIS REGULATION WILL DO IS IT'LL PLACE A CHARGE ON THAT.
THE CUSTOMER WILL PAY AN, AN ADDITIONAL FEE, THE RESTAURANT WILL BE REIMBURSED, AND IT WILL ALLOW THEM TO KEEP THE OVERALL COST OF THE MENU ITEM DOWN BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE THAT ADDITIONAL EXPENSE FOR THE CONTAINER, PERHAPS.
I, I JUST, I THINK RESTAURANTS WILL JUST CHARGE ADDITIONAL FEE ON TOP OF THEIR EXISTING PRICES.
I, YOU KNOW, I'D LIKE TO, I HOPE YOU'RE RIGHT, BUT I JUST, YOU KNOW, MAYBE I'M A LITTLE CYNICAL.
WELL, IT'S LIKE ANY OTHER FEE FOR ANY OTHER BUSINESS, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S UTILITIES OR, UM, YOU KNOW, CREDIT CARD FEES, THAT'S ALL BUILT INTO THE COST OF DOING BUSINESS AND YOU HAVE TO PASS THOSE COSTS ONTO YOUR CUSTOMER.
I JUST, I, I'M ONLY SPEAKING FROM MAYBE MY EXPERIENCE AND MY, MY PEERS, LIKE, WE GO OUT TO EAT DINNER NOW AND IT'S JUST LIKE, YOU CAN'T GET YOU, YOU CAN BARELY GO OUT WITHOUT SPENDING A HUNDRED DOLLARS.
PEOPLE ARE KIND OF FED UP, YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST, IT'S ROUGH.
[01:30:01]
I, I WANT TO CONTINUE TO, TO GO OUT AND GET TAKEOUT AND DINE OUT, UM, IF THEY SEE ANOTHER FEE, YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST, IF THERE'S A PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECT TOO OF LIKE SAYING, WAIT A MINUTE, THERE'S A, THERE'S A SOME CITY FEE NOW THAT I NEED TO PAY.YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? LIKE, I, I I, WHAT YOU SAY IS, IT MAKES SENSE, IT'S LOGICAL, BUT LIKE TO THE PERSON READING THAT BILL, THEY'RE GONNA SAY, WAIT A MINUTE, THIS IS ANOTHER FEE.
UM, I'M ALREADY PAYING SO MUCH TO EAT OUT.
IT'S LIKE THE FEE FOR GROCERY BAGS RIGHT AT THE GROCERY STORE.
THAT'S MY INCENTIVE TO REMEMBER TO BRING MY BAG WITH ME.
'CAUSE I DON'T WANT TO PAY FEE.
YEAH, BUT YOU'RE NOT BRINGING A TUPPERWARE TO, LIKE, PEOPLE ARE NOT BRINGING TUPPERWARES, LIKE WE CAN'T CONTROL THE SANITATION IN REAL TIME.
RIGHT? IF YOU, IF YOU BRING A TUPPERWARE AND IT'S NOT PERFECTLY SANITARY, YOU CAN'T PUT FOOD IN IT AND RIGHT.
LIKE, I JUST, I JUST DON'T, THEN THEN THE RESTAURANT COULD REJECT IT AND SAY, I'M SORRY, I CAN'T PUT, YOU KNOW, MY CLEAN FOOD IN YOUR DIRTY CONTAINER.
SO YOU HAVE TO PAY A 25 CENTS FOR THE ALL.
I I I HAVE A, I HAVE A QUESTION, I GUESS, AMY.
UM, DO THESE OTHER ORDINANCES HAVE THIS, UH, REUSABLE ELEMENT OR IS IT MORE ABOUT TRANSITIONING FROM PLASTIC TO COMPOSTABLE? DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? THE MOST SPIRITED CONVERSATION WE'VE HAD SO FAR IS, HAS BEEN AROUND THE REUSABLE TOPIC, LESS SO AROUND THE COMPOSTABLE TOPIC.
I MEAN, WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO PUSH IT FURTHER.
AND SO IT'S LIKE, THERE IS, IT DOESN'T SAY YOU CAN'T USE, UM, IT'S, THERE'S CERTAIN THINGS THAT SAYS YOU CAN'T USE, BUT IT DOESN'T, IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT AS SPECIFIC AS WHAT WE'RE, IT WAS WHAT THE DISCUSSION IS.
LIKE, LIKE YOU CAN DO, YOU CAN USE REUSABLE PLASTIC IN, IN THIS, IT JUST CAN'T BE CERTAIN TYPES OF PLASTIC, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? AND SO, AND THEN AS WAS MENTIONED BEFORE, THERE'S A RESOURCE TO SHOW, TO LIKE, HELP PEOPLE FIGURE OUT WHAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS OKAY.
BECAUSE THERE'S, YOU KNOW, THERE'S HEALTH EFFECTS AND THEN THERE'S THE WASTE, AND THEN THERE'S LIKE THE LITTER.
YOU KNOW, THERE'S ALL SORTS OF DIFFERENT REASONS THAT WE'RE, THAT THIS IS AN IMPORTANT ORDINANCE.
UM, DID I ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? YEAH, I THINK, YEAH, WE, WE WERE TRYING TO GO, THE INTENT WAS TO TRY AND GO FURTHER, I GUESS, THAN OTHER CITIES ON THIS WITH THEIR USABLE PIECE.
SO, UM, I THINK THERE ARE REUSABLES IN, IN OTHER ORDINANCES, BUT IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT LIKE STRESSED OR ANYTHING.
BUT THERE IS, I THINK THERE IS, IN THIS ORDINANCE, LIKE AS IT IS WRITTEN, THERE IS ROOM FOR PEOPLE TO PROGRESS.
AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T, I I FEEL LIKE THE MOST IMPORTANT THING RIGHT NOW IS FOR US TO GET YOUR FEEDBACK.
UM, BUT I WILL SAY THAT BEHAVIORS DO CHANGE.
LIKE RIGHT NOW, PEOPLE AREN'T BRINGING TUPPERWARES.
I MEAN, YOU DON'T NEED TO BRING A TUPPERWARE FOR DINING IN ANYWAYS UNLESS YOU EXPECT TO HAVE LEFTOVERS.
BUT RIGHT NOW PEOPLE AREN'T, BUT PEOPLE WILL, AND NOT EVERYBODY WILL.
AND THOSE PEOPLE ARE JUST GONNA PAY 25 CENTS.
LIKE THERE'S A SOLUTION THAT'S NOT THAT PAINFUL.
AND IF IT'S THAT PAINFUL FOR YOU, YOU'LL BRING YOUR OWN COUNCIL MEMBER RIMS. OKAY, TWO THINGS.
UH, ONE, UM, BEING, UM, WIFI, WE, WE PLAYED A LOT OF BRIDGE WITH A LOT OF OLDER FOLKS, EIGHTIES AND NINETIES, EVEN A HUNDRED.
AND, UH, THESE FOLKS CAN'T EAT A FULL MEAL SERVED AT ANY RESTAURANT.
SO MANY OF THEM WILL HAVE BRING THEIR TUPPERWARE CONTAINERS TO FOR TAKING STUFF HOME.
AND IT'S PRETTY COMMON PRACTICE AMONGST, UH, AS, AS YOU GET OLDER, YOU FIND OUT, OH, I'M NOT EATING AS MUCH, UH, FOR THE WHOLE PLATE.
AND THAT, SO THAT, THAT'S A PRETTY COMMON THING.
AND A LOT OF 'EM WILL BRING, EVEN WHEN THEY'RE DINING OUT, WILL BRING THEIR, THEIR EXTRA CONTAINER TO TAKE THINGS HOME WITH 'EM.
UM, AND THE, UH, THE SECOND THING IS, UH, I DO GET CONCERNED ABOUT THAT.
THERE'S SOME GRAY AREAS AS TO, UM, THE DEFINITION, DINING IN, DINING OUT.
AND THEN WHEN YOU HAVE THE THINGS THAT ARE NOT IN THOSE SPECIFIC SPECTRUMS, YOU HAVE, UM, EVENTS.
SO IF I, BECAUSE I GO TO A LOT OF GROUP EVENTS WHERE A LOT OF THINGS ARE BEING SERVED, FOOD SERVED, AND IT'S COMING FROM SOMEWHERE THAT'S BEING PURCHASED, WHETHER IT BE A, UM, UH, EVEN A GROCERY STORE OR A TAKEOUT OR, UM, CATERING SERVICES.
