[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6483684,"mediaKeyId","5600917-32d8952b0160717f254b3fc9aa33c6c0","parentId",5600917,"title","Pitkin County advances climate action implementation: energy audit, microgrid and CORE funding updates","audioSeconds",5604,"startMs",6068000,"endMs",11672000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5600917-32d8952b0160717f254b3fc9aa33c6c0&start=6068&end=11672","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5600917-32d8952b0160717f254b3fc9aa33c6c0/thumbnail_6068000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6483684/Pitkin-County/Colorado/Pitkin-County-advances-climate-action-implementation-energy-audit-microgrid-and-CORE-funding-updates","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6483684-8ed2203b30ef30e158b39b1129092db0/orig.mp4?Expires=1775391899&Signature=nvmtbPBHNLt5Auo34jEfgRydTnNaPdr7G9M21Woc2jqU7t9c~TK~oJ8v7D0X5Gtk3r-U956Qg0wvbTWoOX1Jy32t20Ndpexq4laIjA48w5TECgYJMpIMT0Hvtj0pV6cmPS9AGO4GCpYFsiZ881MyJ6H1SrkVXFFdf3-pgwLvEvpnDnn6TAWtXw0wTpy38ALpVtIRrLOYQ2hjY8qV6HvC1YM2HnSaUDRv6QEl5CsnKlt6hRl5V-gykiTBCFs3dZNcHvZ6HVCqn4GYtC27lvKtxTX6gR4jOpEtj8K70mwzLC283sKUixz59dK9WIK33yQyIAWiTkrbX8pQ0wbf9KvdNg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Pitkin County","date","2025-08-19T22:48:59.67Z","article","Pitkin County commissioners received a midyear progress update Aug. 19 on implementation of the county climate action plan and related partner activity, including a county‑led facility energy audit linked to a Colorado Energy Office program and a funding request from CORE, the regional building‑efficiency nonprofit.

Michael Port, climate action analyst for Pitkin County, told the commission the county adopted a climate action plan in March and has begun implementing short-term actions across county operations and community programs. Port said the county’s battery microgrid is installed and will have microgrid controls enabled this fall to provide resilient power in outages. He identified county buildings as the single largest emissions source and said an investment‑grade facilities audit will guide priorities for electrification and retrofits.

“This is our attempt at starting to answer that question” about how to prioritize investments, Port said, describing a Colorado Energy Office (CEO) Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) pathway that combines a vendor‑grade energy audit, financing analysis and optional guaranteed‑savings contracting.

Audit and financing pathway
Port described an approach in which Pitkin County would sign a memorandum of understanding with the Colorado Energy Office for technical assistance, select a prequalified EPC vendor through an RFP, and commission an investment‑grade audit this fall. The audit would produce a prioritized list of energy‑saving measures, modeled savings and a financing plan; the county would then decide whether to pursue an energy performance contract, which can pay for upgrades over time using verified energy savings and includes a two‑year measurement and verification phase.

“While the biggest thing we can do is electrify every single building in the county, there’s so many steps to that,” Port said, adding the audit will identify where county funds would achieve the best energy and emissions reductions.

Other county projects and timing
Port also highlighted these items:
- The county’s airport terminal, once completed, will be one of the county’s largest energy users, and terminal design teams include sustainability experts. Port said county staff will provide input into that design process.
- The county has acquired an electric loader for trials and plans to transition the fleet incrementally; staff also plan to expand EV charging infrastructure downvalley (for example, at River Park Center, Basalt).
- The county will further develop geothermal feasibility work and other building electrification planning in 2026.

CORE midyear update and funding request
CORE (Community Office for Resource Efficiency) provided a midyear report and requested $825,550 for 2026 — a roughly 5% increase over its 2025 contract — to support its Building Performance Hub (incentives, assessments and technical assistance) and regional coordination.

Tara Stitzlein, CORE’s director of climate action programs, said CORE had been awarded roughly $780,000 from Pitkin County in 2025, of which about $500,000 was earmarked for community incentives, grants and subsidized assessments. CORE reported progress in 2025 including about 60 heat‑pump installations across CORE’s territory and an estimated 3,700 metric tons of lifetime carbon reductions from CORE‑funded projects to date. CORE said 42% of incentives issued in Pitkin County had gone to “community priority participants” (income‑qualified households and essential workers), a program CORE said it plans to expand.

John Doherty, CORE’s CEO, outlined philanthropic fundraising that has multiplied county dollars and highlighted a pending $700,000 grant tied to a Coal Basin methane reduction concept; CORE said that grant is contingent on United States Forest Service review and permitting.

Commissioners asked CORE to provide additional project breakdowns and to return to the board during the 2026 budget process to request funding. Staff said they will include the CORE funding request in the county’s October budget materials for board direction.

