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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015.09.08 CEAP Agenda Packet CLIMATE AND ENERGY ACTION PLAN AD HOC COMMITTEE Meeting Agenda September 8, 2015 — 2:00 PM Community Development Building, Siskiyou Room 51 Winburn Way 1. Call to Order 2. Approval of Minutes - Sept 2, 2015 Meeting 3. Public Fourm 4. Climate Plan Kick Off Event • Discussion of Committee Role • Feedback to Kick off committee on questions/issues to include in event activities 5. Climate & Energy Action Plan RFP • Feedback to staff on RFP scope and elements 6. Agenda Items for Next Meeting 7. Public Forum +C. ITY 0F Ad Hoc Committee on Climate Change and Energy Action Plan Scope of Work, August 19, 2015 The ad hoc Climate Change and Energy Action Plan Committee is charged with making recommendations to the City Council regarding a climate change and energy action plan intended to identify existing and potential vulnerabilities and develop an organized and prioritized set of actions to protect people and resources from the ongoing impacts of climate change. The plan shall include targets and strategies for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in Ashland. These targets and strategies may be short- mid-or long-term, and shall consider cost,feasibility,community acceptance and likelihood of success,with an emphasis on voluntary measures that can be undertaken by different sectors of the community. The plan shall include specific, measurable actions that citizens and local institutions can undertake immediately upon adoption of the plan. The Committee shall review similar plans in comparable communities, consult as necessary with local subject matter experts in the areas of transportation, energy, land use and infrastructure (and other areas as the Committee deems advisable), and identify implementation steps as appropriate. The Committee shall, in consultation with City staff and consultants, determine its own work plan and project timeline, however while the Committee may consult with and advise on its needs for consultant services, City staff shall be the sole point of contact for consultants hired to work on the plan or technical reports associated with the plan. Unless otherwise directed by the City Council,the Climate Change and Energy Action Plan shall be delivered to the City Council by January 31, 2017. The Committee shall, in the course of its work: • Provide ample opportunity for public input and feedback; and • Present its recommendations in writing so they can be easily shared with the public. Minutes for the Climate and Energy Action Plan ad hoc Committee September 2,2015 Page 1 of 3 MINUTES FOR THE CLIMATE & ENERGY ACTION PLAN ad hoc COMMITTEE Wednesday, September 2, 2015 Lithia Room, 51 Winburn Way 1. Call to Order Chair Rich Rosenthal called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. in the Lithia Room. Committee members Louise Shawkat, Roxane Beigel-Coryell, and Bryan Sohl were present. Staff member Adam Hanks was present. Committee member James McGinnis arrived late. Councilor Rosenthal welcomed the committee members and the public in attendance. He gave a brief history of how the committee was formed. He explained why he is glad to be participating in this group. 2. Introductions Each committee member introduced themselves, gave some background information and some reasons for their desire to work on this plan. 3. Committee Charge and Scope of Work Rosenthal read aloud the scope of work, written by the City Administrator and approved by City Council. He particularly highlighted that there shall be one point of contact for communication between the committee, the public, and the to-be-hired consultant. A single point of contact is important to avoid confusion and maintain continuity. This point of contact will be staff member, Adam Hanks. James McGinnis arrived 6:04 p.m. Group discussed the selection processes for hiring the consultant. The most important role of the committee is to confirm that the RFP contains the necessary project elements and final plan components and properly weight the scoring system in order to select the most appropriate candidate while preparing the RFP. 4. Public Input Ken Deveney, 206 Terrace St., thanked the group for the work they are undertaking. He gathers the emphasis for this group will be on greenhouse gases, but wonders if there is room for a health component, specifically mental health. JoAnne Eggars, 221 Granite St., this plan is at the top of her priority list for Ashland. She thanked the Conservation Commission for their work in bringing this forward to the Council. She encouraged the group to do this in a timely fashion as this is a very time sensitive matter. John Goss, 263 7th St., is an aquaponics expert. This is an emerging technology which can have a direct effect on greenhouse gas emissions. He gave some examples regarding use of compost and preventing it from ending up in a landfill to become methane. Methane is a heavy hitter in greenhouse gases, so any reduction could have a good impact. Additionally, this plan could help Ashland be an important destination for ecotourism. Minutes for the Climate and Energy Action Plan ad hoc Committee September 2,2015 Page 2 of 3 Mark Hannaberg, 657 Prim St., would like the group to consider a solar community garden. This would be where people could install their own panel, be integrated with the grid, and see the savings on their own bills. Instead of the panel being on their own roof, however, it would be on a city-owned location. Currently all options along these lines are illegal. Cathy Stekfst, 657 Prim St., gave a copy of a video which highlights what Mr. Hannaberg discussed. Jeff Sharpe, 553 Fordyce, is one of the people who submitted a response to the Greenhouse Gas Inventory RFP, therefore he will not comment on the plan at this time, but appreciates the group starting. 