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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Radnor Township Environmental Advisory Council Meeting - May 20, 2026

Board of Commissioners & Boards — Wednesday, May 20, 2026

BodyRadnor Township, Pennsylvania

SessionBoard of Commissioners & Boards

DateWednesday, May 20, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:31:08

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

0:00

The minutes from April 15th.

0:04

Any comments?

0:08

If you approve, raise your hand.

0:12

Okay.

0:17

Okay.

0:18

Public comment.

0:21

Anybody from public wish to speak?

0:26

Okay.

0:28

Announcements.

0:30

These are in detail in the agenda.

0:36

Quickly go over them.

0:38

Radner Township Parks and Recreation has its annual Great American Backyard Camp out at the Willows on May 30th.

0:49

I'll be there waiting in the creek with whatever child is interested to catch aquatic invertebrates.

1:00

And we'll take a look and see what we catch.

1:06

And hopefully catch a lot, which means our streams, at least in that part of the township, are healthy.

1:17

Any EAC members or associate members who want to uh participate in the camp at uh the event uh can uh contact Peter Murphy at Radner Troop 284 at Peter Q Murphy at gmail.com.

1:43

There's Survivor Nature and Hiking Camp for 2026 is on June 15th and 14th this summer for campers seven to thirteen years old, and they'll explore the woods and streams in Willows Park.

1:59

And then there's popular group challenges of boat races and shelter building, capture the flag and the famous scavenger hunk hunt.

2:09

Uh need to register for that at the URL indicated in the agenda.

2:21

Uh all right, ongoing business.

2:26

Municipal energy conservation and electrification.

2:30

Uh we've been uh Bill uh Gells and I have been advancing through the process of uh implementing the building energy benchmarking uh program through the Delaware Valley region uh planning commission along with the Green Building United.

2:58

Uh and we're at the point of putting together a quick survey of uh commercial and institutional building owners uh for their familiarity with energy benchmarking and also uh uh their level of uh interest in it.

3:22

Um we're going to be hopefully ultimately have a proposed uh uh ordinance drawn up by the end of this summer that uh will require all building owners uh over I believe 10,000 square feet of space uh to go to the energy star um uh portfolio manager, which allows uh building owners to put in their electrical and fossil fuel uh costs as well as specifics about their building how uh what it's used for and the exact dimensions and uh there's a calculation that comes up with an energy conservation score, and the basis of that score is comparing the energy uh used for that building against uh buildings of similar use and dimensions and construction across the country.

4:32

So it's basically informing the owner uh whether your building is average or below or above average in terms of energy efficiency for that particular type of building.

4:51

Um public education.

5:00

Yeah, Bess.

5:02

We had Sarah Wiener Cooper and her father give a great presentation at uh Kreutzburg Center on uh May 12th.

5:13

Anything to say to that.

5:18

Um yes, I think it was a a great success.

5:22

Uh we definitely would recommend the Kreuzberg Center for future lectures.

5:28

And their tech and A V support is really wonderful, and the venue itself is cozy.

5:41

It's but it it's not it's not not as big as the Randershaw room or the Windsor room, but it it definitely worked well.

5:47

So I think uh and I think that the one advantage to the mainline school night is that they have a huge email list, and so they could really publicize any lectures uh and really that this is a true partnership in that um you know we essentially because the Kruzpark Center is part of the Radner Township, it is it we do not have to pay a fee to use the center as well as the AV, the tech is is supported by the mainline school night.

6:26

So it's it and it's it I think um few people afterwards if how they heard about it, and one of them said they thought they heard it from the township, got an email from the township, and then uh a handful of said that they had gotten an email from the mainline school night.

6:44

So um definitely I hope we can do at least one or possibly more uh lectures there a year.

6:52

Maybe we can talk about how we want to go about you know structuring our year uh with these lectures and um, I just and I and I just want to add too that um I think this time was no charge to members coming to see the lecture, but moving forward from the center, at least the person I spoke to, it's between 30 to 40 dollars charged per person for future lectures.

7:23

So they they charge people to come to their and I can reconfirm that, but I have an email that states that they were giving us like a a free lecture for this first one, but then moving forward it was thirty dollars per person for individuals who would like to.

7:40

Okay, so that's what they meant.

7:42

That's how they make their income from that.

7:46

Um so you you agree that that's possible, uh Bess.

7:52

I that I would that I I think that would be doable.

7:57

Um yeah, I think I think the Redner Conservancy works that way with them.

