Kane County Reporter

City of Geneva Natural Resources Committee met Nov. 1.

Here is the agenda provided by the committee:

1. Call to Order

2. Roll Call

Jay Womack, Bill Doeckel, Adam McMillen, Jeanine McMillen, Tom Dickinson, Carrie Carter, John Frankenthal, Stephanie O’hara, Dan Ludwig, Kelvin Limbrick, Rachel Ratos, Mel Rooney, Steve Matravers, Autumn Bruno, David Monaco (SPAC Liaison)

3. Amendments to the Agenda

4. Approval of Minutes from last meeting

5. Active Projects:

• Earth Day Event

i. Keep the light on at Peck Farm for 2024.

• Eastside Fire Station Natural Landscaping Project

i. Dan Ludwig continues to monitor the plants.

• River Clean-up Day

i. Watch the water flow by and be ready for 2024.

• Rain Barrels for sale

i. Jay has barrels. Barrels are $75 each.

• Greening Geneva Initiative

i. Four locations at James and 5th have been approved by Public Works. Jay put out flags to mark locations for Wasco.

ii. Location at parks have been approved and staked by Carl Gorra, they are:

1. 12 bur oak at Sterling Manor

2. 5 bur oak at Williamsburg Park

3. 7 bur oak at Frank Burgess Park

iii. Wasco Nursery to plant 28 new trees and replace dead trees on November 6th and 7th.

• Wine, Cheese, and Trees

i. WCT 2024 is up and running. The Save the Date flyer was sent out and tickets are being sold.

ii. Library has reserved all rooms for the event.

iii. The first planning meeting is Nov. 1st.

• Fabyan Preserve Stewardship

i. Workdays started October 2023. Schedule has been sent.

ii. Battle of the Brush Piles wil be Dec. 9th. Location is TBD. Jay is working with Park District on a location.

• Elm Park Restoration Work

i. Update from Kelvin

• NRC Facebook page and Instagram

i. Updates from Mel and Kelvin.

• Recycling Bins on 3rd Street

i. The bins are in place and being utilized.

ii. It has been noted that many of the recycle bins are overrun with material and need to be emptied sooner so that they are not overwhelmed with garbage as well.

• Pumpkin Recycling

i. Pumpkin Smash is a go! The event will be held Saturday, Nov. 4th, 10 to noon, at the Districts Community Gardens.

ii. Autumn is coordinating with her Middle School, Kane Cty Collects, Kane County Farm Bureau, SCARCE, Geneva Market (Mark Weaver), and Flat Can Recycling.

iii. Flyers are being made by District and Flat Can Recycling.

iv. Autumn, Jay, the District, and Kat mee on Oct 20th at plots to review circulation and setup.

v. NRC members to be at gardens at 9am. Bring carts and wheelbarrows to haul pumpkins.

• NRC Lecture Series

i. NRC began a quarterly lecture series on environmental education opportunities. The lectures will be held at the Library.

ii. The third lecture will be the Kane/DuPage Soil and Water Conservation District on Dec. 9th.

iii. The fourth lecture will be Designing with Native Plants for the Home and Garden in March, 2024.

iv. A calendar of ideas was created by Rachel.

• Dark Sky Initiative

i. NRC to continue to promote the Dark Sky Initiative.

ii. Geneva Park District has adopted a Resolution to be Dark Sky Compliant. Resolution was sent to Adam Kreuzer.

• Tree Ordinance

i. Based on NRC recommendations, there are several sections of the City Code that need to be amended in relation to tree preservation, tree protection, and landscaping.

6. New Initiatives

• Create an annual Environmental award – recognize a community member who is making a difference.

• Create an education piece to reduce plastic and styrofoam at restaurants. Attend Cantigny seminar?

• Continue to support educational opportunity to move Spring leaf collection into May, not April.

7. Treasurer’s Report

• The NRC purchased coats and pull over sweatshirts with the NRC logo on them to provide more visibility for the NRC in the community.

8. Additional business

• Celebrate Jay’s 60th birthday.

9. Adjournment

https://www.geneva.il.us/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_11012023-2247