HomeMy WebLinkAboutClimate Action Plan Update Memo 3-12-19
Date: March 20, 2019
To: Ashley Monroe, Assistant City Manager
From: Brenda Nations, Sustainability Coordinator
Re: Update on Climate Action Plan
The City Council adopted the Iowa City Climate Action and Adaptation Plan in September 2018
which includes 35 actions for the community and municipality to undertake to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions. These high impact actions were identified and quantified so when
implemented, Iowa City can achieve the 2025 and 2050 greenhouse gas reduction targets set
by City Council. This memo outlines the progress that City staff has made towards these goals
since the adoption of the Plan.
The Sustainability Coordinator has attended the monthly community-driven Climate Action
Advisory Board meetings and also attends their Communications, Equity, and Transportation
Working Group meetings as described in the Advisory Board Quarterly Report (included in the
March 7 Information Packet). These meetings are going well and allow communication and
coordination between the City and the Advisory Board on the implementation of the Plan. The
meetings have been well organized and run by the Advisory Board members, who have been
diligently working as a group to move forward the implementation of the Plan.
City staff have also been collaborating across departments to implement the municipal actions
within the Plan. Staff progress over the last six months is outlined in key areas below, organized
by a general update and then by Climate Action Plan section titles.
General Updates
Staff Climate Action Group
A group of 22 staff members representing all departments has been meeting every other month
to capture ideas and improve daily operations to reduce municipal emissions. This group has
created a list of simple and complex actions that City employees can undertake and become
more involved in steps towards climate action so that climate awareness can become
institutionalized within our organization. In April, the group will prioritize actions such as
composting in City facilities, polling City employees about commuting options and incentives,
and reducing paper usage. They will assemble the ideas the group has generated into a
workable plan for the upcoming year.
Climate Grant
The application period for another round of the Community Climate Action Grant closed March
1, 2019. The staff committee will meet next week to review applications to award funding from
FY2019 and FY2020 ($25,000 each year). A broad selection of applications was received this
round. The grant award committee has criteria to evaluate proposals and seeks to award
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funding for projects addressing a spectrum of Climate Plan objectives. This grant funding has
been a positive method to engage the community, support climate work, and fund worthwhile
projects in Iowa City that will reduce our emissions.
Equity Fellow
Iowa City was one of seven communities nationally chosen to host an Equity and Diversity
Fellow this summer. The Urban Sustainability Directors Network (USDN) awarded grant funding
to a selection of member applicants to hire a full-time fellow over the summer to further equity
and sustainability work within their cities. The scope of work in Iowa City will focus on outreach
and getting a better sense of the needs of underserved and under-represented communities
who may be disproportionally impacted by climate change. Equity and sustainability staff will
collaborate on mentoring the fellow over the 12-week period this summer. The job opportunity
will be posted next week both nationally through USDN as well as locally. Applications will be
received through the end of April and selection for the position will be in May. We will be looking
for applicants who have an interest in both sustainability and equity, as well as experience with
working or living with under-represented communities. The fellow will also receive free
attendance at the October 2019 USDN annual meeting to present on the work accomplished in
Iowa City.
Climate Festival Planning
Staff has been in contact with event planning faculty at the University of Iowa and other
stakeholders to assist in planning for a Climate Festival we plan to hold in September 2020. The
University faculty agrees that it will be a beneficial partnership for students and has suggested
that they could supply student help in the way of internships and volunteers for the festival.
Tracking and Annual Reporting
In addition to memos such as this, City staff plans on updating the community annually on the
progress of the Climate Action Plan. The update will include an annual community-wide
greenhouse gas inventory, which is done by City staff for every calendar year to quantify
greenhouse gas reductions and analyze trends. Progress on all thirty-five actions in the Plan will
be evaluated and annual materials will be generated for public awareness. Because data
collection and analysis for both the inventory and the actions will take several months, reporting
for the 2018 calendar year has already begun in order to create the annual report expected to
be completed this fall.
Buildings
Tracking Municipal Utilities
City staff have been tracking municipal utility data (natural gas and electricity) for the past 10
years. A more effective software program was recently purchased to analyze the facility data
with the intent of prioritizing energy efficiency improvements. The software also allows the City
to more easily track and quantify building emissions from energy use in City facilities. A
sustainability intern has been managing the integration of our data with the new software and
the project is substantially complete. We now look forward to bringing on the budget-approved
Assistant Facility Manager in the new fiscal year to more actively monitor and manage our utility
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usage. The addition of this position will also allow staff to more quickly implement energy
efficiency projects on City facilities.
