Redmond staff present facilities decarbonization analysis; City Hall, Public Safety singled out for near-term work

Redmond City Council President Kris Kritzer opened a study-session presentation on the city—s facilities decarbonization analysis, which staff prepared alongside a facilities condition assessment funded by one-time budget dollars in the 2023-24 cycle.

The analysis, presented by Jenny Liebeck, Sustainability Program Manager in the Executive Department, and Mark Frankel of energy and policy consultant Ecotope, ranks city buildings by a set of criteria — Clean Buildings Performance Standard compliance timelines, natural gas use, absolute greenhouse-gas emissions, equipment age and facility condition — and identifies City Hall and the Public Safety Building as near-term priorities.

The analysis matters because gas-fired heating and cooling accounted for about 20% of city operations greenhouse-gas emissions in Redmond—s 2022 inventory, staff said, and state rules on building energy intensity will require stepped compliance by larger and then smaller commercial buildings. The study was paired with energy audits and a benchmarking exercise to help the city prioritize capital and maintenance decisions.

"We wanted to make sure that we were positioning the city for success so that we can comply with that state mandate, and reduce energy waste within our facilities," said Jenny Liebeck, Sustainability Program Manager. Mark Frankel said the city used the state energy-use-intensity targets as a comparative benchmark when scoring buildings.

Key findings presented to the council included: - City Hall is the largest city facility by size and has the largest greenhouse-gas impact among city-owned buildings, largely because of its size; it is also one of two buildings the consultants identified as subject to the state Clean Buildings Performance Standard in the near term (the other is the Public Safety Building). - The recently constructed Redmond Senior and Community Center performed well in the benchmarks and was described as an exemplary all-electric, high-efficiency building. - Several smaller or older facilities, notably some fire stations, showed elevated energy use and carbon intensity because of design and aging systems. - The report and associated audits were compiled into an internal Power BI dashboard that facilities staff will use to integrate decarbonization and maintenance planning.

Councillors asked for concrete near-term steps. Liebeck said the public works and facilities teams are pursuing a lighting-and-controls upgrade at City Hall and that the city has submitted a grant application under the state program tied to the Clean Buildings Performance Standard. She also said staff plan to bring an "electric-first" policy to council for input this year to institutionalize fuel-switching and efficiency decisions.

"One example is our Public Safety Building, where we are effectively maxed out in electrical capacity," Liebeck told council members, noting that replacing equipment with more efficient units can sometimes free electrical capacity but that each facility will require a detailed, building-specific plan. Mark Frankel described the tradeoffs between operational and embodied carbon and stressed that both renovation and demolition choices affect overall carbon outcomes.

Lorraine Hamilton, Parks Director, and Quinn Koonhausen, Facilities Manager, participated online and said findings from the decarbonization analysis will be integrated into the parks department—s update of the capital facilities plan for the 2025-26 budget cycle. Liebeck also noted that the council previously approved a parks and sustainability program administrator position that will support implementation.

Councilmember Stewart asked whether the analysis accounted for the city—s recent green electricity purchases; Liebeck said the city—s electricity supply is increasingly clean but that natural gas remains a separate emissions source and therefore a priority for replacement.

The presentation closed with staff saying the decarbonization analysis will inform capital planning and that additional, building-level decarbonization plans will be needed to translate the analysis into projects and procurements.

Council President Kris Kritzer said the next time the council is likely to hear work from this effort is during the parks-led capital facilities planning process, which staff said will come to council in the next couple of months.