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Record of Proceedings

Sustainability and Resiliency Commission Meeting Summary: December 10, 2025

Boards and Commissions — Monday, December 15, 2025
BodyRochester, Minnesota
SessionBoards and Commissions
DateMonday, December 15, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:32:46

Original source
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0:02

All right.

0:03

We'll call the meeting to order.

0:05

This is the Sustainability and Resiliency Commission, December 10th.

0:11

It is 4:34 PM.

0:14

And we'll start with roll call.

0:16

And so I'll just call out names.

0:19

Seth Barons.

0:21

Absent.

0:21

Edward Cohen.

0:22

Present.

0:23

Amy Cockett here.

0:24

Amanda Holloway is present.

0:26

Terry Kinsey.

0:27

Present.

0:28

Casey McQuaid.

0:29

Present.

0:30

And Brian Morgan is absent.

0:32

Oh.

0:34

Yes.

0:35

I heard remote.

0:36

Yeah.

0:37

Perfect.

0:39

Next, we will approve our November minutes.

0:42

So our November meeting, we had some discussion about the sustainability work plan.

0:47

We also had the presentations of ideas to add to the work plan or things that we should consider for future and some discussion around the annual report.

0:58

Is there a motion to approve the November meeting minutes?

1:03

So moved.

1:04

Seconded.

1:06

Any all in agreement, please say aye.

1:09

Aye.

1:10

Any opposed, please say nay.

1:12

All right.

1:12

Motion passes and the minutes are approved.

1:16

Do we have anybody online by chance?

1:19

Okay.

1:20

We'll skip over open comment period.

1:25

Oh, there's some.

1:32

So we'll amend amend uh that Seth Barrens is present today.

1:39

Sadly, I do need to exit at 5:30 to get that point.

1:43

But otherwise I couldn't be here.

1:55

Yes.

1:55

Good luck.

1:58

So on the agenda, we have our 2025 sustainability annual report.

2:03

And there was a draft that was provided with the agenda.

2:09

Um essentially what we did is pull together a list of all the things that we did last year, which was actually um quite a few items on the list.

2:22

Quite a few things that we had to include.

2:25

I wanted to keep it to two pages, but we just couldn't.

2:28

So it's probably good news.

2:30

We're pretty active this year.

2:34

Anyway, so this um this annual report is intended to go to the city council and essentially um just provide some information about again reminder who the sustainability and resiliency commission is, what our charge is, uh, and then we just outlined um the ways that we fulfilled that charge, whether it was through advising um and writing recommendation reports, um the training that we did, the community engagement and outreach, um, and then other city initiatives that we were involved with.

3:12

Really?

3:12

It was really wonderful to read all the work through all of them, you know.

3:18

You're part of that, yeah.

3:20

You were part of this.

3:21

Yeah, but I mean the worker bees.

3:25

So I think did we have um were we allowing for just a few minutes for questions and then we'll take some feedback?

3:31

Anybody have any questions about the annual report?

3:35

Terry.

3:35

Is it appropriate?

3:37

Is there room to uh talk about Amanda getting the mayor's medal?

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Sustainability Initiatives████████████████████████████████████36%
Public Engagement██████████████████18%
Community Engagement█████████████████17%
Energy Independence███████████████15%
Procedural█████5%
Strategic Planning██2%
Workforce Development██2%
Homelessness██2%
Environmental Protection██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Sustainability and Resiliency Commission Meeting Summary: December 10, 2025

The Sustainability and Resiliency Commission (SRC) convened on December 10, 2025, to review the 2025 Annual Report, approve the Commission's first annual report on the Sustainability Plan, and conduct a deep-dive overview of the 2026 Work Plan and Natural Gas Franchise Fee engagement strategies. Key actions included the unanimous approval of the 2025 Annual Report with amendments recognizing Amanda Holloway's receipt of the Mayor's Medal of Honor and the scheduling of a formal vote on the 2026 Work Plan for the January meeting.

Consent Calendar

  • November Minutes Approval: The minutes from the November meeting were unanimously approved by the Commission.
  • Role Correction: A correction was made to the roll call to reflect that member Seth Barons was present remotely, despite earlier reporting as absent.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Amanda Holloway Recognition: Commission members moved to amend the 2025 Annual Report to include a specific tribute to Amanda Holloway for her leadership, proposing she be awarded the "Mayor's Medal of Honor in Sustainability" for 2025 as a capstone of the year's work. This amendment was adopted, with the Commission expressing full support for recognizing her impact.
  • Franchise Fee Engagement Strategy: During the discussion on the Natural Gas Franchise Fee, members expressed strong concern regarding the potential regressive nature of the fee for renters. Members suggested that any revenue use programs must be explicitly designed to include renters and low-income residents, not just homeowners, to avoid perpetuating existing inequities in the current utility rebate processes.
  • Community Outreach Suggestions: Members proposed diverse outreach channels beyond standard environmental groups, including faith-based organizations (specifically the Sisters of St. Francis and connections through Isaiah), the Village Agricultural Cooperative, the Rochester Area Multifamily Association, and local libraries. There was a position in favor of using trusted community leaders to disseminate information rather than relying solely on direct city communication.

