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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-15-14 Climate Partners Bozeman Climate Partners Communications Working Group Meeting Minutes October 15, 2014, 9:00am, 121 N. Rouse Ave., Bozeman City Hall, Madison Room Members Attending: Jay Sinnott, Kristen Walser, Kathy Powell, Natalie Meyer (Staff Liaison) 1) Call to Order -9:00am 2) Changes to the Agenda – none 3) Public Comment- none 4) Minutes – 9/17/14 minutes passed and approved, minutes from 8/20/14 will be posted, but not approved because current attending members were not present at the 8/20 meeting. 5) Non-Action Items a) Bozeman Energy Project Launch i) Outreach & Timelines (1) Commission Resolution Amendment to increase the cap to $2,500 is scheduled for 10/27/14 and the program is scheduled to launch on 11/10/14. Heather will give a Special Presentation to the Commission on the program in November. She has been meeting with Northwestern Energy and numerous businesses and receiving positive feedback. The press release is ready to go and we are working through the purchased media strategy with Classic Ink. We are finalizing the following collateral pieces: rack cards, business cards, program folder, letterhead, website, and static stickers (2) Sinnott suggested that we contact Great Harvest Bakery because there is a new owner and they are replacing the roof. (3) The group provided the following edits/comments on the collateral pieces: (a) “Influx of Cash” does not accurately describe the program; the program will help businesses save and will reimburse for expenses. It will slow the outflow of cash. (b) There is no reference to the City of Bozeman on the rack card; consider including the logo or statement that this is a project of the City of Bozeman. (c) On the website, under the benefits table, we should try to fit all benefits on one line. There is one benefit that overflows to the second line and there are two check marks for the same benefit. (d) We need a reference to the $50 fee in the cascading sheets (e) Omit the word “pretty” from all materials. (f) On website, before the long list of requirements, let the user know that we will hold their hand through the process. (g) Remove the word “must” under requirements. It is implied. (h) Change statement about sharing utility data to something positive, such as “ verify energy savings with the City of Bozeman”. (i) Under Bozeman Energy Smackdown landing page, get rid of reference to fly rod and waders. ii) Bozeman Climate Partners website updates (1) We are planning content updates throughout the site for the 27th. Meyer requested that the group help review sections they helped create and suggest changes or updates. We want to minimize unnecessary references to dates. b) Energy Smackdown i) WattzOn accepted our fee proposal. We are now reviewing the site for ADA compliance and IT to approve their use of cloud-based data storage. The WattzOn team is working through the process of automating downloads from NWE. If these items can’t be reconciled soon, we will need to push the launch back until after the new year. c) Investment Grade Audit & Performance Contract i) The State DEQ has not approved the financial case of our streetlight LED project financing. We are moving ahead with the rest of the contract with McKinstry, pending Legal review, and it is on the Commission Agenda for November 3rd. d) Montana Renewable Energy Association Legislative Agenda. i) Meyer was contacted by MREA regarding their goal to increase the net metering cap from 50kW. They would like to know what would help the City advance our Climate Action Plan. They do not want to propose another arbitrary limit and we do not want the proposal to cause problems with NEW’s grid with intermittent supply. Meyer suggests that MREA review the net metering laws where businesses like Solar City are active: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, and Massachusetts. If Solar City were to provide financing for project in MT, this would change the industry and help advance the CAP. ii) Sinnott said that he went to the Community Choice Aggregation event and said that Paul Fenn described legitimate concerns about distributed energy for the utility; however, distributed energy is still minor in MT. The limit should be at least 250kW. He would like to know the energy load of Walmart and make sure the new cap can provide a substantial portion of their electric needs. He suggested that the cap could increase incrementally each year. 6) Work Session a) Permanent Advisory Board i) Meyer would like input on envisioning what this board or council will be. (1) Mission, duties, authority (a) Meyer suggests that the group will have a collaborative working relationship with the community, advise the City Commission on sustainability issues, oversee implementation of the CAP, as well as update the CAP and provide some accountability around the GHG emissions inventories. (b) The composition should be sustainability leaders in the community, key institutional partners, and resource experts (c) Sinnott suggested that we move forward to address the CAP, but leave it open to other aspects of sustainability. Ultimately, we would want resource experts to represent water conservation, stormwater, air quality, alternative energy, planning, transportation, and communications. (d) It’s most important, however, that members have a strong interest in the success of the CAP. 7) FYI/Discussion a) Odyssey Day Alternative Fuels panel and movie tonight, 10/15 at 7:30pm in Linfield Hall b) Next regular meeting is Wednesday, November 19th. c) Meyer and Lain Leoniak working with MSU engineering capstone project focused on energy and water conservation at the Senior Center d) Walser is hosting a fundraiser with Citizens Climate Lobby on November 15th, location TBD. The fundraiser will help them organize new chapters and attend regional conferences. 8) Adjournment a) Meeting adjourned at 10:30.