Leah Squires provided information about the Mountain Pride Fall Litter Sweep, sponsored by New River Gorge Regional Development Authority, taking place in Fayette County September 16 and 17.  Volunteers are needed, please contact mountain.pride.sweep@gmail.com or call (304) 673-5637

Fall Mixer:  We had originally planned a Sep. 17th mixer but that plan has been put on hold due to Gauley Fest, which is the same weekend.  We discussed other possible dates, including having a mixer in place of our usually scheduled meeting in September.  More details to come.

Recycling Committee:  We received an update from Stephanie Zorio and Neil Hakel regarding the bottle bill and glass recycling.  Bottle bill is in the works but is being opposed by large corporations who believe it would cost them too much money.  Members are encouraged to educate themselves at www.wvbottlebill.org and contact their representatives regarding this legislation.  The Citizen’s Action Group is sending a community education kit for us to use.

  Glass recycling:  glass is accepted in Charleston and processed in a polarizer which crushes the glass into sand, gravels or pebbles to be used for paving, glass mulch, water filtration and golf course sand traps, among other uses.  We discussed the possibility of exploring grants (DEP Litter Control grant?) and working with the county commission to obtain a polarizing machine in order to generate revenue through glass recycling.

We discussed ways to publicize the information we have gathered about recycling in Fayette County.  Catherine Moore offered to write an article (Reg. Herald and Fayette Tribune) about recycling, including recycling options.

Greening Bridge Day and GREAT booth:  Leah Sl, Carl T, Stephanie Z and Neil H agreed to set up the booth.  We are working with the Town of Fayetteville and will have a truck in our vendor space in order to cut down on the travel distance of recycled items (mostly cardboard from vendors).  We will have bins for plastic.

Energy Efficiency:  Discussed AEP’s Smart Grid program and we are working on ways to distribute this information to residents, businesses and government offices.  A federal program (E-3) is providing an assessment of Fayetteville’s Memorial Building, and will provide suggestions for increasing energy efficiency and ways to use the space effectively.  We were also informed of a public meeting in Lewisburg:

August 31st, 2011 – Lewisburg Energy Efficiency WV Public Meeting

This workshop, beginning at 7:00 PM at the Lewisburg City Hall will be a two hour survey about how residents and businesses can be empowered to take control of their energy bills.  Come hear about energy saving tips, as well as means to voice your concern about your access to affordable, reliable energy.  Light refreshments will be available.

VISTA:  the application is in process. We need someone willing to supervise the VISTA position, office space for the volunteer and $6000 to apply.  We will continue to discuss this issue at our Board Meeting at the beginning of September.

Next Meeting:  Monday, September 26, 6 pm, venue TBA

Green Team Priorities:  We discussed ways to promote the GridSmart program to get residences, businesses and govt. offices to get free energy audits.  Plan to get boxes of pamphlets to distribute and will continue to discuss how to get this done.

Earth Day:  Planned for Saturday April 21st from 12 to 6

VISTA:  Looking for free office space:  park service?  county commission? PAN office?  CVB?

Sk8itville:  August 13,  9:30am to 9pm.  Will be using our recycling bins.  Neil Hakel will deliver, Gabe Pena will pick up.

Captain Thurmond’s Challenge:  August 20th.  Will use our bins.  We will have an educational booth, Ginger Danz and Aimee Rist will operate the booth.

Fall Mixer:  Considering September 17th date to coincide with Litter Sweep.

Energy Fair in Alderson, September 24th,  for more information, contact Jennifer Garlesky at jennifer.a.garlesky@wv.gov

Mountain Health and Heritage Association, working to preserve West Virginia mountains.  For more information contact Ginger Danz at gingerweiss@hotmail.com

Next Meeting:  Monday, August 29, 2011 6pm at the CVB in Fayetteville.

Ed Outlaw, representing AEP Appalachian Power Co., discussed GridSmart, a free home energy audit program available in Fayette County.  Residents, businesses and government offices are all eligible for this service.  More information can be found at aeprebates.com.

Home weatherization is also available for low-income residents through Mountain Heart Community.

