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Record of Proceedings

Evansville Climate Collaborative Board Meeting - October 20, 2026

City Council — Tuesday, October 20, 2026
BodyEvansville, Indiana
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, October 20, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 40:37

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Speaker 1

0:49

They're not working?

Speaker 2

0:50

Oh.

0:51

Now they are.

0:53

They weren't working before.

0:54

Yeah, you really gotta

Speaker 1

0:54

lean into them.

Speaker 3

0:55

Can you hear me okay?

0:57

Yes.

Speaker 1

1:01

That was a trick question.

1:03

They're working

Speaker 2

1:04

now.

Speaker 3

1:04

So do we have a motion to uh approval of minutes from July, which was the last meeting.

1:10

Motion to approve.

Speaker 4

1:12

So

Speaker 2

1:13

moved.

Speaker 3

1:13

Yeah.

1:14

Second.

Unassigned speaker

1:16

I

Speaker 4

1:16

was not present.

Speaker 3

1:19

Uh second.

1:20

How about that?

1:22

Uh any days?

1:24

Good.

1:24

Moving on.

1:26

Um.

1:29

Are you here for appeals?

1:31

What's going on?

1:32

You're just here to visit?

Speaker 2

1:33

Just here to observe, yeah.

1:35

Okay.

1:36

This

Speaker 3

1:36

is not usually

Speaker 2

1:37

how these are run.

Speaker 3

1:38

I'd be like any other board.

1:40

These are run.

Speaker 1

1:43

We have too much fun.

Speaker 3

1:44

Yeah, we we enjoy what we

Unassigned speaker

1:46

do.

Speaker 1

1:46

So no appeals.

Speaker 3

1:48

All right.

1:49

So let's go ahead.

1:50

It's been a few months.

1:51

It'll be nice to hear this the staff report.

1:54

Fill us in on what's been going on.

1:55

I know you've had a lot.

1:56

So

Unassigned speaker

1:57

yeah,

Speaker 1

1:57

I'll just see August and September.

1:59

One of those we didn't have a quorum and then another one I couldn't attend.

2:03

Um it fell apart.

2:05

So emissions and permits.

2:09

Uh Sarah has been working diligently on our um source permit.

2:14

Someone let her give you that report.

Speaker 5

2:16

Yeah, so I just wanted to put it on record that all of the invoices have been sent out for 2026.

2:25

Um all the invoices to our sources, municipal and state.

2:30

Um they were sent out during the months of September and October.

2:34

And we're working with the city controller's office to get those processed, and we're also continuing to update our out-of-date permits.

2:44

So we had quite a few of those, and it's been a process to get everyone updated.

2:51

Um, and we're still working through that.

2:53

So yeah, so we're hopefully we'll have all of those updated um here within this year, but it's proven to be.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Environmental Protection███████████████████████████27%
Public Engagement██████████████████████22%
Energy Efficiency████████████████████20%
Procedural████████8%
Data Center Infrastructure██████6%
Parks and Recreation█████5%
Public Health████4%
Affordable Housing████4%
Public Works████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Evansville Climate Collaborative Board Meeting - October 20, 2026

The Evansville Climate Collaborative Board met on October 20, 2026, at 3:43 PM. The meeting included approval of minutes from the July meeting, no appeals, and a detailed staff report covering emissions permits, project updates (including a rain garden planting, data center research, solar cooperative, city solar installations, EV charging usage, and an anti-idling campaign), education events, and scheduling of the next meeting.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of Minutes: The board unanimously approved the minutes from the July 2026 meeting. Motion by Stacy Milheiser, seconded by Robert Flores. Passed without dissent.

Discussion Items

  • Emissions & Permits: Staff member Sarah reported that all 2026 invoices to municipal and state sources have been sent out during September and October. Work continues to update out-of-date initial five-year source operating permits; the process is challenging due to businesses ceasing operations or new ones opening. The permits are not due for renewal until 2031.
  • Projects & Grants – B City/Rain Garden: The city (a B City certified in 2025) partnered with USI, the Stormwater Division, Parks, and plant societies to install a rain garden at Westland Park. 1,400 native pollinator plants and three bald cypress trees were planted in three stormwater retention swales. The project involved 40 volunteers and 8–10 committee members. Wesselman Woods designed educational signage.
  • Projects & Grants – Data Center Research: Both county and city passed ordinances pausing data center development. Chair Stacy Milheiser serves on a 13-person study committee. Public comments can be submitted via email (DCResearch@vanderburghgov.org) or at meetings; an evening public comment session is being scheduled for November 10 or 17. Milheiser outlined major environmental concerns: a hyperscale data center could double the county’s greenhouse gas emissions, increase air pollutants (NOx, particulate matter), and affect water and energy rates. The public’s top concerns are noise and utility rates. The committee is gathering resources on a shared SharePoint.
  • Projects & Grants – Solar Co-op: Partnering with Solar United Neighbors, the summer solar co-op closed with 190 members (double the typical 100). Eight members have signed contracts with Morton Solar as of September 2. At least 10 low-income households will receive 5 kW systems through grant funding. Another co-op is planned for next year.
  • Projects & Grants – Solarize the City: Of 17 city facilities evaluated, 14 were feasible for solar installations. Three were dropped (two communication towers and the Pagoda), with funds redirected to enhance other projects. Installations are scheduled to begin. Water & Sewer Utility is adding solar at Sunrise Pump Station and East Wastewater Treatment Plant; a new fire station on the east side is designing solar into construction.
  • Projects & Grants – EV Charging: Five charging stations were installed by June. Since then, over 200 charging sessions have been recorded, and usage is increasing.
  • Projects & Grants – Anti-Idling Campaign: Over 100 yard signs were placed at city parks during summer, but most were damaged or disappeared. The board plans to switch to more durable aluminum signs on posts. Staff also designed a new anti-idling sign (displayed at the meeting).
  • Projects & Grants – Resilience Hub Study: Community engagement sessions scheduled for late October were postponed due to insufficient sign-ups. Staff will work with the consultant to reschedule before the year-end contract expiration.
  • Education & Events: Upcoming events include a data center sustainability workshop at IU Bloomington (Oct 23), a neighborhood cleanup (Oct 23), a tree planting at TP Park (Oct 24), a legal workshop on data centers (Nov 6), and the ECC round table for sustainability practitioners (Nov 18, 1–2:30 PM) at EVPL West.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved the July 2026 meeting minutes.
  • No appeals were presented.
  • Next Meeting: Scheduled for November 17, 2026.
  • Adjournment: Motion carried to adjourn.

Meeting Transcript

They're not working? Oh. Now they are. They weren't working before. Yeah, you really gotta lean into them. Can you hear me okay? Yes. That was a trick question. They're working now. So do we have a motion to uh approval of minutes from July, which was the last meeting. Motion to approve. So moved. Yeah. Second. I was not present. Uh second. How about that? Uh any days? Good. Moving on. Um. Are you here for appeals? What's going on? You're just here to visit? Just here to observe, yeah. Okay. This is not usually how these are run. I'd be like any other board. These are run. We have too much fun. Yeah, we we enjoy what we do. So no appeals. All right. So let's go ahead. It's been a few months. It'll be nice to hear this the staff report. Fill us in on what's been going on. I know you've had a lot. So yeah, I'll just see August and September. One of those we didn't have a quorum and then another one I couldn't attend. Um it fell apart.

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