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River. Commissioner Leigh works in the Information Technology field and looking <br />to get more involved with the city. <br /> <br />Casey Mahonis the commission’s other new residential member. Commissioner <br />Mahon has lived in Elk River for over 12 yearsand is retired from public education <br />and specifically public relations. He had applied for a different commission but <br />agreed to serve on Energy City and the council felt he would be a good fit. <br />The commission members and others in the meeting introduced themselves briefly <br />as well. <br /> <br />5.2 Council update from February 16 meeting <br />Commissioners Curtis, Herbert, Steinbeck andSagstetter were present at the City <br />Council work session on February 16 to provide an update to Council about <br />priorities and accomplishments of the Commissionand to get feedback from the <br />council about their priorities for the commission. Historically, the Energy City <br />Commission started with the Energy City designation and focus on residential <br />programs and education specific to energy conservation. The commission and <br />mission have since transitioned to include sustainability in a broader sense, which <br />includes solar, electric vehicles, social cost of carbonand more. The goal in <br />discussing the social cost of carbon was to educate our city leaders about what it is <br />and what its purpose could be in decision making. This would provide value for <br />carbon reduction activities and could include renewable energy, greenhouse gas <br />reduction goals and other outcomes. This would allow for carbon reduction to be <br />monetized for specific projects. <br /> <br />The meeting and discussion with council did provide some guidance about where the <br />commission is currently and future steps. There was discussion about education and <br />information sharing with residents and local businesses. The commission discussed <br />the opportunity to brand the city and Energy City further. This could be beneficial to <br />economic development activities by creating a stronger sense of Energy City to <br />associate with Elk River. <br /> <br />Education continues to be a key role for the Energy City Commission with residents, <br />businesses, and students. Commission Herbert elaborated that it is important to <br />think about the non-science thinker and educate them as well. Sustainability and <br />individual decisions can benefit the environment but also individual pocketbooks. <br />Specific to school students, there are new state education standards coming soon <br />which will have updates for next generation science standards. It is important for the <br />commission to remember the importance of educating at all levels. <br /> <br />The City Council also discussed the possibility of the ECC doing a survey or <br />outreach of some sort to residents to determine what their priorities are related to <br />sustainability topics – both for their own lives and for the city overall. <br /> <br />Commissioner Steinbeck shared that the concept of Energy City has changed <br />significantly, especially with the changes at GRE’s Power Plant in Elk River. Now <br />2 <br /> <br /> <br />