AND SO HOW FAR DOWN THE LINE DO YOU WANT TO GO WITH, IS THAT WHEN I BUY IT FROM A CATERING SERVICE AND THEN BRINGS IT BACK? IF I GO TO LUCCHESE DELI AND PICK UP A HUNDRED SANDWICHES FOR MY GROUP, AM I GONNA PAY 25 CENTS FOR EACH OF THOSE SANDWICHES OR NOT, UH, TYPE THING? UH, 'CAUSE THEY'RE WRAPPED IN PAPER OR, OR ALUMINUM FOIL, WHATEVER IT IS.
UM, AND THEN, UM, AND THEN THERE'S GRAY AREAS AS TO, I'D SAY IF I GO TO A, UM, UH, A YOGURT PLACE, WELL, THERE'S ONE LITTLE OR TWO LITTLE TINY TABLES WITH TWO SEATS ON.
THERE'S FOUR SEATS THERE, BUT YOU CAN EAT THERE OR YOU CAN EAT OUT, YOU TAKE IT WITH YOU.
SO THEY'RE USING THE SAME UTENSILS BASICALLY FOR, FOR BOTH.
IS THAT A DINE-IN OR IS THAT A DINE OUT IF THEY GIVE YOU SOMETHING AND WHETHER YOU SIT AT THE SEAT OR YOU WALK OUT OUTSIDE AND SIT OUT THERE, OR WHETHER YOU WALK AWAY WITH IT.
SO, UM, WE HAVE TO BE CAREFUL ON HOW YOU DEFINE DINE IN, DINE OUT.
[01:35:01]
THE OTHER STUFF, WHICH IS, UM, GROUP EVENTS, WHICH IS ANOTHER TYPE OF CATEGORY WHERE A LOT OF, UM, UTENSILS ARE BEING USED AND FOOD WEAR IS BEING USED.UM, 'CAUSE UH, I GO TO A LOT OF THESE, UM, DURING THE WEEK, AND SO THERE'S MORE THERE THAN, THAN I THINK EVEN AT RESTAURANTS.
SO ANYWAY, LOOKING AT DEFINITIONS ON, ON THAT, WHERE, WHERE DO YOU DRAW THE LINE FOR EACH OF THESE TYPES OF CATEGORIES? OKAY.
I, I JUST WANTED TO CHIME IN REALLY QUICK ON THE QUESTION.
ON OTHER PLACES THAT ARE DOING REUSABLES, BOTH SANTA ROSA AND SEBASTOPOL HAVE, UH, REUSABLES ONLY ON ORDINANCE FOR, UH, DINE IN.
I HAVE QUESTIONS OF HOW THAT'S ENFORCED
UM, AND I ALSO WANTED TO GIVE A PLUG, UM, FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.
WE USUALLY DO PRESENTATIONS, QUESTIONS OF STAFF, AND THEN BEFORE WE GET INTO THE, THE GREAT DISCUSSION THAT'S HAPPENING, UM, THE PUBLIC IS A, GETS A CHANCE TO CHIME IN.
SO I JUST WANNA PUT A PLUG FOR THAT.
I THINK IT'S NOW WAS A GREAT TIME FOR PUBLIC COMMENT, UH, IF NOT 10 MINUTES AGO.
UM,
PUBLIC COMMENTS ARE LIMITED TO THREE MINUTES PER PERSON IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY DONE SO, PLEASE BRING, PLEASE FILL OUT A SPEAKER CARD AND BRING IT TO THE CLERK.
OR YOU CAN FILL IT OUT AFTER YOU SPEAK IF YOU'D LIKE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING.
NO, I DON'T HAVE A BIG COMMENT.
UM, I, I THINK, UH, I BRING A, UM, A FORK, FORK, SPOON KNIFE THING IN MY BACKPACK EVERYWHERE I GO.
I MIGHT HAVE TO USE ANY, UM, OTHER UTENSIL, PLASTIC UTENSIL.
AND, UM, I WOULD SAY THAT IN ORDER TO MAKE CHANGE, YOU HAVE TO DISRUPT WHAT WE DO.
WE CAN'T CONTINUE TO DO WHAT WE'RE DOING.
AND SO IT MIGHT BE A LITTLE CHANGE AND DIFFERENT, LIKE THE PLASTIC STRAWS, BUT THAT'S THE ONLY WAY WE'RE GONNA MAKE CHANGE.
BUT, AND, AND THAT IS SO IMPORTANT, UM, TO, AND IF YOU DO HAVE A FAMILY, THEN YOU HAVE KIDS PROBABLY, AND YOU WANNA SHOW THE KIDS THAT THIS IS WHAT WE DO AND THEY CAN HELP YOU REMEMBER TO BRING IT OR HAVE IT IN THE CAR.
AND ALL OF THAT I THINK IS SO IMPORTANT, UM, TO DO.
AND, UH, WHAT ELSE DO I HAVE TO SAY? UM, AND THE THINGS THAT ARE NOT COMPOSTABLE, I THINK THEY SHOULD BE OUTLAWED
I MEAN, LIKE, YOU SHOULDN'T BE ABLE TO SELL 'EM IF THEY SAY COMPOSTABLE AND WE CAN'T COMPOST THEM, THAT REALLY BOTHERS ME.
AND PEOPLE DON'T KNOW THAT THAT'S TRUE AND THAT REALLY NEEDS TO GET OUT THERE.
SO IT REALLY NEEDS TO BE COMPOSTABLE, WHICH I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT WOULD BE.
SO IT'S PROBABLY GONNA BE REUSABLE THINGS THAT, UM, NEED TO BE BROUGHT, THAT NEED PEOPLE NEED TO BRING.
APPRECIATE ALL YOUR COMMENTS VERY MUCH.
UM, ONE THING I'D LIKE TO EMPHASIZE IN, IN ALL THE, ALL THE WORK THAT WE DID IS THAT LOOKING AT THE MARIN WEBSITE, THEY DID A FABULOUS JOB OF COMMUNICATING, UM, ABOUT WHAT WAS EXPECTED, WHAT WERE THE EXCEPTIONS.
AND I THINK THAT THAT'S GONNA BE A CRITICAL PIECE OF OUR EDUCATION AND THAT WE DO, I, I AGREE THAT WE, MAYBE NOT SO MUCH WITH THE ORDINANCE ITSELF, BUT WHERE WE HAVE OTHER PLACES THAT WE COMMUNICATE LIKE OUR WEBSITE, THAT'S GONNA BE CRITICAL TO JUST BE VERY CLEAR AND SIMPLE ABOUT WHAT WE ARE EXPECTING PEOPLE TO DO.
SO I JUST WANNA EMPHASIZE THAT I, I'LL FILL OUT A SPEAKER CARD IN JUST A SECOND.
UM, PETE GANG, JUST LISTEN TO THIS CONVERSATION.
A A COUPLE OF QUICK OBSERVATIONS.
UM, ONE FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS I'VE BEEN THE, THE ZERO WASTE PERSON IN CHARGE OF 20 OR 25 VOLUNTEERS AT THE WINE COUNTRY CENTURY.
AND I'VE EXPERIENCED ALL OF THESE THINGS THAT ARE UNDER DISCUSSION.
I KNOW THAT, THAT, UH, THE COFFEE VENDOR LAST YEAR THOUGHT THEY WERE DOING THE RIGHT THING BY SERVING ALL THE COFFEE IN CUPS MADE BY, I BELIEVE, WORLD CENTRIC THAT SAID COMPOSTABLE.
AND WE HAD TO TELL EVERYBODY THAT THEY DON'T, THEY'RE NOT COMPOSTABLE.
AND I AGREE WITH, I THINK IT WAS YOUR COMMENT THAT, THAT IN ORDER FOR THESE THREE
[01:40:01]
BIN STATIONS TO WORK, THEY HAVE TO BE STAFFED.YOU HAVE TO HAVE SOMEONE THERE DIRECTING PEOPLE WHERE TO PUT EVERYTHING.
UM, I, I ALSO WANTED TO BE VERY MINDFUL OF, UM, THE, THE TOUGH FINANCIAL SITUATION THAT MOST OF OUR SMALLER RESTAURANTS, OUR LOCAL RESTAURANTS ARE IN.
UM, I, I RECALL AN ARTICLE THAT, UM, WAS ABOUT NAOMI CRAWFORD AND ETTE.
SHE SAID THAT, THAT THEY'RE RUNNING A MILLION DOLLAR BUSINESS WITH A PROFIT MARGIN OF 1% OR LESS.
SO I WANNA BE VERY MINDFUL OF NOT FORCING THEM INTO, UH, OUTTA BUSINESS.
AND THE LAST THING I WANNA SAY IS, IT OCCURS TO ME THAT JUST IN THE SAME WAY THAT, THAT WE FIND OURSELVES ASKING WHAT'S THE BEST KIND OF CAR TO DRIVE, INSTEAD OF ASKING, DO WE NEED TO DRIVE, INSTEAD OF FINDING OTHER WAYS OF GETTING AROUND, THERE WAS LIFE BEFORE TAKEOUT.
