Body: Council Type: Agenda Meeting: Regular Date: April 7, 2014 Collection: Council Agendas Municipality: Frontenac County
[View Document (PDF)](/docs/frontenac-county/Published Agendas/Advisory Committees of Council/Sustainability Advisory Committee/2014/Sustainability Advisory Committee - 07 Apr 2014 - Agenda.pdf)
Document Text
SUSTAINABILITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE AGENDA
Date and Time
Monday, April 7, 2014 at 10:00 a.m.
Place
County of Frontenac Administrative Boardroom 2069 Battersea Road, Glenburnie
Members: Geoff Sandiford, Chair Denis Doyle, Deputy Warden John McDougall, County Councillor Bud Clayton, Warden, Ex-Officio
Don Ross, Community Member Barrie Gilbert, Community Member Tracy John, Community Member
Page 1.
Call to order
Election of Officers •
Election of Chair
•
Election of Vice-Chair
Adoption of the agenda
Disclosure of pecuniary interest and general nature thereof
Adoption of minutes
3-8
•
Minutes of Meeting held December 2, 2013 THAT the minutes of the Sustainability Advisory Committee meeting held December 2, 2013 be adopted as circulated.
Deputations and/or presentations
Communications
9-14
•
15-21
Correspondence received from EORN regarding it’s Media Release - Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus boosts economic development through new fibre broadband connections at business parks
Reports/Topics for Discussion •
2013-231 Sustainability PAPER/CHEERIO Update (This report was referred to the Sustainability Advisory Committee by County Council at its meeting held January 15, 2014)
Page 1 of 38
Page 8.
Reports/Topics for Discussion Recommendation: RESOLVED THAT Council of the County of Frontenac accept the Sustainability PAPER/CHEERIO Update report for information; AND FURTHER THAT staff be directed to discontinue work on developing a business case for PAPER/CHEERIO projects until further information is available regarding PAPER programs in other Ontario municipalities and the Ontario government’s proposed on-bill financing of energy efficiency improvements.
22-38
•
2014-054 2014 Work Plan Update
This report is for information purposes only.
Other business
- Next meeting date •
The next regular meeting of the Sustainability Advisory Committee is scheduled for Monday, June 2, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. at the County Administrative Building.
- Adjournment
Page 2 of 38
AgendaItem#5•
Minutes of the Sustainability Advisory Committee Meeting December 2, 2013 A meeting of the Sustainability Advisory Committee (SAC) was held in the Frontenac Boardroom of the County Administrative Office, 2069 Battersea Road, Glenburnie on Monday, December 2, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. In attendance: • Geoff Sandiford, Chair • Denis Doyle, County Councillor • John McDougall, County Councillor Regrets: • Don Ross, Community Member Staff: • Marian VanBruinessen, Treasurer/Acting CAO • Kristin Mullin, Communications Officer • Jannette Amini, Acting Clerk (Recording Secretary) • Anne Marie Young, Manager of Economic Sustainability Others: • Brooke Gilmour, Hearthmakers 1.
Call to order
Chair Sandiford called the meeting to order at 10:03 a.m. 2.
Adoption of the agenda
Moved By: Seconded By:
Councillor Doyle Councillor McDougall
THAT the agenda be confirmed. CARRIED
Sustainability Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes December 2, 2013
Minutes of Meeting held December 2, 2013
Page 1 of 6
Page 3 of 38
AgendaItem#5•
Disclosure of pecuniary interest and general nature thereof
The Chair requested the Recording Secretary to make note in the minutes that no members of the committee declared any disclosures of pecuniary interest. 4.
Adoption of minutes
Moved By: Seconded By:
Councillor Doyle Councillor McDougall
THAT the minutes of the Sustainability Advisory Committee meeting held October 7, 2013 be approved as circulated. CARRIED 5.