Teeya Whitelight spoke about the upcoming Sk8itville Skating Festival, to be held August 13, 2011 at the Fayette Town Skate Park.  Teeya is interested in hosting a “green” event, and asked GREAT to be part of making that happen.  The goal of the festival is to “create a sense of community among local skaters and  teach skaters about taking good care of the park and surrounding environment.”  There will be demonstrations by masters of skateboarding.  She is looking for volunteers to assist with the event.  We discussed the possibility of providing recycling bins for the event and will discuss GREAT’s involvement at our next scheduled meeting.

We discussed helping with the annual Captain Thurmond’s Race, which is to be held August 20, 2011

Greening Bridge Day :  The Bridge Day Commission meets the 13th of each month at 1:30 pm at the CVB.  We discussed our GREAT booth.  We will continue to address this issue.

Next regular meeting:  Monday July 25, 2011 6:00 pm at the Fayetteville CVB.

Meeting called to order and chaired by Aimee Rist

Those present: Doug Arbogast, Laurel Ackison, Holly Clark, Shea Wells, Ginger Danz, Carl Thompson, Aimee Rist, Tom Rist, Amanda Sapienza, Bill Lanham, Erin Stewart, Pat Drago

New and Old Green Team Business

-It was announced that Renee Hodges has resigned as a board member. Nominations for a new board member will be taken during next month’s meeting.
-Aimee Rist moved that GREAT once again donate $375.00 to PAN to help fund the Wild and Scenic Film Festival that is slated to occur Friday, April 22 at the Historic Fayette Theatre. Motion was seconded by Doug Arbogast and motion carried unanimously by verbal vote from officers and board members present.
-Doug Arbogast reported that the remaining conservation kits are set to be distributed February 18th and 25th at 7:30pm during the Midland Trail high school basketball game. Volunteers to help Doug and Gabe with distribution would be kindly appreciated. Doug reports that kits include compact fluorescent lamps, low flow faucet aerators, LED night lights, reusable shopping bags, and conservation literature. There are 60-70 kits left, 30 were given to the Morris Creek Watershed Association for distribution.
-Aimee Rist moved that the board vote to approve $600.00 to be allocated for payment of 4 bouncy houses for Earth Day. Ginger Danz seconded the motion, no debate, motion carried unanimously by all board members present.

Committee Reports

-The Recycling Committee met January 13. The committee has decided to focus its efforts on preparing a pamphlet that outlines current Fayette Co. recycling resources including guidelines for recycling each type of material. The plan is to have the initial pamphlet ready to be distributed by Earth Day. Information about current resources is currently being gathered and meetings with a representative from Raleigh County Solid Waste as well as Fayeteville’s town superintendent, Bill Lanham are being scheduled.

-Bill Lanham briefly reviewed Fayetteville’s recycling program:

Fayetteville is home to Fayette County’s only recycling program that is not coordinated by Raleigh County Solid Waste Authority. Materials that can be processed and reused at a marketable price are collected by the town and the revenue goes back into supporting the program. Currently, plastic and glass are not collected as they cannot generate the volume necessary to make them financially sustainable. Transportation costs are also prohibitive. Fayetteville is looking to increase amount of recyclable materials received by partnering with other municipalities within the county. Centralized sites and increased number of drop-off centers are a future possibility. A $66,500 recycling grant was recently awarded to the town by the WVDEP and will be used to purchase a new truck with bed and lift gate, fuel, promotional materials, conference training, and other items. Recycling information can be obtained at Town Hall.

