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City decarbonization plan application rejected by DOER; staff to reapply for technical assistance; motor-pool GPS rollout and library chiller projects underway
Summary
Staff told the commission that the city’s decarbonization plan did not meet DOER Climate Leaders checklist requirements; staff will reapply for technical assistance and pursue grant opportunities. Separately, the motor-pool GPS pilot is rolling out and a reversible chiller project at Forbes Library has mobilized.
During department-head updates at the Sept. 9 meeting, staff reported that the city’s decarbonization plan submission did not meet the Department of Energy Resources (DOER) Climate Leaders program checklist and was therefore not accepted for that program’s technical assistance.
‘‘It did not check all the boxes required by the Climate Leaders program from DOER,’’ Ben told the commission. Staff said they will apply to DOER’s technical-assistance program and, with consultant support, aim to have a DOER-accepted plan and subsequent eligibility for implementation grants next year. Staff noted that a successful DOER alignment could make the city eligible to apply for a roughly $750,000 grant in a future funding round.
Staff also gave shorter operational updates. Katie Deppen said the reversible-chiller installation at Forbes Library mobilized the week of the meeting; the contractor Keider was on site and staff expect the project to close out in late spring, with the chiller available for summer cooling and boilers switched earlier if needed.
Separately, the motor-pool pilot has been soft-launched, staff reported. Central-services drivers and one vehicle will enroll first; GPS devices were scheduled to be installed and data collection will begin shortly. Staff said they expect a few weeks of GPS data before evaluating whether reduced fleet size or other efficiencies are feasible.
Staff framed the decarbonization-plan work and the capital projects as mutually informative parts of the city’s broader climate strategy; they said the DOER application setback delays but does not change the portfolio of projects staff are developing.
