Mayor looks to change scope of environmental panel

Jefferson City Mayor Carrie Tergin is looking at how to transform an existing city commission into one with a broader focus on community wellness.

Tergin said she has been working on changing the focus of the city’s current Environmental Quality Commission into something that delves more into community wellness, noting nothing official has been done, and the full City Council will have to approve any proposed changes.

“Environmental Quality (Commission) was started by concerned citizens that really had a vision for Jefferson City and looking at the environmental aspects,” Tergin said. “I’m looking at ways that we can expand their mission, keeping up with the environmental aspect but also looking at community health and wellness.”

She said the commission helped spur the downtown streetscaping and the recycling portion of the city’s solid waste contract, among many other accomplishments, but a lot of the original commission’s goals have been achieved. Broadening its focus into overall community health and wellness will allow it to venture into ways to encourage the community to be more pedestrian-friendly and engage in healthier habits, Tergin said.

“This commission has had an important role in shaping the overall environmental quality of our community over the years, and I look forward to updating the vision and projects the (commission) is charged with working on to reflect our community today,” Tergin said.

Tergin said the goal is to transition the commission into one that is more equipped to move forward, weighing on issues from green space in developments and incorporating bicycle and pedestrian paths to encouraging use of local foods in the community.

Tergin said she’s open to ideas from the current commission and past members of the commission as to how best prepare it to move forward.

“I welcome the brainstorming,” Tergin said.

The council could take up an ordinance changing the commission’s scope as early as May.