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Climate Action & Sustainability Commission Agenda
Wednesday, July 8, 2026 5:30PM City Hall Room 113
215 Pleasant Street
Malden, MA 02148
Roll Call (1 min)
- Councilor Carey McDonald - Present (remote)
- Staff Liaison Rebekah McPheeters - Present
- Diego Maldonado* (Secretary) - Absent
- Noha Haraz* - Absent
- Bob FitzPatrick* - Present (remote)
- Rachel Surrette* - Absent
- Lipin Ji* - Present (remote)
- Amanda Treat* (Vice Chair) - Present
- Auka (Christina) Mui* - Absent
- Ron Cochran* - Absent
- Ricky Ma* (Chair) - Absent
- Chris Rosa, Tree Warden – Present
- Councilor Ari Taylor - Present
Roll Call (1 min)
Commission to approve minutes from June 17 meeting – we do not have quorum
Energy Coach Program Memo – decided to table for a future meeting
Project Updates & Announcements (15 min)
- Rain barrel updates:
Bekah shared that the rain barrel program was successful this year. We sold out, and there is additional demand. We should consider doing more next year.
- Bloomberg YCAF grant update:
Amanda updated on our outreach efforts, meetings with our YCAF coach, and possible coordination with Somerville and Boston (the other 2 MA awardees)
Funding must run through non-profits
Timeline is to open for applications on July 15, close for applications October 14, Funds awarded in November, and April 15 is the close of the program. Timeline is tight – we could move the close for applications to September to have more autumn time for projects.
- Exploring the Malden River event:
Bob shared that it was a good event and talked to Ricky at the CASC table. There were other groups present with whom CASC should consider collaborating. Ricky had previously shared that we should have translations for our documentation.
We discussed translating documentation into Chinese and Portuguese.
Annual Progress Report & Working Session
- Bekah shared the updated Climate Action Plan 2026 Progress Report
Discussed swapping out the photos on the intro slide – something more community-themed
We need photos of the HS Solar Hot Water system and Ferryway school
We need edits on the Achieve Net Zero Buildings & Energy slide – condense copy, add graph
Bob to update the Accelerate Sustainable Transportation slide
Remove strategy #2 from the Enhance Community Resiliance slide
For Mitigate Heat & Flood Impacts – give Malden Riverworks its own slide, and add the Permeable Pavement photo
Add a key figures/data points summary slide that we can update year after year.
CASC members to review the Progress at a Glance slides for errors; consider condensing areas that we have "not started"
- Discuss communications & translation plan for the annual report – initially translate report into Chinese, and maybe translate the executive summary into additional languages
Homework
- Ricky prepared retrospective slides for CASC members to fill out before the next meeting.
Next Steps
- Potential agenda items for August:
-Pick up items tabled from this meeting
-Invite the Sierra Club to present – we may need to book a bigger room
-Community member request for a No Idling initiative ahead of the school year, and/or MyRWA clean air results – discussed possible approaches.
-Related interest in biodiesel
-Commission members and terms – CASC needs new youth members
- Confirm date/time for next meeting – August 12
Share out any upcoming relevant events.
Adjournment – 7:00PM
If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, please contact Maria Luise, ADA Compliance Coordinator at mluise@cityofmalden.org or 781-397-7000 Ext. 2005
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