2019-02-26_PWETC_Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Acting Chair Wozniak thanked Ms. Morton and thought there was an item on the agenda regarding the Green Steps program. He stated the Public Works Environment and Transportation Commission is the Green Team that is probably most responsible for taking on the Comprehensive Plan strategies and action steps that would address climate change. He stated he shared Ms. Morton's concerns about the lack of evident progress and have been a little disappointed, not necessarily with the Commission, but with some attempts that some members of the public have made and in many cases, not made, to address some climate change issues and he would encourage the Commissioners to focus on this issue a little more going forward. Ms. Morton stated there are about five major construction projects either very recently built or in progress that are within a mile of her house and four of them have taken down acreage of trees and her thought was even if these are totally green projects with completely green energy that is a net increase to the CO2 footprint. She did not know if it was policy to replant trees and she did not think that was necessarily a great solution but for any new development she wondered if the City was putting stringent energy requirements on them because within thirty years these may be mandated to be completely green on projects that have not gotten through their lifespan of usefulness. It does not seem to her that the City is doing anyone a favor allowing non -green energy to be constructed now and then in a decade or two mandating the Company to switch over to something green as the climate gets worse and the problem gets worse. Chair Cihacek asked Ms. Morton what she meant by green energy. Ms. Morton stated she meant non -fossil fuel. Chair Cihacek noted solar or thermal energy or wind should be the only option then. Ms. Morton indicated she was not sure, maybe nuclear energy was on the horizon but right now the City has solar or wind. Chair Cihacek stated the mandate has to be feasible so it is hard at this point for a company to get to one hundred percent green energy. One percent is more feasible right now. He indicated the City could review the building code to a degree to see what the City can do to reduce or mandate other areas that improve the building climate and overall climate because it is hard to mandate something at this point in the private sector. Ms. Morton noted people can opt to have one hundred percent clean energy on their electrical and when digging in the earth the companies can build in geothermal. She stated she was not saying this is what is imperative and does not have enough information to say this is what we should do but it is the direction she believed the City needed to go. Page 2 of 11