Monona sustainability committee asks city to publish renewable-energy status by Nov. 1

The Monona Sustainability Committee voted to ask city staff to prepare and publish a status report on the city’s progress toward its renewable-energy goals by Nov. 1.

Unidentified Speaker 1, who led the motion, said the committee’s request would be forwarded to city staff and council: “The motion is for the city to publish to make public the status on achieving their renewable energy goals by November 1.” The motion was seconded and the committee approved the request.

Why it matters: Committee members said the published status would make the city’s commitments and progress more transparent and give the advisory board a factual basis for recommending next steps. Tim (Unidentified Speaker 4) reminded the group that the council previously adopted a clean-energy resolution in 2018 committing the city to a specific renewable-energy target for 2025 and pressed staff for a baseline and tracking data.

Members said the November status should at minimum report the baseline and where the city stands relative to the 2018 pledge. The committee debated whether the November deliverable should also include a formal recommitment or a detailed ‘roadmap’ for achieving longer-term climate goals. Several members said simply publishing the status by Nov. 1 is feasible; developing a consultant-led roadmap or climate-action plan would likely require more time and money.

Cost context: Committee members recalled prior cost estimates for an energy roadmap or climate-action plan that ranged from roughly $50,000 to $150,000; one member described an earlier figure as “shocking — it was, like, $70,000.” Members discussed whether the city should reprioritize existing departmental spending toward pledged goals or ask for new budget funds during the coming budget season.

Next steps: Committee leaders said they will meet with city staff (Nancy and Neil) to discuss how staff will prepare the November status and whether the committee should recommend a reporting cadence (quarterly or similar). The committee also scheduled further discussion of a climate-action plan for a September meeting and suggested inviting sustainability staff from other municipalities to share examples and lessons learned.

Supporting documents and authority: During the discussion members cited the city’s 2018 clean-energy resolution (referred to in the meeting as Resolution 19-2-2328, signed by Acting Mayor Douglas Wood in March 2018) and the DNR Green Tier Legacy Communities (GTLC) materials being used as the working sustainability framework.