Discussion Items

  • 2025 Annual Report: Staff presented the draft report, which detailed the Commission's activities, community engagement, and data-supported recommendations. The report was noted to be a detailed, multi-page document rather than the initially intended two-page summary due to the volume of achievements.
  • 2026 Sustainability Division Work Plan Overview: Staff provided a high-level overview of the 2026 priorities, which includes:
    • Healthy Air and Homes Initiative (HAKI): A major focus involving 150 radon and lead kits, energy efficiency items, navigator workforce development (new partners include RCTC and UMR), and at-home consultations. The Commission discussed the need to ensure this program supports renters and does not duplicate franchise fee efforts.
    • Natural Gas Franchise Fee Engagement: A comprehensive plan to engage the community between January and March 2026 regarding a potential 5% flat fee or usage-based fee. The discussion focused on how to structure the fee so revenue is used for both municipal sustainability and community-based programs, with a specific focus on equitable access for renters.
    • EV Charging Policy Implementation: Moving from policy adoption to implementation maintenance, revenue tracking, and troubleshooting.
    • Greenhouse Gas Reductions: Members requested that the work plan better articulate the projected greenhouse gas emission reductions for each item, distinguishing between direct impacts and long-term partnership building.
    • Sustainable Building Guidelines: Pending further assessment after the franchise fee discussion and the upcoming election cycle.
  • MPCA Community Impact Rulemaking: A member raised concerns regarding new Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) rulemaking requiring environmental justice impact assessments for air permits. There was significant opposition to the possibility that the Waste Energy Facility might face re-permitting hurdles based on community input that contradicts its long-standing necessity for preventing groundwater pollution.

Key Outcomes

  • Approval of 2025 Annual Report: The Commission voted to accept the draft 2025 Annual Report with the specific amendment that Amanda Holloway receives the Mayor's Medal of Honor in Sustainability for 2025.
  • Approval of 2026 Work Plan Discussion: The 2026 Work Plan was reviewed and discussed for the first time. No final vote was taken; the discussion is scheduled to continue into the January meeting, where the plan will be officially approved.
  • Next Steps for Franchise Fee Engagement: Staff will proceed with community engagement from January to March 2026, incorporating member feedback on reaching non-traditional audiences (faith groups, landlords, immigrants) and ensuring the fee design considers equity for renters.
  • Officer Elections: Nominations are now open for the 2026 Chair and Vice-Chair positions, with a deadline of January 2nd for interested members to contact the staff. A vote will take place in January.
  • Vacancy Recruitment: The Commission continues to recruit for one adult and one youth seat on the SRC.

Meeting Transcript

All right. We'll call the meeting to order. This is the Sustainability and Resiliency Commission, December 10th. It is 4:34 PM. And we'll start with roll call. And so I'll just call out names. Seth Barons. Absent. Edward Cohen. Present. Amy Cockett here. Amanda Holloway is present. Terry Kinsey. Present. Casey McQuaid. Present. And Brian Morgan is absent. Oh. Yes. I heard remote. Yeah. Perfect. Next, we will approve our November minutes. So our November meeting, we had some discussion about the sustainability work plan. We also had the presentations of ideas to add to the work plan or things that we should consider for future and some discussion around the annual report. Is there a motion to approve the November meeting minutes? So moved. Seconded. Any all in agreement, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed, please say nay. All right. Motion passes and the minutes are approved. Do we have anybody online by chance? Okay. We'll skip over open comment period. Oh, there's some. So we'll amend amend uh that Seth Barrens is present today. Sadly, I do need to exit at 5:30 to get that point. But otherwise I couldn't be here. Yes. Good luck. So on the agenda, we have our 2025 sustainability annual report. And there was a draft that was provided with the agenda. Um essentially what we did is pull together a list of all the things that we did last year, which was actually um quite a few items on the list. Quite a few things that we had to include. I wanted to keep it to two pages, but we just couldn't. So it's probably good news. We're pretty active this year. Anyway, so this um this annual report is intended to go to the city council and essentially um just provide some information about again reminder who the sustainability and resiliency commission is, what our charge is, uh, and then we just outlined um the ways that we fulfilled that charge, whether it was through advising um and writing recommendation reports, um the training that we did, the community engagement and outreach, um, and then other city initiatives that we were involved with.

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