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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-07-16 BCP Meeting MinutesBOZEMAN CLIMATE PARTNERS MEETING MINUTES JANUARY 7, 2016 1) CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of the Bozeman Climate Partners Working Group was called to order at 3:30 PM on January 7, 2016 in the Madison Room, City Hall by Natalie Meyer. PRESENT Natalie Meyer, Heather Higinbotham, Kristin Walser (until 3:58 PM), Kathy Powell, Susan Bilo, Joan Montagne, Robin Crough, Jerrod Bley, Mayor Carson Taylor (arrived at 4:40 PM) 2) CHANGES TO THE AGENDA N. Meyer – would like to add a few items at the end of the meeting if time remains. 3) PUBLIC COMMENT No public comment. 4) MINUTES K. Powell moves to approve minutes from 10/22/2015. S. Bilo seconds. Minutes from 10/22/2015 are approved. K. Powell requests the following changes to the minutes from 12/10/2015. • Page 3, UDC Solar, 3rd sentence: change “additional devices not allowed” to “minimize the visual impacts of skylights and other devices such as solar panels on rooflines, and that you should avoid these things on the front roof planes,” as specified by the guidelines. • Page 4, last sentence: clarify that the draft report proposes phasing out the NCOD into historic and design districts (not saying that it will). K. Powell moves to approve the minutes from 12/10/2015 pending the aforementioned changes. J. Montagne seconds. Minutes from 12/10/2015 are approved pending changes. 5) SPECIAL PRESENTATION: PERFORMANCE BASED DESIGN BUILD – SUSAN BILO View email from S. Bilo for further detail. Basic 3 options: 1. Design – Bid – Build: Very linear, not significant collaboration until the very end of the project if issues arise. Not the best process for innovation or creativity. 2. Construction Manager at Risk: Construction Manager / General Contractor (CM/GC) is currently the model used for the Joint Law & Justice Center. The model is a bit better, as the owner is collaborating up front. Construction Manager can help make suggestions. The model has a fixed cost, but it allows for more sustainability elements to be brought into the project. There are still separate contracts, and the design is still the main responsibility of the architect. 3. Design – Build: This model allows for full collaboration between the designer and constructor, as there is only one contract. First, holistic projects make it easier to reduce costs. Second, this level of collaboration is necessary to help make sustainable options happen. S. Bilo mentions the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado as a primary resource. H. Higinbotham asks how the City would implement this method? S. Bilo states she is not clear if the state mandates what the alternate project delivery process would be. It would be helpful to find out who the main contacts in the state office are. As to the advantages of the Design – Build model, S. Bilo states that it is the most appropriate project delivery method for high performance buildings, as it requires that the owner be more involved from up front. It also allows for cost savings, as it is efficient and accurate since different groups work as a team, which is a more effective work method. The model is also preferable from a risk management standpoint, as the designers/builders are responsible for both diagnosing and fixing any problems as they arise, not the owner, which helps eliminate risks from the beginning. Lastly, the model encourages innovation and commercialization as teams are free to innovate in order to meet performance metrics. K. Powell asks if there are companies with the designer and builder together like this. If so, are there many? And what does the pool look like? S. Bilo responds that they are definitely out there, and increasingly more. There are a number of companies in Denver, one of which has an office in Billings. N. Meyer adds that a number of the companies probably exist, but how common are they, and how refined are their processes? The biggest obstacle is their availability in Montana. J. Bley asks what the biggest barriers to shifting to this process would be? S. Bilo speculates that anything new is difficult, and the construction industry is resistant to change to begin with. Addressing risk is different in each methodology, but with the Design – Build model, risk would be reduced since there is only on entity to work with, which has more control over any needed change. J. Montagne mentions that she heard the new Oracle building will be cutting edge. She asks is there seems to be interest from the private sector this sort of building? S. Bilo notes that it might be worth inviting companies building new facilities in Bozeman to come to some sort of educational event to hear more about this