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Lawrence staff: $147,000 DOE technical assistance active; $200,000 state planning funds pending commission approval
Summary
City sustainability staff said the Department of Energy (DOE) has resumed steps on the city’s EECBG technical assistance award and the state has offered roughly $200,000 in planning funds that would not require a local match; both items require follow‑up approval or paperwork before work begins.
City of Lawrence sustainability staff reported progress on two external funding opportunities that could finance climate planning and greenhouse‑gas work for the city.
Kathy Richardson, the city’s sustainability director, told the board the DOE’s EECBG (Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant) allocation for Lawrence—$147,000—was awarded to the city in the form of technical assistance rather than a direct grant to hire consultants. “We had… the City of Lawrence had a hundred and 47,000 for EECBG,” Richardson said, and staff have routed the paperwork that now requires the city manager’s signature to finalize DOE paperwork. Richardson said the DOE is still hiring an administrator for the technical‑assistance program; once the administrator is in place, the agency will assign a technical‑assistance provider to complete an energy plan, a solar feasibility study for city facilities and an electrification feasibility study.
Richardson also described a separate Kansas state planning award—roughly $200,000—from KDHE for climate‑action planning. Staff said the KDHE funds are aimed at planning (not implementation), can pay for a community and municipal greenhouse‑gas inventory, and do not require a local match. The funding window extends to roughly mid‑2027, Richardson said. Staff stressed the state award still requires a formal agreement and must be routed to the city commission for approval before work can start.
Why it matters: both funding sources are tied to the sustainability board’s prioritized KPI work on greenhouse‑gas emissions and could finance technical studies and data collection that the city’s small sustainability budget cannot cover on its own. Richardson said ICLEI (Local Governments for Sustainability) is a likely partner for inventories and projections through the DOE technical assistance; the state planning funds could also pay for consultants or short‑term staff capacity to execute discrete tasks.
What’s next: staff have routed the DOE paperwork to the city manager and will notify the board if the DOE assigns a technical assistant. The KDHE agreement will go to city commission for approval before any city expenditure or contract action. Richardson told the board she will share updates as the city receives formal documents and assignments.
Votes at a glance: the board approved the February meeting minutes at the top of the session and later voted to adjourn. Those procedural motions passed by voice vote; the meeting record does not include a roll‑call tally or individual named votes.
Ending: staff described the two awards as complementary: the DOE technical assistance focused on producing an energy plan and feasibility studies, and the state planning funds could support greenhouse‑gas inventories and more detailed local planning. Richardson encouraged the board to consider how those deliverables could support the board’s greenhouse‑gas KPI work and said staff will return with updates when the DOE administrator is assigned or when the KDHE agreement is finalized.
