Title
a. Receive a presentation on the revised draft Go Green! Monterey County Work Plan; and
b. Consider recommendation to the Board of Supervisors.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Alternative Energy & Environment Committee:
a. Receive a presentation on the revised draft Go Green! Monterey County Work Plan; and
b. Consider recommendation to the Board of Supervisors.
SUMMARY:
At the August 2016 Alternative Energy and Environment (AEE) Committee meeting, a presentation on the draft Go Green! Work Plan (GGWP) was presented. The GGWP is broken into three program areas. The Program Areas serve as the foundation for the GGWP. The Program Areas are as follows:
1. Resource Conservation, Climate Adaptation, and Pollution Reduction
2. Organization-wide Culture Shift; and
3. Community Outreach and Education
The document also outlines the activities and roles of the Go Green! Program through FY 2018-19, including:
• Go Green Program Administration
• Key Program Projects
• Countywide Sustainability Initiatives
• Potential Future Projects
The AEE Committee provided comments and recommendations that have been addressed in the revised GGWP found in Attachment A. Changes to the GGWP include:
• Information provided on collaboration with regional associations
• Modification to the Go Green! Technical Advisory Committee description
• Modifications made to the Municipal Climate Action Plan Update and Tracking project
• New project added to the Countywide Sustainability Initiatives section on the Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Report.
Staff has prepared a document outlining expected membership fees, sponsorship fess, travel costs, and lodging costs in order to participate in regional associations. The estimated expense is approximately $1,140. The Go Green! Program does not have a budget to pay for these expenses.
DISCUSSION:
The Go Green! Monterey County Work Plan (GGWP) is a collaborative effort between Go Green! Program staff, the Go Green! Technical Advisory Committee, and various staff across multiple departments. The GGWP provides guidance and transparency to the Go Green! Program’s operations through FY 2018-19.
At its August 25, 2016 meeting, the AEE was given a presentation on the GGWP draft. The purpose of this presentation was to introduce the work plan and to receive direction from the AEE Committee. The AEE was provided with information on the following:
• Go Green! Program Areas - Program areas include: 1) Resource Conservation, Climate Adaptation, and Pollution Reduction; 2) Organizational-wide Culture Shift; and 3) Community Outreach and Education. All Go Green! Program activities will fall into one or more of these areas
• Go Green! Program Management - Information on Go Green! Program Coordination, Program Administration, and the Go Green! Technical Advisory Committee
• Go Green! Key Program Projects - Projects include the Monterey County Solar Project; Municipal Climate Action Plan (MCAP) Indicator Tracking and Update; Monterey Bay Community Power Project Investigation; and the Monterey County Electric Vehicle Program
• Countywide Sustainability Initiatives - Holds information on roughly 60 sustainability projects, initiatives, or strategies that the County is currently involved in
• Potential Future Projects - Provides information on future work that could be considered by the Go Green! Program or other County departments in future years.
At the August 25 meeting, the AEE provided direction on the draft GGWP. At the Committee’s direction, the following changes have been made to the Go Green! Work Plan:
• On page 5 of the GGWP, a subsection of the Go Green! Program Management section was created, entitled Collaboration with Regional Associations. This section provides information on the Monterey Bay Climate Action Compact, the Central Coast Climate Collaborative, and the Local Government Commission’s Statewide Energy Efficiency Forum. These regional associations bring together sustainability professionals focusing on similar energy and climate related issues. The Go Green! Program could benefit from these robust networking opportunities; however, this is an unbudgeted expense and a funding source will need to be identified to enable participation.
• On page 6, the Go Green! Technical Advisory Committee (GGTAC) section was modified to identify County departments, as opposed to individual staff members. Also, at the direction of the Committee, County Counsel and Human Resources - Learning and Organizational Development have been added to the GGTAC list of collaborating departments.
• On page 8, in the Municipal Climate Action Plan (MCAP) Indicator Tracking and Update, more emphasis was placed on finding a systematic way to track and analyze GHG emissions data through a countywide database and to calculate savings in a method that is consistent throughout all measures.
• On page 8, a new project output was added for the MCAP Indicator Tracking and Update. As part of this project, the Go Green! Program will release a survey to County staff inquiring about employee commute habits and staff’s comfort level with Electric Vehicles. The MCAP will be updated with information on GHG emissions related to County employee commutes.
• On page 13, a new project was added to the Countywide Sustainability Initiatives section entitled: Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Report and Moss Landing Community Plan, which is an initiative currently being led by RMA - Planning.
Staff has prepared a list of expected costs required for participation with the Monterey Bay Climate Action Compact, the Central Coast Climate Collaborative, and the Local Government Commission. Estimated fees were broken down by category and are found in Attachment B.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
Various County departments have been, and will continue to be involved in sustainability efforts collaborating with the Go Green! Monterey County Program including, but not limited to, the Agricultural Commissioner, CAO - Contracts/Purchasing, County Counsel, Economic Development, Fleet, Health Department, Human Resources - Learning and Organizational Development, Information Technology, and the Resource Management Agency. Various outside agencies have been and will be involved in the Go Green! Program, including the Energy Watch Program of the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments.
FINANCING:
Monterey County’s Go Green! Program is funded in County Administrative Office - Department 1050 Intergovernmental & Legislative Affairs Division - Unit 8054. Additional funding will be needed for membership fees, sponsorship fees, travel expenses, and lodging costs for staff to participate in regional associations and events.
Prepared by: Dan Bertoldi, Sustainability Coordinator, CAO-IGLA
Approved by: Nicholas E. Chiulos, Assistant County Administrative Officer, CAO-IGLA
Attachments:
-Attachment A - Go Green! Work Plan - Updated September 2016
-Attachment B - Go Green! Projected Expenses FY 2016-17