MOUNT VERNON — When city council members adopted Sustainable 2050 last fall, Amber Keener and Mike Hillier voted no.
At the council’s Feb. 26 meeting, Keener asked the administration to “paint a picture” of why the city joined the initiative. She specifically asked what the city can achieve, what grants the city can receive, and how it fits in with what the city is already doing.
“I want the city to be able to share why it was important,” Keener said.
Noting that the term sustainability often has a negative connotation, Mayor Matt Starr said the city’s definition of sustainability is “the vital balance between people, the planet, and profit.”
“That’s what we’re looking at in terms of putting up a litmus test for the decisions we need to make for our own operations,” he said. “We’re not coming after gas stoves. We’re not coming after gas engines. …
“We are about cost containment. Leveraging. Saving taxpayer dollars, and saving utility dollars.”
Looking at these three areas, Starr said city personnel will ask these questions:
• People (human capital): What are we doing to improve physical, mental, and emotional health? What offers social and cultural experiences? Are they inclusive?
• Planet (natural capital): What are we doing to promote stewardship of the land? Are we preserving natural resources for future generations?
• Profit (economic capital): Are we pursuing solutions with the highest benefit-cost ratio? Are we minimizing waste and maximizing yield? Are we containing costs?
“This is how we look at sustainability. And this is how MORPC looks at sustainability, too,” Starr said, adding that it is not just about solar and wind.
He did say the city will explore putting solar panels on its roofs. Other mayors report they save upward of $100,000 a year.
“As a taxpayer, that has my attention,” Starr said.
Sustainable 2050 goals
Sustainable 2050 is a Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission initiative. It has four goals:
• Improve air quality and reduce climate change impacts to protect public health and the environment
• Protect and preserve natural resources to support a healthy and resilient region
• Improve quality of life for all residents by creating sustainable and equitable communities
• Promote robust, inclusive, and sustainable growth and development
Starr said that by working toward these goals through things such as the parks master plan, complete streets initiative, active transportation policy, and a regional sustainability plan, the city can “check off boxes” and score higher on grant applications.
How engineering aligns
Assistant City Engineer Quentin Platt shared how projects underway support Sustainable 2050 goals. He also showed how future projects align with the goals, thus enhancing the city’s application for grant money.
For example, wastewater treatment plant upgrades support economic goals by increasing employment in green jobs and reducing costs through capturing and burning methane. Upgrades also fulfill natural resource goals by reducing phosphorus and improving water quality in watersheds.
Platt explained that the upgrades enable the city to treat waste biologically rather than with chemicals. They also allow the city to accept F.O.G. (fats, oil, and grease) from local businesses rather than having the vendors truck the FOG to Newark.
Rerouting State Route 13 supports improving air quality by reducing per capita vehicle miles traveled, energy consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions. It also supports the quality of life goal by improving access to parks and regional trails.
Brick street projects protect natural resources by reducing landfill waste and enhance the quality of life by improving transportation and mobility safety for residents.
The Shade Tree and Beautification Commission’s efforts hit all four goals: reducing energy consumption, increasing land devoted to natural areas, increasing employment in green jobs, and reducing household energy cost burden.
Benefits of joining Sustainable 2050
Starr said benefits include member recognition and peer exchange.
“We are competing for business and development from other communities, so any time we get a chance to build into the trophy case, that is a cool thing to do. People in the region pay attention to that,” he said.
“This puts us at the front of the table to talk with people who have tried things and succeeded and tried things and miserably failed.”
Starr said it also states that the city is committed to local plans and to reducing waste regionally.
Technical assistance and help with grant writing are additional benefits.
“I think that these goals are good for council to see, and the objectives help us with other projects that we are moving forward on,” Keener said.
Agreeing that the term “sustainability” was hijacked, Councilman Mike Miller said he is relieved that membership does not tie the city to any particular course of action or mandate. He noted that the city is already tied into the Columbus drinking water system through the Kokosing.
“So anything that the city does to improve water quality is good. Plus, it’s a state scenic river, and the Kokosing River and its tributaries have some of the highest water quality in the state of Ohio with many endangered species that live in this county,” he said.
“This was very helpful to me to hear this, and like I said, the biggest concern people have is that we’re not mandated to follow certain things.”