Earth Day Updates

Aimee Rist reports that the definitive date for the celebration is Saturday, April 23rd from 12-5pm in downtown Fayetteville on the Court House lawn and surrounding streets. The police department has approved the application for the event. Carl Thompson will reserve the Memorial Building for the rain location. The climbing wall has been secured and inflatables will be rented. This year’s theme is Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
-Oak Hill Garbage has graciously donated $400.00 and will be this year’s music and entertainment sponsor.
-Diogi’s will host the first fundraiser event on Tuesday, February 22nd. 50% of the proceeds for the Earth Day special will be donated to the Green Team.
-Cathedral Cafe will host the next fundraiser on Wednesday, March 2nd, Sedona Grill in late March, and the Vandalian on Tuesday, April 8th, details to follow…
-Laurel Ackison reported that a t-shirt distributor near Huntington may be able to sell t-shirts made of sustainable materials for roughly $10/shirt, with a minimum order. Doug Arbogast is looking into printing options. A logo contest with local schools continues to be a possibility.
-Shea Wells is corresponding with potential musical groups for the event and she and Erin Stewart continue to contact potential sponsors.
-Amanda Sapienza is coordinating vendors and organizations who wish to participate in the event. Booth space is free!!
-Ginger Danz is coordinating artist vendors
-Holly Clark and Erin Stewart are working hard on marketing materials and communications. The facebook site is up, the initial press release is scheduled for 2/8, and the timeline for all future marketing leading up to the event was outlined. Erin and Holly will also solicit participants for a downtown Fayetteville window challenge with the reduce, reuse,recycle theme.
-Pat Drago is this year’s volunteer coordinator. Opportunities for serving are currently being identified and volunteers are being recruited. It is estimated that 20 or more volunteers will be needed. Currently, volunteers are needed for set-up/breakdown, bouncy houses, and raffle, water, Green team, and recycling drop-off booths.
-Donations for the free raffle are being solicited
-There will be a “rags to riches” clothing swap during the event

Announcements

-The next Earth Day committee meeting will occur on Thursday, February 17th at 5:30pm at the Cathedral Cafe. Anyone interested in joining the effort to make the 6th annual New River Earth Day celebration a success, is welcome and strongly encouraged to attend.

-The next Recycling Committee meeting will soon be announced, help is greatly needed

-The monthly GREAT meeting will occur on Monday, February 28th at 5:30pm at the Cathedral Cafe in Fayetteville. We look forward to seeing you there!

Note: November’s meeting convened at Sedona Grill. December’s meeting is canceled. Monthly meetings will resume in January and will take place at the Cathedral Cafe in Fayetteville on the last Monday of each month.

Recycling Committee Updates: Committee Chair and new GREAT vice-president, Jessica Smith reported that the first recycling committee meeting will occur in January to identify the committee’s goals and outline a timeline for completing them. Agenda, meeting time and location to be announced via e-mail to list serve participants. Doug reported that Mission West Virginia is beginning an electronics recycling program and is exploring the feasibility of drop-off bins in Fayetteville. Details to follow after the New Year. Televisions, used computer parts, and other miscellaneous electronics continue to be accepted at Goodwill stores. A new Goodwill has recently opened in Oak Hill. Requirements for drop-off will be reported in the next meeting. Jessica proposed adding a brief recycling committee meeting to the end of monthly Green Team meetings in an effort to consolidate meeting times and increase involvement. Carl seconded the idea and it was unanimously decided that it will begin after January or February’s meeting. Aimee requested the recycling team have a presence at the Earth Day celebration since this years theme, is Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Amanda expressed a desire to make a pamphlet outlining Fayette County recycling requirements, options, and locations ready to be distributed by Earth Day. Possibilities for collecting batteries and such for recycling during the Earth Day celebration were briefly discussed.

Earth Day Committee Updates: Committee Chair and GREAT past president, Aimee Rist confirmed that the 2011 Earth Day Celebration will occur on Saturday, April 23rd from 12-5pm. The event will happen rain or shine and will be held outside in downtown Fayetteville. The Memorial Building has once again been secured as a rain location. It was suggested that the rain location be publicized in advance instead of announcing it on that day in an effort to encourage folks to attend regardless of the weather. Vendors will be asked to stay until 5pm instead of 3pm this year. The permit application has been submitted to Fayetteville’s police department and is awaiting approval. A climbing wall has been confirmed. An art contest with local schools for an Earth Day t-shirt logo was discussed. Where to purchase environmentally friendly t-shirts in bulk, prizes, and other details will be determined in a future committee meeting. PAN’s Environmental Film Festival will most likely occur the day before the Earth Day event, details to be announced. GREAT’s Earth day celebration will presently be a one day event. Discussion regarding expanding the event into various happenings throughout the week was tabled.

