Larimer County updates ICARE plan; landscaping electrification pilot, new EV chargers and $1.1M wildfire grants highlighted

Larimer County commissioners received an update Monday on the county’s Internal Climate Action, Resilience and Education plan — known as ICARE — that outlined 2024 accomplishments and 2025 work plans, including a landscaping‑equipment electrification pilot that supported local small businesses, new public electric‑vehicle charging stations on county property, and state funding for wildfire resilience projects.

The update, presented by Abby Stapleton, sustainability program coordinator in the county’s Office of Sustainability and Climate, reviewed the county’s internal greenhouse‑gas inventory, progress across four ICARE categories — unifying solutions, built environment and waste, mobility, and natural resources/water/agriculture — and specific programs the county advanced in 2024. “Larimer County is considered a pioneer” in pursuing a consumption‑based inventory, Stapleton said, referring to the county’s effort to account for procurement and other indirect emissions in addition to building and fleet emissions.

Why it matters: the ICARE update ties operational changes at county facilities to broader county goals on air quality, resilience and greenhouse‑gas reductions, and identifies grant opportunities and partnerships that would expand programs countywide.

Landscaping electrification pilot Leah Schneider of the Larimer County Health Department’s air quality team described a 2024 pilot that awarded vouchers to small commercial landscapers to buy battery‑powered, American Green Zone Alliance (AGZA/AGSA)‑certified equipment. Schneider said landscaping equipment is a major local contributor to ozone formation and greenhouse gases; county materials referenced Regional Air Quality Council analyses that estimate landscaping equipment contributes to volatile organic compound and nitrogen oxides emissions and to several high‑ozone days in the region.

County staff said commissioners allocated roughly $95,000 in 2024 for the pilot. Staff reported the program supported 14 awardees, resulting in 94 pieces of electric equipment and 38 additional batteries purchased through local retailers that accepted county vouchers. Recipients paid sales tax (staff estimated roughly $400–$500 per recipient). Stapleton and Schneider said vouchers were on the order of about $6,000 per recipient for qualifying commercial equipment (staff characterized that figure as approximate), and county staff submitted a Questica funding request last week to cover remaining applicants and additional rollout (staff described that request as about $66,000).

Program eligibility prioritized small businesses (15 or fewer employees) with contracts serving at least three county customers, and outreach emphasized minority‑owned firms. Schneider said staff interviewed each applicant and translated materials into Spanish. Retail partners named in the presentation included a Loveland vendor and High Altitude in Berthoud. County staff recommended considering higher voucher amounts (retailers told staff that vouchers below $5,000 limit available equipment choices) and pursuing regional grant partnerships to scale the program.

Electric‑vehicle charging and fleet electrification Stapleton and David Bragg from facilities described five new Level 2 public chargers installed at county properties and an impending DC fast charger at the 200 West Oak administrative site. The county signed a five‑year maintenance contract with ChargePoint and set pricing at 30 cents per kilowatt‑hour for charging, with a 30‑minute post‑charge idle period followed by a 10‑cent per‑minute idle fee to encourage turnover, Stapleton said.

Stapleton said the county’s EV plan maps to Colorado’s statewide charging goals and noted funding constraints. She reported there are roughly 400 public charging stations in the county area today (about 300 Level 2 and roughly 61 Level 3 DC fast chargers, as stated in the presentation) and that Larimer County will continue adding stations on county property where grant opportunities permit.

Built environment, waste and procurement Facilities work in 2024 included a boiler retrofit at the Justice Center that staff said saves roughly 3,667 therms per year, about 17.9 metric tons CO2e in annual reductions (staff framed those savings as roughly equivalent to driving 4.5 gas vehicles for a year or the annual energy use of 2.6 homes). The county achieved a SolSmart Silver designation for solar friendliness and had two buildings recognized by the Colorado Green Business Network.

Solid waste staff are awaiting a Colorado Energy Office grant decision to expand landfill methane collection as the landfill nears closure. Biochar partners are assisting with a woody‑debris diversion program tied to a new transfer station, Stapleton said.

On purchasing, staff reported that in 2022 about 8% of targeted vendor spending was for environmentally friendly products (Office Depot and Amazon being the largest vendor channels discussed). In 2024, 13 of 17 requests for proposals included environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria (about 76% of RFPs), and departments are pursuing staff training and P‑card guidance to increase green purchasing.

Mobility, trails and employee commuting The county added 5.6 miles of widened shoulders in 2024 and is constructing a 1.5‑mile connector trail between River Bluffs and I‑25; a separate study is underway to connect Wellington with northeast Fort Collins. For employee commuting, the county plans to pilot the Way2Go (North Front Range Metropolitan Planning Organization) tool to allow voluntary reporting of commute modes, create Larimer‑employee groups, and offer recognition through the county’s Nectar employee recognition platform.

Fleet electrification included two electric vehicles added in 2024 (bringing the county total to three) and plans to add two more in 2025; Natural Resources staff indicated interest in electric pickup trucks for rangers.

Natural resources, conservation and wildfire resilience Natural Resources reported 624 acres conserved in 2024 (Rocky Ridge acquisition and Prairie Ridge Natural Area addition) and said 4,478 acres have already been conserved in 2025 at the time of the work session. The county also advanced landscaping conversions at county facilities to reduce turf and irrigation use, with a Northern Water grant covering part of a $60,000 Loveland campus landscaping retrofit (grant covers $25,000, leaving approximately $35,000 to the county); staff estimated the project will save about 324,000 gallons of water annually and have a 12‑year payback period.

Office of Emergency Management mitigation work Josh Roberts, mitigation coordinator in the Office of Emergency Management, summarized the county’s Community Mitigation Grant program, open through March 9 for the 2025 cycle. Roberts said the program began in 2022 and that, to date, 34 community mitigation projects have been completed through three annual cycles with more than $200,000 awarded to about 25 recipients; awards range from a few thousand dollars up to a $10,000 maximum. Examples cited in the presentation include Big Elk Meadows (equipment purchases), Glacier View (dump trailer), Crystal Lakes (contractor for roadside thinning), and Poudre Canyon (tool shed and volunteer events). Roberts also described a county role administering a $1.1 million award from the Colorado Strategic Wildfire Action Program (CoSWAP) for forest‑health treatments in the North Cherokee Park and Cedar Park/Big Thompson Canyon areas, with partners including conservation districts, watershed coalitions, Loveland Fire Rescue Authority and Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

Community resiliency hubs and outreach Staff said the county has about 18 community resilience hubs and added two virtual‑only hubs in Pinewood Lakes and Storm Mountain. Roberts described hubs as locally led nodes for information sharing, disaster preparedness and volunteer organization; staff said hubs vary in their level of connection to local fire districts but that the county supports coordination and outreach. Roberts said the county produces materials, a story map and short video content about mitigation projects and requires grantees to hold community meetings as part of the mitigation grant.

Education and next steps Stapleton closed with education elements of ICARE: an updated recycling/waste flyer for county employees, outreach events and planned staff trainings on green purchasing and commuting tools. Commissioners expressed support for competitions and employee incentives and asked staff to pursue additional regional grant partnerships and to follow up offline on several technical items, including ozone‑monitoring goals and procurement life‑cycle review questions.

No formal votes were taken during the presentation. Staff identified several next actions: pursuing additional Questica/grant funding to expand the landscaping electrification pilot, completing EV charger network activation and maintenance setup, awaiting Colorado Energy Office grant awards for landfill methane collection, and starting 2025 mitigation‑grant administration and CoSWAP project implementation.