Energy Committee - Special Meeting

CITY OF ARCATA ENERGY COMMITTEE SPECIAL MEETING AGENDA Monday, June 15, 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 - January 26, 2026 - Regular 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 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). b. Receive an update on the City's Excessive Residential Electricity Users Tax and Take Action as Appropriate  June 15, 2026 - Energy Committee Agenda c. Letter from Wendy Ring - Equitable Decarbonization Program 7. REDWOOD COAST ENERGY AUTHORITY (RCEA) UPDATES 8. COMMITTEE MEMBER/STAFF REPORTS 9. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS 10. DATES OF FUTURE MEETINGS a. July 20, 2026 11. ADJOURNMENT Page 2 of 6  CITY OF ARCATA ENERGY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES January 26, 2026, 5:30 p.m. Council Chamber 736 F Street, Arcata Present: Alstone, Buckwalter, Stockwell, Winkler, 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 - November 17, 2025 - Regular Meeting ON A MOTION BY STOCKWELL, SECONDED BY ALSTONE, AND BY UNANIMOUS VOICE VOTE THE ENERGY COMMITTEE APPROVED THE REGULAR MEETING MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 17, 2025. THE VOTES WERE AS FOLLOWS: AYES: ALSTONE, BUCKWALTER, STOCKWELL, WINKLER, ZOELLICK. NOES: NONE. ABSENT: NONE. ABSTENTIONS: NONE. 3. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS 4. AGENDA MODIFICATIONS 5. OLD BUSINESS a. Introduce RCEA Executive Director, Beth Burks RCEA Executive Director, Beth Burks introduced herself and shared information about her background and priority projects and updates for RCEA in the coming year: 1) Pilot project for grid alternatives, 2) Branding research and brand awareness survey, 3) Information about base services charge increases from PG&E, 4) Stabilization of the Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) Program, 5) Strategic plan update. 6. NEW BUSINESS a. Develop Committee Goals for Fiscal Year 2026/2027 1 Page 3 of 6  Energy Committee Goals for FY 2026/27 In pursuit of the following goals, 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 ON A MOTION BY BUCKWALTER AND SECONDED BY ALSTONE, AND BY UNANIMOUS VOICE VOTE THE ENERGY COMMITTEE ADOPTED THE GOALS AS AMENDED FOR FISCAL YEAR 2026/2027. THE VOTES WERE AS FOLLOWS: AYES: ALSTONE, BUCKWALTER, STOCKWELL, WINKLER, ZOELLICK. NOES: NONE. ABSENT: NONE. ABSTENTIONS: NONE. 7. REDWOOD COAST ENERGY AUTHORITY (RCEA) UPDATES 2 Page 4 of 6  RCEA Executive Director, Beth Burks offered to ask fellow staff member Mike Avcollie to attend a future Energy Committee meeting and talk about EV charging. 8. COMMITTEE MEMBER/STAFF REPORTS  City Staff, Emily Benvie shared update on the Arcata Community Center Rooftop Solar project being completed and noted that RCEA was a partner; offered to share RCEA's final report on e-bike voucher program with the Committee members by email. 9. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS  Excessive Electricity Use Tax (EEUT) Summary 10. DATES OF FUTURE MEETINGS a. March 16, 2026 11. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 7:22 PM. 3 Page 5 of 6 Dear Arcata Energy Committee, I would like to see your committee support city promotion of the Equitable Decarbonization Program (https://aea.us.org/ebd-northern/) to Arcata’s low income residents. This is a new state program that will install heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, heat pump dryers and induction stoves in the homes of Arcata’s low income residents for free. One of the dangers of decarbonization from an equity standpoint has been that people who can afford the up front costs will electrify, leaving a smaller number of low income residents shouldering the cost of the gas distribution system. The EDB program expands access to electrification and is an amazing opportunity for local residents. Eligibility for this program includes household income below 80% of AMI or enrollment in assistance programs like Medi-Cal, CalFresh, WIC, Headstart, SSI, CARE and FERA. Tenants are eligible as long as their landlords agree. In addition to getting new highly efficient appliances, homes with heat pumps also qualify for lower electricity rates. With 27 percent of Arcata households below poverty level, there are many here who can benefit. I am a volunteer electrification coach trained by Rewiring America. In that role, I do public education and individual consultations, including the dissemination information about various state incentives. While the state dedicates a large percentage of its incentives to low income people, I’ve found that no one here knows about them, because they automatically assume that electrification is only for the rich. I would like to see this committee propose a plan to staff and the city council for reaching out to low income residents about the EBD program. Sincerely, Wendy Ring Page 6 of 6