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<br />2 <br /> <br />Many changes have occurred with normal city operations due to COVID including <br />cancelling the planned spring clean up day in April. Although staff would like to hold <br />another event (especially as people continue to clean out their homes), it is not <br />possible at this time. The fall event is still planned for now. <br /> <br />Energy City Insights are still being posted monthly and the May post was discussed. <br />The Commission felt more information about household clean up would be <br />beneficial, especially how to safely store items at home if you are not able to dispose <br />of them right away. The promotion of Recycle Coach was also mentioned which has <br />information about local recycling and disposal options. <br /> <br />Elk River residential waste haulers have seen an increase in trash and recycling as <br />people are spending more time at home. This has caused some issues with extra trash <br />and additional customer service calls. <br /> <br />5.3 Climate Smart Municipalities update – Ripley Retreat <br /> <br /> The Climate Smart Municipalities program hosted a virtual retreat earlier this spring <br />which a few Commissioners were able to attend. All felt the virtual retreat was well <br />organized and allowed for beneficial large and small group discussions. It was also <br />advantageous for the Minnesota cohort to meet virtually and not require travel for <br />many that are spread throughout the state. Commissioner Herbert expressed interest <br />in connecting more with St. Cloud staff to learn from their sustainability initiatives <br />and success. The hope is these meetings will continue but no additional information <br />has been shared from CSM leadership yet. <br /> <br /> No further information about the delegation has been shared yet but it seems likely <br />no delegation will occur in 2020 but perhaps 2021 to Germany. <br /> <br />5.4 E- Bike update and next steps <br /> <br />Staff has selected an e-bike from Rambo Bikes and plans to purchase it soon. Ideally <br />staff would test drive the bike first but COVID has delayed this. Staff is hopeful it <br />will be purchased soon and utilized by city staff this summer. Elk River Police <br />Department will also be purchasing their own e-bike as well. <br /> <br />5.5 Wind Turbine progress <br /> <br />ERMU, in partnership with MMPA, will be installing a small wind turbine in Elk <br />River Youth Athletic Complex. Chair Sagstetter is working to finalize the site <br />agreements. The turbine will be shipped to Minnesota from California soon for <br />installation. The Commission discussed how best to promote and educate the public <br />about the turbine and its benefit. Ms. Eddy is going to connect with other cities that <br />also have a wind turbine in partnership with MMPA to see how they utilize it for <br />education. <br /> <br />5.6 2021 Budgets <br />