Lake County commissioners briefed on draft climate action plan, steering committee and contractor staffing option

Consultants from the Brendle Group told the Lake County Board of County Commissioners on Oct. 11 that a community‑wide climate action plan (CAP) is underway, based on a contract approved by the prior board, and that a staff or contractor role is needed to coordinate between the county, the city of Leadville and local partners during implementation.

The CAP work is funded by a grant from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) and includes a 2023 greenhouse‑gas inventory, vulnerability and resilience assessment, community engagement, emissions modeling and a prioritized implementation plan. Jillian Goulet and Imogen Ainsworth of the Brendle Group presented the scope, timeline and early findings, and Anne Schneider, Lake County community planning and development director, described a steering committee that will guide the project.

Brendle presented a community emissions baseline of about 92,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCO2e) for 2023, with transportation responsible for roughly 41% of those emissions and building energy (electricity, natural gas and propane) contributing about 51%. The consultants said the inventory uses standard greenhouse‑gas accounting methods and includes in‑county energy use, vehicle miles traveled occurring inside the county boundary and solid‑waste emissions tied to county waste sent to the landfill. Brendle noted known data limits: several very…