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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-27-18 BCP Meeting Minutes PacketBOZEMAN CLIMATE PARTNERS MEETING MINUTES SEPTEMBER 27, 2018 A. CALL MEETING TO ORDER The regular meeting of the Bozeman Climate Partners Working Group was called to order at 2:00 PM on September 27, 2018 in the Madison Room of City Hall. PRESENT Heather Higinbotham, Nicola Preston, Jerrod Bley, Natalie Meyer, Jay Sinnott, Terry Cunningham, Kristen Walser, Dan Perata, Carson Taylor, Barbara Oldershaw (arrived 2:15) B. CHANGES TO THE AGENDA None. C. PUBLIC COMMENT None. D. MINUTES Approval of 7/26/18 meeting minutes were tabled until the October meeting. E. SPECIAL PRESENTATION 1. BOZEMAN PUBLIC SAFETY CENTER Commissioner Terry Cunningham presented on the Bozeman Public Safety Center (BPSC). The City has presented two valid options to the public in the past four years; voters rejected both options. The City cannot advocate for the project-- only educate. Right now the City is presenting the proposed BPSC to the public in every way they can reach people to frame the problem to the public and clarify misconceptions. For instance, this is not a bond for a jail. Bozeman is the safest large city in Montana. The average response time is six minutes. We are projected to reach 50,000 population by 2020 and if growth continues as it has been, Bozeman is projected to have 100,000 population by 2040 (in City limits, not including the county). We are working on strategic investments based on this growth. We invested $10s of millions into water and wastewater. We invested $20 million in roads and streets. We are asking voters to eliminate thoughts about the previous bond initiatives and consider the new four in one solution that addresses: Police, Fire, Municipal Courts (for misdemeanors), and Victim Services. Past initiatives have never included the Fire Department. The move will help us maintain a six minutes response time for the Fire Department. Bozeman Police Department calls have increased 16 percent since 2008. Fire Department calls have increased 59% since 2011. Currently in the courts, victims, the accused, and jurors are all in the same space. There is no secure way to bring prisoners in. There are no metal detectors and recently someone brought a gun to court. In Police evidence, the storage is over-crowded. The boiler in Fire Station #1 is running on borrowed time and is located in a basement prone to flooding. An earthquake will take down Fire Station #1 and the Law and Justice Center. The Courts are in the basement and will need to dig them out. Meanwhile we are recruiting nationally for police officers into marginal spaces. Files are not secure, they obstruct access to the fire escape, and the files will burn if there is a fire. The proposed BPSC solution is located on the corner of N. Rouse Avenue and Oak to house Police, Fire, Courts, and Victim Services. It will allow police to bring prisoners in securely, there is room for expansion, and there is lots of shared space. Co-locating the Fire Department and Police Department in one place puts our two primary public safety officials in one space. They will share training rooms and be more efficient working in one facility. Police and Fire Departments have significant overlap in jurisdiction and go to the same calls. There is actually less overlap with the County Sheriff. We own the property and can sell Fire Station #1 on Main and Rouse to offset the cost (and reduce the bond amount). The cost is $36.9 million, or $101.78/year for the average home owner. The amount will never go up per household as new households come on line. Bozeman residents will be retiring over $10m in bonds over the next five years, including city, county, and school district bonds. Over the next 10 years, approximately $30 million in bonds will be retired. The ask is on par with other asks, such as open space and the high school. The bond is 20 years. How does this affect the County? They won’t compete with the bond and were gracious enough to stand-by. We will still collaborate with the County on critical issues (streets, clerks, public safety, and other areas). The city moving out of the Law and Justice building solves their space issues. Sustainability and resiliency attributes of the proposed PSC: • The facility as designed is approximately 82,000 s.f. • Over a 75 year period, the building maintenance costs could total around $8 million. • If designed correctly, a high performance building can be built for roughly the same price as a conventional building. • The location provides proximity to other city services, bike, transit, and overall connectivity resulting in significant transportation efficiencies. • We will not have a full design until the bond is passed by voters. All of the following information is based on the 2014 design: o We are incorporating drought tolerant landscaping, Water Sense fixtures, building energy modeling, and a commissioning agent. o We are assessing solar PV covered parking, rooftop solar, solar-ready design, and transpired solar collectors. o The EUI estimate for the 2014 design was 49 kBTU/SF and additional energy modeling was planned. The average EUI for a similar conventional public safety building is 