Friday, February 27, 2009

New Members

Supervisor Barker has added Gregory "Jake" Neher, Casey Collings, and Mike Piatek-Jimenez to our group. Jake is a CMU broadcast major, Casey is a Civil Engineer, and Mike is a software designer. Welcome and we look forward to your input. As a reminder to our new members, you are encouraged to post your comments and input to the group to the Blog. The Blog will beome our body of work and allow the public to see our progresss and comment.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Next Meeting Info & SWOT Analysis

A reminder; our next meeting is March 10, 7 AM at the Union Township Hall. I have just invited all our members to respond to Blog Authorship. This grants you the right to make a post, as opposed to a comment on an existing Post. As you engage the next meeting topic, a post to the Blog is a handy journal and will spark new ideas in our membership.

I would like all our members to take a look around the township and begin to think about our Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) in regards to Union Township Sustainability. Remember to keep in mind the three principal domains of sustainability; Social, Economic and Environmental.

I have added a Link section to the Blog. The first entry is for CMU Sustainability. Please email me with any links you feel should be there as well, and I will paste them in.

At our next meeting we need to elect some officers to facilitate our group, being Chairperson and Secretary. Would it be useful to have a formalise agenda?

Friday, February 6, 2009

Meeting Reminder

Just a brief reminder/confirmation that our organisational meeting will be this coming Tuesday, the 10th at 7 AM. We will meet at the township hall, 2010 S Lincoln Road. Guests and the public are welcome. Supervisor Baker will be bringing the donuts and I will have hot coffee, tea, and juice ready as well.

Monday, February 2, 2009

Sustainability and Governance

What is Sustainability? Some food for thought and discussion.

"Since the 1980s, the idea of human sustainability has become increasingly associated with the integration of economic, social and environmental spheres. In 1989, the United Nations Brundtland Commission articulated what has now become a widely accepted definition of sustainability: "[to meet] the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Wikipedia

In our context then, we need to examine the processes of Union Township and make recommendations or offer insight as to how the township can go about all of it's business in a way that supports the tenants of Sustainability.

What are some of our processes?
  • Tax collection
  • Water and Sewer
  • Construction review and monitoring
  • Planning
  • Municipal Approvals
  • Township Administration
  • Facilities Management
  • Economic Development, DDAs
  • Quality of Life

What are some Tenants of Sustainability?

  • Economic Sustainability - Can we continue to provide our services at a specified cost (internal economics), how can we promote a vibrant economy in our community (external economics)?
  • Social Sustainability - Do our processes promote a bright future, do we include all people in our processes, do we offer equitable access to our services, and approvals. Is the township socially responsible in it's internal workings?
  • Environmental Sustainability - Are we being Eco-friendly in our approvals and ordinances, and management of our facilities ?

Organisational Meeting Planned for 2/10 7AM

Please confirm for the morning of Tuesday Feb 10 for our kickoff meeting. The location for the first meeting will be at the Union Township Hall, but at the suggestion of the membership, we could shift to a local restaurant or other accomodations as well. Prior to the meeting you can expect to receive some background information on what sustainability is. At the meeting I would like to build consensus for our purpose, set some goals for the group, and how we might accomplish them.