Energy Efficiency Improvements in Municipal Facilities
Several improvements have been implemented in City facilities. A Building Automation System
(BAS) was installed for Robert A. Lee and at Mercer along with a new boiler system and HVAC
work. A BAS, now in ten of our facilities, allows staff to monitor and optimally operate the
building HVAC systems with the intent of lowering energy use and costs. A comprehensive BAS
at City Hall is the next planned installation.
Quite a few energy efficient lighting improvement projects have been completed, converting
over 2,000 bulbs to LED lights in the last six months. These projects include many parking ramp
stairwells, several areas of the Transit building, the household hazardous waste room at the
Landfill, Cable TV offices, an IT server room, Equipment shop, and the Refuse building. Several
other lighting replacements are planned at Parks buildings, the MPO offices in City Hall, and
outdoor lighting at Mercer. Staff is working hard to take advantage of lighting rebates available
from MidAmerican Energy through the end of March.
Solar Projects
Staff worked with consultants who completed a solar feasibility study for a selection of City
facilities. Resulting from the study and direction from Council, staff is pursuing two solar array
projects. The Public Works facility under construction will have a rooftop solar installation; the
design will be underway shortly. The Terry Trueblood Recreation Area will also see a smaller
solar installation project later this year.
On a related note, the City Manager’s Office and Sustainability staff have met with both
MidAmerican Energy and Eastern Iowa Light and Power, to talk about partnering on potential
opportunities for solar or other energy saving projects. Discussions are still underway.
Efficiency Opportunities for Owner-Occupied Rehab Projects
As of February 1, 2019, participants in the City’s owner-occupied housing rehabilitation program
will receive an energy audit by the City’s affiliated Green Iowa AmeriCorps (GIA). To date, two
projects are scheduled for audits to increase the home’s energy efficiency. Participant homes
will also receive weatherization to improve energy efficiency and lower energy costs. The City
typically performs work on 20-25 housing rehab projects per year. Additionally, City staff also
sent letters to past program participants at the end of January 2019 to let them know about the
free energy audits. Green Iowa AmeriCorps have had 10 people sign up through our
partnership. As of this writing, eight households have completed their audits. GIA have also
completed additional weatherization for one household and another is signed up.
Building Inspection for Energy Efficiency
Building Inspection staff ensures that all new dwelling units and additions meet the specific
insulation and thermal values for walls, floors, ceilings, windows and doors according to Energy
Code. Staff must have verif ication by one of three paths of compliance: 1) a prescriptive
method, in which plans have to show that the building is designed to the minimum values stated
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in the code before staff issues a building permit, 2) a performance method, where data can be
supplied using software called ResCheck, in which information such as insulation values,
window and door thermal values and others are entered and a report shows if the building
meets energy code requirements as it was designed, or 3) a “HERS Rating”, which is an in-
depth energy performance assessment provided by a certified third-party rater.
On final inspection, staff are looking for the required tag at electrical panel. The tag at the
electrical panel needs to include the following information: duct leakage and blower door test
results, window and door U-values, insulation R-values and equipment efficiencies.
Transportation
Electric Vehicles and Charging Stations
Two more electric vehicles will be soon to be added to the City fleet, which currently includes
two electric cars, three electric utility vehicles, and three hybrid vehicles.
Public charging stations for electric vehicles were recently added in the Capitol St, Dubuque St.
and Chauncey Swan parking ramps. These are additions to the public charging station at
Harrison St. ramp and fleet charging station in Chauncey Swan ramp.
EV (Electric Vehicle) Readiness Planning
Staff applied for funds from The Iowa Economic Development Authority to create a local
readiness plan for electric vehicles. Codes and policy changes, as well as incentives would be
evaluated as practices that cities could undertake that would promote the integration of electric
vehicles in our community. While the idea of a plan was well received, the IEDA suggested that
we increase the scope of the plan to be an Eastern Iowa regional plan. Staff has reached out to
communities and MPOs in the region, all who have been interested in cooperating in the
creation of a plan. Staff plans to gather letters of interest and updating the application to reapply
next month. If awarded funds, a consultant would be jointly hired to create the regional plan.
During the process of creating the plan, City staff will be able to asses which practices would be
most valuable to adopt locally and set a timeline for implementation. Sustainability staff was just
informed that they will be one of seven national representatives for the USDN electric vehicle
planning group.
