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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCFE Meeting Summary 01102022 Orange County Commission for the Environment Meeting Summary January 10, 2022; 7:30 pm Ortual Zoom Meeting Present: Kim Piracci, Kim Livingston, Frank Binkowski, Bill Ward, Eric Scheier, Jaya Nair, Kristie Mather, Carrie Fletcher, James Eichel, Veronica Penn Beattie, Jessie Birckhead, Jane Harris Absent: Jeremy Marzuola (excused), Alan Parry (absent), Elizabeth McWhorter(absent) I. Call to Order Kim Piracci called the meeting to order at 7:31 pm. II. Additions or Changes to Agenda Kim Piracci requested to conduct CFE Officer Nominations and Elections prior to Approval of DRAFT Meeting Summary from the December 13th, 2021 meeting. III. CFE Officer Nominations and Elections—Action Item Kim Piracci stated that she would be happy to turn over the role of Chair. Carrie Fletcher nominated Kim Piracci to continue to serve as Chair and Kim Piracci accepted but only if some of the new members would be open to the position next year. Kim Livingston stated that she was going to step down from Vice Chair. Frank Binkowski nominated Jaya Nair to serve as Vice Chair, but Jaya Nair declined, so Kim Piracci nominated Eric Scheier and he accepted. Vote for Kim Piracci as Chair; all in favor; none opposed; Kim Piracci shall serve as Chair of CFE for 2022. Vote for Eric Scheier; all in favor; none opposed; Eric Scheier shall serve as Vice Chair of CFE for 2022. IV. Approval of DRAFT Meeting Summary—December 13', 2021 Motion by Frank Binkowski; seconded by Carrie Fletcher; all in favor; none opposed; motion passed. V. Community Climate Action Grant Proposal Review Asset Management Director, Steven Arndt,presented a FY 2021-22 Community Climate Action Grant proposal from Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) titled Creating a Solar Future at CHCCS. The proposal calls for the installation of a 100kW rooftop photovoltaic array at three campuses (Chapel Hill High School, East Chapel Hill High School and Carrboro High School) to offset energy consumption, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and incorporate sustainability-related educational content for students at CHCCS. Of the $268,000 currently available for the public school system, CHCCS are requesting $250,000 for their project. After a lengthy discussion, the CFE agreed to recommend approval of the grant application to the BOCC with two recommendations. Page 1 of 2 Orange County Commission for the Environment Meeting Summary January 10, 2022; 7:30 pm Ortual Zoom Meeting One, CHCCS hire an appropriate consultant to manage the design and negotiations with the utilities to ensure that the schools receive the maximum environmental benefit from this project. Kim Piracci asked Veronica Penn Beattie to summarize her additional recommendation thoughts. She then asked Eric Scheier to summarize his recommendation ideas on Renewable Energy Credits in two sentences. First, the environmental benefits go with the Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs). Second,the schools should therefore build the system so that they keep the RECs. Since there was no agreement about how the second recommendation should be worded, David suggested that we come to agreement via email. Motion to approve with recommendations by Bill Ward; seconded by Frank Binkowski; all in favor; none opposed; motion passed. VI. Updates and Information Items None. VII. Adjournment Frank Binkowski motioned to adjourn the meeting at 9:09 pm; seconded by Jane Harris; none opposed; motion passed. Page 2 of 2