AND MAYBE WE SHOULD BE, AS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT CONTAIN WHAT KIND OF CONTAINERS TO USE, WE SHOULD BE THINKING OF ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO EAT IN RATHER THAN TAKING OUT.
POSSIBLY, UH, SOME OF THE MOST PUBLIC COMMENTS, UH, WE'VE HAD IN A WHILE.
UM, ONE ITEM HAS COME UP, WHICH WE HAVEN'T TALKED ABOUT SPECIFICALLY, WHICH IS ITEM 3.5 ENFORCEMENT IN THE ORDINANCE.
AND THEN THERE'S SORT OF LIKE A THREE TIERED ENFORCEMENT PARADIGM.
THERE'S A INFORMAL, UM, LIKE CITY INFORMAL THING, AND THEN NUMBER B IS THE VIOLATION IS A NUISANCE.
AND THEN NUMBER C IS LIKE A BUSINESS LICENSE, UH, ISSUE.
UH, SO MY QUESTION, AND THIS IS MAYBE UM, MORE OF A REQUEST FOR FEEDBACK IS, UM, WE CURRENTLY HAVE, YOU KNOW, THE PLASTIC STRAW BAN, RIGHT? AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE A STYROFOAM BAN.
I'M CURIOUS IF WE HAVE DONE ANY ENFORCEMENT AT ALL ON EITHER OF THOSE TWO THINGS.
AND IF SO, LIKE WHAT WAS THE OUTCOME OF THAT? IS, WAS THERE A FINANCIAL PENALTY? WAS IT, YOU KNOW, LARGE OR SMALL? UM, YOU KNOW, I HAVEN'T BEEN THERE RECENTLY, BUT I KNOW OF LIKE ONE LARGE RESTAURANT KIND OF FOCUSED RETAIL CHAIN THAT SELLS PYRUS, YOU KNOW, POLYSTYRENE TAKEOUT CONTAINERS, AND I'M PRETTY SURE THOSE ARE BANNED.
YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE I'VE, I'VE THOUGHT ABOUT REPORTING THEM MYSELF, YOU KNOW, BUT LIKE, WHAT'S THE HOTLINE FOR THAT? DO THEY CARE? WHAT IS THE CITY'S, YOU KNOW? SO I DO THINK AT THE END OF THE DAY, UM, YOU KNOW, CLIMATE POLICIES THAT DON'T IMPOSE A COST ARE NOT EFFECTIVE, IS WHAT MOST OF THE RESEARCH SAYS, YOU KNOW, AND THAT COST DOESN'T NEED TO BE A FINANCIAL COST.
IT CAN BE A CONVENIENCE COST, BUT I AM PERSONALLY OF THE OPINION THAT THE SCIENCE TELLS US THAT IMPOSING COSTS OR INCONVENIENCE FOR THINGS THAT ARE BAD FOR THE CLIMATE ARE GOOD.
AND I AM FAVOR OF THOSE POLICIES.
AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THE ENFORCEMENT MECHANISM AND LIKE, WHAT ARE THE TRIGGERS UP FOR THAT? YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY IF WE WANNA BE ENFORCING THE RIGHT THINGS.
AND TO ME, THAT'S LIKE THE PYY POLYSTYRENE TAKEOUT CONTAINERS, WHICH ARE ALREADY COVERED.
WE SHOULD ALREADY, LIKE, BEFORE WE DO THIS, WHAT ARE WE DOING WITH THE THING WE ALREADY HAVE ON THE BOOKS? AND LET'S GET CLEAR ON THOSE, YOU KNOW, AND THAT WOULD BE A REALLY GOOD STORY TOO.
LIKE, HEY, WE FOUND THIS ONE RESTAURANT, THEY DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT OUR CURRENT ORDINANCE, AND WE TOLD 'EM TO SWITCH THIS OTHER THING.
AND PEOPLE LIKE THE, YOU KNOW, SEMI COMPOSTABLE ONES.
SO THAT'S THE QUESTION AND, AND FEEDBACK PIECE IS ON THE, UH, ENFORCEMENT.
UM, IF, IF YOU'D LIKE, I CAN ADDRESS THAT.
UM, BECAUSE I HELPED, UH, UH, PREPARED THE POLYSTYRENE ORDINANCE, UH, BACK IN THE DAY.
UM, AND THAT'S ENFORCED BY OUR CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS.
UM, SO IT'S A COMPLAINT BASIS.
SO THEY'RE NOT PROACTIVELY GOING OUT THERE AND GOING TO EVERY BUSINESS AND SAYING, HEY ARE, SHOW ME ALL YOUR POLYSTYRENE AND THEN CI THEM IF THEY FIND IT.
UM, SO WHEN WE GET COMPLAINTS, WE FOLLOW UP ON THAT.
AND THERE WAS A STORE I WILL SAY THAT WAS FITS THAT DESCRIPTION THAT YOU'RE, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT.
UM, THAT TOOK, UM, QUITE A BIT OF OUTREACH AND THEY, I THINK IT WAS DECEMBER OF, NOT LAST YEAR, BUT 2023, THEY HAD FINALLY PULLED OFF ALL THOSE, UM, MATERIALS OFF THEIR SHELF.
UM, SO HOPEFULLY THEY HAVEN'T SINCE BROUGHT IT BACK, BUT IT WAS A, A CHAIN AND THEY HAD, SO IT WAS MULTIPLE
[01:45:01]
JURISDICTIONS TALKING TO THEM ON THAT ISSUE.UM, BEFORE THAT GOT DONE, IT WAS A KIND OF CORPORATE KIND OF THING.
SO THERE'S THAT, I MEAN, THAT IS A SUCCESS STORY.
UM, WE DO ENFORCE THAT ORDINANCE, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, UM, WE'RE REALLY COGNIZANT OF IS THAT AS STAFF, WE'RE NOT GONNA BE RECOMMENDING ORDINANCES THAT ARE JUST IN NAME ONLY AND NOT SOMETHING THAT WE FEEL LIKE WE HAVE THE RESOURCES TO ENFORCE.
UM, I CAN'T SPEAK TO THE PLASTIC STRAW, UM, PART BECAUSE I BELIEVE THAT'S STATE LAW.
UM, AND, AND I'M NOT ENTIRELY SURE WHO IN THE STATE IS ENFORCING THAT, OR IF THEY, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THEY, UM, HAD DELEGATED TO US.
UM, I COULD, I COULD ASK CODE ENFORCEMENT IF THEY HAD ANY CASES OF THAT, BUT WITH POLYSTYRENE, UM, WHEN IT ORIGINALLY CAME OUT, WE DID OUTREACH ON THAT.
WE TALKED WITH THOSE PLACES THAT WERE STILL DOING IT, AND USUALLY ONE CALL WAS ENOUGH.
IT'S JUST THAT ONE STORE THAT HAD MULTIPLE, UH, FOLLOW UP.
AND WE HAVE NOT ISSUED ANY CITATIONS I'M AWARE OF, UM, ON THAT ORDINANCE.
SO I JUST WANTED TO THROW THIS OUT THERE.
SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE KIND OF LOOKING AT, LIKE, WE'RE THINKING ABOUT LIKE PEOPLE WHO WOULD HAVE THE PERSPECTIVE THAT LIKE SWITCHING TO REUSABLES WOULD BE LIKE AN INCONVENIENCE ALMOST.
IS THERE ANY WAY WE COULD LIKE REBRAND THAT AS LIKE A MORE POSITIVE THING? BECAUSE I THINK PEOPLE WOULD RESPOND BETTER IF THEY COULD SEE IT AS A POSITIVE THING, LIKE ABOUT LIKE HOW YOU MARKET IT.
BECAUSE IF WE COULD LIKE HIGHLIGHT THAT PETALUMA IS LIKE FORGING AHEAD, LIKE GOING TO REUSABLES AND WE CAN KIND OF HIGHLIGHT IT ALMOST LIKE AS A COMMUNITY EFFORT, SO PEOPLE FEEL LIKE THEY'RE PART OF THE COMMUNITY, LIKE MOVING TOWARDS REUSABLES AND LIKE HELPING THE ENVIRONMENT.
WOULD THAT HELP OR IS THAT POSSIBLE? SO I WANNA GO BACK TO A COUPLE THINGS THAT I DIDN'T FINISH TALKING ABOUT
UM, FIRST OF ALL, I'VE ACTUALLY SPENT A LOT OF MY CAREER LOOKING VERY CLOSELY AT MATERIALS AND THEIR RELATIVE MERITS.
