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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-05-19 BCP Meeting MinutesBOZEMAN CLIMATE PARTNERS MEETING MINUTES APRIL 04, 2019 A. CALL MEETING TO ORDER The regular meeting of the Bozeman Climate Partners Working Group was called to order at 2:00 PM on April 04, 2019 in the Madison Room of City Hall. PRESENT Terry Cunningham, Jon Henderson, Heather Higinbotham-Davies, Kathy Powell, Joan Montagne, Kristen Walser, Paul Gannon, Melinda Petter, Daniell Vitoff, Nicola Preston, Patty Howard, Jed Wolfstrom, Natalie Meyer B. CHANGES TO THE AGENDA None. C. PUBLIC COMMENT 1) Dan Perata commented that the City of Missoula just passed a 100% Clean Energy Resolution and would like to see Bozeman lead on this issue, too. He also shared that SB 331 is a bill in the Legislature that would allow NorthWestern Energy to purchase additional shares of Colstrip without Public Service Commission oversight. He would like to see Bozeman and the entire community fight this bill. D. MINUTES March 28, 2019 minutes approved. E. SPECIAL PRESENTATION 1. CLIMATE LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE: HOW TO MAKE A CLIMATE COMMITMENT WHEN YOU CAN’T SAY “CLIMATE CHANGE” (DANIELLE VITOFF) Danielle Vitoff attended the Climate Leadership Conference in Baltimore and shared the latest national perspective and big trends on climate action planning. In the last quarter, corporations have led on climate planning. Setting an emissions target is not a discussion point, rather the recent evidence from the IPCC reports has set a new standard for what is needed. A 2˚C pathway or the 1.5˚C degree pathway are the primary considerations. Most are considering carbon neutrality by 2050 to be necessary and the debate is around how quickly we reach interim goals in 2030 or 2040. A 4.4% annual reduction is what is needed to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. Nobody knows how to get there. Most can get to 80% from a technology perspective, but less from an economic perspective. Climate Leadership Awards were given to Pepsico, MARS, and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, which reduced greenhouse gas emissions 40% from 1990 while keeping utility rates competitive. The discussion is that you need to be on a 2˚C pathway, but what is the implementation strategy? Over the last six months, Citibank and Bank of America started looking at how they are investing their money. They signed contracts with 26 other banks to audit their investments for climate risk. Pushing towards implementation, supply chains and green product choices are a focus area, as well as the Standard of a Science Based Target Initiative. Corporations must set targets based on scopes 1 & 2 emissions, which includes emissions from electricity. Scope 3 emissions includes the supply chain and there is recognition that we need to set aggressive targets. Currently, 17% of fortune 500 companies have Scope 3 targets and 90% will have targets by 2020. These corporations are sending invitations along the supply chain to set targets and will be asking for progress reports.. This will effect cities and help provide methodologies for reaching targets. This has been discussed for years, but a tremendous transition has taken place over last 6-12 months. The connection between social equity and climate is center stage. Low-income communities may be the lowest emitters and most affected by climate change. The lack of federal leadership may be resulting in corporations leading innovation. K. Powell asked if there is any sense of how much might be “just marketing”. D. Vitoff said that when companies start meeting targets, it is more than marketing. The group asked if there was discussion of the Green New Deal and the conference. D. Vitoff said that everyone on stage had a strong climate record, but none were supportive of the Green New Deal because it wraps too many other things into the framework. If it is perceived as a liberal platform, it could take the conversations backwards. Meanwhile, AT&T is analyzing the climate risk for every new building. From 2016 to last year, AT&T spent $870 million on natural disasters related to climate change. There is a real need to focus on climate for businesses to continue operating in this world. K. Walser shared that support is growing for the Energy Innovation & Carbon Dividend Act (EICD). She is seeing a complete shift. Gianforte now says that industrial sources are causing climate change. EICD has 27 co-sponsors. Congressman Paul Tonko (NY) is preparing a framework for climate legislation. D. Vitoff said there is some talk around carbon pricing for companies. Oil and gas companies are asking for carbon pricing allowing them to re- evaluate their portfolios. N. Preston offered that over the next 5-10 years there is expected to be a great transfer of wealth from Baby Boomers to Millennials by way of inheritance. Millennials are generally more concerned about climate change and clean energy is a topic that receives the most bipartisan report. N. Meyer asked about how to frame emissions targets. D. Vitoff suggested setting bite size chunks that get to the emissions target, such as goals related to transportation and energy. The focus of the discussion should be more about the benefits of the opportunities. Taking discussion from risk and adaptation, don’t look at it as a limitation or a means of restricting choices. It’s really just a transition and about building system wide solutions and how to make living and working better. Commissioner Cunningham supports the notion of promoting community health, efficient ways of doing business, and elimination of waste. D. Vitoff suggested that the relationship with NorthWestern Energy is important, but we don’t need to worry too much about electricity sector because the technological solution is pretty much there. Where we move as a city and how we move as a city is most important. We can’t simply invest money in the transportation and waste sectors to solve the problem. These are the sectors that will get us to carbon neutral by 2050. In terms of secondary effects of climate change, D. Vitoff raised that Bozeman may be beneficiary of climate change with a longer growing season. Relative to other communities that are quickly becoming uninhabitable due to extreme heat and sea level rise. K. Powell referenced that Bozeman’s water supply will become more limiting with climate change. P. Gannon asked if Bozeman has examined our investments. N. Meyer said that this is a goal of the current planning effort around the Climate Vulnerability Assessment and Resiliency Strategy. He clarified that he meant financial investments. J. Henderson offered that he is approaching investments from a life cycle analysis approach and taking a risk-based approach across internal needs. J. Wolfstrom mentioned the affordable housing interconnection with climate. As the town that continues to grow, low-wage jobs push people further away into less efficient housing stock and people drive further each day. The real challenge is land value prices. Transit oriented development and live-work housing are solutions. We are not going to solve transportation problem without dealing with housing problem (and reverse). 