Meeting Notes
In attendance: @nomuzz @Chris_Watkins @Susan_Gilbert @Nic_McPhee @syd
Started off by reminding ourselves of the purpose of the group:
To promote individual and group action toward a resilient, equitable and sustainable community through modelling behavioural change, conversation and education.
This is helpful to remember because although our steps might not be GIANT and DEEPLY ACTIONABLE, we are still coming together as a group to converse and learn with one another! Beautiful. This will also make it easier for us to re-instate in person meetings once it is safe to do so.
We then talked about some of our actionable items discussed in December’s meeting and how we might take some action on them:
- Sierra Club Beyond Coal Campaign
- We had initially discussed that one of our action items could be to engage more people in this work. Sierra Club is losing $$$ and so this particular campaign lost funding. So we can no longer do this.
- HOWEVER, OTPCO is still increasing their rates while also increasing the $$ given to shareholders (something @Susan_Gilbert shared at this meeting), so there is still lots to talk about and lots to comment on. I check out the Otter Tail Power Company requests rate review in Minnesota - Press Release 2nd Nov 2020 section of the Energy/Grid Resources topic to learn more about what they have been up to.
- At somepoint I will share more about where you can comment on the rate increase if you do not want OTPCO to charge you more to give $$ to rich people.
- Continue Amplifying City Resilience Work
- Once @Chris_Watkins is able to upload the videos from the first two Morris Model Resilience meetings we will make sure that information is available here.
- We think it would be a good idea to write LTEs to the newspaper about these and what we learned at them and why it is important to attend them.
- Feeding off of past Waste work
- The city applied to get $$ for a composting drop site here in Morris (from the MPCA), they also have applied to get a Green Corp member to start doing work engaging with the community about composting. Folks can apply to be a Green Corp member once the applications open up in the spring. This person would come to Morris in the fall to start work. We could absolutely be a resource to them, and work alongside them to get composting info out into the community.
Overall in terms of actionable items, there are no big projects, but there are ways we can engage deeper within the community about the exciting things that are going on!
If you want to write an LTE please do and feel free to mention the WCMNCN as a resource to learn more information!
Other exciting things:
- The Solar United Neighbors work is happening! An installer has been chosen and is visiting Morris to meet with folks who are interested in putting up panels. Talk to @Susan_Gilbert or @Nic_McPhee if you are interested in learning more! The solar man has visited them!
- EasyBean CSA is now accepting orders!
- We talked about Northern Plains Sustainable Agriculture and how they are a cool org with cool events going on these days.
- Check out this week’s QOTW! Share the info you have been engaging with!
The next WCMNCN meeting will be at 10:30AM on Saturday, April 10th. We hope to see you (via Zoom) and have conversation with you then!