Early look at Elgin sustainability plan

Citizens who have worked on Elgin’s sustainability action plan are ready to present recommendations to the city council they believe will help make the city more environmentally friendly.

The first look at their conclusions, developed over the course of six months, was presented at a public meeting at the Gail Borden Library Thursday night.

About 100 people who participated in nine citizen-led working groups developed goals and recommendations on sustainability. It’s expected the plan will be brought before the city council in April, said Aaron Cosentino, the city’s sustainability coordinator.

Each group’s recommendations will be presented over the course of three meetings scheduled through February, but on Thursday, Cosentino provided a few examples of what the groups are recommending:

Alternative energy: Encourages construction of a hydropower dam at Kimball Street. A formal feasibility study on the project was approved by the city council last month.

Economic development: Promote the existing WorkKeys program, a job skills assessment system and develop “green” work force training opportunities.

Green building technology: Distribute resource conservation kits and encourage long-term green technology education at local schools.

Green infrastructure: Start an incentive program that would give residents native plants to create rain gardens.

Healthy living and community eduction: Educate the community on sustainable practices.

Recycling and waste management: Start a curbside organics collection program.

Transportation and mobility: Reduce idling within the municipal fleet and community-at-large.

Urban design: Support a “complete streets” policy for design that considers all means of transportation.

Water: Develop a fixture rebate program to encourage the use of energy efficient water fixtures.

In total, the groups developed 118 objectives in those areas. Most of their recommendations — 30 percent — deal with education and marketing programs, 18 percent are policy recommendations and 11 percent involve suggested incentive programs.

Other suggestions include strategy development, green technology installation, monitoring data and conducting research, a new operational program, ordinance adoption, encouraging partnerships, additional training, new construction and a grant program.

“Sustainability is a mindset. It’s a culture of being good stewards of our planet,” Cosentino said.

The additional meetings about the recommendations are scheduled for: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday at the library; 6 to 8 p.m. Feb. 10 at the Hawthorne Hill Nature Center and 6 to 8 p.m. Feb. 22 at Unitarian Universalist Church.

For additional information, visit cityofelgin.org/green.