92 kBTU/SF. o To achieve net zero, the design will need to aim for ~30 kBTU/SF. o At 49 kBTU/SF, the operating costs were estimated at ~$78k/yr instead of $100k/yr. • At a minimum, the new building will include an energy target, a commissioning agent, and energy modeling to inform design. • The Bozeman Public Safety Center will be built with resiliency in mind. It will be built to Essential Building Standards and will be able to withstand and continue to operate after an earthquake. It can operate fully up to 48 hours without electricity or offsite fuel. What is the cost of NOT building a new Public Safety Center as proposed? • We would have to purchase land or be charged for land at the old Law & Justice location. • Safety is not adequate for victim services. • Security at the current L&J is not adequate. • It will be more expensive if we fix things piecemeal. • Commissioner Cunningham agreed it would be useful to outline how much more expensive it will be if we don't approve this ballot measure. The estimated cost of remodeling the existing Law and Justice Center is $91 million. • When working with the County, we have to pass two bonds, which has a low likelihood of being successful. City residents view it as double taxation. C. Taylor shared that is the chair of the Bozeman Citizens for the Bozeman Public Safety Center. He is saddened the city can’t work with the county, but he is a pragmatist. It will take too long to work it out with the County. They only see their constituents outside of the city. The Fire Station will move to this property regardless. Collaboration with the Fire Department is just as important as that with the County. If we keep ignoring cops and keep them in inferior space, we will end up with cops we don’t want. We need to build diversity in our police force and the only way to do that is to be more welcoming to police. We need to build something that we are proud of from a sustainability standpoint. D. Perata asked if building up is an option for future expansion to set a good example of density. He suggested that the urgency argument is more persuasive and the public needs to understand the cost of not acting. It is too easy to say no to taxes and continue living your life. Meyer noted that the National Zero Code through Architecture 2030 is based on ASHRAE 90.1.2016, which is the code proposed for the Bozeman Public Safety Center, assuming the state adopts the new energy code. F. OLD BUSINESS 1. CLIMATE VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT & RESILIENCY STRATEGY N. Meyer provided an update on resiliency work and the City's vulnerability assessment. Our June kickoff had 30 to 40 participants. Content included data on local climate impacts, a resiliency visioning exercise, National Institute of Standards and Technology Community Resiliency tables where we defined clusters/buildings as a community system, and established some performance goals based on anticipated hazards. H. Higinbotham and N. Meyer are interviewing city departments to determine current adaptive capacity. These interviews will also provide seed ideas for the City's resiliency strategy. The next phase is to talk to City leadership and key community groups about perceived risks and ideas on resiliency strategies. We are integrating this work with other departmental efforts, such as the Community Risk Assessment for the Fire Department and the Gallatin County Hazard Mitigation Plan. The next workshop will occur in mid-November and bring more people and outside organizations to the conversation. The timeline for completion is the end of this calendar year. We are identifying synergies between climate mitigation and resiliency and decreasing emissions. N. Meyer provided a summary of the Montana Resiliency Summit with the Department of Commerce (attached). We will use that information as we talk about prioritization of City stressors and shocks. Bozeman was the only community that named climate change specifically--other communities said drought, extreme weather, etc. but not specifically climate change. A Montana Department of Commerce survey on resiliency will be open until September 30. 2. Solar Energy Innovation Network Grant N. Meyer provided an update. During our last scheduled meeting, a group of organizations, including the City of Bozeman, City of Missoula, the Montana Renewable Energy Association, the National Renewable Energy Lab, the Montana Energy Office, and Yellowstone Teton Clean Cities met with NorthWestern Energy officials to discuss project goals, capabilities, and areas of potential collaboration, especially around EV rate design. The information was well received and there appeared to be strong interest on behalf of NorthWestern Energy leadership. A significant deliverable from the project was modeling work completed by the National Renewable Energy Lab for electrification of our bus/transit system, along with a variety of operational tips and lessons learned from other communities. The assessment includes recommendations around charging strategy, estimates of operation and maintenance costs, and pros and cons of electric transit. Meyer shared highlights from this report. Streamline and Skyline applied for a DOT Low-No grant, but was not successful. The VW Settlement Fund for transit will be available in two months. 