Climate Action Plan Standing Committee

Climate Action Plan Standing Committee Meeting Minutes April 19, 2023 A. Attending: Brian Schott, Melissa Hartman, Dakota Whitman, Nathan Dugan, Alan Tiefenbach, Liz Records, Ben Davis, Karin Hilding, Robin Paone, Bret and Ruth Luedke, Mayre Flowers. B. March15, 2022 meeting minutes were approved. C. Communications/Outreach/Education – Home Energy Efficiency Improvements with Inflation Reduction Act. We reviewed the articles below on energy tax breaks through the IRA bill. Bret Luedke also spoke about this issue. He notified the group about the Saturday Earth Day presentation on this topic. He also recommended reviewing the Rewiringamerica.com and Fueleconomy.com (for EV comparisons) websites. Rewiring America will help in laying out a long term plan for energy improvements. He explained that the rebates will become available once the state of Montana adopts the program. This is expected by the end of 2023. https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/interactive/2023/home- energy-tax-breaks/ https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/climate/tax-breaks-inflation-reduction- act.html D. Project Updates • Existing Projects o Community Solar Project – Karin noted that the FEC solar RFP went out April 10th and is due May 12th. FEC will receive a $50,000 BEF grant and is also applying for a USDA REAP grant towards the project. o Transit Mobility Platform/Transit MOU – Karin stated there is not much news. Nathan had sent an email with info about the great public transit system in Banff. Karin discussed some past history of studies and meetings on improved transit. She mentioned the Transit Study prepared by David Kack of the Western Transportation Institute. With the interest of committee members, it was suggested that a transit subgroup be formed. There appeared to be interest in this idea. The transportation plan discusses the first step being the creation of a Transit/Multimodal MOU. Karin will follow up by sending a folder of transit information to the committee members. She will include the Mountain Climber annual report that completed recently. o Landscaping Standards and Growth Policy Update – Planning Dept. Alan provided an update on both. He noted the public engagement plan presentation to the planning board on April 20 th. The Landscape Standards are close to being completed and adopted. o FY 24 city budget process related to CAP committee (Karin) ▪ Retro-commissioning of ESC Building – Karin sent the cost estimate to Dana for consideration ($21,000). This topic will hopefully be discussed during the council budget work sessions.  ▪ Public Works potential EV for FY24 – Karin noted that $40,000 is in the FY24 budget towards either an EV or plug in Hybrid. Ben recommended that we stick to comparing EVs and not include hybrids. o C-PACE status – Council work session was April 3rd – Karin is going to check with Dana or Michelle on the status of C-PACE. o FEC press release on Whitefish WWTP energy efficiency savings (a $193,390 rebate from BPA). Karin will check with Don Newton, of FEC, on forwarding this press release to either the Beacon or WF Pilot. • Proposed Projects o Electrification Strategy (Karin and Robin to attend an Electrify Missoula tour on April 29th) o Interest in Single-use Plastic Bag Ban (Dakota) – There was discussion about the statewide ban on bans. Nathan suggested we approach the Chamber of Commerce to involve businesses. E. Upcoming Events o Flathead Valley Earth Day, April 22 nd at the Northwest Montana History Museum in Kalispell. Electrify Your Life workshop at 2 pm. o Mountain Towns 2030 Clean Energy in Mountain Communities April 25 th o Big Sky Climate Solutionist Summit – Sept. of Oct. 2023 F. Other Committee Status Updates G. Public Comment – Mayre Flowers arrived towards the end of the meeting. She spoke about the county’s problem with septic system collection. She would like the city to consider adding an anaerobic digester to the wastewater treatment plant to produce energy from septage (similar to the landfill natural gas collection). She said she would send information to Karin to share with the group. She explained that Citizens for a Better Flathead came out opposed to the Lakeside Septic Receiving Station. H. Adjournment