5. Meeting Format and Schedule Rosenthal stated that, to the degree it is possible, packets will be on-line rather than hard-copy. Hanks stated he would like to have all packets posted five days in advance of each meeting. In order to do that, however, the group needs to be sure to submit items for the packet as early as possible. Group discussed possible meeting schedule options and mostly agreed, if at all possible, to keep the meetings to no longer than 90 minutes. Meetings can run longer as topics necessitate. Generally speaking, the meetings will be on the first and third Wednesdays of the month at 2:00 p.m. Rosenthal would like to see a few evening meetings in order to not miss out on public involvement or input. 6. Conservation Commission Proposed Project Plan Elements and Process Beigel-Coryell, Sohl, and McGinnis gave an overview of the Conservation Commission's work to date. Council narrowed their original request to just focus on climate and energy. They have since then looked at plans from many other communities, focusing largely on the plan created by the City of Eugene. They are hoping this will be a community-directed process and not solely a city project. The group discussed the draft timeline and the specific sectors they want to involve in the process (infrastructure, economics and tourism, natural resources, renewable energy and energy efficiency, food and agriculture, land use and transportation, consumption and waste, health and social services.) Group discussed the RFP scope of work. The consultant is needed to provide expert assistance in the plan document development and propose a public process to get the best result. Hanks passed around a"starter kit" draft of the RFP. He used the Conservation Commission's plan proposal given to the Council at the March 18, 2015, meeting as a base but needs input from the Committee to ensure the details are correct. Group decided this should be the main focus of the next meeting. Group discussed whether the plan will be focused solely on mitigation efforts or include adaptation. Determined that the plan will likely start out weighted more to mitigation but needs to have the ability to move towards adaptation. The goal is that this will be a living document, Minutes for the Climate and Energy Action Plan ad hoc Committee September 2,2015 Page 3 of 3 with the ability to change as the community's needs do. The RFP will have to reflect this need clearly. 7. Climate Plan Kick-off Event Through a grant process Council allocated $10,000 to Geos Institute, separate from the $120,000 biennium allocation for this Action Plan process, to organize a kick-off/information gathering event. Geos Institute is working with Rogue Climate on the event planning. Hanna Sohl from the planning group gave an overview of the plans made thus far. The planning group is open to the public and meets on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month at 2:00 p.m. at Geos Institute. The goal of the event is to energize the community, actively engage them, and to be in a good framework to share the final plan with the community after its completion. They have decided to make it a full week of activities leading up to the kick-off. The kick-off event has been scheduled for November 15th. They are already working with a number of local non-profits and businesses in the planning of the week's activities. The planning group would like suggestions from the Committee as to what questions should be asked at the event (what will best inform the group in its work on the plan). Group determined that they will focus at the next meeting on questions they want the planning group to use at the kick-off event. Hanks noted that the grant application includes a set of outcomes and deliverables from the kick off events that are to be reported on and communicated back to the Climate and Energy Action Committee to be utilized for the overall plan development process. Hanks indicated that he would be meeting with the grantees to ensure the information is collected and passed along. 8. Greenhouse Gas Inventory Project Update Hanks informed the group that four submittals to the RFP were received. They are all good. There will be a three-person review team made up of city staff members. This should be on the September 15th City Council meeting for approval. 9. Next steps/ meeting schedule The next meetings for the committee will be held on: Tuesday, September 8, 1:00—2:30 p.m. Wednesday, September 30, 5:00—6:3 0 p.m. Wednesday, October 7, 2:00— 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, October 21, 2:00— 3:30 p.m. 10. Adjournment Meeting adjourned at 7:32 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Diana Shiplet Executive Assistant