The Denver Regional Council of Governments’ Building Policy Collaborative reviewed outcomes from its first round of jurisdictional subawards and began designing a second round to steer remaining funds toward jurisdictions that did not participate or need additional capacity.

Greg Miao, who led the subaward briefing, said round 1 was a formula-based program tied to existing population and jobs; the program budget totals roughly $39,000,000 with about $35,000,000 intended as pass-through subawards. Crystal reported 27 jurisdictions applied to round 1 and staff expect to obligate about 75% of the $34.8 million budget — roughly $25 million — in subawards and contracting now.

Award tiers in round 1 ranged from about $50,000 for the smallest jurisdictions to $2,000,000 for the largest. Crystal said staffing was the most common eligible use (selected by about 98% of applicants), followed by training, technical assistance and permitting system updates.

With roughly $9,000,000 set aside for round 2, staff proposed a competitive, multi-tiered model similar to the region’s existing impact-accelerator approach. Under the model, applicants would submit a letter of intent and offer budgets from a minimally viable option up to a bespoke proposal; the committee would score and prioritize awards to maximize drawdown and reach new participants.

Members emphasized three priorities for round 2: increase participation by small and mountain communities, direct funding and activities that benefit low-income households, and incentivize projects that regionalize services or reduce administrative burdens. Suggestions included mentoring or pairing programs (large jurisdictions mentoring small ones), cohorts to build capacity, navigator/advisor roles to help residents access incentive stacks, preapproved plan sets to expedite permitting, and demonstration projects or open houses showing heat-pump installations.

Workforce development and contractor training were frequent themes. Staff noted only about 20–25% of contractors are fully adopting heat-pump installations per Xcel Energy data; proposed interventions include stipends for contractor education and local contractor engagement so installers present electric options to homeowners.

Committee members also raised grid- and load-readiness concerns and recommended stronger jurisdiction-to-utility feedback loops and engagement with the Public Utilities Commission. Staff said staff-level conversations with utilities such as Xcel are ongoing and would continue.

Staff planned a 60–90 day application window for round 2 after committee review; they also signaled willingness to tailor outreach, offer matchmaking assistance for collaborative applications, and reserve some funds for DRCOG-administered regional projects or innovation grants. Administrative announcements included a trademark filing for 'Powerhouse Colorado,' planned one-on-one meetings with PUC commissioners, and a public website/contractor hub launch in January along with a marketing rollout in late January and incentives expected by March.

There were no formal votes reported at the meeting; staff will return to the committee with detailed round 2 parameters and a committee review timeline.