Energy Committee - Regular Meeting

CITY OF ARCATA ENERGY COMMITTEE REGULAR MEETING AGENDA Monday, July 20, 2026, 5:30 p.m. Council Chamber 736 F Street, Arcata ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT www.cityofarcata.org * (707) 822-8184 * eservices@cityofarcata.org Committee Chair: Michael Winkler Committee Liaisons: Emily Benvie & Morguine Sefcik ________________________________________________________________________________________ Special accommodations for the disabled who attend City meetings can be made in advance by contacting the City Clerk at 822-5953. Assistive listening devices are available. ________________________________________________________________________________________ Pursuant to Government Code section 54957.5, all writings or documents relating to any item on this agenda which have been provided to a majority of the City of Arcata Energy Committee, including those received after distribution of the agenda packet, will be made available for public inspection in the Environmental Services Department located at Arcata City Hall, 736 F Street, during normal business hours. ________________________________________________________________________________________ PLEASE NOTE: Speakers wishing to distribute materials to the Energy Committee at the meeting are requested to provide 10 copies to the Committee’s staff liaison. 1. ROLL CALL. Alstone, Buckwalter, Fukuchi, Stockwell, Winkler, Zoellick. Staff Liaisons - Emily Benvie & Morguine Sefcik 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES a. Energy Committee - June 15, 2026 - Special Meeting 3. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS This item is provided for people to address the Committee on matters not on the agenda. At the conclusion of all oral communications, the Committee may respond to statements. Any requests that require action will be set by the Committee to a future agenda or will be referred to staff. 4. AGENDA MODIFICATIONS 5. OLD BUSINESS a. Receive an Update on the City's Excessive Residential Electricity Users Tax and Take Action as Appropriate 6. NEW BUSINESS a. Elect Chair and Vice Chair for Fiscal Year 2026-2027 b. Receive and Approve the 2025 Energy Committee Annual Report and Designate a Committee  July 20, 2026 - Energy Committee Agenda Representative to Present Report to City Council on August 19, 2026 7. REDWOOD COAST ENERGY AUTHORITY (RCEA) UPDATES 8. COMMITTEE MEMBER/STAFF REPORTS 9. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS 10. DATES OF FUTURE MEETINGS a. September 21, 2026 11. ADJOURNMENT Page 2 of 6  CITY OF ARCATA ENERGY COMMITTEE SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES June 15, 2026, 5:30 p.m. Council Chamber 736 F Street, Arcata Present: Alstone, Buckwalter, Stockwell, Winkler Absent: Fukuchi, Zoellick Staff Present: Deputy Director of Environmental Services-Community Services Benvie, Environmental Programs Manager Sefcik _____________________________________________________________________ 1. ROLL CALL. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES a. Energy Committee - January 26, 2026 - Regular Meeting ON A MOTION BY STOCKWELL, SECONDED BY ALSTONE, AND BY UNANIMOUS VOICE VOTE THE ENERGY COMMITTEE APPROVED THE REGULAR MEETING MINUTES OF JANUARY 26, 2026. THE VOTES WERE AS FOLLOWS: AYES: ALSTONE, BUCKWALTER, STOCKWELL, WINKLER. NOES: NONE. ABSENT: FUKUCHI, ZOELLICK. ABSTENTIONS: NONE. 3. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS 4. AGENDA MODIFICATIONS 5. OLD BUSINESS 6. NEW BUSINESS a. Receive a presentation from City Building Official Joe Bishop on Title 24 of the CA Building Code (Part 6 Energy Code, and Part 11 CALGreen). The Committee received a presentation from Joe Bishop, City Building Official, on Title 24 of the CA Building Code. b. Receive an update on the City's Excessive Residential Electricity Users Tax and Take Action as Appropriate 1 Page 3 of 6  The Committee received an update from ES-CS Deputy Director Benvie on the City’s Excessive Residential Electricity Users Tax (EEUT) and discussed the information provided. No action was taken. Public comment #1: A member of the public spoke in support of the following: Energy Committee members watch the recorded 6/3/26 City Council Meeting during which City staff presented a similar update on the EEUT and Council members provided comments; temporarily pausing the EEUT; communicate with local realtors to better understand the current indoor cannabis operation landscape. c. Letter from Wendy Ring - Equitable Decarbonization Program 7. REDWOOD COAST ENERGY AUTHORITY (RCEA) UPDATES 8. COMMITTEE MEMBER/STAFF REPORTS ES-CS Deputy Director Benvie informed the Committee that the Arcata City Council had adopted the Humboldt Regional Climate Action Plan (RCAP) in May. There has been discussion with RCEA about housing the RCAP Manager position. Details on how the structure of governance would work and the funding for this position are still being determined. Committee member Winkler shared with the Committee his interest in serving on RCEA’s Community Advisory Committee (CAC) and asked City staff if there was any conflict in him doing so while also serving on the City’s Energy Committee. 9. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS  Excessive Electricity Users Tax Discussion  City Facilities Electrification Update 10. DATES OF FUTURE MEETINGS a. July 20, 2026 11. