Sustainable Stockton Meeting Minutes

Thursday, March 6, 2008, at 7:00 pm in the Stockton Municipal Building (Meeting #7)

Attendees:

Sue Anderson; Elizabeth Pitta; Josef Pitta; Mary Maller; Sharon Reichert; and Jeanne Dodge.

Agenda Items:

Meeting Minutes.

Minutes of Meeting #7 were approved with Elizabeth’s amendment to state that the committee name of “Sustainable Stockton” was discussed but not formally decided upon. 

Election Day Booth.

At the February meeting, the committee decided to have a booth in the Municipal Building during February’s election (instead of April’s election due to a better voter turnout rate) to promote the group and its goals.  However, after the meeting, some members had second thoughts on being a presence during Election Day and about giving out light bulbs at the polling places.  It was thought that if the Town of Stockton allowed our committee in its polling place for Election Day, it may set a terrible precedence and have to allow ANY committee/group to do the same in the future.  Also, to some voters, our group may appear as an interference to the voting process.  In addition, we could not legally discuss the elections with people at our table which may be difficult after residents just get done voting.  Lastly, if any voter perceived our group as promoting a certain political slant, that could be construed as electioneering/campaigning which would also be illegal.  After discussion of the situation with members via e-mail, the group decided against being at the February election.

That being said, the committee will instead meet again to rediscuss and revote on an issue if needed rather than deciding after-the-fact to go against the wishes of the majority vote at the time. 

Committee Name, Description, Tag Line, Logo, Goals, etc.

Group made good headway on its description—it only has to finish the last sentence before next meeting.  Goals were not discussed.  The committee name of “Sustainable Stockton” and the tag line “small things add up to big change” were both voted on and approved by all in attendance.  In addition, the beautiful logo created by Elizabeth and Joseph was approved unanimously as well. 

Election of Committee Co-Chairs, Secretary, and Treasurer.

Renea Dahms indicated earlier to Sue that she’d be willing to be Committee Treasurer.  After sharing that information, Sue nominated Renea for Treasurer (Mary seconded it).  No discussion ensued.  All were in favor of Renea being Treasurer.  Next, Sue nominated Sharon for Committee Secretary (Jeanne seconded it).  Again there was no discussion.  Sharon abstained but the rest voted in favor of her serving as Secretary.  Sharon then nominated Sue for Co-Chair (Mary seconded the nomination).  No discussion followed.   Sue abstained but the rest of the attendees were in favor her being one of the Committee Co-Chairs.  Lastly, Sharon nominated Elizabeth for Committee Co-Chair (Sue seconded it).  No discussion ensued.  Elizabeth abstained from voting, but the rest of the group voted in favor of her serving as the other Committee Co-Chair.  Congratulations to everyone on their new positions for Sustainable Stockton!

Web Page.

Sue stated the group’s web page is not just a Stockton directory— it will have revolving photos, carpooling, goods & services, revolving quotes (Elizabeth passed out some quotes we can start with), links, and events.  The 1^st page on our website has to be interesting to hold people’s attention.  We need to work to get our information to the students, so they can finish our web site by the end of  the semester. 

In addition, the committee discussed at length how to promote sustainability within the directory, so it doesn’t just serve as free advertisement for local businesses.  Besides the interviews that Mary is conducting with the businesses in the directory, a letter will be sent to each of them asking them, “What are you doing to work towards sustainability?”  In this way, those businesses that maintain greener practices can get some sort of certification or recognition on our site for doing so.

WEEB Grant.

Even after the confusion following last month’s meeting, Kim still managed to get our application in for the WEEB Grant.  She did have the language changed from “in the polling places” to “in or near the polling places.”  If we receive the grant, further steps can be taken to ensure our light bulb give-away doesn’t interfere with the election process.

Lightbulb Projects.

Cindy Davis let us know she’d have more to report on the family light bulb project after the March utility bill is mailed.  She also has a large box full of literature/rebates from Focus on Energy that she can share when we need it.

Community Outreach Events.

How can we reach out to Stockton Community and educate it on sustainability?  This question will be added to our member survey.

Other Items for Discussion/Action.

1. Meeting Survey.  Group decided to put a survey out to members regarding meeting time, meeting location, requesting facts, quotes, tips, and photos relative to Stockton’s sustainability for the web page, possibility of a farmers market, etc.  That way, discussion on e-mail could move ideas and thoughts along in between meetings.  Sharon to draft list for Co-Chairs to review. 
2. Vote Notice.  To allow members a chance to have a say in those agenda items they deem important, meeting agendas will be sent out with a note to emphasize what agenda items may be voted upon.  Also, a note will be included to give members an opportunity to unsubscribe to our e-mails.

Next Meeting and Something to Think About for next time.

Next meeting will be Thursday, April 3, 2008, at 7:00 pm at the Stockton Municipal Building.  Agenda for that meeting will be sent at a later date.

Submitted by: Sharon Reichert