New Committee Formation: Discussion related to developing a fundraising committee and generating money via fundraising versus grant writing was tabled. Treasurer, Tom Rist reported that the Earth Day celebration is currently GREAT”s largest fundraiser. $1000 was cleared after all expenses were paid last year. It was suggested that fundraising options be discussed with the entire team instead of as a committee. GREAT does not currently have a grant writer, discussion involving seeking one was brief. Brainstorming methods for increasing volunteer involvement and new membership occurred. Offering more mixers throughout the year was proposed as an option due to the success of this year’s mixer. The question was raised regarding whether a sub-committee for increasing membership and volunteers was needed and will be discussed again.

West Virginia Sustainable Community partnership update: Printed copies of the sustainable communities survey were reviewed. The November 39th deadline for completion has been extended indefinitely. Thanks to the help from students at St. Peter’s and Paul, energy efficiency/water conservation kits will be distributed December 8th, 9th, and 14th during Mt. Hope and Fayetteville High School basketball games. The goal is to distribute 30 kits per game and complete sustainability surveys at the same time.

Student Intern Update: Jessica reports that the deadline for application is December 14th. Carl and Jessica have met with one potential candidate and will announce a decision after the deadline. It was agreed that an intern may be very helpful with expanding outreach and community involvement and work the intern can complete will be included on the agenda for
January’s meeting.

New Business: Increasing efforts to involve more of Fayette County and some methods for doing so were discussed. A suggestion was made that all current contacts in each of Fayette County’s 9 municipalities with local government be approached. Presently and historically, the majority of GREAT’s active membership live in and around Fayetteville and discussion has been resumed on why it is important that communities other than Fayetteville become actively involved in advancing the mission of this organization. In light of recent discussion on focusing effort in and around Fayetteville versus the entire county, Jessica presented a brief on why we are and must remain the Fayette County Green Team:

1. The group had this discussion last year when non-profit status and Articles of
Incorporation were completed and a decision was made to remain a county organization at that time.
2. Our logo, banners, and web site were created to reflect this decision.
3. We have been doing education outreach in schools in Oak Hill, Nutall, and Montgomery.
4. The Earth Day celebration gets funding from businesses outside of Fayetteville.’
5. Our partnership with WVSC is Fayette County based.
6. We work well with county level government and this should not be abandoned as it can help lend weight to efforts toward improving our relationship with Fayetteville’s governing body.
7. Being a county based organization opens up more opportunities for grants at the county level.

Because Fayetteville is the county seat and all current officers and most active members live in or near Fayetteville, it was decided that the monthly meeting will continue to take place in Fayetteville. It was determined that a good method for increasing participation in surrounding Fayette County communities is to identify existing community leaders and those currently involved in community activities and groups. Inviting local leadership to monthly meeting was also suggested. Holding mixers in other communities such as Oak Hill was briefly discussed. Offering focus groups and periodic meetings related to specific topics outside of Fayetteville was agreed upon. This topic will continue to be addressed throughout the year as the organization’s goals continue to be identified and developed.

GREAT has advertised for a student intern and has had four inquiries. Carl Thomson and Jessica Smith are the contacts for this position.

Students at St. Peter and Paul Catholic School will be putting together 100 conservation kits on November 1, from 1 to 3 pm. This will take place at the school, located on Oyler Avenue in Oak Hill. At our next meeting we will make a decision as to how to best distribute the kits.

The next Sustainable Communities meeting is scheduled for Wednesday November 10 from 6 to 6:30pm at the Fayetteville CVB. If you have not completed a survey, please do so here:

http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e30xizlyge1od510/a0114gftk899y/questions

Green Bridge Day: Gabriel Pena reports a successful recycling effort on the bridge: 350 pounds of cardboard and 80 pounds of aluminum and plastic were recycled. Thank you to Gabe Pena and Laurel Atkinson for organizing, and thanks to our volunteers! We plan to look into the possibility of finding an intern to focus on greening Bridge Day.

