Committee presses to refresh sustainability plan as comprehensive-plan update nears; solar farm and 100% goal debated

The Village of Cross Plains Sustainability Committee spent a large portion of its Sept. 12 meeting reviewing the township’s 2021 sustainability plan and discussing how to update it and, where appropriate, incorporate items into the village comprehensive plan under review by the plan commission.

Michael Pawlikowski, a committee member, said the plan was “time to refresh” and urged the group to determine which items to keep, move to a parking-lot list or pursue further. Committee members said previous work — including feasibility studies for a local solar farm — should not be lost even if immediate implementation is not feasible.

Members discussed the 100% renewable energy goal included in the sustainability plan that mirrors a school district target described during a committee report: the school district had considered a Phase 1 implementation package developed with a private consultant (identified in committee discussion as McKinsey) with a Phase 1 cost figure cited at $13,000,000; the school board considered but excluded geothermal for one site and the motion failed in one meeting while the district moved forward with much of the roadmap. Committee members referenced the school district’s roadmap as local context for a village goal but noted the village faces different capital constraints.

Committee members emphasized practical pathways: some suggested the village would likely need to buy into an off-site solar farm or build a large farm to offset municipal energy use rather than rely solely on rooftop arrays. Members discussed a parcel called Sundance (preliminary plat expired) and larger land parcels as possible locations, but noted permitting, infrastructure (electric line capacity) and funding barriers. The conversation repeatedly returned to the question of whether to set an aspirational target without a clear implementation path; members said the committee should try “one more run” at a goal and include the updated priorities in the comp plan process where possible.

The committee did not adopt or vote on any new goal during the meeting. Members resolved to continue reviewing the plan item-by-item, to pare the list to a smaller set of active priorities and to use community outreach to inform any new targets.

Ending: The committee will continue its line-by-line review of the existing sustainability plan and will prepare prioritized items that could be proposed for insertion into the comprehensive plan; members suggested re-presenting a draft to the village board when appropriate.