8:03

I guess yes, so I I wasn't aware that this was the our first one was sort of a free.

8:11

Yeah.

8:12

So okay, that's helpful.

8:14

Thank you.

8:15

Well, and and they don't do uh live streaming, do they?

8:22

They they did, they do live streaming, yeah.

8:25

We had people in the Zoom room.

8:27

That's right, that's right.

8:29

At about 25 in person and 25 online.

8:34

18 in person and then 25 in the Zoom room, and I was monitoring the chat room, chat box, you know, the chat room and uh chat box, and we were able to ask most of the questions that the Zoom participants asked.

8:50

So it was I think it I I think overall I think it went extremely well.

8:57

So yeah.

9:00

Now I guess uh do the online attendees pay the same fee.

9:05

Do you know?

9:07

Uh I believe so.

9:08

I mean, I think that I don't know.

9:10

We would need to check with Nancy Shaw about that.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Parks and Recreation███████████████████████████27%

Environmental Protection██████████████████████████26%

Public Engagement█████████████████████████25%

Water And Wastewater Management███████7%

Community Engagement██████6%

Youth Programs█████5%

Procedural████4%

Summary of Proceedings

Radnor Township Environmental Advisory Council Meeting - May 20, 2026

The Environmental Advisory Council (EAC) held a regular meeting at 6:00 PM on May 20, 2026, in the Radnorshire Room. The meeting covered updates on ongoing projects, including energy benchmarking, public education, pollinator corridor efforts, maintenance challenges, and budget planning. Key decisions included approval of April minutes, assignment of action items for upcoming events, and discussions on long-term maintenance strategies for native plantings.

Consent Calendar

Minutes from April 15, 2026, were approved unanimously by a show of hands.

Public Comments & Testimony

No members of the public spoke during the public comment period.

Announcements

Radnor Township Parks & Recreation announced the 12th Annual Great American Backyard Campout on May 30 at The Willows Park, with an EAC member offering to lead aquatic invertebrate catching.
Survivor Nature and Hiking Camp will run June 15–Aug 14 for ages 7–13.
Upcoming EAC roundtable on road salt pollution (May 27) and Ecological Re-Storyation Workshop at Bartram's Garden (May 30) were noted.

Discussion Items

Municipal Energy Conservation and Electrification

Bill Gells and others are advancing the building energy benchmarking program through DVRPC and Green Building United. A survey of commercial building owners is being prepared, with a draft ordinance expected by end of summer requiring buildings over 10,000 sq ft to use ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager to calculate an energy conservation score.

Public Education – Lawn to Meadow Talk

Bess reported that the May 12 talk by Sara Weaner Cooper at the Creutzburg Center was a success, with 18 in-person and 25 online attendees. The venue's AV support was praised. However, future lectures at the Creutzburg Center through the Main Line School Night will charge participants $30–$40 per person. Bess will confirm fees for online attendees. Discussion noted that charging fees could help support the EAC budget but may limit attendance.

Mosquito Bucket Challenge Workshop

Scheduled for June 6 at Radnor Memorial Library, in two sessions (10:00–10:45 and 11:00–11:45). Participants bring their own buckets; instructional video from Doug Tallamy will be shown. Bess will handle advertising and registration link.

Assisted Plant Migration Lecture

Tuesday June 9, 7:00–8:30 PM at Radnor Memorial Library, with arborist Eva Monheim discussing helping native plants adapt to climate change. Hybrid in-person/Zoom. Bess is working on flyers and social media; a member will provide Zoom link.

Community Newsletter

Spring issue to include two earth-friendly tips: Mosquito Bucket Challenge and Avoid Mulch Volcanoes, plus ads for recent events. Summer issue articles are being compiled: Bess preparing article on monarch-friendly plants; article on gas leaf blower health hazards needs condensing. Due date for submissions has been extended to this Friday.

Road Salt Monitoring

Chair forgot to bring sample bottles for tap water chloride testing. Members are asked to collect tap water samples in clean containers with date and address for next meeting to track decreasing chloride levels as road salt clears.