AND COMPARING MATERIAL X TO MATERIAL Y IS VERY COMPLICATED BECAUSE THERE ARE ALL SORTS OF DIFFERENCES IN THEM.
SO LET'S SAY THAT THE WHOLE IDEA OF SOMETHING THAT'S SEMI COMPOSTABLE OR SLIGHTLY COMPOSTABLE IS, YOU KNOW, FRANKLY, MOSTLY B******T.
UM, AND COMPARING THESE MATERIALS IS LIKE COMPARING APPLES, ORANGES, STEPLADDERS, AND WING NUTS BECAUSE THEY HAVE MULTIPLE INGREDIENTS AND THEY HAVE MULTIPLE MANUFACTURING PROCESSES.
THEY HAVE MULTIPLE IMPACTS IN THEIR EXTRACTION AND THEIR DISPOSAL.
SO I WOULD SAY IF WE'RE GOING TO ACCEPT SUCH THINGS, PROVE IT, PROVE IT, IT'S BETTER THAN THE EXISTING PRODUCT BECAUSE IF IT'S GONNA END UP IN THE LANDFILL, I'M NOT JUST GONNA TAKE IT ON FAITH THAT BECAUSE IT HAS 5% BAMBOO THAT IT'S BETTER.
AND I, I WILL SAY, COMING FROM THE BUILDING INDUSTRY, THERE WERE A LOT OF INSULATION PRODUCTS, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT WERE BUILT AS BIO-BASED, THAT WERE 5%, SOME BIOLOGICALLY DERIVED COMPONENT THAT DOES NOT MAKE IT BETTER.
THERE ARE OTHER ISSUES AT PLAY HERE.
SO I THINK WE NEED TO BE VERY DISCERNING AND CRITICAL IN ESTABLISHING THOSE CRITERIA.
WHEN IT COMES TO PLASTICS, THERE ARE THREE PLASTIC TYPES THAT ARE RECYCLABLE IN OUR JURISDICTION.
THEY'RE LABELED NUMBER ONE, NUMBER TWO, AND NUMBER FIVE.
THOSE ARE THE ONLY PLASTICS THAT WE SHOULD BE ALLOWING TO BE USED.
UM, AND BY THE WAY, I CALL LISA MOORE ALL THE TIME WITH MY NERDY, HIGHLY SPECIALIZED AND CRITICAL RECYCLING QUESTIONS.
SO I'M NOT JUST TALKING OUTTA MY HAT.
THIS IS SOMETHING I RESEARCH ALL THE TIME WHEN SOME ODDBALL THING COMES ACROSS MY RADAR.
UM, YEAH, SO THAT'S THE MAIN THING.
OH, AND IN TERMS OF COST, I DON'T HAVE STRONG FEELINGS ON THIS ONE.
I THINK IT'S GREAT TO CHARGE FOR IT.
IF ANYTHING, 25 CENTS MIGHT BE TOO LITTLE.
UM, AND ONE OF THE THINGS I REALLY LOOK FORWARD TO ABOUT WHERE WE'RE GOING WITH THIS IS I'M REALLY SICK OF TAKEOUT RESTAURANTS GIVING ME WHAT I DON'T WANT, LIKE UTENSILS, NAPKINS, KETCHUP PACKETS, LIKE STOP WITH THAT STUFF, RIGHT? AND I THINK THIS WILL
[01:50:01]
HELP THEM GET THAT MESSAGE TO AS WELL AS MOST OF US WHO HAVE KETCHUP AT HOME, WHO HAVE NAPKINS AT HOME, WHO HAVE UTENSILS AT HOME.SO I LOOK FORWARD TO HAVING THAT BE A PROVISION.
LIKE, YOU DON'T GET IT UNLESS YOU ASK FOR IT AND YOU'RE PAYING FOR IT.
I THINK THAT ALONE COULD HELP REDUCE WASTE BY SOME NON-TRIVIAL PERCENTAGE.
UM, I JUST, I HAVE A COUPLE MORE THINGS TOO, JUST REAL QUICK.
UM, PATRICK, YOU LIKE, THE EXAMPLE YOU GAVE WAS SUPER HELPFUL.
YOU KNOW, IT REMINDED ME THAT I THINK RETAIL IS A PART OF THE ORDINANCE THAT WE HAVEN'T REALLY TALKED ABOUT YET.
UM, BUT IF WE WERE TO CUT THE HEAD OF THE PLASTIC FORK SNAKE OFF AT THE RETAIL STORES THAT SUPPLY THE RESTAURANTS, THEN THAT WOULD, YOU KNOW, GOING UPSTREAM IS ALWAYS MORE EFFECTIVE.
AND SO FOCUSING, YOU KNOW, NOT ON LIKE THE REUSABLE THING, YOU KNOW, THAT'S BUT LIKE PLASTIC FORKS AND SPOONS.
IF WE COULD, YOU KNOW, GET MORE FEEDBACK FROM RETAILERS ON THAT PARTICULAR POTENTIAL ITEM OF THE ORDINANCE, UH, I THINK WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL.
UH, I WILL SAY IN TERMS OF LIKE THE, THE FEE, UH, IF, IF, AND WHEN WE DO GO OUT AND GET FEEDBACK, I WOULD BE CURIOUS IF THERE'S, IF YOU KNOW, MOST PEOPLE DON'T LIKE ONE OR THE OTHER THAT CHARGING FOR PLASTIC AS A FEE, BUT NOT CHARGING FOR COMPOSTABLE OR EVEN REALLY REAL COMPOSTABLE, YOU KNOW, IF THAT SOMEHOW DIDN'T HAVE A FEE, BUT PLASTIC DID, THAT'S SORT OF A MAYBE MORE OF A MIDDLE GROUND OPTION.
SO I'D LIKE SOME FEEDBACK ON THAT.
YEAH, I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU FOR WORKING ON THIS.
ASHLEY, DO YOU WANNA SAY ANYTHING? YEAH, I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU SO MUCH.
UM, AND I'LL TAKE IT BACK TO THE AD HOC GROUP AND, UM, INCORPORATE IT.
UH, THE, UH, NUMBER THREE ITEM ON OUR LIST IS THE BLUEPRINT IMPLEMENTATION AD HOC SUBCOMMITTEES PLANNING DISCUSSION.
WE HAVE THE RESOURCE CONSUMPTION GROUP, THE BUILDINGS AND CLEAN ENERGY GROUP, AND THE GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE GROUP.
UH, WHAT TIME ARE WE AT HERE? UM, I GUESS IF WE GO TILL EIGHT, WHAT DO WE THINK HALF AN HOUR IS, DO PEOPLE HAVE AN OPINION? EIGHT 30.
THAT MEANS FOR REAL THIS TIME, NOT EIGHT 40 LIKE WE ALWAYS DO.
UH, THIS, UH, MEETING IS WHAT IS, WE'RE, WE'RE IN RECESS.
WE ARE, UH, RETURNING FROM RECESS AT 8:33 PM THE, UH, FINAL TWO ITEMS ON THE AGENDA THIS EVENING ARE COMMISSION COMMENT, FOLLOWED BY STAFF COMMENT DURING COMMISSION COMMENT, MEMBERS ARE INVITED TO BRIEFLY SHARE UPDATES RELEVANT TO THIS COMMISSION, INCLUDING LIAISON REPORTS FROM OTHER CITY BODIES AND TO MAKE REQUESTS FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. UH, CHAIR PETERS.
UH, BEFORE WE MOVE ON FROM THE LAST ITEM, UM, TYPICALLY THERE'S A REPORT OUT, I DON'T KNOW IF FOLKS WANTED TO REPORT WHAT WAS DISCUSSED IN AD HOC GROUPS, AND WE ALSO DIDN'T DO PUBLIC COMMENT.
SO JUST WE, WE DO HAVE ONE MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC, STILL AN AUDIENCE.
OPENING AND CLOSING PUBLIC COMMENT.
AND, UM, I GUESS THE REPORT OUT IF DO GROUPS WANNA DO BRIEF REPORT OUT? SO WE'RE FOOD WASTE AND BASICALLY WE JUST HAD KIND OF A DISCUSSION, A RECAP ABOUT OUR CONVERSATIONS IN HERE.
SO WE, WE TOOK YOUR COMMENTS, DISCUSSED THEM, AND WE'LL BE GETTING BACK TO YOU.
SO THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR INPUT.
