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Environmental Minutes | April 6, 2022

TOWNSHIP OF MONROE

ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES 

Meeting April 6th, 2022                       

  • CALL TO ORDER- Chairwoman Karen Polidoro

                                           Pledge to Flag

  • Sunshine Law- Read into the record
  • Roll Call – (Commissioners and Associates)

       __ Karen Polidoro (Chair)

      __ Renee Haider

      __ Roger Dreyling

     _X_ Ken Konya

     __ Joe Slomian

     __ Giada Schwam (Student Liaison)

      __ Daria Ludas

      __ Mihir Majmudar

      __ John Riggs

      _X_ Lucille di Pasquale

       __ Surabhi Agarwal

        _X_ Irene Goldberg

        __ Theresa Zamorski (Seceretary)

  • Adoption of Minutes:  Joe Slomian motion to approve the March minutes Maihir Majmudar seconded the motion, All in favor               
  • Applications: Block 58 Lot 22.10 & 22.14
    • Speaker: Rick Weiner

            Crest Engineering

 

  • The commission had the following concerns:
  • Committee Reports: The Applicant was originally reviewed at the Monroe Township Environmental Commission on September 5,2018 and the following comments were provided by Monroe Township Environmental Commission on September 28, 2018.
  • Additional evergreens should be incorporated into the plan.
  • Use LED lighting in the new areas and change the 480 high pressure sodium system lighting to LED lights.
  • Revisit the installation of sidewalks; and
  • All lights on the site should be downward and away from the residents.
  • Based on the applicant’s presentation on April 6th, 2022, the Monroe Township Environmental Commission understands that additional landscaping has been provided all, all lights have been switched to LED lights that shine downward and will not impact nearby residents, and the installation of sidewalks was waived by the Monroe Township Planning Board. Additionally, the applicant’s engineer stated that maintenance of the sound barriers is the responsibility of the property owner.
  • Additionally, The Monroe Township Environmental Commission is encouraging all applicants to landscape with as many native flowering plants/bushes as possible to encourage pollinators (bees, birds, insects, mammals, etc.) to thrive, including a mixture of annual and perennial plantings.
  • High School Student Liaison- Giada Schwam-
    • Monroe Township Highschool Green Team: The $2000.00 and $10000.00 Sustainable Grants were submitted on March 11, 2022. We have to get the Grant Authorization Document approved before April 8th, 2022. The Tow grant members worked diligently and efficiently towards successfully completing this grant.  We also asked EAC members to write a short paragraph as to why they would approve of refillable water stations in the school, which was included in the application.
    • 3rd Annual ECO Night: We will be hosting our Eco Night Panel Discussion with professionals who are educators/researchers involved in the environmental field, as well as local environmental and sustainable business leaders. The Environmental Justice Panel will take place on Zoom, on Friday April 8th, 2022, from 6:30 PM to 7:15 PM on addition to the programming for Eco Night 2022.  The EJ panel will be a discussion about environmental justice in our communities and regarding gender, race, and financial status.  Our panelist come from a variety of backgrounds with some working on local environmental justice in Nj and some working on environmental justice in the White House. We will be discussing key tops such as domestic and international environmental justice and what we can do to make our communities sustainable.
    • Nicky Sheats, Esq, - Director of the Center for the Urban Environment at Kean University with work on air pollution, climate change, developing EJ community.
    • JV Valladolid- Frontlines Communication manager for Ironbound Community Corp. with a focus on connection the dots between Environmental Justice issues and reproductive health impacts.
    • Brenda M. Trejo Rosas, MPH-PhD Candidate in the Environmental and Occupational Health Department at George Washington University researching the role of endocrine disrupting chemicals and epigenetics in uterine fibroid (UF).
    • Kim Gaddy- Founder and Executive Director of the South Ward Environmental Alliance, a grassroots EJ organization of residents and community-based groups whose mission is to create healthy and vibrant neighborhoods.
    • Single-Use Plastics Initiative: We were able to collect almost 700 bags to make one plastic sleeping mat and used the scraps to create 3 pillows. They have officially been donated to Homefront, organization aiming to end poverty and homelessness in New Jersey.
  • Trails and Bike Paths Committee- Coordinator Karen Polidoro -Nothing to report
  • Storm Water & Streams Committee- Coordinator Joe Slomian.
  • Energy Committee – Coordinator Ken Konya- Nothing to report
  • Open Space- Coordinator John Riggs-Next meeting will be in May.
  • Education Committee Report- Coordinator Renee Haider –
  • Sustainable New Jersey – Coordinator Renee Haider-
  • Green Fair Committee Report – Coordinator Mihir Majmudar- Preparing outline for in person Green Fair
  • Planning Board – Nothing to report
  • Old Business – New Business – Nothing to report
  • Open to Public –Comments-
  • Adjournment 8:38 pm MOTION: John Riggs       Second: Renee Haider

 NEXT MEETING DATE: May 4th 2022