2025-10-08 SRC MinutesSUSTAINABILITY AND RESILIENCY COMMITTEE
Wednesday, 8 October 2025
Council Chambers
10050 NE 2nd Avenue
6:30pm
Minutes
1. CALL TO ORDER – By Chairperson Carol Eannace Respondek at 6:30pm
2. ROLL CALL:
Present:
Mr. Richard Pluhar
Ms. Nicola Meyer
Ms. Silvia Kang
Ms. Carol Eannace Respondek
Also present:
Mr. Delroy Peters, Public Works Director & Staff Liaison
Mr. Neil Cantor, Vice Mayor
Not Present:
Vice Chair Ms. Patricia Casey
Ms. H Leigh Toney
3. MINUTES: Minutes approved from Meeting of 9=10-25
4. PUBLIC COMMENTS: None
5. DISCUSSION and POSSIBLE ACTION:
5a. Tree Ordinance Discussion
Mr. Peters described an occurrence over the weekend of a resident who had decided to
cut down a public tree that was in the way of his planned driveway. The resident chose
not to abide by Village policy and sought the opinion of an arborist who claimed the tree
was unhealthy, so it could be removed. Since our Tree Ordinance has not yet been
passed, the default is the County ordinance. This destruction of a healthy tree is exactly
why we need the tree ordinance. Mr. Peters suggests that the Ordinance can be ready
for the Council by the first meeting in November. Mr. Cantor will assist with this with
the Village Attorney. Ms. Meyers reminded the Committee that during the last round of
changes to the Ordinance, she had suggested formatting revisions to make the
Ordinance more clear, which she will send to Mr. Peters office. It was also suggested
that language be added to require landscapers within the Village not to dump their
landscape debris from other jobs in MS. Ms. Meyers suggested that landscapers should
register with the Village if they’re doing work here and Mr. Peters agreed. Ms.
Respondek stated that if that’s required, we should make it clear that the registration is
only for informational purposes and would not be released to other agencies.
5b. International Coastal Cleanup Day Saturday, 20 September
Ms. Meyers talked about the success of the first cleanup. There were about 20 people
who attended and helped clean the area. They netted about 7 bags of garbage which
was picked up by Public Works.
5c. Candy Wrapper Cleanup Day – Sunday, 2 November
Ms. Meyers stated that she and Ms. Casey, with Ms. Kang’s assistance will coordinate
Candy Wrapper Cleanup Day. A flyer has been created for promotion and there will
probably be 3 sites chosen to clean up. The meeting site for all may be at Village Hall or
the Library. Ms. Meyers again asked Mr. Peters for a tent and trash pickup.
5d. Update on SRC Workshop – Living Seawall by Kind Designs
This workshop is set for Tuesday, 14 October. The flyer appears in the newsletter. Ms.
Meyers stated that it’s not on the calendar. Ms. Respondek will ask Mr. Peters office for
help with this, as well as sending the flyer for distribution to Committee members for
promotion.
5e. Solar Panel Discussion
Mr. Pluhar stated that he could not find interested vendors to host a workshop before
the end of the year because they are so busy now before the tax credits lapse. He will
try again next year. Mr. Peters will speak with building department to align with them
as to Village regulations. Mr. Pluhar described how current programs work with Solar
United coop – they find 100 customers and then package this group to a solar provider
for substantial discounts.
6. PUBLIC WORKS UPDATES:
6a. Speed Humps
Mr. Peters reviewed a situation that has played out in one neighborhood nearby where
they have for the second time requested speed humps. Public Works sends a survey out
to residents on the streets in question. 2/3 of the surveys that are returned are
necessary for the speed humps to be provided. Public Works indicates the locations of
the proposed speed humps on the survey. In regard to the neighborhood discussed,
even after the second application, they did not meet the required 2/3 vote.
Mr. Peters discussed other traffic calming techniques.
Mr. Cantor discussed the benefits of speed enforcement provided by the Police and how
effective it was to slowing traffic. He would like to see MS develop a reputation like
Biscayne Park, where motorists slow down once they enter the Village.
6b. Project updates on MSV website
Mr. Peters stated that work is underway to improve communication via the website.
Ms. Meyers stated that she noticed that the update on the Shores Estates septic-sewer
project is quite thorough. She suggested that perhaps Mr. Peters may want to look into
QR codes to drive engagement from the newsletter to the website.
7. BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS:
Ms. Kang related her experience at the Sea Level Rise Event hosted by FIU. She stated
that she’d like to bring speakers from academia to discuss environmental issues in which
they specialize. All committee members were supportive and interested.
Mr. Pluhar asked about recording the committee meetings for education purposes,
especially speakers or workshops. He also suggested that we record the meetings via AI
to create minutes and this was encouraged by Ms. Meyers and Ms. Kang. Mr. Peters will
ask the AV department about this as well as checking with the Clerk. It was also
suggested that we record the Kind Designs workshop on Tuesday. Ms. Respondek will
check with the Library and Mr. Peters will check with AV for the Tuesday workshop.
Ms. Respondek brought up the necessity of working now on Green Day. Ms. Meyers
stated that she liked Ms. Respondek’s suggestion last year of a kids game centering on
Recyclables. Ms. Respondek asked Mr. Peters how Recycling was proceeding in MS, to
which he replied – very well. In that instance, Ms. Respondek suggested that we focus
instead on composting. The Committee discussed Renuables and Ms. Meyers stated
how happy she was using their service. Ms. Meyers also suggested that MS talk to
Compost for Life as an alternate vendor. It was suggested that if we partner with one of
these vendors for a Green Day topic, that we also include the Art Committee for
perhaps a child-centered event, creating something out of recyclables.
8. NEXT COMMITTEE MEETING – Wednesday, 12 November 2025 at 6:30pm
9. ADJOURNMENT