The Green Committee came to order at noon on July 17, 2014.
Members attending are Margo Bailey, Owen Bailey, David Foster, Brad Hollomon and David Sobers.
Guest for the meeting was Isabel Junkin Hardesty.
David Sobers recommended that after Isabel’s presentation we need to decide who will be the acting Chair in Jon’s absence, when will we meet, how do we grow our membership and what is to be our mission.
The team understand that some problems, like storm water management, are beyond our skills especially in the built area. Isabel is here to help us develop plans to reduce the pollutants in the runoff.
Questions: What behavioral changes we help to effect.
How do we think about our yard?
Fertilizer – used indiscriminately and without regard to amount needed.
Create an informational flyer for lawn care and landscaping companies.
Biggest fertilize abused in Washington College. how do we reach them?
How to justify fertilizing change. i.e. Fertilizing in fall is most effective for the lawn and is also not when the farmers fertilize. Homeowners can contact University of Maryland Soil Conservation to analyze their lawns for nutrient needs.
Identify large runoff areas like Garnett parking lot and see how this runoff can be minimized.
David Foster has an app that can be used by homeowners by finding out how much rainwater is leaving their property.
The Town of Chestertown needs to be a leader in the rainwater runoff solutions. What can they do to alleviate their storm water runoff that would be a viable example. The Town may want to consider a storm water fee. The Towns of Berlin and Centreville have enacted such a fee.
We understand that churches may have difficulty with this fee. What advice and help can we give them.
We need to upgrade our website and after we refine our suggestions create a link for the residents.
Let us renew efforts to promote rain barrel use and east to follow hook-up instructions.
David Sobers made a motion to have Margo Bailey made acting Chair until Jon Hanley returns. The motion was approved.
A motion was also made to change our meeting time to 6:30 p.m. The motion was approved.
The next meeting will be July 31st at 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall.
Respectfully Submitted: Margo Bailey