AND WE, WE FOCUSED ON, UM, THE PARKING MANAGEMENT POLICY, UM, JUST, UM, LOOKING FOR DIFFERENT EXAMPLES AND THINKING ABOUT WAYS TO, UM, KIND OF PROVIDE MORE INCENTIVES, MAYBE DO A GUIDEBOOK ON, YOU KNOW, WHAT PARKING IMPROVEMENT SHOULD LOOK LIKE AND PERHAPS TIE IT INTO SOME KIND OF STORMWATER INFRASTRUCTURE, UM, PROCESS
[01:55:01]
SO THAT THE KIND OF THE, WE'RE JUST TRYING TO KIND OF SOLVE THE PROBLEM OF WHAT, WHAT DO WE DO WITH THESE ENORMOUS PARKING LOTS THAT ARE NOT THAT WELL UTILIZED THAT ARE HEAT ISLANDS, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE OUR MECHANISMS FOR GETTING THEM GREENER AND GETTING MORE EV CHARGING IN THERE.SO WE SPEND SOME TIME TALKING ABOUT DIFFERENT MECHANISMS TO DO THAT.
UM, AND THEN WE ALSO TALKED ABOUT WORKING ON, UM, PUBLIC EV CHARGING AND, UM, TRYING TO GET A PROGRAM TO GET MORE EV CHARGING AND MULTIFAMILY HOUSING.
AND, UM, KIND OF THE SAME THING, JUST KIND OF STILL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT OUR MECHANISMS ARE FOR, FOR DOING THOSE THINGS.
UM, WE ALL KNOW WHAT WE WANNA DO, BUT IT'S NOT REALLY CLEAR HOW YOU KIND OF TAKE EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE AND INCENTIVIZE IT TO BECOME BETTER, UM, YOU KNOW, WITHOUT ANY KIND OF, THERE'S NOT ANY READY PROCESS TO KIND OF REQUIRE PEOPLE TO DO THINGS IN THESE REALMS. SO ANYWAY, YOU GUYS WANNA ADD ANYTHING? BEN, YOU WANNA ADD ANYTHING? YEAH, I, THIS IS MAYBE A QUESTION, UH, PATRICK.
SO, UM, ON THE PUBLIC EV CHARGING TOPIC OR JUST EV CHARGING IN GENERAL? UH, THERE WAS A QUESTION OF LIKE, WHAT TYPE OF MAPPING SERVICE MIGHT BE POSSIBLE? I KNOW FOR THE A TP, THERE WAS THE, MY SOCIAL PINPOINT, UH, AND WE ALSO HAVE LIKE THE CITY OF PETALUMA'S APP.
UH, AND THE IDEA WAS IF WE COULD BROADCAST FOR PEOPLE TO RAISE THEIR HAND AND SAY, I WANT TO CHARGE YOUR HERE, UH, THAT THAT DATABASE WOULD HELP INFORM OUR PLANNING PROCESS AROUND PUBLIC EV CHARGERS.
YOU KNOW, THERE'S A, A COUPLE POLICIES AND ACTIONS IN THE BLUEPRINT RELATED TO IT.
UM, BUT TO SORT OF KICKSTART THAT, IF WE HAVE PEOPLE RAISING THEIR HANDS SAYING, I WANT MY WORKPLACE TO PUT IN A CHARGER AND THEY DON'T, THAT WOULD MAKE YOU KNOW IT A LOT EASIER.
SO THAT'S MORE OF A RESEARCH QUESTION.
CAN WE ADD AN EV CHARGING COMPONENT TO THE CITY OF PETALUMA APP? UH, AND OR, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE THE OPTIONS FOR SOMETHING LIKE A MY SOCIAL PINPOINT? SO YEAH.
YEAH, I MEAN THAT, THAT, WHAT COMES TO MIND IMMEDIATELY IS THE, UM, SAFE STREETS NOMINATION PROGRAM, UHHUH
I MEAN, IF WE COULD DO IT FOR SAFE STREETS, IT SEEMS LIKE WE COULD DO IT FOR EV CHARGING TO FIND OUT WHERE PEOPLE WANT PUBLIC CHARGING.
YEAH, THAT SOUNDS, THAT SOUNDS REASONABLE.
I, I NEED TO TALK WITH FOLKS, FOLKS TO SEE WHAT IT TOOK TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S REC REPLICABLE.
AND THE, UM, THE BUILDINGS GROUP, AND DO YOU WANT ME TO TAKE THIS? SO, UM, WE HAVE A NUMBER OF THINGS THAT ARE SORT OF LOOSELY RELATED.
THE ONE THAT OCCUPIED MOST OF OUR TIME THIS EVENING WAS TALKING ABOUT, UM, HELPING LANDSCAPE FIRMS MOVE EARLY TOWARDS ADOPTION OF ELECTRIC IN PLACE OF GAS POWERED EQUIPMENT.
AND, UH, WE TALKED ABOUT A PILOT TURN IN PROGRAM WHERE, UM, THE OLD GAS EQUIPMENT COULD BE TURNED IN FOR, UM, A REBATE TOWARDS, UM, SO THAT IF THEY TURNED IN THE OLD EQUIPMENT AND SHOWED A RECEIPT FOR A NEW PIECE OF ELECTRIC CORRESPONDING ELECTRIC EQUIPMENT, OR I GUESS WE WOULD JUST GIVE IT TO 'EM.
THEY, THEY GIVE US THE OLD ONE, THEY GET SOME CASH TO GO BUY A REPLACEMENT ELECTRIC ITEM.
SO, UM, JOHN IS GONNA TAKE POINT ON SEEING IF HE CAN FLESH THAT IDEA OUT A LITTLE BIT SO WE CAN RUN IT UP THE FLAGPOLE.
SO WE HAVE SEVERAL OTHER PROJECTS WE'RE WORKING ON, SORT OF INCHING AWAY ON, BUT, UM, NOTHING TERRIBLY NEW ON THOSE.
WELL, UM, ONE, ONE IDEA WE'RE THINKING THERE IS INVOLVING LOCAL BUSINESSES.
SO AS PART OF THIS REBATE PROGRAM, IT COULD BE LIKE A COUPON TO FREEDMAN'S TO GET A, YOU KNOW, AN ELECTRIC VERSION THERE.
UH, BUT WE'LL HAVE MORE AS WE, UH, PUT IT TOGETHER.
I THINK, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, IF YOU WANT, JUST GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT OF LIKE HOW, HOW THIS MIGHT WORK, UH, FROM THE CITY PERSPECTIVE, BECAUSE THIS WOULD BE GOING THROUGH THE CITY, RIGHT? YEAH.
SO THE POSSIBILITIES IS, UM, UH, THE MARKET WOULD BE WORKING WITH MOSTLY WOULD BE THE SMALLER LANDSCAPER.
IT WOULD BE THE, THE TARGET MARKET.
EVEN THOUGH, UH, WE'D HAVE THE LARGER LANDSCAPERS, UM, UH, HAVE THEIR OPPORTUNITY MAYBE, MAYBE LIMITED TO LIKE TWO, TWO UNITS OR THREE UNITS PER COMPANY, UM, THAT'S DOING THIS.
[02:00:01]
THEY WOULD, AND WE COULD WORK THROUGH COMMUNICATIONS AND, UH, THROUGH BOTH THE REPAIR SHOPS THAT DO THAT WORK WITH THESE MOST OF THESE COMPANIES AND KNOW WHO EVERYBODY IS GET.AND ALSO, UM, CAFE PUENTE COULD ALSO HELP DO THE MARKETING, UH, THROUGH THEIR, THEIR, UM, OUTREACH, UH, AREAS.
UM, UH, JUST SO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYTHING'S BEEN COMMUNICATED OUT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
THEN WE WORK WITH THE ACTUAL SALES WOULD HAPPEN AT, AT FRIEDMAN'S AND, UH, UH, TRACTOR SALES AND WILCO AND, AND IF THERE'S ANY OTHERS HERE IN TOWN, AND THEY WOULD BE AWARE OF IT SO THAT THEY WOULD ACTUALLY GET THE INFORMATION.
AND, UM, BUT IT'D BE COORDINATED A LITTLE BIT.
BUT IT'S BASICALLY A, UM, TURN IN.
SO MAYBE TURN INTO THE REPAIR SHOP AND THEY WOULD HANDLE THE, UM, UH, RECYCLING OF THE, OF THE MATERIALS OR THE TURN INS, AND THEN THEY'D BUY FROM A LOCAL STORE, PREFERABLY THAT WOULD PAY SALES TAXES HERE IN PETALUMA.
AND THEN WE WOULD HAVE, UM, AND THEN THEY SHOWED THAT PAPERWORK AND THEN THEY GET A HUNDRED DOLLARS REBATE, JUST LIKE THE TOILET PROGRAM WHEN YOU BUY AND THEN TURN IT IN, TURN THAT PAPERWORK, YOU GET A HUNDRED DOLLARS REBATE.