Mayor's Monarch Pledge Survey

Anjana reported that the deadline was missed; Commissioner Riley cannot sign pledge without Board of Commissioners approval. Efforts are now focused on preparing for next year's pledge. Anjana has been exploring a potential pollinator planting site on Route 30 hill near Radnor High School (school district property, maintained by public works). Concerns about maintenance without a sustainable plan; public works hesitant due to herbicide use and neat appearance. Anjana met with school district facilities director; they are open to partnership but need a maintenance plan. They showed other meadow areas that have worked well but received complaints initially. Anjana suggested a volunteer team from high school, but long-term maintenance remains a challenge. Several members emphasized that long-term maintenance is key and may require a dedicated contractor funded jointly by institutions. Grace Herman (landscape architect, Radnor resident) offered to share photos of the Penn Medicine Radnor meadow project. The idea of expanding mulch rings under trees to reduce mowing was also discussed.

Route 30 Pollinator Corridor

Anjana contacted Easttown EAC and a business owner interested in funding. She is also considering an appreciation program for businesses already using pollinator-friendly landscaping along Route 30. Note: Chair mentioned that the township may convert the church property (Central Baptist Church) frontage into diagonal parking, which would eliminate that pollinator patch.

Eco-Friendly Yard Award & Community Survey

Eco-friendly yard award will be advertised in summer newsletter. Chair plans to contact Board of Commissioners liaison Kathy Agnew about next steps for gas leaf blower phase-out.

Seed Library

No updates; library is doing well and may need volunteers for seed sorting. Chair will put out a call to EAC members.

Native Plant Spring Giveaway (May 2)

Approximately 210 households picked up plants (out of 250 registered). Process was efficient, completed within 1.5 hours, thanks to a high school volunteer. Participants received a flyer on mosquito bucket challenge. Recommended to repeat next year. Suggestion to collect photos of successful plantings for budget advocacy.

Invasive Plant Species Management Plan

Bess mentioned that Mira Shapiro is working on a broader plan, initially focused on The Willows, but not yet ready to share details. Possible update in June or August.

Garden Clubs at Radnor Schools

Bess and Anjana worked with middle school garden club, with 1–2 more sessions planned before end of school year. High school involvement through Earth Ape Festival was noted. Margie (former EAC chair) is trying to coordinate with student environmental clubs but cites end-of-year busyness; plans to resume in fall.

Gas Leaf Blower Phase-Out

Chair has submitted a formal proposal to Commissioner Riley; will discuss next steps with liaison Kathy Agnew.

Update EAC Website & Social Media

Discussion about creating a dedicated Instagram account or other social media to better advertise EAC events and projects. Melissa offered to work with Molly and Ian (township staff) and possibly seek Board of Commissioners permission. Anjana noted that other nearby EACs have their own Instagram accounts.

Aronimink Golf Club Clear-Cutting

Chair expressed hope that recent rain won't test the water management system, and that plants will regrow.

Fenimore Pond Algae Overgrowth

Chair reported that Tammy Cohen (Parks & Rec) has not secured funding for skimming, dredging, and improving water flow. The pond is now shallow, algae regrows quickly, and mosquito problem is severe. Water flow was improved after construction but still insufficient. Runoff of lawn fertilizer exacerbates algae. Chair will contact Tammy for updates.

Rain Garden Maintenance

Rain gardens at township properties have invasive overgrowth; volunteers help but challenge remains. Tammy wrote an unfunded proposal for contractor restoration.

Limiting Mature Tree Removal

Bess was to compare Radnor and Tredyffrin tree ordinances but hasn't done so yet. Will be deferred to next meeting.

Brooke Farm Trail Clearing

Alexander has approval from Tammy Cohen and DPW to proceed; first work day scheduled between May 30 and June 6, involving mountain biking community. EAC members asked to assist if available.

Recycling and Waste Management

Discussion on a proposed $277,000 compost windrow turner for yard waste. Chair asked Anjana for opinion; she was not involved. Email from Diana Pop suggested a municipal kitchen waste composting machine instead. Bess noted existing yard mulch composting is inefficient; faster turner could return compost to residents. Discussion also touched on potential effects of gas leaf blower ban on leaf collection and a paradigm shift toward home composting. EAC may plan educational workshops on home leaf composting for late summer/fall.

Budget

Total allocation for 2026 is $6,500, with $4,000 for plant giveaway. Chair asked members to confirm expense figures, especially unspecified planned expenses, and to coordinate with Melissa Kahn on current accounting.

Parking Lot Garden (Sven's planting)

Sven reported planting about 150 of the 600 plants in the parking lot to fill gaps, with more to be done by Boy Scouts. Sven and Amber are responsible for maintenance. Previous plantings (700 plants two years ago) had a low survival rate (only about 50 remain), suggesting that donating plants to residents who can water them is more effective.