Ending note
No county action or commitments were taken at the work session. Commissioners asked staff and CORE to return with more detailed audit and project cost estimates, to clarify how any energy performance contracting would be financed, and to provide additional detail on CORE’s incentive outcomes and the Coal Basin permit timeline.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","BOCC Work Session (1st and 3rd Tuesdays) - 08/19/2025","oneSentenceSummary","County staff previewed an energy‑audit procurement tied to a Colorado Energy Office program, updated commissioners on an operational microgrid and airport terminal planning, and heard CORE’s midyear report and a $825,550 2026 funding request.","taxTitle","Pitkin County, Colorado","taxId",27807,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6483688,"Pitkin County reviews homelessness strategic plan; consultants recommend local rental subsidies, service hub and permanent supportive housing",5465,74000,5539000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5600917-32d8952b0160717f254b3fc9aa33c6c0&start=74&end=5539","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5600917-32d8952b0160717f254b3fc9aa33c6c0/thumbnail_74000.jpg","/articles/6483688/Pitkin-County/Colorado/Pitkin-County-reviews-homelessness-strategic-plan-consultants-recommend-local-rental-subsidies-service-hub-and-permanent-supportive-housing","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6483688-163a8a246e7b377c2b06544e92ca4731/orig.mp4?Expires=1775391899&Signature=b9N2XFuGohaYWnmkhSqH6bXUrB-V3VxxJN-Ntua8LtR0eOR3lwTIknGGicQcqS2VVOUuuQnx74iWKIavpo4ON6Q1~XKW4WXehdM2oU1i8g~QbKx6SGxR24e7TguFNVsFwNJkanquQbHk2ag0NStEmXt5fzLFZaH-R3tiGJZGY3QocGbdCJ6gEw98qLHvZy5m92byQrNjRJ4~uZs6IgnY2QYdrNL-Zf0euuT~ExLxtgLSHL6~e67pkyIBgaED-QSuurLVTMFVxnFc8x7Aaa~dCYeYflFPkL2~B5NSwkTfN7M2mYr9vt8xwy6GKuF7t-Ys5koxR-IZCoyJJOXmzxoFyA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Pitkin County commissioners heard an update on the county’s homelessness strategic plan on Aug. 19, when county human services and housing staff and consultants from SHG Advisors presented initial findings and possible next steps, including a locally funded rental subsidy, a centralized housing navigation hub and development of permanent supportive housing.

The presentation, led by Lindsey Maish, director of human services for Pitkin County, and Ashley Pearl, housing and resiliency director for Pitkin County, was delivered by SHG Advisors’ Summer Gather Cole, Cassie Westmoreland and Rutgers professor Dan Treglia, who summarized the county’s data and service gaps and outlined short- and longer-term options.

“Right now it truly is a solvable problem,” Summer Gather Cole said, describing the county’s situation as one in which existing services keep people alive but do not reliably help them exit homelessness. Maish described the county’s work since 2018 to build a coordinated response and said COVID-era grants and subsequent contracting expanded outreach and emergency shelter capacity but left the county needing more technical expertise to move to the next stage.

Why it matters: Commissioners were told the county’s homeless system is relatively new, built up after COVID, and currently emphasizes street outreach and a winter emergency shelter. Because the county lacks exits to permanent housing, people who enter the system often “get stuck,” commissioners and consultants said. Commissioners and staff framed the issue as both a supply problem—too few units affordable at the rents people can access—and a system design problem—insufficient subsidies, housing navigation and long-term supports.

Key findings and numbers presented
- The consultants reported about 153 people tracked in the county’s HMIS (Homeless Management Information System), with the number of households matching the number of people (indicating few or no families recorded in HMIS). Consultants noted HMIS does not capture many people who are couch-surfing, living in vehicles or in domestic-violence shelters that are not entered into HMIS for safety reasons.
- About 47 people were identified as chronically homeless (long-term, disability‑linked homelessness).
- Only about 16% of people recorded in HMIS were exiting to housing, according to the consultants’ analysis.
- The county currently tracks eight prevention slots in HMIS and operates an emergency winter shelter; most people in HMIS enter services via street outreach.

Options discussed
- Local rental subsidy: Consultants proposed creating a county-funded rental subsidy targeted at people who are literally homeless or face barriers to leasing (eviction history, criminal background, domestic violence, etc.). The consultants noted federal HUD subsidies are constrained by HUD fair market rent limits, which make many units in Pitkin County ineligible for standard HUD vouchers unless substantial waivers or alternative local subsidies are used.
- Housing navigation and stabilization hub: A centralized “hub” or single access point was recommended to coordinate prevention funding, landlord engagement, housing navigation and short-term interventions that can help people “self-resolve” without falling deeper into homelessness.
- Permanent supportive housing (PSH): For the county’s chronically homeless population (roughly the 47 identified in HMIS), consultants recommended planning for PSH that pairs deep rental subsidies with on-site or intensive case management. Consultants said PSH funding often comes with substantial building and operating subsidies that make multi‑use facilities—combining housing, shelter and administration—more financially feasible in high-cost markets.

Commissioner concerns and staff follow-up
Commissioners pressed staff and consultants on data gaps, particularly around families and seasonality, and asked for more localized rental-market analysis. Commissioner Francie (last name not specified in the transcript) and other commissioners urged work on a two-track approach: shorter-term rental subsidy and navigation programs to address the workforce/hidden-homeless population, and concurrent planning for PSH for the chronically homeless.

Staff and consultants said next steps will include refining the rental-market analysis, creating business-plan–style cost estimates for proposed subsidy programs, testing landlord engagement strategies, and bringing back detailed program plans (including budgets, staffing and timelines) for board direction.

Ending note
Commissioners did not take a formal vote at the work session. Staff said they will return with more detailed recommendations and cost analyses, and that the county has budgeted initial property-tax revenue from its affordable and workforce housing mill levy to support consultant work and potential pilot programs.","County staff and consultants told commissioners the county’s homelessness system now has data and outreach capacity but lacks off-ramps to housing. Recommendations presented include a locally funded rental subsidy, a centralized housing navigation hub and long-term permanent supportive housing.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Pitkin County advances climate action implementation: energy audit, microgrid and CORE funding updates

Pitkin County reviews homelessness strategic plan; consultants recommend local rental subsidies, service hub and permanent supportive housing