2019_05-28_PWETCpacket - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

Minnesota GrccnStcp Cities Program ➢ Best Practice Action 24.1: Use a committee to lead, coordinate, and report to and engage community members on implementation of GreenStep bestpractices. BACKGROUND Attachment G The GreenStep Cities program aims to provide Minnesota cities a clear pathway to greater sustainability and resiliency based upon implementing best practices specific to Minnesota cities of differing sizes and capabilities. GreenStep cities adopt a participation resolution that names a contact person to be the city's GreenStep coordinator. This person can be an existing city staff person, an elected official or an appointed community member. Cities are encouraged to empower an existing or new committee to work with and advise the city's GreenStep coordinator. Most cities find it easier to sustain their GreenStep efforts -- to complete more GreenStep actions faster -- with the help and support of a committee. Sustainability work within our cities is a long-term process requiring coordination of existing efforts, policy change, behavioral change, and a lot of public education. A committee can help with these tasks and especially work to ensure public education and engagement. In smaller cities, committees that include the public can add the value -rich perspectives of community members to the information -rich perspectives of city staff. Community members also provide long-term consistency on sustainability efforts as elected leadership changes. And committees always provide much-needed expertise and an extra set of hands for projects. COMMITTEE STRUCTURE & MEMBERSHIP A GreenStep committee can be structured in many formal or less formal ways, include a variety of people, and be called by many names — a green team, a city commission, a civic sustainability coalition. Depending on a city's history, capacity and operating norms, the committee can include people from one or more groups in the community. The work of the committee can be folded into an existing group, or be given to a newly created group. An existing or new committee can be: ✓ a city staff team ✓ a civic group ✓ a formal city commission, committee, advisory group, task force, inter -governmental group A formal city group can include representatives from one or usually more of the following: ❑ elected officials ❑ city staff ❑ community members from: • civic groups • neighborhood associations • religious groups • business organizations • educational institutions • youth/school groups