Charlestown Township
Environmental Advisory Committee (EAC)
Meeting Minutes
Monday, October 14, 2024

Armstrong opened the meeting at 7:03.

Attendees:
Carol Armstrong (Chair), Dan Walker (Vice-chair), Meg Solomon (Secretary), Jill Green

September Minutes approved.

Place Holders

(Reminder of EAC-initiated projects for next 6+ months):

New Business

  1. Composting in Chester County - Rachel Griffith from the CC Planning Commission (Sustainability Director) is working on a grant application with the CC Solid Waste Authority. They are planning to apply to the USDA’s Compost and Food Waste Reduction Program, along with Delaware County, to establish a series of food waste drop off stations across the county, as well as to expand backyard composting education. They are in the early phases of figuring out where the drop-off stations should be, and one key consideration is which municipalities want to host one. The EAC discussed the option of having a drop-off location in Charlestown, but we agreed that it might not be the best location because Charlestown is such a small township. We decided to recommend West Chester to Rachel.
  2. Social Media Subcommittee of EAC - flyer design, tracking events, visibility, messaging, clear consistent communication, Armstrong asked Green to be the leader of a subcommittee and she agreed to do it. We will vote on this in November.
  3. EAC Table for Election Day - Armstrong, Walker and Goodman to man the table. Tom Committa has a survey he wants residents to complete regarding concepts for Swiss Pines and he Armstrong offered to have copies on our election day table. Green suggested changing the volunteer sign-up sheet to be project specific. Green volunteered to modify our existing sign-up sheet.

Ongoing Business

  1. Adoption of Charlestown Road, cleanup for PennDOT - road adoption sign - Walker reached out about the signage and it is in the queue for processing (PennDot). Confirmed next cleanup for October 19, 7-11. Walker found a cheaper company for traffic control. Walker will start to create marketing materials. Need to send an email blast regarding this right away. Walker will check with Csete to see if she can send to entire Charlestown email list.
  2. Review of BoS, PC, P&R meeting highlights - no update.
  3. Swiss Pines Update - committee meeting in 2 weeks. Want to preserve the gardens.
  4. Proposal to create schedule of EAC Events for Posting- Green working on it. She will bring a mock-up to review at our November meeting.
  5. Kwiamwis SiputSignage- no update.
  6. Beech Tree Leaf Disease - A local arborist company with experience in identification and treatment of BLD will author an article for the April 2025 newsletter when residents will be able to examine the leaves of their trees.
  7. ingle Use Plastics Ban Ordinance – In the hands of the Charlestown legal team.
  8. Status of EAC membership in WeConservePA. They need support and hosts for future events.
  9. EAC Membership Recruitment – no update.
  10. EAC Logo – no decision yet.
  11. Nature News topic for October – sustainable holidays.
  12. Community Presentation – “There’s Plastic in Our BloodWhat” by Armstrong - October 23, 2024, 7PM at Shift, 252 Haverford Ave. Narberth, 19085, put in NN.
  13. Bird Town programs – no update.
  14. Township Newsletters – (due dates are 1/15, 4/15, 7/15, 10/15.) Armstrong to write an article about Beech Leaf Disease (April, 2025). Soundararajan will contact Csete about the possibility of writing an article about the single use plastic ordinance - no update.
  15. Riparian buffer maintenance – Armstrong did some work yesterday on the caging. Goodman and Armstrong picking up new caging next week. Continue with caging on the Oct 13, 20 and 27th. After a rainfall, when the ground is softer and we will not have to frequently water the trees, we will replace dead plants and cage and stake all plants in need. GVHS Environmental Enthusiasts Club, with club president Audrey Song, will be helping with this effort.
  16. Battery Collection – Goodman took the batteries we do not recycle (unacceptable batteries like lithium batteries) to Narvon’s Waste Disposal site. Armstrong took four full boxes of batteries in late summer and early fall to ship to the reclamation company.
  17. Stream Warming – temperature of our streams is increasing. Armstrong is working on an extract of the data from the Delaware River Basin Policy and Practice Workgroup, which was written by >community scientists under the aegis of the Stroud Water Research Center. The purpose is to present to the Charlestown Planning Commission for consideration. Update - Progressing
  18. Parks and Recreation Cleanup – November 9, Pickering Creek Trail cleanup.
  19. Audubon volunteers are doing a Brightside bird walk – Friday at 5:30.
Meeting Adjourned at 9:10.