MOUNT VERNON — A desire to make things better now and for future generations is the catalyst for Mayor Matt Starr’s creation of a Sustainability Advisory Group.
Assistant City Engineer Quentin Platt will chair the group.
Starr said Platt is “very, very well ensconced and very understanding of different principles of sustainability,” which he said goes beyond energy.
“It’s connectivity. It is about water use, about land use, about waste recycling and composting, it is about our stormwater … and trees, and our work with Bee City,” Starr said.
The group will not create legislation, mandates, or policies.
“They are only going to be helping the city consider our efforts,” Starr said. “If we expect people to voluntarily participate in sustainability efforts, then we need to be looking at ourselves as well to see that we’re pulling our own weight and leading or doing things alongside the general public.”
Starr cited examples such as the quarterly Repair Cafe at St. Paul’s Parrish House (sustainability principle: repair, don’t replace) and a composting pilot program by Community Roots (recycling food waste).
“These are people who are doing this voluntarily, and we want to be able to celebrate that stuff,” the mayor said. “As a city, we want to be able to make sure that we are doing things as well that can do that.”
He also cited a recent Knox Pages article on the viability of an adopt-a-sidewalk program where volunteers clear snow from city and neighborhood streets.
Recalling his childhood days of shoveling snow, Starr said, “We were expected to shovel our entire block of sidewalks and neighbors before we went inside and got hot chocolate. But it wasn’t called sustainability, it was just called being a neighbor.”
Environmental responsibility and community engagement
Starr said sustainability “goes far beyond what started out being industrial solar.” It also involves community engagement, such as participating in Bee City or shade tree commission activities.
“We’re not just going to use things and be wasteful. There’s nothing wrong with being responsible. There’s something very, very admirable in that.”
mayor matt starr
“It’s a network of life groups and churches who can help dig people out of their homes or help them cut lawns if they have difficulty doing those sorts of things,” he said.
“It’s what we decide works for our community here. We want to have a good handle on that so that ultimately, we build something that the next generation is going to want to inherit. That’s what this boils down to.”
Starr said blight relates to sustainability, but people do not think about it in that manner.
“But it’s fundamental because it prevents all other forms of sustainability from happening as well. We can have these wonderful plans, but if we’re not addressing the blight issues as well, then that’s certainly something [we need to do],” he said.
“Again, looking at creating that neighborliness and looking after each other; that’s the type of place we want to leave for the next generation.”