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Commissioners support drafting contract for EcoAction Partners to administer county green grants program
Summary
Staff and EcoAction Partners proposed expanding an existing Telluride green‑grants program to San Miguel County. Commissioners supported preparing a professional services contract and placing it on a future consent agenda; staff said an administrative fee and software share would be covered in the initial year.
San Miguel County staff and EcoAction Partners discussed adding San Miguel County to EcoAction's regional Green Grants program on March 26, and commissioners signaled support for a contract to bring the county into the program.
Natural resources and climate resilience director Star Jamieson summarized a proposed scope and budget for the Green Grants expansion and told commissioners the county would initially cover approximately $10,000 from its revenue fund for the program year to pay administrative startup costs. Jamieson said EcoAction's proposal included outreach, application administration, scoring and coordination and that the workload typically declines after an initial launch year.
EcoAction Partners representatives told the board that town of Telluride costs have historically run lower as the program matured and that the county's 10% administrative fee is primarily a start‑up cost for marketing, setting up the application and initial outreach. Software and shared‑platform costs were discussed as an additional recurring expense; EcoAction said the regional software subscription runs about $1,500 annually and might require a modest upgrade (roughly $600) depending on participation.
Next steps and oversight: Commissioners asked that reporting be concise and not impose onerous narrative requirements on EcoAction; EcoAction agreed to a lean reporting approach while continuing to track hours and activity for internal accounting. Star Jamieson said staff will draft a professional services agreement and place it on a consent agenda for board approval. Commissioners and EcoAction discussed committee composition for local project review and outreach, and suggested representatives from Norwood and other population centers be included on a county review committee.
Public comment and support: Local nonprofit and community representatives who spoke at the meeting expressed support for expanding the Green Grants to the county to increase access to funding for energy efficiency and greenhouse gas reduction projects outside Telluride. No formal action was taken at the meeting; staff will prepare a contract for commissioner approval.
