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Committee presses for solar-ready roofs, EV accountability and stronger development sustainability
Summary
Monona’s Sustainability Committee urged integrating solar into roof replacement planning, asked staff for clearer fleet electrification data, and discussed developer practices (Top Golf, Broadway development) and demolition impacts as part of broader sustainability oversight.
The Monona Sustainability Committee used its June 4 meeting to press staff and city leaders for clearer accountability on municipal solar, electric vehicle procurement and green-development practices.
Committee members said the city should design roof replacements to be "solar ready," rather than retrofitting later, and highlighted a 10-year capital planning effort that could bundle roof replacement and solar design. "Design it into the roof replacement itself," one committee member said, arguing that upfront coordination reduces engineering and retrofit costs.
Members also asked staff to provide a concise report on the vehicle-replacement schedule and police fleet performance; there was concern that duty demands may differ from consumer EV platforms. "I don't want to repeat misinformation," Teresa said, asking staff to confirm any fleet performance issues with the police chief.
Staff reported progress on Green Tier Legacy Community (GTLC) metrics: Henry said he is meeting weekly with Brad Burn (public works) to calculate emissions and fuel-use metrics and will present sections of the GTLC metrics at future meetings.
On development, staff shared recycling metrics from the Top Golf demolition (including a reported 320,000 square feet of asphalt recycled) and previewed a two-phase, roughly 690-unit Broadway project the developer is calling the Green Line. Committee members raised wetlands, stormwater resilience, demolition-versus-deconstruction impacts, and whether the city can use zoning or funding conditions (for example in TIF negotiations) to require stronger sustainability measures.
Why it matters: The committee stressed that embedding sustainability in capital planning, procurement, and development review is essential to meet the city’s posted goals and to make progress visible to residents.
Next steps: Staff will flesh out GTLC reporting for a future meeting, provide more detail on fleet purchasing decisions, and research sample solar zoning/ordinance language from peer communities that could inform Monona policy.
