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Flagstaff sustainability office highlights facility electrification, community outreach and new HUD-funded home upgrades program
Summary
Sustainability staff reported community engagement metrics, facility electrification measures and new resident programs including Energy Upgrades for Healthy Homes (HUD-funded). Staff also announced a Green Living Magazine award naming Flagstaff Arizona's top sustainable city and upcoming community events for waste prevention and volunteerism.
The City of Flagstaff's sustainability division reported a series of facility upgrades, community programs and new funding opportunities during a work session Oct. 14.
Sustainability Director Nicole Antonopoulos said the division engaged more than 7,300 people and hosted more than 500 activities in the past six months; the division's social-media and newsletter outreach has expanded and the redesigned newsletter has nearly doubled open rates to about 1,700 subscribers. Antonopoulos described energy-efficiency retrofits at the sustainability office — Energy Star windows, added attic insulation, smart thermostats, electric heat pumps and tankless water heaters — and said the facility is now 100% electric. "We are proud to be able to walk the talk, at our city facility," she said.
Jenny Neiman, climate action section director, said the city is using federal Energy Efficiency Community Block Grant funds for municipal electrification projects, including heat pumps at fire department buildings, and to electrify landscape equipment. She announced that the Energy Upgrades for Healthy Homes program is accepting applications; Neiman said the program is funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and will help residents who cannot afford upfront costs for energy-efficiency upgrades in both rental and owner-occupied units.
The sustainability team reported multiple community programs: expansion of community gardens to McAllister Ranch, the Food Action Plan in final stages with open houses and an online survey, watershed cleanups and volunteer stewardship. Sonoma Boynton said volunteers removed more than 2,300 pounds of debris from the Rio de Flag during the watershed cleanup series and that a Mobile Haven neighborhood cleanup removed over 2,000 pounds. The city collected more than 23,000 pounds of residential food scraps for composting and Drop Off Day served 533 households.
Antonopoulos also told council that the city will accept a Green Living Magazine "Best of Arizona" award for most sustainable city; the vice mayor agreed to accept the award in Phoenix. Councilmembers asked staff to better link programs to measurable progress toward the city's carbon-neutrality targets; Neiman said the redesign of the Carbon Neutrality Master Plan will make metrics easier to track and publish online.
Staff listed upcoming events: Drop Off Day on Oct. 25 at the Coconino Health and Human Services building and a Fix It Clinic on Nov. 1 at the Joyce Montoya Center, and encouraged residents to sign up for stewardship at VolunteerFlagstaff (volunteer.flagstaffaz.gov).
