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Home My WebLink About03-24-16 BCP Meeting MinutesBOZEMAN CLIMATE PARTNERS MEETING MINUTES MARCH 24, 2016 1) CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of the Bozeman Climate Partners Working Group was called to order at 2:03 PM on March 24, 2016 in the Gallatin Room, City Hall by Natalie Meyer. PRESENT Natalie Meyer, Heather Higinbotham, Robin Crough, Jay Sinnott, Kristin Walser, Joan Montagne, Kathy Powell, Leigh Sturgess (leighpender@gmail.com) 2) CHANGES TO THE AGENDA N. Meyer informed that the order of action items will be altered. K. Walser let the group know of the film “The Merchants of Doubt” on April 12th at the Procrastinator Theatre at 5:30 PM. The Climate Partners could have a table if they wanted. K. Powell also noted the County’s food waste documentary will have a couple showings coming up as well. 3) PUBLIC COMMENT N. Meyer opened public comment. There was no public comment. N. Meyer closed public comment. 4) MINUTES N. Meyer asked if there were any changes to the minutes from February 25, 2016. K. Powell requested the NorthWestern Energy acronym be corrected on page 2, the last sentence of the first paragraph. There was also a request to change the acronym CAP to BCP (for Bozeman Climate Partners) on the following page. K. Powell moved to approve minutes from February 25, 2016 pending changes. K. Walser seconded the motion. The minutes from February 25, 2016 were approved. 5) NON‐ACTION ITEMS D) BOZEMAN CLEAN UP DAY, APRIL 23RD H. Higinbotham provided an update on the event, which this year will be at the Bozeman Public Library instead of Bogert Park. Participants will be able to pick up materials for collecting trash, specifically a cleanup kit, and coffee and breakfast will be provided, with a mayoral kickoff starting at 8 AM. This will be the launch of Clean Up Bozeman. Participants can sign up online at www.bozeman.net/cleanupday. If members of the group want to help out logistically on the day, they can contact Neighborhood Coordinator Jessica Johnson. K. Powell mentioned that she met with the sororities in the University Neighbors Association (UNA) and spoke with them about participating. She asked if you could get kits early. N. Meyer said there would likely be an opportunity, but talk to Jessica Johnson if you need them. N. Meyer also mentioned that they are creating a City group to reach out and organize additional groups to participate, as this is important from a community standpoint. A) NORTHWESTERN ENERGY SOLAR PROJECT N. Meyer provided a summary and update on the project, which is progressing very well. Last June, NorthWestern Energy and the City co‐hosted a community workshop on renewable energy. President Bob Rowe and then‐Mayor Jeff Krauss announced that NorthWestern Energy would invest $1 million in a renewable energy project in Bozeman. Since then, the City has been working with them and Montana State University, identified the Water Reclamation Facility as the project site, and determined the solar technology as well as the research element involving smart meters for a select group of commercial, industrial, and residential users. For a period of five years they will gather data from the generation of that grid and the end users’ consumption. The bid process just closed and they have done interviews. They are almost ready to announce the successful candidate. They discussed making the announcement at the next sustainability workshop, which happens to be solar‐themed. The grid will be 385 kilowatts instead of 300 as initially described. It will also be all‐American panels, taking up no more than 2.5 acres. At this morning’s meeting, the state‐wide working group discussed the recommended direction for NorthWestern Energy’s remaining investment. The group has already had five meetings, and there will be one more. The next meeting will entail the specific recommendations. Today’s discussion included Volt/VAR optimization. N. Meyer discussed possibly getting a presentation on this topic to the Bozeman Climate Partners in the future. There will be further discussion on the specifics of Volt/VAR and NorthWestern Energy’s experience with it. B) ENERGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS INTERIM COMMITTEE UPDATE N. Meyer informed the group that she listened to the event, and one of the big focus areas is net metering and how to advance that area. Local Representative Chris Pope was involved and invested in the conversation. Towards the end of the day, Ben Brouwer and Pat Cocoran with NorthWestern Energy stated that they have started meetings to discuss possible proposed legislation during the 2017 legislative session. N. Meyer believed this to be a positive development overall. C) MSU WX & EXTENSION BUILDING ENERGY EFFICIENCY WORKSHOPS H. Higinbotham informed of the group that the next sustainability workshop in the series will be on April 14th from 5:30 – 7:00 PM at Beall Park. This workshop will be specifically on the state of solar in Montana. An MREA representative will be attendance to discussion legislation and new technologies. The group will also talk about Bozeman’s solar project and announce the selected sub‐contractors. The last workshop had eleven participants, but they were very engaged. H. Higinbotham is hopeful for a really good turnout at the solar workshop. June from NorthWestern Energy will also be in attendance to speak briefly about the USB Grant Program and how they are directing funding, but mainly to answer questions. 6) ACTION ITEMS A) FISCAL YEAR 2017 CITY SUSTAINABILITY PRIORITIES N. Meyer noted that at the last meeting, the group was able to rank the goals for FY17. Further discussion involved adding five more items. See attached work plan. The group discussed all individual items in detail. H. Higinbotham showed the Bozeman Co‐op Bozeman Energy Project case study video. H. Higinbotham leaves at 2:59 PM. Specific discussion focused on the role of the group in participating in other boards, or in the multiple plan updates the City is involved in. N. Meyer asked if the group would be willing to vote on adding the additional five items. K. Walser moved to approve the five new priorities for FY17. J. Sinnott seconded. The motion passed. 7) MEETING SCHEDULE A) THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 2‐3:30 PM The next meeting for Thursday, April 28th from 2‐3:30 PM was confirmed. B) FURTHER DISCUSSION N. Meyer met with a visiting engineer from Salt Lake City that was high involved with a net zero effort in the city. The general lesson from the work was that net zero isn’t easy, but they still see the value. All new Salt Lake City facilities are being built to net zero standards. N. Meyer gave a very brief update on the City’s Stiff Building remodel. The City is adding insulation to the exterior walls. 9) ADJOURNMENT Meeting was adjourned at 3:33 PM by N. Meyer. Minutes submitted by: Robin Crough