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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-10-15 BCP Meeting MinutesBOZEMAN CLIMATE PARTNERS MEETING MINUTES DECEMBER 10, 2015 1) CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of the Bozeman Climate Partners Working Group was called to order at 2:03 PM on December 10, 2015 in the Madison Room, City Hall by Natalie Meyer. PRESENT Natalie Meyer, Kathy Powell, Jay Sinnott, Susan Bilo, Kristin Walser, Joan Montagne, Robin Crough, Jessica Johnson (until 2:15), Joan Montagne (arrived at 2:48 PM) 2) CHANGES TO THE AGENDA Agenda approved as distributed. 3) PUBLIC COMMENT No public comment. 4) MINUTES Kathy Powell moves to approve minutes from 10/22/2015. No second. Minutes will be put on the agenda for the next meeting. 5) INTRODUCTION – JESSICA JOHNSON, CITY OF BOZEMAN NEIGHBORHOOD COORDINATOR N. Meyer introduces Jessica Johnson, the City’s new Neighborhood Coordinator. J. Johnson states she has been in the position for approximately a month. Prior to that, she worked for the State of Montana with housing work, and prior to that, with Habitat for Humanity in Georgia. She also taught through Teach for America out of college. She has a Master of Public Administration from a small college in Mississippi. She has been in Montana for a year and a half, in Helena, and moved here to Bozeman when that family moved back to Mississippi. As for neighborhoods, J. Johnson states that there are currently eight recognized neighborhood associations, all of which are situated east of 7th Ave. None of western Bozeman is represented because recent growth happened so quickly. She is currently trying to increase the number of neighborhood associations, one example by recruiting HOAs to become recognized neighborhood associations. The other part of her position is to help neighbors access resources. She works with neighbors who are having disputes, and also spreads the word about City programs and educates the community about things going on. She also focuses on Town/Gown relationships (MSU being the gown), and she is working on strengthening that partnership. There has been no one in the position for 8 months, so she is excited to be full-time and to do new things. Please let her know about anything to share from this group. K. Powell reminded the group that the State of the Neighborhoods report gets presented to the City Commission. J. Johnson’s position can help promote the Bozeman Energy Smackdown and the Bozeman Energy Project. It would be helpful to suggest the crossover. J. Johnson stated she will do so during the 1/25/2016 presentation. J. Sinnott brought up the idea of having a competition between neighborhoods for the Smackdown. S. Bilo mentioned it would be helpful to see if there are ways to help educate citizens about recycling, composting, or any sustainability-related projects. J. Sinnott added that maybe more people would participate in the recycling program if there is a bin-share service. J. Johnson stated she will follow-up and look into that. K. Powell stated that J. Johnson’s social media experience will be helpful in this role. S. Bilo recalled a time she did not receive a call back or an email response from Solid Waste regarding pill bottles, as an FYI. N. Meyer said S. Bilo could contact Rob Pudner, the county recycling coordinator. N. Meyer then suggested the group make introductions for J. Johnson. S. Bilo is a member of the Montana Renewable Energy Association and has a consulting business. She also serves on the MSU Sustainability Board. J. Sinnott is a retired environmental engineer, and joined the CAP four years ago. N. Meyer added that J. Sinnott also used to work for the EPA. K. Powell has been with the group since the beginning. Her most recent career (17 years) has been in recycling. She is interested in climate change and sustainability. K. Walser has also been here since the beginning. She was a teacher and worked with people with disabilities, and always had a hand in environmental issues. N. Meyer finished the topic by stating J. Johnson works in the City Manager’s office with her as well as Economic Development. There will be lots of ways to partner and work together on a unified message from the City. 6) NON-ACTION ITEMS A) NORTHWESTERN ENERGY SOLAR PROJECT & COMMUNITY SUSTAINABLE ENERGY WORKING GROUP N. Meyer stated that she continues to have discussion with NWE. They have a meeting this coming Friday (12/11/2015) to begin digging into the agreement with the City over the land. On the City Commission agenda for 12/14/2015 there will be an FYI discussion to bring the Commission up to speed on where the City stands with conversations with NWE. This will be the first time the topic has been formally discussed with the Commission. S. Bilo asked if there is a summary of the project somewhere, and whether it is still related to the Water Treatment Plant, and if MSU is still involved? N. Meyer replied that the proposal is still for the WTP, which is what will be discussed with the City Commission. It will be on approximately 2.5 acres. The City is currently composting the sludge at the plant so we don’t need all the land, at the moment. She will see how the Commission responds on Monday night. It is not a formal action item. J. Sinnott asked if it is up to the City to propose the project. N. Meyer stated that no, it is still NWE’s project, it’s just the City’s land. The Mayor has been involved with the discussions, and we are presenting it to the Commission as a partnership with NWE. In general, the project is still highly