Title
Consider/Discuss/Act on Approval of Submission to the U.S. Department of Energy for an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant in the Amount of $971, 500
Summary
MEETING DATE: December 15, 2009
DEPARTMENT: Office of Environmental Stewardship
CONTACT: Julie Smith, Manager
RECOMMENDED CITY COUNCIL ACTION:
· Staff recommends the City of McKinney submit the proposed EECS to the DOE in order to obtain the $971,500 earmarked for the City of McKinney under the EECBG program. Because of the short deadline involved with this grant application, staff is requesting Council take action December 15, 2009.
BACKGROUND:
· Passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funded the EECBG program in March of this year. Under that program, a formula was developed (based on a municipality's daytime and residential populations) to determine how much each city would be earmarked for potential funding. The City of McKinney was entitled to apply for $1,071,500.
· In order to receive grant funding, an EECS, outlining what programs the city intended to implement to utilize renewable energy sources and reduce energy demand, fuel use, and greenhouse gas emissions. Up to $250,000 of grant funds could be allocated to such an effort. On May 19th, the City Council approved a staff request to hire a consultant for $100,000 to assist staff in developing an EECS. Nine firms applied, three were interviewed, and HDR was hired as the EECS consultant.
· Working with the Office of Environmental Stewardship (OES) and the City's Green Team (a 25-member committee representing all departments), HDR assessed the potential for funding activities identified by the Green Team. This assessment included developing a carbon footprint for the city for 2008 and 2009 that evaluated the following: total electric and/or gas consumption by department, by building address, and by building type; fuel use by department, type, and carbon dioxide emissions (a greenhouse gas); water consumption by department and address. (A summary of this data may be found in the attached HDR report entitled "Tech Memo 1." One of the more enlightening aspects of the report is the amount of energy required to move water (for drinking, irrigation, and waste water).)
· Based on the collected and analyzed data, HDR assessed which of the Green Team's proposed activities would be the most effective in meeting the goals of the EECBG program. The initial Green Team proposal included building efficiency retrofits, water efficiency, alternative (renewable) energy, a veloweb master plan (commuter bike lanes), enhanced urban forest, energy-efficient street lighting, and expansion of the Farmers Market.
· Because the data necessary to analyze the advantages of expanding the Farmers Market is lacking and cannot be developed in the time frame necessary, this project failed to meet at least three of the five criteria (our internally-set goal) necessary for grant funding. (See page 2 of the HDR Report.) Consequently, the Farmers Market was removed from the list. (We will attempt to develop this data before the next round of EECBG funding and resubmit this particular program.)
· Because we could accomplish the remaining six programs economically, three projects were added: development of a comprehensive sustainability plan, a high-visibility renewable energy project for a city building, and funding for a position in OES that would monitor the grants and assist with implementation of the programs. (These programs and their estimated costs over a three-year period may be found on the last page of the HDR Report.)
· Staff must submit this application for funding by January 8, 2010. The City has 18 months from October 2009 (the initial award date) to begin expenditure of the funds and 36 months to complete the projects.
FINANCIAL SUMMARY:
· The City of McKinney will receive 971,500 as a grant from DOE.