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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — MAY 13, 2024 9 <br />Councilmember Monson stated she wanted to understand what the City has done today, what <br />was being proposed for the future, should an energy audit be completed and deciding if a program <br />should be pursued by the City. <br />Councilmember Holden indicated she would like the Council to greater define what was meant <br />by sustainability because to her this had a lot to do with water conservation. <br />Councilmember Monson explained in her mind sustainability focuses mostly on energy and <br />electrical use, how much electricity is the City using, or can the City improve its transportation <br />costs by switching to EV's. <br />Councilmember Holden asked if sustainability would be focused on just what the City can do or <br />what the community can do as a whole. <br />Councilmember Monson stated this topic would be twofold. She anticipated the focus at first <br />would be what the City can do and then how the community can contribute. <br />Councilmember Fabel indicated the public works department could pursue EV's and this would <br />double the City's budget. <br />Councilmember Monson commented she would like the City to do an analysis on the cost for <br />changing vehicles over time. <br />Councilmember Rousseau recommended water conservation be placed under the natural <br />resources category and that sustainability focus on energy (solar or electric). <br />Councilmember Holden stated she believed water conservation should be placed under <br />sustainability because the City will have to begin setting policies on how much water should be <br />used within its parks, etc. <br />Mayor Grant suggested water conversation be placed under both categories. He asked if the <br />water conservation goals would be for the overall community or just for the City. <br />Councilmember Monson anticipated these goals would have to begin with the City. <br />Councilmember Rousseau supported this being a City initiative. She noted Great River <br />Greening would be attending a future worksession. <br />Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen reported Great River Greening was planning <br />to attend the June 24 worksession. <br />Further discussion ensued regarding the City's natural resources. <br />Councilmember Holden asked how much park land the City owned. <br />Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen estimated the City had 110 acres in park <br />land. <br />