3. ENERGY EFFICIENCY HANDOUTS H. Higinbotham passed around drafts of the detailed energy efficiency handouts for feedback and comment. She also shared the final copy of the Top 10 Home Energy & Efficiency Hacks. G. NEXT MEETING – OCTOBER 25, 2018 C. Taylor challenged the group to ride the Streamline Bus sometime within the next month and asked to put the topic on the agenda next month. B. Oldershaw announced a Montana Renewable Energy Association Public Service Commission presentation and panel on Tues. Oct. 2 at 5:30pm at MSU. She also announced the new Hard Hat Happy Hour starting Thurs. Oct. 4 at 5pm at Love-Schack Architects. It will be like Green Drinks, but focused on buildings. K. Walser announced a Faith, Science, and Climate Action lecture with Sally Bingham on Fri. Oct. 12 at 7:15 at the Emerson Center. H. ADJOURNMENT – 3:30 PM by Natalie Meyer. The next regular meeting will be at 2:00 PM on October 25, 2018. Minutes submitted by: Natalie Meyer Attendees: Gary Gannon, Chris Naumann, Leslie Feigel, Whitney Lonsdale, Cindy Christin, Jessica Oehmcke, Rebecca Connors, Mitch Lassa, Kat Patterson, Jackie Haines, Kelli Street, Janay Johnson, Laura Prindiville, Megan Cummings, Julia Nave, Heather Higinbotham, Betty Kalakay, Torie Haraldson, Meghan Salsbury, Jay Sinnott, Kristen Walser, Nancy Dodd, Kimiko Barrett, Sylvia Drain, Jessica Wilkerson, Sara Savage Ice Breaker Activities: Attendees’ Words to Describe a Montanan: Resilient, Resourceful, Community-Oriented, Welcoming, Real, Gritty, Collaborative, Friendly, Passionate, Land-Based, Special, Determined, Strong-Willed, Tough, Open, Generous, Strong, Independent, Philanthropic, Rugged, Beautiful, Diverse, Grand, Wild, Hardy, Suspicious, Self-Reliant Attendees’ Descriptors of a Resilient Community: Affordable and Energy Efficient housing; People Cooperating; Empathetic; Easy Access to Resources; Living Wages; Self-sufficient; Pre-planning; Involved; Diverse Economies; Coordinated Communication; Evolving Systems; Financial Stability; Innovative and Practical; Holistic Look; Know about local hazards and high-risk areas General Discussion by Attendees: • The primary stressor indicated by the attendees is the rapid growth and population surge in the Bozeman area. This puts a strain on infrastructure, local services, water usage, and neighboring communities. • High housing costs and a housing shortage are consequences of this rapid growth. Families and individuals are having a difficult time finding affordable places to rent and buy. • Extreme weather, drought and climate change were the highest-ranking shocks. These events are likely to continue and worsen in the future. Local Resilience Examples Provided by Attendees: 1. Sustainability Position has been created with the Bozeman Sustainability Office. Working on updating the Climate Action Plan. 2. Growth Policy Updates- trying to collaborate with County 3. Tax on Tourists for Infrastructure: Big Sky and Gardiner convert tourist tax to local option tax 4. Bozeman COAD (Community Organizations Active in Disasters): Representatives from organizations in county and in neighboring park and carbon; have had 3 meetings so far. Planning on continuing meeting and doing some exercises together in preparation for major disasters 5. Big Brothers Big Sisters: Addresses adverse childhood experiences through strong relationships with caring adults 6. HAVEN: provides services and advocacy for domestic violence survivors 7. LEPC- Local Emergency Planning Committee (Park County DES): Has diverse representation, effort to involve all sectors of the community and communicate and plan 8. Headwaters Economics: Wildland urban interface studies and other research into high risk areas 9. Greater Gallatin United Way- Resilience Project learning events 10. Project LAUNCH (Linking Actions in Unmet Needs in Children’s Health): Supporting Mental health in youth, expand on ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) 11. Bozeman School District: Non-primary English speakers in the community and school system. 12. SciGaia: H20 Tools, introduced in different organizations; urban use ion water Shocks and Stressors Activity Area Stressors Identified by Attendees: Participants were asked to list the stressors in their community, and then vote to prioritize the most relevant stressors identified. Other Stressors Identified by Attendees: Stressors: Media Affordable Childcare Environmental Degradation Endangered Species Low Wages Domestic Violence Transient Populations Air Quality Transportation Infrastructure Climate Migrants Recycling Access Non-English Language Access Non-Diverse Economy Tourism Poverty Lack of Funding Rural Access Geography Lack of Workforce Retention 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 Bozeman Area Stressors Area Shocks Identified by Attendees: Participants were asked to list the shocks in their community, and then vote to prioritize the most relevant shocks identified. Other Shocks Identified by Attendees: Shocks: Active Shooter Haz Mat Exposure Loss of Funding Union Strike Cyber Attacks Service Outage Early Spring Run-off Airport Loss of Service 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 Extreme Weather Wildfires Drought Infrastructure Failure Mass Housing Loss Earthquake Flooding Public Health Outbreak Bozeman Area Shocks Group Worksheet Activity: Identifying Community Needs The following section outlines attendees’ responses to a 3-question worksheet provided during the summit. We asked attendees to self-select a sector they would like to represent and answer the questions below: 1.) Of the shocks and stressors identified in the last activity, which are most relevant in your sector? What happens when these shocks and stresses combine in your sector? (Who is most impacted? How does this ripple out to the larger community?) 