Key Outcomes

Minutes of April 15 approved.
Action items assigned: Bess to handle mosquito bucket challenge advertising and registration; Bess to confirm lecture fees with Nancy Shaw; Bess to prepare monarch article; Bess to condense gas leaf blower article; Anjana to continue pollinator corridor efforts with Easttown EAC and businesses; Melissa to work with Molly/Ian on website/social media; Chair to contact Tammy about Fenimore Pond, rain gardens, and gas leaf blower phase-out with Kathy Agnew.
Budget confirmation requested from members; accounting reconciliation needed.
Next meeting likely in June.

Meeting Transcript

The minutes from April 15th. Any comments? If you approve, raise your hand. Okay. Okay. Public comment. Anybody from public wish to speak? Okay. Announcements. These are in detail in the agenda. Quickly go over them. Radner Township Parks and Recreation has its annual Great American Backyard Camp out at the Willows on May 30th. I'll be there waiting in the creek with whatever child is interested to catch aquatic invertebrates. And we'll take a look and see what we catch. And hopefully catch a lot, which means our streams, at least in that part of the township, are healthy. Any EAC members or associate members who want to uh participate in the camp at uh the event uh can uh contact Peter Murphy at Radner Troop 284 at Peter Q Murphy at gmail.com. There's Survivor Nature and Hiking Camp for 2026 is on June 15th and 14th this summer for campers seven to thirteen years old, and they'll explore the woods and streams in Willows Park. And then there's popular group challenges of boat races and shelter building, capture the flag and the famous scavenger hunk hunt. Uh need to register for that at the URL indicated in the agenda. Uh all right, ongoing business. Municipal energy conservation and electrification. Uh we've been uh Bill uh Gells and I have been advancing through the process of uh implementing the building energy benchmarking uh program through the Delaware Valley region uh planning commission along with the Green Building United. Uh and we're at the point of putting together a quick survey of uh commercial and institutional building owners uh for their familiarity with energy benchmarking and also uh uh their level of uh interest in it. Um we're going to be hopefully ultimately have a proposed uh uh ordinance drawn up by the end of this summer that uh will require all building owners uh over I believe 10,000 square feet of space uh to go to the energy star um uh portfolio manager, which allows uh building owners to put in their electrical and fossil fuel uh costs as well as specifics about their building how uh what it's used for and the exact dimensions and uh there's a calculation that comes up with an energy conservation score, and the basis of that score is comparing the energy uh used for that building against uh buildings of similar use and dimensions and construction across the country. So it's basically informing the owner uh whether your building is average or below or above average in terms of energy efficiency for that particular type of building. Um public education. Yeah, Bess. We had Sarah Wiener Cooper and her father give a great presentation at uh Kreutzburg Center on uh May 12th. Anything to say to that. Um yes, I think it was a a great success. Uh we definitely would recommend the Kreuzberg Center for future lectures. And their tech and A V support is really wonderful, and the venue itself is cozy. It's but it it's not it's not not as big as the Randershaw room or the Windsor room, but it it definitely worked well. So I think uh and I think that the one advantage to the mainline school night is that they have a huge email list, and so they could really publicize any lectures uh and really that this is a true partnership in that um you know we essentially because the Kruzpark Center is part of the Radner Township, it is it we do not have to pay a fee to use the center as well as the AV, the tech is is supported by the mainline school night. So it's it and it's it I think um few people afterwards if how they heard about it, and one of them said they thought they heard it from the township, got an email from the township, and then uh a handful of said that they had gotten an email from the mainline school night. So um definitely I hope we can do at least one or possibly more uh lectures there a year. Maybe we can talk about how we want to go about you know structuring our year uh with these lectures and um, I just and I and I just want to add too that um I think this time was no charge to members coming to see the lecture, but moving forward from the center, at least the person I spoke to, it's between 30 to 40 dollars charged per person for future lectures. So they they charge people to come to their and I can reconfirm that, but I have an email that states that they were giving us like a a free lecture for this first one, but then moving forward it was thirty dollars per person for individuals who would like to. Okay, so that's what they meant. That's how they make their income from that. Um so you you agree that that's possible, uh Bess. I that I would that I I think that would be doable. Um yeah, I think I think the Redner Conservancy works that way with them. I guess yes, so I I wasn't aware that this was the our first one was sort of a free. Yeah. So okay, that's helpful. Thank you. Well, and and they don't do uh live streaming, do they? They they did, they do live streaming, yeah. We had people in the Zoom room.

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