experimental in nature, and will take approximately 5 years for research, after which the terms will be renegotiated. As for MSU, the original hope was that a battery storage element would be housed at MSU. But it came down to funding, and NWE couldn’t put funding into both aspects of the project. There is still interest from MSU, but it would be a long-term process for MSU to get funding if pursued. J. Sinnott asked if there was any interest from MSU to set up the new parking garage with solar panels. N. Meyer clarified that there was not funding for that, but that the building is solar ready. They are already planning LEDs, but she is also encouraging controls as well. That is the extent of the solar project as it stands. N. Meyer was looking into grants to make the project larger, but hasn’t come up with anything yet. J. Shafer is the engineer leading the project. N. Meyer also stated that NWE is starting a Community Sustainable Energy working group. They have invited forty people to work in a series of five, day-long, SEPA-facilitated meetings. The group will research a variety of technologies, including rooftop solar, community solar, distribution automation, advanced invertors, grid storage, innovative rate design, etc. NWE would like the group to recommend how they can invest the remaining $2 million in Montana. The first meeting is coming up at the end of the month; N. Meyer is participating. N. Meyer has asked for a list of the other participants but hasn’t received it yet. She does know that MREA, Jeff Fox, and Laura (DEQ) will be participating in the meetings, which will be rotating cities around the state. K. Powell stressed that it is important to continue to think about the policy group, and that hopefully this doesn’t diffuse the other group. N. Meyer agreed and shared the concern, although she also pointed out that any continuous dialogue like this is a positive. B) UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT CODE COMMENTS N. Meyer thanked S. Bilo and J. Sinnott for their active participation. H. Higinbotham, N. Meyer, and Stormwater Program Manager K. Mehrens sat down with the consultants and had a good discussion about sustainability. N. Meyer would ultimately like to get some written, deliberate comments from this group to the consultants. Attached is a draft of the points that came from the October conversation. N. Meyer would like to get this document to a point where the Bozeman Climate Partners can officially distribute within the next two weeks. J. Sinnott pointed out that the group should also weigh in on the Transportation Master Plan. K. Powell stated that the group has been active on this. N. Meyer clarified that there has been lots of concurrent planning going on, and that there are good consultants on both. N. Meyer did voice concern over the integration and cross- communication. It is her job to review these elements and she will do so. Specific to the proposed comments: SOLAR / 1) ROOFTOP SOLAR N. Meyer states that she wants to be careful to make sure the NCOD Plan isn’t making negative progress, since the City has already made progress in some of these areas. S. Bilo concurs and brings up the importance of solar-ready design education. K. Powell stated that in the draft NCOD report, in the already existing historic preservation guidelines, it specifically states that additional devices are not allowed. J. Sinnott states that because of historic buildings, there should be more restrictions in some places. K. Walser also notes that the City should think ahead to wind power as well, in case any new wind power devices become an issue. K. Powell reminded the group that restrictions are there, and we just need to be aware of them. N. Meyer agrees to talk to A. Brekke (Planner with the City) to see what the current practice is in historic districts. K. Powell states that as the consultants dig deeper, there could be dramatic changes. J. Sinnott pointed out that at the meeting the consultants talked about the possibility of phasing out NCOD districts. K. Powell added that it will phase out into design districts over the next 5 years. SOLAR / 2) SUBDIVISION LAYOUT AND BUILDINGS N. Meyer states that in regards to HOAs, if you read the covenants around town, many have solar restrictions. However, according to federal solar access law, a city can create an ordinance that says any restriction on solar access can be void. She added that maybe this is too aggressive for the City, but it’s worth knowing and having for review. If nothing else, she would like the City to have the ability to review covenants before subdivision approval. Maybe then the City can potentially negotiate with overly restrictive covenants. N. Meyer pointed out the draft text was pulled from the NCOD meeting. Although the lots may not line up, maybe the City could have an allowance of a small encroachment of eaves when rotating the house. She also elaborated on the Transportation Master Plan, stating it already details street layout. There is an awareness the group can build, but we will not have extensive oversight. S. Bilo further asks, is there an educational, proactive role this group can play? N. Meyer states, yes, and that any recommendations should be articulated in a community plan on the front end, where developers can reference it at the beginning. K. Powell asks, how do green builders fit into this? N. Meyer states their role can be huge, if they are practicing green building, others can reference their work for their developments. If architects and builders build to certain standards, now