The City of Mount Vernon will review the sustainability committee after the New Year.
The council continued their discussion on the ad hoc committee at the Oct. 17 meeting, with more of the members present.
A range of issues have been addressed by the sustainability committee in the several years it has been in existence – including having Mount Vernon named as a Bee City and continuing the Tree City initiative. Rain barrels have also been one of the changes.
During the pandemic, the committee ceased holding meetings, but they have begun again. The Mount Vernon/Lisbon Chapter of the League of Women Voters have also put sustainability as one of their initiatives.
Mayor Tom Wieseler said the city of Mount Vernon has been getting known for their reputation for sustainability efforts.
City administrator Chris Nosbisch said his concern is that if the committee were to go from ad hoc to a formal committee, that would require staff input for some of their initiatives, and staff currently is pretty occupied in numerous ways.
Nosbisch said the sustainability committee would be similar to the parks and recreation board. It’s not a required commission or committee, but still serves significant purposes for the community.
Council member Scott Rose said his work on parks and recreation highlighted the importance of staff being in discussions at these meetings.
“Because staff members like Matt were involved in other discussions of things coming, it helped that committee know what bigger projects were coming and ways they could help make those a reality,” Rose said. “Having a staff involvement with this committee will also allow the city to have deeper conversations pertaining to sustainability.”
Council member Paul Tuerler said he feels the ad hoc committee has done good work, but wants continued discussions by the council to review their goals and how the commission can help in those directions. Tuerler wants the city to develop a five year plan and come up with a solid list of objectives for the commission.