Mendota Heights highlights GreenSteps Step 4 milestone, expands sustainability outreach

Recycling and Sustainability Coordinator Selstad told the Mendota Heights Natural Resources Commission on April 8 that the city has achieved Step 4 in the GreenSteps Cities program and is expanding outreach and measurement efforts. The city partners with Better Futures to reuse building materials, Selstad said, and is developing a quarterly sustainability newsletter with a first issue tentatively planned for early May.

Selstad said the GreenSteps Step 4 designation centers on collecting and organizing data about local sustainability activities; Step 5 will focus on monitoring and measuring improvements. “The first newsletter will tentatively be distributed in early May,” Selstad said. Commissioner Knosalla asked when the GreenSteps data will be available and Selstad said Step 4 work is primarily data collection now.

Selstad also summarized outreach and education plans, including business engagement and a Sustainability Speaker Series; the third speaker event on waste will likely be rescheduled to the fall because of low attendance. Chair Stein asked about the county organics program; Selstad said a toolkit will be available through the county in the next few months and the group discussed the city’s current trash-hauler policy.

Commissioner Thuening expressed interest in contributing resident content to the newsletter and asked whether LEED certification had been discussed for the city’s new Campus project. Selstad said staff will continue coordinating with the Goal 2 Committee on outreach priorities.

Next steps: staff will proceed with data collection under GreenSteps Step 4, prepare the initial newsletter for distribution, follow the county’s timeline for the organics toolkit, and revisit scheduling for the speaker-series event.