2.) How are local community leaders currently working to address these shocks and stressors in your sector? Please note any specific resources or services to address these issues. 3.) Considering the currently available support/services/ resources listed above, identify any gaps or areas for improvement. Watersheds, Natural Resources and Land Use Sector Shocks/stressors: Shocks: Wildfires, flooding, drought Stressors: Rapid growth, pressure on the wildland urban interface, environmental degradation and habitat loss, loss of natural wetlands and natural ecosystems, climate change Results: Population growth is straining the sustainable water supply; Surface water affects wildlife; Individual wells are stressing the water supply Ongoing Efforts: 1. Drought planning 2. Water conservation efforts by the city 3. Gallatin Valley Land Trust- developing buffers, Story Mill community park 4. Stream restoration- Mandeville and Bogert Park 5. Hazard mapping- floodplains and planning for river bed shifting 6. MSU Extension and the MT Climate Assessment Community Needs: 1. Connecting scientific research with practice- translating the knowledge Comments & Questions: None Infrastructure Sector Shocks/stressors: Shocks: Infrastructure failure Stressors: Rapid growth, Drought Results: Rapid growth requires new infrastructure, which may take away from funding for infrastructure maintenance Ongoing Efforts: 1. Regional transportation planning 2. Triangle Planning Committee (Belgrade, Bozeman, Gallatin County)- growth and land use planning 3. Bozeman Climate Action Plan update Community Needs: 1. Despite efforts to coordinate with neighboring communities and regions, long range planning could still be improved Comments & Questions: None Housing Sector Shocks/stressors: Shocks- Mass housing loss Stressors- Lack of [affordable] housing, Rapid growth, Poverty, Lack of infrastructure, Low wages Ongoing Efforts: 2. Efforts to incentivize affordable housing units to developers (Ordinance #1922) 3. Community Survey- Bozeman.net affordable housing survey (survey has closed at time of writing notes) 4. New position created for Bozeman with focus on affordable housing management 5. Mandatory ordinance- 2 million in funding to build Community Needs: 1. Incentives don’t seem to be enough 2. NIMBY attitude 3. Lack of program funding Comments & Questions: Health and Social Sector Shocks/stressors: Stressors- Poverty, Rapid growth, Childcare, Mental health needs Shocks- Extreme heat, flooding, earthquake, loss of funding, infrastructure failure Results: Vulnerable populations are most impacted; rely on family members; puts strain on resources Ongoing Efforts: 1. Growth policy and other planning efforts 2. Local media highlighting studies and stories 3. Hazard mitigation by county and MSU Community Needs: 1. Potential for MSU to do more 2. More cohesive response 3. Lack of political support for some resources 4. Huge income disparity in the area- lack of homeless shelter, no sidewalks for people to get to warming center 5. Lack of resources for families and businesses to develop personal preparedness plans 6. Strengthen connections within the community and neighborhoods Comments and Questions: Economy Sector Shocks/stressors: Shocks- Union strikes, Infrastructure failure, Cyber attack, Extreme weather, Public health outbreak Stressors- High cost of living, Low wages, Limited housing stock, climate change, Transportation Ongoing Efforts: 1. Local economic developers have industry working groups 2. Gallatin College- career pathways 3. Affordable housing projects 4. Healthcare improvements- annual feedback 5. Climate and Resilience Planning 6. Coordination with city and county emergency services Community Needs: 1. Affordable housing 2. Livable wages 3. Coordination for growth planning Comments and Questions: Community Sector Shocks/stressors: all are relevant Stressors- Affordable housing Shocks- Results: Where would people go if shock occurred? Ongoing Efforts: 1. Looking at sustainable building materials- water barrels, photovoltaic cells, etc. 2. Organizations develop emergency response and communication plans 3. Training for emergencies is occurring- need to share who is trained Community Needs: 1. Better understanding of community and neighborhood resources- which homes generate their own electricity? 2. Develop a community survey to inform what the future should look like- tie to community planning Comments and Questions: • Mapping community resources could be an option to increase neighborhood resilience. • Next Door is a service that many neighborhoods use • Map you Neighborhood is another option for mapping resources Comment Card - none