Green Bay sustainability commission compiles draft 2026 work plan, assigns priorities to work groups
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Summary
Commission members at a regular meeting compiled a draft list of proposed initiatives for 2026 — from green stormwater infrastructure and pollinator programs to vehicle-fleet sharing and food-waste pilots — and asked work groups to prioritize one or two achievable projects for next year.
The Green Bay Sustainability Commission used its meeting to compile and organize a broad list of initiatives proposed for its 2026 work plan, asking each work group to choose achievable priorities and signaling continued staff and community partnerships for implementation.
Commission member Krista Keenanen opened what she described as an informational session that gathered ideas from commissioners and community stakeholders on steps the commission could take next year, including green and complete streets, stormwater incentives, rain-barrel and native-plant programs, vehicle-fleet optimization, composting pilots, food-waste reduction, and expanded community engagement.
Julia Nordyke and other members led a detailed inventory of ideas collected from stakeholders and prior meetings. The list grouped items by work group and emphasized avoiding overcommitment: each work group was asked to identify a small number (one or two) of realistic actions to pursue in 2026, while a longer master list will be kept for future years.
Major ideas discussed included: developing a Green and Complete Streets program to reduce impervious surfaces and add stormwater treatment; producing fact sheets and outreach for businesses on green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) and incentives; reviewing and lowering barriers for the residential stormwater credit program; funding a cohort to attend the Green & Healthy Schools conference; expanding a rain-barrel program to be economically and operationally sustainable; creating a public-facing pollinator corridor map and a user-friendly platform to catalog pollinator plantings across the Green Bay area; piloting internal composting at city facilities; and evaluating city vehicle use to explore shared usage and more efficient (hybrid/EV) replacements.
Commissioners discussed how some programs already underway with city staff or community partners would be carried forward rather than started from scratch. Krista Keenanen said the next step would be to organize the long list by work group, share it with commissioners (blind copy), and ask work groups to return recommended priorities for the November meeting.
Public comment included Selena Darrow of Rooted In, who offered to partner on food-waste reduction pilots and reported an initial food recovery donation from Lambeau Field: a 700-pound donation that her organization was distributing to partner agencies. The commission acknowledged that fund-seeking and staff capacity will constrain what is feasible in 2026 and invited work groups to focus on items that could be advanced without heavy new staff demands.
The commission set a follow-up timeline: staff will circulate the cleaned-up list by email, work groups will choose priorities, and the commission will revisit and finalize work-group priorities at its next meeting.