process. N. Meyer notes that the first step is to consult with the state energy office to see where they stand on the issue. They oversee procurement methods to protect state and government consumers, because the contracts are so complex. She believes it is Andrea (?) that oversees state contracts. S. Bilo can go ahead and contact her to see what her opinion is. If it doesn’t seem like a huge legislative maneuver, N. Meyer would be in favor of a workshop with certain community members about the information. If it requires more with the legislature, then no. N. Meyer encourages S. Bilo to report back from Andrea at the next meeting of the BCP. S. Bilo asks N. Meyer why the City/County went with the GC/CM option instead of the Design – Build method? N. Meyer will ask Chuck Winn. 6) NON-ACTION ITEMS A) NWE SOLAR PROJECT & COMMUNITY SUSTAINABLE ENERGY WORKING GROUP N. Meyer speaks to the upcoming project at the City of Bozeman Water Reclamation Facility (WRF). The Mayor gave a preliminary presentation as an FYI discussion, letting NWE know that the City would be coming with a license agreement with NWE that would propose allowing them to build their facility on the 2.5 acres available at the WRF. The presentation garnered positive feedback from the press. There were some questions as to whether the City will have access to solar usage data, which they will. The information will help the City moving forward on the solar project, as well as understand the rate/payback discussion better. The only potential pushback that N. Meyer foresees is that the City is proposing to lease the land without financial compensation for five years. After that, the City may renegotiate the terms with NWE. N. Meyer also clarified that the solar energy is fed into the grid in general, not specifically to the WRF, although the facility will benefit from the energy supply due to its proximity. She also clarified that the City is getting no financial payment for the land lease at this time, just solar data. Right now the City is not using the 2.5 acres, so this is solely a research project at this point in time. J. Montagne requests that the City Commission make it transparent that the City is not doing the project for any financial/resource benefit. She wanted to note this as she feels there is a fair amount of suspicion regarding solar in Montana. N. Meyer adds that NWE will be looking for residential (20) and commercial (15-20) volunteers to participate in the upcoming smart metering pilot, to look at usage. She will play a significant role in getting these volunteers, which she acknowledges may need some incentive. The terms remain to be negotiated, but they are focusing on the lease agreement for now. She is looking to adding this to the City Commission agenda on Monday, February 8th. N. Meyer speaks of the Community Sustainable Energy Working Group, involving stakeholders from around the state (facilitated by SEPA). Representatives are MCC, MREA, Renewable Northwest, NPRC, MDEQ, the Public Service Commission, City and County sustainability entities, and a large number of NWE representatives. NWE is very invested in the workshops. MCC advocates for equity and low-income households. The guiding principles of the group is to be reformative, measurable, sustainable, and equitable. At the last meeting they discussed smart invertors, community solar, and utility-owned rooftop solar. The group will need to come up with recommendations on how to spend the $2 Million remaining in the pilot project budget. J. Montagne asks if the City has numbers on how many solar projects there are in the city? S. Bilo states that MREA has ballpark figures on the website. B) MSU WX & EXTENSION BUILDING ENERGY EFFICIENCY WORKSHOP SCHEDULE N. Meyer discusses how the idea of the workshop series is to help inform people of the energy efficiency programs available to them. H. Higinbotham notes there will be workshops in the spring and fall. The five for the spring are as follows: 1. Recycling – Rob Pudner (Gallatin County), Dave Leveret (Four Corners Recycling) will participate. There will be a staged dumpster dive to help identify recyclable materials. K. Powell mentions that it would be helpful to include more context on why the plastic policy changes are happening, as well as the timeline, and how it affects markets. 2. Business Energy Efficiency – Will include a speaker from HabitatX. 3. Energy Efficiency in the Rental Market (which will also likely happen in the fall as well) – In general, they want to garner more interest in the rental market. K. Powell asks if NWE still hands out kits for renters. Discussion involved NWE energy audits, rental safety with the Bozeman Fire Department (who just hired a Fire Marshal). N. Meyer will follow-up with more details about the rental safety program at a future meeting. 