IF IT NEEDS TO BE MORE, WE'D START OFF WITH A, A 5K, UH, PILOT PROGRAM TO START OFF WITH MAYBE A HUNDRED DOLLARS UNIT WE TALKING, MAYBE RAISING THAT UP MORE.
I'LL HAVE TO DO AN INVESTIGATION OF WHAT IT MIGHT TAKE TO GET IT STARTED.
BUT IF WE GOT, UH, A PILOT PROGRAM THAT'S $5,000 TO START WITH, SEE HOW FAST AND THAT WENT, THAT WOULD DEMONSTRATE TO THE PUBLIC THAT YEAH, WE ARE, WE'RE TRYING TO MOVE THIS FORWARD, GET SOME ADVERTISING, GET SOME PR OUT OF IT, AND HOPEFULLY DO A SHIFT.
UM, AND THEN IF IT, IF IT WORKS REALLY WELL AND REALLY FAST, THEN WE PUT IN ANOTHER 5,000 AND MAYBE, UM, MATCH IT GRANT MONEY FROM A HEALTH DISTRICT OR MAYBE EVEN SOME, IF THERE'S SOME FOLKS OUT THERE THAT REALLY WANT TO GET ON THIS ISSUE, UH, WOULD, WOULD DONATE TO IT.
AND WE WOULD ALSO MAKE THAT HAPPEN THAT WAY TOO.
SO, UH, START OFF WITH A SMALL PROGRAM AND, UH, UM, SO I WAS GONNA WORK, I'M NOT SURE IF PATRICK, IF, IF DEB FOX WOULD BE THE FIRST PERSON TO WORK WITH HERE OR NOT ON THAT, BUT, UH, IT'D BE SOMEONE IN STAFF THAT ACTUALLY KNOWS ABOUT THE TOILET REBATE PROGRAM.
AND THEN WE MATCH THAT ALONG WITH A, SOME COMMUNICATIONS, UM, AND DO A WRITEUP AND GET THAT PUBLICIZED.
SO HOPEFULLY MINIMUM STAFF TIME, MINIMUM WRITEUP, MINIMUM WORK, JUST $5,000 A STARTUP.
UM, AND, AND MAKE THAT, UH, HOPEFULLY GO FAIRLY QUICKLY.
ANYWAY, THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE CONCEPT.
YEAH, I MEAN, I THINK WE CAN TALK ABOUT HOW WE DID, UM, YOU KNOW, THE WATER CONSERVATION PROGRAM, WHICH HAS A DEDICATED FUNDING SOURCE, UM, HOW WE SET THAT UP FOR SURE.
UM, I LIKE THE IDEA OF THE HEALTH DISTRICT AND THERE THERE MIGHT BE OTHERS LIKE SONOMA CLAIM POWER THAT HAVE FUNDING 'CAUSE THEY WOULD BENEFIT FROM PEOPLE CHARGING, UM, ELECTRIC DEVICES, UM, ON, ON THEIR SERVICE.
SO YEAH, THERE, THERE MAY BE OTHER FUNDING SOURCES AS WELL THAT COULD HELP.
SO DO I WORK DIRECTLY WITH YOU OR, OR DEB FOX ON THIS? YEAH, WE CAN, WE CAN TALK.
[COMMISSION COMMENT]
UH, COMMISSION COMMENT, UH, AS I MENTIONED, AND I'D LIKE, UH, TO SPECIFICALLY ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO SUGGEST FUTURE AGENDA TOPICS.I KNOW, UH, THE PLASTIC FOOD WASTE ONE, IT LOOKS LIKE WE'VE GOTTEN SOME GOOD FEEDBACK AND I THINK WE'RE GONNA SEE THAT AGAIN ONCE OR TWICE.
BUT I WOULD LIKE PEOPLE TO RECOMMEND, UH, ADDITIONAL TOPICS, UH, IN ADDITION TO THE AD HOC WORK AND PRESENTATIONS.
UM, YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS, COMMISSIONER COMMENTS? UM, SO I THINK THIS HAS BEEN ADDED TO THE AGENDA ALREADY, BUT NEXT MEETING, I BELIEVE THAT CAPS IS GONNA COME IN AND DO A QUICK PRESENTATION ABOUT WHAT THEY'VE BEEN DOING THIS YEAR.
SO THAT'S CLIMATE ACTION PATHWAYS FOR SCHOOLS.
I THINK THEY'RE GONNA DO A QUICK PRESENTATION AND I WOULD LIKE TO PROPOSE MAYBE ADDING THE TOPIC OF HOW TO LIKE, MAKE REUSABLES LIKE MORE APPEALING.
YEAH, I, I THINK, UH, CHAIR ACTUALLY, UH, SAID SHOULD, THIS IS PROBABLY COMING, BUT I WAS HOPING, YEAH, WE, AT SOME POINT WE CAN HEAR FROM SONOMA CLEAN POWER JUST, UH, HEAR WHAT THEY'RE UP TO AND SEE HOW WE CAN WORK TOGETHER.
UH, MY ONLY COMMENT IS A REQUEST, UH, TO HAVE A PRESENTATION ON, UH, THE SAFETY ELEMENT UPDATE, UH, AND POSSIBLY A SPECIFIC FOCUS ON EXTREME HEAT.
UH, AND TO HAVE THAT HAPPEN BEFORE.
[02:05:01]
IN THE BRIEF CONVERSATION I HAD WITH, UH, MR. JORDAN, HE MENTIONED THAT LIKE A PRESENTATION ON THE SAFETY ELEMENT IN JUNE JULY WOULD BE GREAT.UM, SO, UH, WE ARE GOING TO BE UPDATING THAT OR IN THE PROCESS OF THAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW IF THE EXTREME HEAT FOCUS, UH, IS GOING TO BE TOO LATE JULY, YOU KNOW, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE MORE PREPARED WE CAN GET OUR COMMUNITY FOR THAT, THE BETTER.
UM, AND SO IF WE CAN PERHAPS ACCELERATE THAT ONE FASTER AND HAVE THE SAFETY ELEMENT LATER, OR, YOU KNOW, I'M, IF IT HAPPENS IN JULY, BOTH TOPICS, THAT WOULD BE, UH, YOU KNOW, I'D BE HAPPY TO SEE IT.
COUNCIL MEMBER SCHWARBS SHRIMPS, A COUPLE THINGS.
UH, FIRST I NEED JUST ASK FOR, FOR TOPICS.
UH, ONE THING THAT, THAT I MIGHT HAVE FUN HAVING EITHER HERE OR, OR MAYBE EVEN A FIELD TRIP, WOULD BE TO GO TO A RESTAURANT THAT ACTUALLY USES INDUCTION STOVES INSTEAD OF, UH, PROPANE OR, OR METHANE GAS FOR HEATING.
UM, AND ACTUALLY, UH, HAVE AN EXPERIENCE THERE, A DEMONSTRATION WHERE WE ALL COULD KIND OF PARTICIPATE IN THAT EITHER.
AND EVEN IF THEY COULD BRING THE EQUIPMENT RIGHT HERE IN FRONT OF US AND ACTUALLY DO IT IN FRONT OF US AND GIVE US ALL SOMETHING TO MUNCH ON AT THE END OF IT, UH, USING THE THAT AND AS A DEMONSTRATION THAT HEY WE'RE, UH, TO KIND OF PROMOTE THAT IDEA.
SO ANYWAY, HAVING THAT DEMO IN A VERY PUBLIC SETTING LIKE THIS OR US GOING THERE AND GETTING THAT ON, ON, WORKING ON THAT.
ANYWAY, THAT'S JUST A TOPIC TO THINK ABOUT.
UH, AS FAR AS THE, WHAT THE COUNCIL'S DOING NOW IS, UH, WE'VE JUST HAD A COUPLE, UM, SESSIONS AND, AND GOING TO BE CONTINUING TO HAVE A COUPLE SESSIONS ON LAND USE FOR THE GENERAL PLAN, WHICH IS MOVING FORWARD AND IT'S A KEY PART OF THE WHOLE GENERAL PLAN MOVING FORWARD.
MAYBE THE, UM, A FOCAL POINT AND A, UM, SORT LIKE A LITTLE KEYHOLE WE GOTTA GET THROUGH AS FAR AS, UM, GETTING THE GENERAL PLAN TO REALLY FUNCTION WELL AT THE END AND, AND GET IT THROUGH, THROUGH THE, THROUGH THE END POINT.
AND SO LAND USE SEEMS TO BE ONE OF THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL AREAS.