sub-contractors in the community know how to do it and are more likely to adopt the practices. DENSITY / 3) LOT SIZE N. Meyer states that the current minimum is 5,000 square feet. So the recommendation of 2,500 square feet is aggressive, and very dense. DENSITY / 5) MIXED HOUSING TYPES N. Meyer states that this will likely happen regardless of the group’s recommendation. Cottage developments are not necessarily more affordable, but they are appealing for a number of reasons. PROCESS / 8) LANDSCAPING POINT SYSTEM S. Bilo states that it would be nice to provide more information (possibly in the Urban Forestry Plan) about drought-tolerant species. N. Meyer summed up but stating she would like to get the group’s comments to Planning in January. She did not address solar easements intentionally since they are an administrative nightmare. The City will likely not go there since the state already manages the program. S. Bilo comments that the program is just a handshake, and that is not legally binding. N. Meyer requested to receive final comments in the next two weeks. C) MSU WX & EXTENSION BUILDING ENERGY EFFICIENCY PARTNERSHIP N. Meyer detailed how a new partnership has been formed. The MSU Weatherization Center is taking the energy generated through SWMBIA’s Construction Garden and focusing it on providing information on the Bozeman Climate Partner’s website. All involved feel there will be a stronger message through one resource (the City’s site). The website will also review the building components otherwise available on Construction Garden. Jerrod Bley (with the Wx Center) is working on technical updates and new items to include as well. He and N. Meyer are also collaborating on the workshop series that was promised with the Smackdown and Energy Project. They will be doing a spring workshop series of four, and a fall workshop series of four, skipping the summer. It is tentatively determined to be monthly sessions, likely the 3rd Thursday of each month. They would like to provide a forum for building with energy efficiency. N. Meyer recognized that the Yellowstone/Teton clean cities workshop was a good way to hitch people in and expose them to the program. They will likely include a variety of topics including recycling, energy efficiency for business, solar, water conservation, energy efficiency for renters, and seasonal measures for energy efficiency. N. Meyer stated it was a natural partnership, and she is glad to have a new contact there. J. Sinnott inquired as to whether the meetings would be in a more accessible location. N. Meyer state they would not be at the Wx Center. She is going to look at those enrolled in the Bozeman Energy Project and see if there is a natural host there. The location will probably be downtown, as it makes it more inviting to people, possibly Wild Joes. D) BOZEMAN ENERGY PROJECT & SMACKDOWN UPDATES N. Meyer states that currently 25 businesses are registered. So far, the City has awarded grants to Altitude Gallery, Old Main Gallery, and the Co-op. They are finalizing paperwork for Absaroka Energy, Movie Lovers, the Loft Spa, and the Montana Wx Center. In the planning process are Universal Athletics, the Nova Café, Dave’s Sushi, Allegra Print & Marketing, Beaudette Engineering, and Westpaw Design. New businesses are Sola Café, Red Tractor, and the Element. The contract with a videographer was finalized and they will be doing case studies. There will be 2-3 videos by the end of January, with the end goal of 6 total videos of a variety of businesses. N. Meyer states the Smackdown has already had 6 monthly winners, each of which have received a gift card. All saved between 25 and 50% off of their monthly usage. Unfortunately, so far there are only 106 participants, and N. Meyer is not really satisfied with that level of engagement. She is working with Classic Ink to figure out what else they can do to increase participation. J. Sinnott mentioned possibly tabling to sign people up. N. Meyer mentioned that since the monthly write-ups for each winner are written on the website, she may try to pitch one of the more interesting stories to the press. She also mentioned that the Facebook campaign wasn’t getting many signups for the program. E) ADVISORY BOARD N. Meyer has not been able to get any commitment or interest from Public Works to move forward with the partnership/collaboration. Public Works staff doesn’t have the bandwidth to add another initiative at this time. Deputy Mayor Taylor thought it would be better to put the issue on hold until he becomes Mayor. This would give N. Meyer some time to focus on additional triggers. The timing may be better in a few months, to have a leader that is driving the conversation. The group could move forward today with just a change in the title of the group. However, for a broader collaboration, some more time would be better, as N. Meyer knows it would not be a successful push right now. 7) SUSTAINABILITY EVENTS B) UPCOMING: BRIDGER BREWING’S “PINTS FOR A PURPOSE” HOSTING CITIZENS’ CLIMATE LOBBY CHRISTMAS PARTY, 11/14/15, 5-8 PM K. Walser handed out invitations. 8) MEETING SCHEDULE A) RESCHEDULE THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24TH MEETING K. Walser will be available. J. Sinnott gone through 1/24/16. Consensus decided the date would be rescheduled to 1/7/2016, 3:30 – 5:00 PM. Water Conservation Specialist Lain Leoniak may be the guest. 9) ADJOURNMENT Meeting was adjourned at 3:44 PM by N. Meyer. The next meeting will be Thursday, January 7th from 3:30 – 5:00 PM, location TBD. Minutes submitted by: Robin Crough