4. Water Conservation – City of Bozeman Water Conservation Specialist Lain Leoniak will present. 5. Solar – Current technology, permitting, and financing. H. Higinbotham discusses how this will be marketing as a series, not just individual workshops. Hopefully they will take place at the Element, as they are interested in partnering. This may provide an opportunity for tours of the hotel. S. Bilo requests that composting also be worked into the workshops. N. Meyer states that they will make sure to have a Solid Waste representative available. S. Bilo also requests to bring in Economic Development Director Brit Fontenot, to see if there are businesses interested in any of the recycled by-products. C) MT CODE COLLABORATIVE STRETCH CODE WORKSHOP H. Higinbotham is planning an in-person meeting to discuss the stretch code, probably in Bozeman, but possibly in Helena. Planners, building department officials, code officials, and builders will come to the table to discuss what an incentive would be for builders to build beyond the base code, and what a city could offer as an incentive. Builders are likely to be under the impression it will be cash, which it will not be. The working session will be the last week of January, to determine what works from the policy side for municipalities across the state, as well as what builders are willing to do. H. Higinbotham will probably do a pre-meeting survey to get ideas ahead of time. The invite will be sent to Tim McGough, Wendy Thomas, and Bob Risk to see if they can also participate. N. Meyer reiterates that the focus is on builders and city officials, but it would also be appropriate to invite the Climate Action Partners. H. Higinbotham adds the intention is to get those impacted by it as well as those who would need to implement, as well as those targeted. K. Powell inquired about the status of the videos. H. Higinbotham states that they start filming next week. They are doing the Co-op, Altitude Gallery, and Old Main Gallery, probably done by the end of the month. The Loft Spa will be done in February. West Paw Design is still working on their project. The sixth business is TBD. The focus will be on those with very compelling and replicable stories. S. Bilo asks if it is possible to show these videos at the movie theater before films. The group was unsure, but H. Higinbotham will look into it. C. Taylor adds that perhaps they can put the logo on a local film series, and talk them into a playing a video as well, particular if one is funny. N. Meyer asks if the plan is to wait for a video before H. Higinbotham presents to the City Commission? H. Higinbotham confirms, but will plan accordingly if timelines change. 7) UPCOMING EVENTS A) MREA QUARTERLY BOARD MEETING, BPL, JAN. 12, 2:15 – 5:00 PM N. Meyer wanted to make sure CAP was aware of this event. There will be updates on universal system benefit changes, as well as a net metering discussion. N. Meyer will be there to talk about the Bozeman solar project. B) ENERGY TELECOMMUNICATION INTERIM COMMITTEE MEETING, CAPITOL ROOM 172, JAN. 14-15 N. Meyer confirms that there will be two meetings. On the 14th, discussion will include legal outlooks, discussion with the US Department of Energy regarding using coal while still meeting EPA requirements, renewables, and energy efficiency. There will also be a Clean Power Plan Advisory Council update. The meeting on the 15th’s discussion will involve net metering and the fate of Colstrip, and how it relates to Washington legislative action. N. Meyer won’t be able to attend on the 15th, but will hopefully have a replacement. ADDED ITEM: WORDS FROM MAYOR TAYLOR C. Taylor states his interest in climate action, and he is at a moment in time when he could put this working group on his agenda. He believes that to be successful with sustainability, you have to make some of it a hobby, although that can then drive technology. He has solar panels at his home, drives an electric car, and uses solar water. He believes we’re moving close to a tipping point internationally, so to the extent that the citizens of Bozeman can make a difference, he is thankful. He asks the group to keep doing this together over the next couple years. 8) MEETING SCHEDULE N. Meyer confirms the next meeting on Thursday, January 28th, 2-3:30 PM in order to get back on the regular schedule. In February, Lain Leoniak, the City’s Water Conservation Specialist, will join to talk about the Water Conservation Program. There will also be discussion on strategic goals at an upcoming meeting. 9) ADJOURNMENT Meeting was adjourned at 5:00 PM by N. Meyer. The next meeting will be Thursday, January 28th from 2-3:30 PM, in the Madison Room of City Hall at 121 N. Rouse Ave. Minutes submitted by: Robin Crough