Our Green Team Mixer was a huge success! Thanks again to local restaurants (Cathedral Cafe, Diogi’s, Pies n’ Pints, Bridgeworks Brewery and Wild Flour Bakery) for donating such delicious treats. Recycling was listed as the number one concern among those attending the mixer. We have thus formed a Recycling Committee to address this issue: Holly Clark, Erin Stewart, Amanda Sapienza, Jessica Simith, Dennis Jarvis, and Carl Frischkorn have all graciously volunteered for this committee. If you have an interest in joining the committee or volunteering on this issue, please contact Jessica Smith.

Our most important business of the evening was to elect new leadership for the Green Advisory Team. The nominees, winners and voting statistics are as follows:

President: Nominated: Carl Thompson, Gabriel Pena Votes: Carl=4 Gabriel=10 (Gabriel Pena)

Vice-President: Nominated: Ginger Danz, Jessica Smith Votes: Ginger= 4, Jessica=10 (Jessica Smith)

Secretary: Nominated: Amanda Sapienza (ran unopposed, 14 votes) (Amanda Sapienza)

Treasurer: Nominated: Thomas Rist (ran unopposed, 14 votes) (Thomas Rist)

Board Members: Nominated: Doug Arbogast, Renee Hodges, Ginger Danz, Carl Thompson

Votes: Doug Arbogast=11, Renee Hodges=9, Ginger Danz-9, Carl Thompson=8 (Arbogast, Hodges, Danz)

Congratulations to our new officers and board members!

We have been informed that the CVB will now be charging a fee for our meeting use, so we are looking for other meeting venues. Possibilities discussed include: Fayetteville Library, Whitehorse B&B, Cathedral Cafe, Fayette County Courthouse.

Earth Day: An Earth Day Committee was formed: Aimee Rist (Chairperson)  Amanda Sapienza, Dennis Jarvis, Renee Hodges, Erin Stewart, Holly Clark, Ginger Danz, Tom Wagner, Thomas Rist, Lauren, Gabe Pena, Judy Spade and Carl Thompson.

We discussed the likely theme for ED, The Three R’s (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle).

We brainstormed issues the committee should focus on: Location of the event (do we make the Memorial Building the permanent location of ED and set up as many vendors/activities outdoors as weather permits, or plan to be on the square and use the Memorial Building as a back-up?), sponsors, T-shirts, getting into schools before the event, bouncy things for the kids, talking to vendors about no plastic/waste, talking to Mountain Made about having local artisans selling at the event, Farmer’s market, Master Gardeners, kids activities, Green Ball fundraiser, handbook of recycling/reusing, involving local businesses (vouchers?), having “Earth Week” with an entire week of activities leading up to the event.

Our next monthly meeting is scheduled for Monday, November 29, 2010. Location to be announced.

Tomoko (WV Sustainable Communities representative) spoke about the “Riverside Sustainability Awareness Training,” an outreach and education program targeting specific communities in WV.  We would need to find at least seven people to attend one of two trainings (May 19 in Mullins or June 3 in Charleston) in order to gain consideration for resources and funding related to sustainability.

EARTH DAY:  We discussed the success of this year’s Celebration and brainstormed issues which need to be addressed by next year’s Earth Day Committee:

Event’s time frame (vendors tended to start packing up well before the 6pm end-time), Raffles/Donations, increased time for musicians to set up/break down, sign up sheets for attendees (way to tally attendance) and sign up new members, placement of banner (in front of Tutor’s Biscuit World?)

GREAT would like to encourage all citizens to complete the Create Fayetteville Citizen Survey (www.createfayetteville.com)

Our newest member, Jessica Smith, spoke about the New River Climber’s Rendezvous, May 13 -16 at Burnwood Campground.  She stated that they are looking for volunteers to coordinate recycling for the event.  Gabe Pena agreed to act as this year’s recycling coordinator for the event.  We also discussed the possibility of GREAT hosting a booth at the event.

Agenda for next meeting (May 31, 2010 5:30pm at Fayetteville CVB):

Membership drive

Officer/Board Member recruitment

Bridge Day

ICLEI:  The Task Force held their second meeting in which they nominated liasons and scheduled their regular monthly meeting for the last Monday of each month.

