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CAC begins reshaping Climate Action and Resilience Plan; schedules stakeholder outreach
Summary
The committee discussed reorganizing the plan’s pillars (Kathryn Hopkins proposed up to seven new pillars including Governance/Finance and Waste & Circularity), reviewed Weston & Sampson’s stakeholder engagement schedule, and set an April 6 special meeting to workshop parking‑lot items ahead of a final action list due in June.
At its March 18 meeting the Climate Action Committee began a focused effort to reframe the Climate Action and Resilience Plan’s organizing pillars and to accelerate stakeholder engagement led by Weston & Sampson.
Committee member Kathryn Hopkins proposed a reorganization of the plan pillars to better accommodate proposed actions that do not fit neatly into the existing five categories. She suggested a possible list that included “Climate Resilience & Net Zero; Energy Transition; Nature, Natural Capital and Biodiversity; Sustainable Sourcing; Social & Community Impact; Sustainable Finance; Waste & Circularity.” Committee members discussed pros and cons of a longer list versus keeping a simpler set and tasked Kathryn to draft revised pillar names and descriptions for review.
Consultant Weston & Sampson is in the stakeholder engagement phase. Shannon McAndrew said the first interviews will focus on core municipal staff, a broader community engagement session is planned for early May, and W&S aims to finalize an action list by the end of June. The CAC scheduled a special meeting on April 6 (12:30–2:00 p.m.) to workshop parking‑lot ideas; members were asked to submit further items by April 1 and to come prepared to discuss integration, justification and barriers for each proposed action.
Committee members raised process points: Paul Kirshen said it was difficult to judge action urgency from the worksheets and suggested focusing on justification and barriers; Shannon clarified that the 'integration' column describes how actions relate to existing responsibilities and who would be responsible. Members also agreed to improve pre‑meeting review of packet materials to make discussion time more productive.
