Title
a. Receive a status report on the Go Green! Work Plan; and
b. Provide direction to staff as appropriate.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Alternative Energy and Environment Committee:
a. Receive a status report on the Go Green! Work Plan; and
b. Provide direction to staff as appropriate.
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
The Go Green! Monterey County (GGMC) Work Plan is a collaborative effort between Go Green! Program staff, the Alternative Energy and Environment (AEE) Committee, the Go Green! Technical Advisory Committee (GGTAC), and various staff across multiple departments. The GGMC Work Plan provides guidance and transparency to the Go Green! Program’s operations through FY 2018-19.
At the December 7, 2016 AEE Committee meeting, staff presented updates and additions to the GGMC Work Plan. Following this meeting, Go Green! Program Staff has been involved in several ongoing projects and activities outlined in the Work Plan. On March 21, 2017, Go Green! Program staff will bring the GGMC Work Plan to the Board of Supervisors for adoption.
The purpose of this quarterly status report to the AEE Committee is to provide an update on specific projects outlined in the GGMC Work Plan, and to discuss any further direction resulting from the Board of Supervisors discussion.
Monterey Bay Community Power (MBCP) Investigation Update
Since December 2015, the Go Green! Program has coordinated efforts to investigate the MBCP proposal with staff from County Counsel, the Auditor Controller’s office, and CAO-Budget and Analysis Division. On March 7, 2017, the Board of Supervisors adopted the MBCP Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) and completed the first reading of the Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) Ordinance. Contingent on the adoption of the CCA Ordinance on March 21, 2017, the County of Monterey will officially be an early adopter of the MBCP JPA.
Because the MBCP proposal investigation has been completed, staff has modified the Go Green! Work Plan (Attachment A) to reflect the actions of the Board to join the MBCP JPA. On behalf of the County, Go Green! Program staff will continue to act in a supportive role, as needed, during the start-up phases of the MBCP JPA.
Monterey County Facilities Solar Project Update
The Monterey County Resource Management Agency (RMA) has indicated that a County Solar Facilities project has been included as part of the draft Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). However, the Solar Project has been categorized as "unfunded", meaning funding has not yet been identified. It is unclear at this time when a funding source will be identified. The draft CIP is scheduled to go before the Capital Improvement Committee for review in April 2017 before going to the Board of Supervisors for adoption. Go Green! Program staff will return to the AEE with future updates regarding the County Facilities Solar Project when they become available.
Think Before You Print
As part of an effort to reduce paper consumption throughout the County, Go Green! Program staff has collected estimated paper consumption data for each County department for FY 2015-16. To obtain accurate estimates, staff coordinated with representatives from each County department, as well as representatives from office supply vendors that have agreements with the County. Staff calculated a baseline for printing paper consumption and cost by department (Attachment A). It is estimated that in FY 2015-16, the County consumed a total of 41.5 million sheets of paper, costing an estimated $285,500. The average County full-time employee averaged 9270 sheets per year. Using collected data for each department, the Go Green! Program is planning to launch a Countywide competition aimed at reducing the County's overall paper consumption. The competition is planned to begin in June 2017.
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, Auditor-Controller, CAO Budget & Analysis Division, 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 GGMC Program, including the Energy Watch Program of the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments (AMBAG).
The Auditor-Controller, CAO Budget & Analysis Division, and County Counsel have been directly involved in the MBCP investigation.
Staff from RMA - Facilities Management and RMA - Architectural Services have had ongoing involvement in the Countywide Solar Facilities Project.
The County’s Communications Coordinator and HR-LOD Division have been involved in the planning of the Think Before You Print project.
FINANCING:
Approval of this recommendation will not result in additional general fund contributions.
Prepared by: Dan Bertoldi, Sustainability Coordinator, CAO-IGLA
Approved by: Nicholas E. Chiulos, Assistant County Administrative Officer
Attachments:
a. Go Green! Monterey County Work Plan (March 2017)
b. FY 2016 Printing Paper Consumption and Cost Baseline Summary