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Staff outlines grant eligibility, GHG inventory, toilet‑rebate and internship plans to advance Farmers Branch sustainability goals
Summary
City sustainability staff updated the committee on multiple programs: a completed greenhouse‑gas inventory with results due in June, a toilet‑rebate program (24 applications approved, 29 toilets replaced), a forthcoming solar‑switch auction, and eligibility for roughly $76,000 from a Department of Energy block grant; staff also proposed funding a sustainability intern in next fiscal year.
City sustainability staff briefed the Farmers Branch Sustainability Committee on recent programs, grant opportunities and outreach efforts intended to advance local energy and water conservation goals.
Staff reported completion of a greenhouse‑gas inventory covering municipal operations and the wider community; results will be shared at the committee's June meeting. On a municipal pilot program, staff said 24 rebate applications have been approved resulting in 29 toilets being replaced and "a little over $7,000" remaining in the program budget.
The city is launching a solar‑switch auction (staff said the current power‑switch auction closed recently and the solar auction is scheduled for May 31 with signups open through Aug. 9). Staff also said Farmers Branch submitted a letter of intent for a Department of Energy Block Grant connected to the Inflation Reduction Act and estimated the city is eligible for about $76,000 from that program to support an equipment rebate or an energy‑efficiency/renewables purchase; staff said the exact project has not yet been decided.
Staff discussed outreach and marketing plans (communications subcommittee work) and reported they will request budget funding for a sustainability intern to help with data collection, marketing and tracking projects; the intern would start no earlier than fall depending on budget approval. The committee also discussed outreach, tree giveaways and using students and volunteer groups to support landscaping and garden projects.
The committee identified follow‑ups: staff will present the greenhouse‑gas inventory results in June; staff to bring more detail on the DOE block grant options; and staff will check code‑compliance and Lewisville examples related to rewilding and native pollinator plantings for future guidance.
