To:  City Councils of Gering/Scottsbluff/Terrytown

From:  Lois/Al Herbel, community supporters

About:  Tri-City Sustainability Plan Proposal

Date:  Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Conferences attended by us over the last few years in Wisconsin, Oregon, California and Colorado, have confirmed the reality of regional and national importance of our environment and the role of economics in being similar to our neighbors.  Marketing of our products and our people of western Nebraska as an extension of the Colorado Front Range has taken on a whole new meaning, that of sustainability.

Modern definitions of sustainability are related to the United Nations definition created by the World Commission on Environment and Development in 1987, “development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

Colorado may well lead the country in Executive order for the state, Legislative action in laws passed, Resolutions passed by cities, and other means to promote sustainability in the built environment and other conservational measures.  Business being “Green” in Colorado is independently verified through a Colorado service called, “ReDirect Guide” for the cities of Denver, Boulder and Fort Collins. ( www.redirectguide.com )  Most of these businesses have in their mission statement to do their primary business with other “Green” business partners first.

Many “Green” cities across the nation have developed a Sustainability Plan for environmental, social and economic well being.  They embrace their Sustainability Plan to reduce natural resource consumption, increase social acceptance for being ecologically good stewards, and reduce financial strain on limited resources to fund their daily operations.

We are proposing a Tri-City Sustainability Plan for Gering, Scottsbluff and Terrytown that will in time, allow us to promote our area to the rest of the world as having an environmental sustainability plan.  Our sustainability plan will allow us to reduce natural resource consumption, reduce our impact on the environment, and greatly reduce daily operating expenses.

Having the support of Mr. Danielzuk, Mr. Kuckkahn, and Mr. Greenwalt, we ask for your acceptance of a Tri-City Sustainability Committee to develop a Tri-City Sustainability Plan.  The committee would develop the Tri-City Sustainability Plan, and then promote suggested actions for the respective City Councils to adopt in implementing the agreed upon Tri-City Sustainability Plan.  Work would focus on the following, not priority listing:

1) Energy reduction

2) Water reduction

3) Waste reduction

4) The built environment

5) Tree program enhancement

6) Alternative transportation

7) Etc

Suggested members of this Sustainability Committee, would be a supervisor from the following City Departments:

Building/Zoning –

City Council member(s) –

Electrical –

Environmental Services –

Parks/Recreation –

Police –

Public Works –

Public Planning –

Street –

Transportation –

Water/Sanitation –

Storm/Waste Water –

Others?

Community members / County agencies, would be encouraged to participate, suggested list to include:

Business Owners –

City Tree Boards – one or two members from each organization

Keep Scottsbluff/Gering Beautiful –

Landfill Superintendent –

Media –

Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality –

North Platte Natural Resources District –

Panhandle Area Development District –

Public, general interest individuals –

Resource Conservation and Development –

Students (civic clubs, organized groups, etc) –

Others?

Lois Herbel (professional environmental educator) and Al Herbel (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, Accredited Professional) would also serve on the Tri-City Sustainability Committee.  Committee structure and relative details will be worked out by the committee members.

Action requested by the Council:

1 – Approve formation of the Tri-City Sustainability Committee

2 – Provide names for related position membership (via special sub-committee, etc)

3 – Provide request from Council or City Manager or Mayor, to individuals in identified positions (once determined) within the City to serve on this the Tri-City Sustainability Committee

4 – Provide request from Council or City Manager or Mayor, to the general public to consider serving on the Tri-City Sustainability Committee by contacting the City as a volunteer to serve, or by accepting an invitation to serve when asked to do so

5 – Adopt the Tri-City Sustainability Committee recommendation for a Sustainability Plan and then consider adoption of related committee recommendations for plan implementation

End of proposal