Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016/10/05 - ADMIN - Minutes - Environment & Sustainability Commission - RegularMINUTES ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION: SUSTAINABLE SLP ST. LOUIS PARK, MINNESOTA October 5, 2016 Community Room, City Hall MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Chris Anderson, Francie Abramson, Joe Barten, Terry Gips, Ryan Griffin, Julie Rappaport, Nancy Rose, Jayne Stevenson, Judy Voigt EXCUSED ABSENCE: None STAFF PRESENT: Recording Secretary (Ms. Pappas) GUESTS: Emma Struss & Yvonne Pfeifer, Xcel Energy 1. The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. 2. The minutes of the September 7, 2016 meeting were approved unanimously. 3. Chair Anderson opened the meeting and asked everyone to introduce themselves. 4. Business a. Energy Action Plan – Focus Area of Proposed Work Plan i. Presentation on the Energy Action Plan – Emma Struss presented the work plan as background for the commissioner. She noted the action plan for next year will be incorporated into the current Energy Action Plan. Emma provided an overview on the offerings of Xcel Energy, noting they work with communities to help them develop goals around energy, provide facilitation, and help determine plans for communities and residents depending on the needs of the city – in order to help them reach their goals and support this process. Xcel also provides project management, tracking goals, and expertise about programs to communities. Emma noted that the process in St. Louis Park began in November 2014, under the energy work group team, and with the help from key representatives from the community. The first workshop was held in August of 2015. This workshop discussed the community background, sustainability, baseline energy analysis, and their vision and focus areas. Julie asked where school district fits into the plan. Ryan noted the school district is included with the businesses of St. Louis Park, adding the school district is a huge energy user, and has been engaged from the beginning. Emma noted the energy focus areas are: climate action plan, partnership with youth, energy efficiency in business, and renewable energy. Also noted was that in March of 2016, iMatter did a report card on the city, and called on the St. Louis Park city council to take action. In April Environment and Sustainability -2- October 5, 2016 Commission Meeting iMatter presented a resolution to the council regarding the climate action plan, to be completed in 2017. Ryan noted this partnership with the city and iMatter is very critical and a very key partnership. He added it will leverage a model going forward for the whole action plan. Julie added that Jane and her team won an international award for their work on this. In July, the energy action team met with Xcel Energy staff members to discuss renewable energy goals. He added that recently the city decided to partner with the Great Plains Institute & Partners, LHB, and Orange Environmental, along with ongoing input from Ryan, Cindy O’Neil, and Larry Kraft. Ryan added the climate action plan is for the whole community and will extend over a much longer period, while the energy action plan will be more tactical over the next 18 months. Julie noted she recently viewed a webinar on benchmarking for green steps cities, where the city of Maplewood presented their work on this. She noted it was impressive and stated the commission should follow how they got their community involved. She added Maplewood is a similar size as St. Louis Park and they are about 16 months ahead of St. Louis Park. She added it is exciting to see what are accomplishing. Emma noted that related to energy efficient businesses in St. Louis Park, Xcel tracks the top 100 users, and provides education and outreach to these businesses. Yvonne stated that while Xcel is unable to share the names of the 100 companies due to customer privacy issues, there can be conversations as to how to use this information, through public economic information on the businesses which are the top energy users. Public financial information can be used as a proxy for energy usage. Ryan stated the intent is to engage these top businesses, and if they opt in, then the city can get the actual names of these top companies. He added the objective is to motivate these businesses to save energy and hopefully incentivize them also. The goal is to have the top 30 businesses participate. Emma noted that Xcel supports this with outreach to businesses, tools, a recognition program, and tracking measures. Additionally, Xcel provides development of outreach materials and flyers the city can use, as well as marketing tools and identifying business segments. Terry asked about residential energy conservation, and why it was not the focus. Yvonne stated there is a focus on this but the best target for energy conversation is commercial businesses. Environment and Sustainability -3- October 5, 2016 Commission Meeting Terry asked then what is done with residential markets. Yvonne stated the city can also incorporate a message on conservation with a message on renewables also. She added this could be a collective effort for the whole community, to reach the city’s goals. Ryan added the vision is 25 years, but this plan is an 18-month plan, and we will need to work on this first. Joe asked about financial incentives, and if Xcel provides them. Yvonne stated Xcel does provide rebates for energy savings, however there are no tax recommendations or legislation related to incentives. She added this was not what St. Louis Park was looking at, until the climate action plan is in place. Ryan noted this is not off the table, however the conversation and focus is on renewable energies, and if the city were willing to offer financial incentives, that might help. He also noted that educational programs are available, but it is good to think through these and other ideas. He stated the energy group will take note of incentive programs. Julie noted that in Maplewood, they were able to receive a state grant because they used international building codes, which had higher standards than state and federal building codes. Yvonne noted that additionally, subscriptions to wind source, where residents and businesses can opt into the program, are available as a first step. Ryan noted a goal for public and private entities could be to add 1500 new commercial and residential wind subscribers. Emma added other actions are to create a web presence and programs and opportunities. Also to present at study sessions, and conduct info sessions on case studies, in order to engage more. Emma added that the timelines in the work plan have changed as to align with when the city council makes approvals. She added that in December, Shannon plans to have a kick off meeting with the consultants of the climate action plan. ii. Q & A (Yvonne Pfeifer from Xcel Energy present for questions) Ryan noted that this plan helps deploy the commission’s vision