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 7:26 PM. 2 Page 4 of 6  City of Arcata Energy Committee 2025 Annual Report to the City Council For Presentation to the City Council on August 19, 2026 The Energy Committee meets on the third Monday of odd-numbered months and serves in an advisory capacity to the City Council, City Manager and City staff in energy matters related to policies, management, and projects. The Committee held four regular meetings and two special meetings during 2025. 2025 Committee Members: Michael Winkler, Chair Gwelen Paliaga (January-September 2025) Andrea Alstone, Vice-Chair Dan Stockwell Patrick Buckwalter Jim Zoellick Committee Staff Liaisons: Emily Benvie, Deputy Director - Community Services, Environmental Services Department Morguine Sefcik, Environmental Programs Manager, Environmental Services Department I. ACCOMPLISHMENTS The Energy Committee was involved in the following activities in 2025: The Committee confirmed their meeting schedule, in which they hold regular meetings on the third Monday of odd-numbered months at 5:30pm in the Council Chamber. Arcata All Electric Initiative The Committee continued work on the All-Electric Initiative. This initiative includes decarbonization and electrification of City and privately-owned buildings using a range of options, including decarbonizing City facilities and investigating options to increase equity and affordability of electrification. • The Committee received regular updates and provided input on decarbonization of City facilities. Specific examples included: o The LED lighting upgrades at the Arcata Community Center and adjacent Sports Complex and installation of a new roof & solar system, that includes a battery-backup, at the Arcata Community Center were completed in 2025 with funding from an Energy Conservation Assistance Act (ECAA) loan and partnership with Redwood Coast Energy Authority (RCEA). o Supporting electric vehicle charging station planning efforts for Carlson Park in coordination with RCEA. The charging stations at Carlson Park were installed in 2025. o Renewable Energy Self-Generation Bill Credit Transfer (RES-BCT) program o Energy assessments conducted by EcoGreen Solutions, Centrica, and RCEA of City facilities. o Review and provide input on the City Facilities Energy Assessment Reports prepared by RCEA, which included potential rate change opportunities for some facilities. o All electric parking enforcement vehicle in use by Arcata Police Department. Collaboration The Committee continues to consult and work collaboratively with community members and RCEA on energy and climate-related issues. The Committee provided support for the City’s partnership with RCEA offering expanded e-bike vouchers for Arcata residents, which were fully utilized by the end of 2025. RCEA staff attended the Energy Committee meetings and provided updates on RCEA projects and opportunities, including, but not limited to, the Northern California Rural Regional Energy Network (NREN) programs, the Foster Solar and Storage Project, energy storage solicitations, renewable energy solicitations, and energy audits of City facilities. Page 1 of 2 Page 5 of 6 Regional Climate Action Plan The Committee received updates throughout 2025 from City staff and RCEA staff on the status of the Humboldt Regional Climate Action Plan (RCAP) and implementation measures. The RCAP was approved by the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors on December 16, 2025. Climate Resiliency Framework The Committee received information from City staff on a Climate Resiliency Framework concept and provided input. Excessive Electricity Users Tax (EEUT) Based on Committee member feedback about the EEUT, City staff offered to prepare a summary of the EEUT for the Committee at a future meeting (in 2026). II. GOALS FOR THE COMING FISCAL YEAR The Committee developed the following goals for the FY 2026/2027. Furthermore, the Energy Committee committed to furthering energy-related environmental justice and social equity. 1. Climate Action Plan – Work with the region to implement the Regional Climate Action Plan and support development of climate committee and climate manager roles. a. As the climate manager position is filled, consider forming a subcommittee to provide technical support. 2. Transportation Mode Shift - Consistent with the Climate Action Plan - continue to support staff with work related to shifting transportation toward walking, biking, public transportation and low and zero emission modes of transport for privately and City-owned vehicles. a. Support RCEA in accessibility of affordable EV charging in existing multifamily housing. b. Provide education to electric vehicle users about interoperability of EV charging systems and electric vehicles of different brands. 3. Arcata All Electric Initiative – Consistent with the Climate Action Plan, continue work to decarbonize and electrify new and existing construction and end-of-life equipment replacement for City and privately-owned buildings using a range of options, and investigate options to increase equity and affordability of electrification. a. Consider opportunities for neighborhood scale electrification. 4. Support staff to explore low carbon options for community resiliency, including the benefit of solar with battery backup options, microgrids, and grid-interactive efficient buildings. 5. Work on improving 2025 energy code compliance and enforcement through research into local third- party verifiers, education, and building official education. 6. Support City’s leadership in greenhouse gas emissions reduction through decarbonization of City- owned fleet and facilities. a. Support staff development of a City facilities decarbonization plan. Page 2 of 2 Page 6 of 6