The Task Force plans to develop a survey for businesses and residents regarding energy use (energy, water, waste and transportation)

EARTH DAY:  We reviewed the list of events, activities and sponsors.  The Earth Day committee plans to meet Monday April 12th at 5:30 pm.

—–Bill Lanham spoke about a “Solid Green, Keep Fayetteville Clean” even occuring the morning of the ED Celebration (April 24th) from 9am to 12pm.  He is looking for volunteers to pick up trash around Fayetteville.

Next GREAT meeting:  Monday April 26, 2010 5:30pm at the Fayetteville CVB.

Present: Aimee Rist, Gabe Pena, Doug Arbogast, Carl Thompson, Ginger Danz, Holly Clark, Scott Fanello, (Quorum)

Topics of Discussion:

ICLEI: The first meeting of the ICLEI Task Force was held last week. The town government now needs to sign a resolution in order for the task force to move forward into action planning.

Earth Day: Scheduled for Saturday April 24^th. Earth Day sub-committee is meeting regularly. Next Subcommittee meeting: Wednesday March 10^th at 5:30, White Horse B&B. We discussed fund-raising: Carl reported that Diogi’s is hosting a fund raiser donating all profits from the purchase of a $7.95 soup/tacos dinner. Cathedral Cafe is hosting a similar event on March 10 from 8am to 3pm.

Rain Garden: We discussed the use of the RG grant money and it was agreed that Scott Fanello would contact PAN to discuss possible sites for public rain gardens.

Education: Gabe and Ginger reported on their trip to Nutall Middle School. Teachers there were receptive to our mission and requested help with a school garden. They stated that paper and plastic waste were their biggest problems, but that they have looked into recycling and found it to be cost-prohibitive. A Nutall 4^th period teacher is looking for volunteers to come in and do projects with her class and we are currently seeking volunteers to provide this.

Next meeting: Monday March 29, 2010 at 5:30pm (Fayetteville CVB)

Present: Thomas Rist, Aimee Rist, Gabe Pena, Doug Arbogast, Carl Thompson, Ginger Danz, Rebecca Smith, Holly Clark, Levi Rose, Scott Fanello, Lorien MacAuley, Bill Lanham (Quorum)

Topics of Discussion:

ICLEI: City Manager Bill Lanham was present to discuss the Action Task Force for ICLEI. ICLEI has requested regular contact with him as the city government representative on the task force. He agreed to be the liason. Tomoko (WV Sustainable Communities) joined us by phone to discuss the task force. Tom Rist has agreed to contact other members of the task force to schedule a meeting next week or the week after. Two dates were decided upon: February 5 at noon or February 12 at noon.

Earth Day: Scheduled for Saturday April 24^th. Earth Day sub-committee is meeting regularly. Next Subcommittee meeting: Thursday February 4^th at the Fayetteville CVB. Mr Lanham agreed to let us hang a banner downtown and his wife Anita has agreed to do the children’s rain garden. We discussed road closings for the event and Mr. Lanham stated that we need to discuss the issue further. Holly Clark agreed to contact West Virginia Living magazine about an Earth Day article. Levi Rose (PAN) reports that they are hoping to use the Fayetteville historic theater to show film festival shorts and documentaries on Earth Day. We would also use the space to display local school students’ work in our “Earth Day Expressions” exhibit. We discussed the need for an information booth at the Earth Day celebration and the possibility of offering discount coupons for use at local restaurants during the event. Also discussed the possibility of providing walking maps of local businesses. We also briefly discussed fund raising for the event, including a “Green Ball.”

Rain Garden: We discussed the use of the RG grant money and it was agreed that Scott Fanello would contact PAN to discuss possible sites for public rain gardens.

Flex E Grant: We were denied the grant.

The Fayetteville Rotary Club invited members of GREAT to speak at their next meeting, February 11, 2010. Carl, Rebecca, Tom and Gabe plan to attend.

Next meeting: Monday February 22, 2010 at 5:30pm (Fayetteville CVB)