Increase in Bike Lanes
One bike lane on 1st Ave. (Bradford to Hwy 6) was added last year, but there are plans for six
more lanes to be striped this construction year in the following locations:
1) Dodge and Governor Streets (Burlington to Summit)
2) Mormon Trek Blvd. (Hwy 6 to Melrose)
3) Clinton (Benton to Church)
4) Madison St. (Burlington to Market)
5) Foster Rd. (Dubuque to Prairie Du Chien)
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6) McCollister Rd. (Gilbert to Sycamore)
Council will be updated on project progress through the fall.
Waste
Container Rollouts
The bulk of approximately 13,000 95-gallon recycling carts were distributed from December 10-
22, 2018. The bulk of the 95-gallon organics carts requested by residents followed after the bulk
recycling cart distribution (December/January). So far, 4,145 total, or just over 25% of our
customers have been delivered. About 30 customers sign up online daily and at this point we’re
delivering within a day or two. Refuse’s first organics compost load will be ready for the public
on April 9.
From an outreach perspective, carts have inspired increased communications with
residents. During the distribution of carts and for the month following, staff was getting a lot of
great questions from residents and had conversations with residents about recycling, some of
which we feel like we had not before engaged. Staff plans to track the first months of
participation and analyze data this spring, so we could have more information to share in May.
Community Education Efforts
Although the waste sector is a small percentage (2%) of community-wide emissions, it has
become an increasingly large percentage (54%) of the municipal emissions (see page 9 of Iowa
City Municipal Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory Update). Because the City owns and
operates the Iowa City Landfill, which receives waste from all of Johnson County, the emissions
from the landfill must be reported as a sector within the municipal greenhouse gas inventory.
Staff recently met to ensure that all actions in the Waste section of the Plan are in progress and
on track. Work on an education campaign for diversion of construction materials is in progress.
Recycling and reuse workshops headed by the Resource Management Division have been held
early in 2019.
Staff is examining needed compost pad improvements and preparing for a methane-capture
study for the Landfill and Waste Water Treatment Facility. An RFP for consultant work on this
project is anticipated in the next few months. Also, a pilot composting program is rolling out at
City Hall at the end of March. Staff at other City facilities have expressed interest in starting
their own onsite compost programs.
Local Food Initiatives
Community garden plots are currently available for reservation, starting on March 8 with online
reservations for those who rented space last year, and in-person reservation, beginning on April
1. This year, the City will have over 220 plots for rent in varying sizes. Next year, Creekside
Park will add a community orchard of approximately 26 fruit-bearing plantings (6 trees; 20
bushes), Walden Pond will add 10-15 plots, and Chadek Green will be reconfigured to include
varying sizes and additional pathways.
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In addition to increasing community gardens and gardening programs, staff is working on an
agreement to support local food initiatives. A significant portion of budgeted local food funding
has remained unspent. More information will be brought to Council prior to finalizing the
agreement.
Route Changes for Refuse Operations
Refuse and Engineering staff worked with the City’s GIS platform to devise a revised plan for
refuse truck routing. Solid Waste, Recycling, and Organics pickup have had standard routes for
years, adding streets to routes as streets were built out throughout Iowa City. Drivers would
occasionally need to skip over parts of town to go assist another route, especially if route stops
were imbalanced. Staff modified all routes to keep all resident pickups on the same day of the
week, rebalance the number of stops, and reduce excess vehicle miles traveled. It is still too
recent to observe considerable fuel savings but staff is monitoring impacts of this change.
Adaptation
Tree Plantings
In addition to the 1,500 trees that have been planted in the past three years, approximately 75
trees will be planted this year to buffer the railroad along 420th St. By expanding our tree
canopy, these trees will assist in eliminating CO2 from the air, reducing stormwater runoff,
removing air pollutants and providing shade for years to come.
Stormwater Position Changes
The FY2020 budget also includes a new Stormwater Technician position. This person will assist
the Stormwater Engineer facilitate neighborhood stormwater projects and residential stormwater
management assistant programs. The budget allows for the City to hire the position in summer.
Natural Areas Management
Staffing changes were made in the Parks Division to establish an Assistant Parks
Superintendent position. The Assistant Superintendent will be able to support management of
natural areas maintenance contracts. The City-owned natural areas, like Riverfront Crossings
Park, sequester carbon, reduce runoff, and can help control flooding. We have made progress
in maintaining these areas and will continue to have better support, with recent position hire.
Conclusion
In the six months since the plan was adopted, much work has been accomplished by City staff.
We will continue to provide periodic updates throughout the year and look forward to putting
together our first annual progress report for the Council and the community this fall.
If you have any questions, please contact me at brenda-nations@iowa-city.org
CC: Tracy Hightshoe, Neighborhood and Development Services Director