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Lake Elmo celebrated for Gold Leaf climate actions; staff outlines next sustainability steps
Summary
The council paused Monday to accept recognition for Lake Elmo’s participation in the Minnesota Gold Leaf Challenge and heard staff updates on fleet greenhouse‑gas tracking, tree programs and recycling grants as the city maintains its GreenStep Cities Step 5 standing.
Lake Elmo officials paused their regular meeting for a brief presentation and photo marking the city’s recognition in the Minnesota Gold Leaf Challenge.
Kristen Ruff Moroz of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency presented the Gold Leaf and GreenStep Cities programs and noted Lake Elmo has participated in GreenStep since 2012. “Gold Leaf is focusing on climate actions, specifically high‑impact, high‑priority measures,” Moroz said, and described Gold Leaf’s emphasis on real‑time action reporting and a required community green team.
City sustainability staff member Miss Montarusso told the council that Lake Elmo’s green team meets quarterly to coordinate projects across planning, finance, public works and other departments. She said the city added FuelCloud software in 2024 to track fuel inventory for the municipal fleet and establish a greenhouse‑gas baseline. “We can also use that data to help make financial decisions in the future,” Montarusso said.
Montarusso highlighted partnerships and recent projects: a Washington County recycling grant to support outreach and communications, a tree‑steward volunteer program run with MRAP, a successful Arbor Day tree giveaway and a boulevard tree pilot funded from a newly established tree fund. She also said the city is updating its comprehensive plan to meet Met Council requirements for climate planning in 2026–27.
The presentation concluded with a group photo to mark the award and a thank‑you from the acting mayor. There were no public comments on the topic.