and goals into more actionable plans. He noted this opportunity to join in partners with Xcel was helpful in getting things moving forward, while these are aggressive goals in the 18-month plan, they barely scratch the surface in the 25-year plan. He added we will need to work with business partners to Environment and Sustainability -4- October 5, 2016 Commission Meeting achieve these goals in 18 months, and show the commission can move directionally toward the vision. Ryan added the climate action plan is a greenhouse gas reduction plan, related to emissions, and is specific as to how to reduce emissions over the next two decades. Terry thanked the energy work group for all their great work, and called it impressive and a great accomplishment. However, he stated he is not clear on the final plan being presented to the city council. Emma stated it was already presented to the city council and is a living plan, which will have modifications over time. Terry added that the focus of the Energy Action Plan is on electricity and that should be made clearer in the title, subtitle or summary so that people are clear it doesn't address transportation, natural gas and residential energy, all important areas that will be addressed in the Climate Action Plan. He asked if Living Streets can be added to the list of the three listed Commission priorities given that the City Council had asked us to include it and it is a priority for us. He also asked about average residential energy use, and single family vs. multi-family use, stating he is curious what other differences might account for this. Additionally, he asked why energy use dropped from the year 2000 to 2014. Yvonne stated this had not been looked into. Terry also asked about water pumping, which is a large electrical use, and if there is anything in the plan that could be done with water conservation. Yvonne stated with water treatment, there is efficiency potential, and now Xcel is also providing rebates for this if the city would like to review it further. She added the city would need to determine if water pumping is part of the water treatment program also. Terry also asked about energy efficiency participation, and stated he was saddened and stunned by the shockingly low participation. He noted that residents saved on average, only .03% and commercial energy efficiency participation saved only 1.1%. He asked how the commission and the city can make a larger impact. He added the city only has 505 customers doing WindSource, and how can we increase this participation. Emma stated this is why this has become a goal for the energy group. Ryan asked how the 505 compares to other cities. Yvonne stated while the program is offered everywhere, it is not well-utilized. Julie stated this is where education and incentive programs can be used. Emma added this is what is exciting about the partnership with Xcel, we can work together for the community on issues such as this. Environment and Sustainability -5- October 5, 2016 Commission Meeting Ryan added that wind source is a first step we can promote as a city, for residents to sign up for. Chair Anderson added we need to get people talking about this now and he looks forward to more on this. Ryan thanked Xcel and asked the commissioners to think about how each of them can contribute to this effort of getting new accounts signed up on wind source, or other energy saving programs. Julie stated the commission can look to other communities that are already doing this, and can interview them, in order to not reinvent the wheel. Emma also noted the Xcel Energy “office hours” opportunity, which helps cities network with other local communities, who are engaged in the partners in energy programs. She stated they also present webinars, which pull in experts. Yvonne noted the next one offered is on hospitals and efficiency. Emma stated she will get this information to Shannon, in order to pass it on to the commissioners. Yvonne also noted the business map for energy for the commercial areas of St. Louis Park, is not included in the plan, but she will have that sent to Shannon and the commissioners. Terry asked if the plan should include anything related to the online MN Energy Challenge which any resident, city, business or congregation can participate in and calculates the money, energy and carbon savings from simple energy conservation steps people can take. It then encourages a friendly competition about who can save the most energy. Emma stated that while the Challenge is helpful, it will not drive to a specific program, adding there are some gaps, and it’s more specific for individuals only. Yvonne added the Challenge is more of a first step, but not tied to participation that can be tracked for your data and energy reduction in data. However, she added it can be a tool for education. Yvonne distributed the Xcel Energy Implementation Memorandum of Understanding for the Implementation to the commissioners. This outlines the 18-month energy plan. Yvonne and Emma then left the meeting. b. Announcements i. Climate Action Plan consultant chosen – Great Plains Institute & Partners, LHB, and Orange Environmental Ryan noted that LHB has been in existence since 1966. He stated they are architects and engineers, and are a part of local government proposal for Environment and Sustainability -6- October 5, 2016 Commission Meeting energy planning. Terry added that LHB had helped facilitate during the beginnings of the commission. Terry also noted that Michael Orange did the Minneapolis energy plan, and will also be an asset to the development of the Climate Action Plan. Ryan stated there were 5 finalist firms that were reviewed, and the city decided with input from the energy group, which consultants to go with. Julie stated there are grants available from the Center for Community- Based Research, and she will forward this information to Shannon to follow up. The deadline is November 18. ii. Doodle Poll – The commission agreed on Nov 20th as the date for the retreat from 1:30 – 4:30 p.m., with a facilitator from the city. c. Elections – Chair Anderson noted the commission will select an interim chair this evening. Ryan made a motion to nominate Francie, which was seconded by Julie. Francie accepted the nomination and, stating she would be glad to fill the chair role, and bring new perspective and leadership to help move the commission forward. Terry made a motion to nominate Ryan, which was seconded by Nancy. Terry noted that while he would like to see Francie in the leadership role, he felt Ryan has the best knowledge base and grasp of where the commission has been, and where it is going. He added he would like to see Ryan as chair, and Francie as vice chair. Ryan stated he appreciated Terry’s vote of confidence, but felt Francie has gone above and beyond, and he declined the nomination. Terry withdrew the motion. The commission voted unanimously to appoint Francie as interim chair. 5. The meeting was adjourned at 8:04 p.m.