UM, BOTH THE DOWNTOWN AREA OVERLAY HOTEL RIGHT NOW, BUT ALSO JUST, UH, WE JUST HAD A, UM, ON MONDAY WE WENT THROUGH, WE STARTED AT FIVE.
WE DIDN'T END UP TILL 11, SO SIX HOURS STRAIGHT BASICALLY.
AND WE ONLY GOT THROUGH TWO THIRDS OF THE LAND USES THAT WERE BEING PRESENTED BY THE M GROUP, UH, FOR, FOR VARIOUS PLACES IN TOWN.
SO THERE'S GONNA BE ANOTHER WORKSHOP ON LAND USE, UM, THAT'S GONNA COVER THE NATIVE CORRIDORS, WASHINGTON, PETA BOULEVARDS.
THAT'S GONNA BE A, A WHOLE SEPARATE DAY.
MAYBE THERE MAY BE A WHOLE DAY OF WORKSHOP ON THIS NOW, UH, THAT'S BEEN SUGGESTED SINCE IT'S SUCH A, A, A LARGE HOT TOPIC THAT IS SO CRITICAL TO OUR GENERAL PLAN.
UM, ALSO, I, I WAS AT, UH, UH, SAW SOME MESSAGING, UM, THAT BUILDING HALF THE CARBON IS ACTUALLY IN THE CONSTRUCTION, NOT IN THE ACTUAL USE.
SO LOOKING AT CONSTRUCTION COSTS.
SO THERE'S SEMINARS BASED ON THAT, UM, SOMEWHERE.
AND THEN, UM, AND THEN I DID GO TO THE UM, UH, AND, UH, THE NORTH BAY ECONOMIC SUMMIT PUT ON BY THE NORTH BAY BUSINESS, UH, FOLKS.
THAT WAS, UH, MOST OF THE MORNING EVENT, UH, A COUPLE WEEKS AGO.
AND IN THAT WE HAD ECONOMISTS COME IN FROM THE UNIVERSITY AS WELL AS THE NAPA, UM, PERSON WHO'S IN CHARGE OF DEVELOPMENT, UH, LOOKING AT THE ECONOMICS OF NAPA.
AND EVEN THE, UM, THE ECONOMIST FROM LIKE, I THINK IT WAS FROM SONOMA STATE, THEIR PROFESSOR THAT, UH, IS ACTUALLY VERY BIG ON, UM, ON THE POLITICAL SCENE ALSO GETS CALLED UP THERE.
HE CALLED UP WHAT NAPA IS DOING ECONOMICALLY FOR THEIR DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT.
UM, AND AS, AS A MODEL TO LOOK AT.
SO THEY ARE DOING A COMBINATION, THEY'RE DOING LIKE THE GREEN PROGRAM THAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO AS WELL AS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
THEY'VE GOT THE RIVER, THE ADVANTAGE THAT THEY HAVE IS THEY HAVE A WATERSHED AND A RIVER, A COUNTY AND A CITY ALL WORKING TOGETHER.
SO ALL THE GROUPS WORKING ON THESE THINGS ARE ALL ONE AND THE SAME 'CAUSE THEY'RE DEALING WITH THE SAME LOCATION.
AND THAT HAS GIVEN THEM THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK TOGETHER CLOSELY.
CITY, COUNTY, RIVER WATERSHED, ALL THESE FOLKS, NON-PROFITS AND GOVERNMENT WORKING IN ALL THESE BECAUSE THEY'RE ONE AND THE SAME BASICALLY.
UM, SO WITH THAT ADVANTAGE, THEY, THEY'RE CREATING A HUGE ECONOMIC TOURIST ENGINE, UH, WITH THE BUILDINGS THAT THEY'RE WORKING ON.
SO THE SUGGESTION MAY BE WE NEED TO LOOK AT THAT MODEL AND SEE WHERE WE WANT TO GO WITH OUR LAND USE AND IS THAT WHERE WE WANNA GO OR DO WE WANNA GO SOMEWHERE ELSE, UM, UH, ON THAT.
SO ANYWAY, UM, BE LOOKING FOR THESE EVENTS PLEASE AND GIVING OUR INPUT ON, UH, LAND USE AND WHAT THOSE BUILDINGS MIGHT LOOK LIKE AND BE, UM, 'CAUSE THAT'S GONNA BE PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT TOPIC COMING UP THE NEXT COUPLE MONTHS, UH, ON THE GENERAL PLAN, WHICH WILL
[02:10:01]
TIE INTO EVERYTHING ELSE THAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO WITH TRANSPORTATION, UM, WITH CLIMATE CHANGE AS, AS CRITICAL FACTORS HERE.BUT THIS IS, THIS IS THE KEYHOLE WE GOTTA SLIDE THROUGH FIRST, I THINK AT THIS POINT.
UM, AND I DID PARTICIPATE IN THE, UH, COUM A ROUND TABLE AND ALSO THE BOOK CLUB.
AND SO LOTS OF GOOD ACTION THAT ARE HAPPENING THERE.
SO THAT'S, UH, A QUICK SUMMARY.
[STAFF COMMENT]
THE FINAL ITEM IS A STAFF COMMENT.ACTING CHAIR PETERS, VICE CHAIR PETERS.
UM, I'M GONNA TAKE OFF MY NORMAL CITY OF PETALUMA HAT AND PUT ON MY WAIST HAT, UM, BECAUSE I REPRESENT THE CITY OF PETALUMA ON THE ZERO WASTE SONOMA BOARD.
AND, UM, IT JUST SO HAPPENS THEY, SO I'M, I'M BUSY ON THURSDAYS.
I HAVE THIS MEETING THE, THE SECOND THURSDAY OF THE MONTH, AND THEN ON THE THIRD THURSDAY OF THE MONTH, I AM AT THE ZERO WASTE SONOMA BOARD MEETINGS.
AND, UM, THE NEXT ONE'S, UH, AN INTERESTING ONE.
UM, THEY'RE DOING THEIR ANNUAL REPORT ON THEIR ACTIVITIES, BASICALLY EVERYTHING THAT THEY'VE DONE.
UM, IT'S A, IT'S A GREAT LOOKING REPORT AND THEY DO A LOT OF GREAT WORK.
UM, SO I'M SHARING THE SCREEN FOR ZERO WASTE SONOMA'S WEBSITE.
IT'S ZERO WASTE SONOMA DOT UH GOV, AND IF YOU GO DOWN TO THE BOTTOM AND GO TO BOARD MEETINGS, YOU CAN GET THEIR PACKET.
UM, AND IT'S JUST, I, I HIGHLIGHT THAT BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE IT'S A, A RESOURCE THAT NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW.
THEY'RE A GOVERNMENT AGENCY THAT'S COMPOSED OF ALL THE DIFFERENT, UM, CITIES AND THE COUNTY OF SONOMA, UM, WORKING TOGETHER ON WASTE ISSUES AND, UM, I DON'T KNOW HOW FAST THIS WILL LOAD, BUT, UM, THEIR, THEIR UPCOMING PACKET AND THE, THE PROGRAMS THAT THEY DO, UM, ARE, ARE REALLY GREAT.
UM, I I, I DON'T THINK WE EMPHASIZE WHAT THEY DO ENOUGH.
WHY ISN'T IT BOOKMARK ALMOST THERE.
UM, SO YEAH, SO THIS IS THEIR, THEIR ANNUAL REPORT ON THEIR WORK PLAN.
THEY TALK ABOUT COMPOST GIVEAWAYS.
UM, THEY HAVE LIKE A, WHAT THEY CALL AN ECO DESK WHERE PEOPLE CAN CALL A NUMBER AND GET QUESTION, GET ANSWERS TO THEIR, UM, QUESTIONS.
UH, THEY TALK ABOUT HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE REDUCTION RESOURCE FOR THAT.
UM, THEY'RE WINDING DOWN A PROGRAM ON SOLAR PANEL RECYCLING.
UM, SO A LOT OF GREAT PROGRAMS WITH THAT ORGANIZATION.
UM, I ENCOURAGE IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN WASTE TO CHECK OUT ZERO WASTE SONOMA.GOV.
UM, AND THEN ALSO, UM, THEY ARE A PARTICIPATE PARTICIPANT IN A SPONSOR OF AN UPCOMING ZERO WASTE SYMPOSIUM ON, UH, MAY 1ST AT SNOW MOUNTAIN VILLAGE IN RENER PARK.
UM, LOT OF GREAT SPEAKERS, A LOT OF GREAT, UH, OPPORTUNITIES TO MEET PEOPLE THAT ARE INTERESTED IN DOING WORK IN THE WASTE FIELD, UM, SPECIFICALLY HOW TO REDUCE WASTE.
UM, SO YEAH, SO THE MAY 1ST IS, IS THE, UH, THE DAY FOR IT.
