Austin is on its way to sustainability.

At least that’s the City Council’s hope after deciding Tuesday night to form a Minnesota GreenStep Cities Task Force to work toward a greener, more eco-friendly future.

Council members discussed the GreenStep Cities program at a work session, with every member in attendance voting to officially approve the task force at the next council meeting on July 18. Once the task force is approved as a city group, Mayor Tom Stiehm and City Council members will appoint members.

The group can have up to 15 members and will likely be comprised of a couple Austin residents and people who represent local groups.

Council member-at-large Janet Anderson spoke highly of the GreenStep Cities program and expressed interest in being the council representative on the task force.

The city’s involvement in the program is a step toward fulfilling one of City Council’s 2011 priorities: to begin making Austin a more sustainable city.

According to an informational document from the League of Minnesota Cities, “GreenStep Cities is a voluntary challenge, assistance and recognition program to assist all Minnesota cities in implementing 28 sustainable development best practices.”

Some of the best practices include reusing existing buildings before building new, construct new buildings that meet a green building standard, improve the efficiency of lighting and signals and encourage higher housing density.

Forming a task force is one of the first steps to becoming a GreenStep City, according to city intern Samantha Barthels. The next step is to take inventory of what best practices have already been completed or are close to completion, then council members can come up with a plan for which best practices to begin next.

Barthels said the program is a long-term goal that could take years to complete.

Look to the Austin Daily Herald as this story develops.