2. CITIES LOCAL RENEWABLE WORKSHOP N. Meyer shared that she participated in a two-part workshop in D.C. and Denver hosted by Bloomberg Philanthropies, Rocky Mountain Institute, the World Resources Institute, and the Urban Sustainability Directors Network. Approximately 26 other communities participated, including the City of Missoula. Cities primarily learned about the following local renewable energy options: Renewable Energy Credits, On-site Solar, Community Solar, Physical Power Purchase Agreements, Virtual Power Purchase Agreements, and Utility Green Tariffs. She will share more detail at the next meeting. 3. CLIMATE VULNERABILTIY ASSESSMENT & RESILIENCY WORKSHOP City staff has been working to refine, prioritize, and align the strategies and actions in the plan. The high level of staff engagement is paving the way for future work and partnerships. Most immediately, the information collected related to adaptive capacity will be used as part of a joint Continuity of Operations planning effort with MSU. There will be a Commission Special Presentation to present the plan on May 13. 4. CLIMATE ACTION AND RESILIENCY PLAN RFP City staff will have the RFP ready to be released over the next two weeks. 5. STRETCH CODE On Monday night, the City Commission considered 14 projects to add to the 2019 work plan. Commissioner Cunningham worked to advance a project proposal related to stretch code and wetland mitigation. After conversations with the Community Development Director, staff prepared a memo that included a menu of options to advance building energy efficiency in new construction, including the option of stretch code, energy disclosure and other code related opportunities that we could mandate. The stretch code project was categorized as a “black diamond” project that would require complex interdisciplinary staff attention. The Commission voted in favor of advancing the issues of Vendor Gender Equity, 1% for Art in Public Buildings, Evaluating Level of Service for Intersections and Sewer Connections, Broadband, Streetlighting Districts and Dark Skies/Light Pollution. N. Meyer will be involved with the streetlighting project, thus further limiting capacity to advance a stretch code in conjunction with the Climate Action Plan update. The stretch code policy is not permanently tabled and we will continue to formulate policy ideas for implementation, but it won’t be implemented immediately. J. Henderson says from a staff perspective, he is more comfortable with a system in place that clearly describes the intention of each project under consideration. 6. BOZEMAN PUBLIC SAFETY CENTER The Koopman lawsuit was dismissed by the Gallatin County District Court, after being dismissed by the Montana Commissioner of Political Practices, and the City’s Board of Ethics. Koopman now has 60 days to appeal to the Montana Supreme Court before the issue can be fully resolved. The City is using General Fund dollars to move forward with early design. Delaying the project will increase project costs. Meyer participated in an early design meeting and will participate in selection of the General Contractor/Construction Manager for the project. The building commissioning RFP will be delayed until the Koopman lawsuit is resolved. 7. BOZEMAN CLEANUP DAY-APRIL 20, 2019 The CleanUp Day event will start at the Library at 8am. Commissioner Cunningham also referenced the Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation. People can sign up, take a pledge, and residents in winning cities will be eligible to win prizes. K. Walser shared details about the Earth Day Festival the afternoon of April 20 at the Library. There will be a MSU Solar Race Car, workshops about bird friendly gardens, kid’s activities, and presentation on Amercia’s Bi-partisan Climate Solution. F. 2019 MONTANA LEGISLATIVE ROUNDUP 1. SB 331 Allows NorthWestern to purchase another 150MW from Colstrip and take on a larger share of the cleanup costs without Public Service Commission oversight. The City was surprised that the Montana League of Cities spoke in support of the bill during the first Senate hearing. It passed the Senate upon 3rd reading (27-22). There is a House Energy Hearing Monday, April 8 at 3pm. 2. SB 245 Property Assessed Clean Energy legislation is a bill that the city has supported three times in the legislature. This version is for commercial buildings only and includes a variety of bi-partisan compromises. There is a House Tax hearing Monday, April 8 at 9am. The City of Bozeman hosted a third staff workshop in November to review a draft vulnerability assessment and develop recommendations for the Climate Vulnerability & Resiliency Strategy. There were more than 30 individuals at the workshop representing a wide variety of departments. The focus is city infrastructure and the anticipated impacts from climate change. The recommendations generated from the workshops and staff interviews needs to be thoroughly reviewed before we share a draft. 3. HB 467 This is a securitization bill that allows Investor Owned Utilities to refinance debt from facilities that are no longer in service. This would allow NorthWestern the option of refinancing Colstrip Unit 4 debt in the event the facility retires early and they are left with a stranded asset. There was a Senate Energy hearing on March 28, but the vote has not taken place. G. NEXT MEETING – APRIL 25, 2019 H. ADJOURNMENT – 3:30 PM by Natalie Meyer. The next regular meeting will be at 2:00 PM on April 25, 2019. Minutes submitted by: Natalie Meyer