IT HAPPENS PRETTY MUCH ALL DAY.
UM, AND YOU CAN GO TO LOOK UP, UH, ZERO WASTE NORTH BAY.ORG IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN ATTENDING.
UM, SO YEAH, SO A LOT OF THINGS GOING ON IN THE WASTE FIELD, UM, BEYOND WHAT WE'RE JUST TALKING ABOUT HERE IN PETALUMA AS WELL.
SO I GUESS, PATRICK, ON THE WASTE TOPIC, SO THIS LIKE COMPOSTABLE QUESTION, SO IS IT THAT, UH, I GUESS RECOLOGY DOESN'T HAVE THE FACILITIES TO DO THE COMPOSTING OF THIS STUFF AND THAT'S NEVER GONNA HAPPEN, OR THAT'S A KNOWN PROBLEM THAT'S BEING WORKED ON? WHAT IS THE SITUATION? YEAH, I MEAN, DON'T REALLY WANT TO GET TOO MUCH INTO THE LAST DISCUSSION ITEM, BUT, UH, RECOLOGY, THEY DO HAVE A COMPOST FACILITY, BUT IT'S PRETTY FAR AWAY.
UM, THEY'RE, THEY'RE KIND OF LIMITED TO THE COMPOST FACILITIES THAT THEY TAKE THE MATERIALS TO.
SO THERE'S ONE IN NAPA, THERE'S THE ONE AT, UM, THE REDWOOD LANDFILL JUST SOUTH OF HERE IN BETWEEN PETALUMA AND NOVATO.
UM, AND, AND IT'S UP TO THOSE FACILITIES, WHAT THEY'LL TAKE.
SOME THINGS THAT ARE LISTED AS, YOU KNOW, QUOTE UNQUOTE UN COMPOSTABLE, UM, AREN'T ALLOWED IN ORGANIC AGRICULTURE, UM, WHICH IS WHAT A LOT OF THESE PRODUCTS THAT THEY'RE PRODUCING GO INTO.
SO, UM, SO THEY DON'T ACCEPT IT.
SO, UM, AND THERE'S NOT A TON OF COMPOST FACILITIES OUT THERE.
THAT'S, THAT'S ONE OF THE PROBLEMS. THERE'S, THERE'S NOT MANY IN THE STATE.
IT'S REALLY DIFFICULT TO MAKE NEW ONES.
[02:15:01]
UH, THERE'S BEEN AN EFFORT IN SONOMA COUNTY FOR YEARS TO MAKE ONE HAPPEN, AND IT, IT STILL HASN'T COME TO FRUITION YET.SO, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, AS I, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, THERE'S THAT RESOURCE FROM, UM, MARIN COUNTY AND BASICALLY IF IT'S FIBER, BUT IT'S UNCOATED THAT USUALLY IS COMPOSTABLE.
UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, UM, IF IT HAS LIKE A, A SHEEN OR A SHINE TO IT, CHANCES ARE IT'S COATED IN PLASTIC AND THAT'S NOT GONNA, IT'S NOT GONNA COMPOST ALL THE WAY IT LIKELY WOULD GET SORTED OUT AND BECOME GARBAGE.
SO I THINK, I THINK THAT'S, YEAH, SO IT'S, IT'S LIMITED BY WHAT RECOLOGY CAN TAKE THE MATERIALS TO.
ON THE, UM, THE ZERO WASTE, THERE WAS A, UM, UH, A MEETING OR RECESSION, UH, I WAS DOUBLE BOOKED.
I COULDN'T GET TO IT, BUT ABOUT, UH, A COMPANY THAT'S NOT HERE NOW THAT COULD RECYCLE PLASTIC BAGS.
RID WELL DO CAN, CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT IF, IF, UM, WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THAT COMPANY OR WHAT EVENT, WHAT HAPPENED AT THAT EVENT AND WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE? YEAH, SO RID WELL IS, UM, AS I UNDERSTAND IT, I, I WASN'T ABLE TO ATTEND AS WELL, BUT I, I KNOW DEB, UM, WAS, AND, AND SHE, WE CAN PROBABLY PROVIDE MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THEM.
UM, IT'S A COMPANY THAT TAKES HARD TO RECYCLE MATERIALS AND, AND BASICALLY IT'S A MAIL-IN PROGRAM.
UM, AND THEY GIVE YOU LIKE PREPAID PACKAGING.
YOU PUT, YOU STUFF IT WITH THE VERY SPECIFIC MATERIALS THAT THEY, UH, CAN ACCEPT AND THEN THEY WILL SORT THAT, UM, AND, AND GET IT RECYCLED.
YOU KNOW, I THINK EVEN, UM, EVEN RECOLOGY WOULD SAY THAT MOST THINGS ARE RECYCLABLE, BUT IT DEPENDS ON HOW CLEAN A STREAM YOU CAN GET.
LIKE BOTH IN, IF, IF YOU HAD LIKE A THOUSAND STYROFOAM CONTAINERS THAT WERE CLEAN AND FREE OF IT, YOU COULD PROBABLY FIND A WAY TO RECYCLE THAT.
BUT IT'S WHERE THINGS GET MIXED TOGETHER AND NOT LIKE PLASTICS, UM, THEY GET DIRTY, THERE'S FOOD ON THEM THAT'S, THAT'S GONNA SEVERELY DECREASE THE OPPORTUNITY TO RECYCLE THEM SO RID WELL, THEY'RE ONLY LOOKING AT VERY SPECIFIC TYPES OF MATERIALS.
UM, AND, AND I'M GUESSING ON A LIKE PER POUND BASIS IT WOULD BE PRETTY EXPENSIVE, BUT, UM, IF WASTE REDUCTION REALLY MATTERS TO YOU AND YOU'RE WILLING TO PAY THE FEE AND I, I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT IT IS, BUT, UM, BUT DEB WOULD BE ABLE TO TO MENTION THAT AND WE CAN SEND THAT INFORMATION IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S REALLY INTERESTING TO YOU.
UM, THEN YOU CAN SUBSCRIBE TO THEIR SERVICE AND THEY'LL GIVE YOU MAIL BACK KIND OF, UM, MATERIALS.
YEAH, I THINK I SAW SOMETHING ABOUT, UH, $10 A MONTH TYPE OF, UH, FEES THAT THEY WOULD, AND YOU JUST CONSTANTLY GET THESE BAGS TO FILL AND, AND I THINK THEY WERE MOSTLY TARGETING, UM, THE VERY LIGHTWEIGHT PLASTIC BAGS THAT YOU COULD STUFF INTO A SMALL SPACE YEAH.
AND THAT, UH, THAT WAS LIKE THEIR MAJOR PRODUCT THAT, THAT WE'RE GOING AFTER FOR, FOR NEW, UH, TO HIT A NEW AREA LIKE US IN PETAL HERE IN THE YEAH, LIKE FILM PLASTIC, BECAUSE THAT'S NOT ACCEPTED CURBSIDE.
UM, BUT IF IT'S REALLY CLEAN THERE, THERE ARE, YOU KNOW, LIKE TRACKS BENCHES AND THINGS CAN BE MADE FROM FILM PLASTIC, BUT YEAH.
BUT THAT WOULD BE A SUBSCRIBER.
WE JUST HAVE TO ALLOW IT TO HAPPEN HERE OR WORK WITH US.
ANYWAY, THAT'S, THAT'S ANOTHER TOPIC WE COULD PROBABLY TALK ABOUT.
SO, UM, YOU CAN ACTUALLY COLLECT PLASTIC FILM, CLEAN PLASTIC FILM AND TAKE IT TO TARGET.
SO THERE, THERE ARE WAYS IN TOWN EVEN TO RECYCLE A NUMBER OF THINGS THAT AREN'T, UM, YOU'RE NOT ABLE TO RECYCLE IN YOUR CURBSIDE BINS.
SO, AND ZERO WASTE SONOMA IS A GREAT RESOURCE FOR FIGURING THAT STUFF OUT.
SO I KNOW THERE'S A COMPANY IN RONER PARK, THEY JUST SECURED, UH, MONEY TO EXPAND THEIR PLASTIC TO FUELS RECYCLING.
I DUNNO IF YOU GUYS SAW THAT ONE.
SO, I DON'T KNOW, IT SOUNDS LIKE WE, IT WOULD BE MAYBE APPROPRIATE TO HAVE A, ANOTHER WASTE FOCUS CONVERSATION AFTER THE MAY SYMPOSIUM, LIKE MAY BRING BACK THE ORDINANCE, HAVE SOME MORE OF THESE TOPICS.
UH, THE MEETING IS ADJOURNED AT 8:58 PM THANK YOU.