Deputations and/or presentations – Nil
Reports/Topics for Discussion a)
Report No. 2013-218 Sustainability Advisory Committee 2013 Work Plan Update
Moved By: Seconded By:
Councillor McDougall Councillor Doyle
THAT the Sustainability Advisory Committee receive this Sustainability - 2013 Work Plan Update report for information. CARRIED Mr. Sandiford introduced Ms. Brooke Gilmour, Executive Director, Hearthmakers who is assisting him with the Speaker Series. He advised that Ms. Gilmour has met with himself and Councillor Doyle to develop the agenda for the Sustainable Speaker Series to be held on Wolfe Island with the topic being: How Local Improvement charges can help save energy and water. Ms. Gilmour provided an overview of the agenda as follows:
- Introductions Brooke Gilmour, Hearthmakers Energy Cooperative Inc
- Back ground information on Local Improvement Charges and how they can be utilized in the County of Frontenac. Brian Kelly, Durham Region Roundtable on Climate Change
Sustainability Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes December 2, 2013
Minutes of Meeting held December 2, 2013
Page 2 of 6
Page 4 of 38
AgendaItem#5•
- Energy Retrofits: Saving you money and energy Eugene Hofmister, Energy Renovators
- Wet-trofits: Water conservation and system upgrade and the Well Aware Program Brooke Gilmour, Hearthmakers Energy Cooperative
- Renewable Energy Installation Brad Leonard, Friendly Fires, an amalgamation to Renewable Energy of Plum Hollow and Friendly Fires Ms. Gilmour will follow-up with Mr. Brian Kelly regarding Durham’s waste incinerator program being done in partnership with York region which utilizes gas tax funding to support the capital costs. It was suggested that Mr. Peter Young attend this session on Wolfe Island to speak to the County’s research on the CHEERIO program and to answer any questions. With respect to the Wet-trofits, Ms. Gilmour advised that the Health Unit will test well water; however she is unaware of anything beyond that. If there is interest from the County, Hearthmakers could seek a Trillium Grant to assist residents with upgrades to wells and septic systems which would be administered through Hearthmakers. Given the high assessment of water front properties in South Frontenac, this could be the focus of the next Speaker Series event. This series will run for 1.5 hours and there will be take away information available for the public, which will be developed in collaboration with Ms. Gilmour and County staff. With respect to a time frame, the Committee concurred that the best time for this event would be the evening of February 20th at 6:30 p.m. and Mr. Sandiford will attend the Frontenac Islands Township Council as a delegation in early January to inform Council of this event. Mr. Sandiford will also attend the December 18th County Council meeting to answer any questions Council may have. Ms. Gilmour exited the meeting It was noted that the Sustainability Work Shop should be a public event as it is considered a public meeting. As such, it was suggested that moving forward, the County charge for this event similar to what Sustainable Kingston and Sustainable Peterborough do. This will also answer concerns that it becomes a public document. It was also noted that holding this event for the entire day with a start time of at 7:30 a.m. becomes cumbersome for those who have full time employment and it was suggested that in the future, this event start in the afternoon and run into the evening. The absence of the press at this event was also noted and it was felt that the publishing of an agenda could help attract the Press. Sustainability Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes December 2, 2013
Minutes of Meeting held December 2, 2013
Page 3 of 6
Page 5 of 38
AgendaItem#5•
The Committee also questioned how Partnerships are chosen and are there criteria for this. Staff will come back to the Committee with set criteria for Partnerships. With respect to volunteer opportunities being posted to the County website, it was suggested that the Townships be requested to also place this information on their respective websites. With respect to the Awards Program Ms. Mullin also suggested that the County could look into a scholarship program open to students in the 4 Township who would be entering a program that fits within the 4 pillars of sustainability, which could be funded in part by local organizations. Ms. Mullin will carry out additional research on this and report back to the Committee at its next meeting. The Committee discussed the Sustainable Actions 2013 and questioned how these actions are prioritized in order to make them usable to County Council and staff. It was also noted that County Council, within the next few months, will be carrying out its Strategic Planning Session with the intent of developing a Strategic Plan for the County. Once this is done, it will assist County Council in determining which Actions it chooses to focus on. It was suggested that recommendations coming from this Committee might hold more weight and Mr. Sandiford and Councillor McDougall will meet to look at past recommendations from the Committee regarding previous Sustainable Actions with the intent to bring forward recommendations to the Committee that could then be forwarded to County Council. With respect to the 2013 and 2014 Sustainability Advisory Committee budgets, Ms. VanBruinessen expressed Councils discomfort in unspent budgeted dollars continually being allocated to the Working Fund Reserve and noted that in 2013, the Committee had not spent its allocated funding. She questioned the funding being requested in 2014, specifically around $12,000 being allocated towards activities which after today, the Committee will now be recuperating costs for. She also wanted to ensure that there was no overlap in activities between the Committee budget and staff budgets. The Committee agreed that the $12,000 will be reviewed by staff and that possible amendments could come forward to the budget. Ms. VanBruinessen also pointed out that during last year’s budget deliberations, County Council moved the $3,000 Rural Youth Day funding from staff’s budget to the Committees budget and to date, it has not been utilized. This funding comes from Federal Gas Tax funding and could go towards supporting initiatives that are already taking place in the County or the Committee could develop its own program that would support youth.
Sustainability Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes December 2, 2013
Minutes of Meeting held December 2, 2013
Page 4 of 6
Page 6 of 38
AgendaItem#5•
b)
Report No. 2013-196 Code of Conduct for Members of County Council and Committees
Moved By: Seconded By:
Councillor Doyle Councillor McDougall
THAT the Sustainability Advisory Committee receive the Frontenac County Advisory Committees – Code of Conduct for Members of County Council and Committees report for information. CARRIED Ms. Amini provided a brief overview of the report and requested that each member sign the Code of Conduct acknowledging that they have read, understood and accept it. c)
Report No. 2013-215 Mandatory Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation Training
Moved By: Seconded By:
Councillor McDougall Councillor Doyle
THAT the Sustainability Advisory Committee receive the Frontenac County Advisory Committees – Mandatory Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation Training report for information. CARRIED Ms. Amini provided a brief overview of the report and requested that each member sign the Training Record acknowledging that they have received and understood the training. 7.
Other business
Through suggestions by Committee members, Mr. Sandiford will send a Thank You letter to Mr. Ron Hipfner for his work on the Sustainability Advisory Committee over the past years. 8.
Next meeting date
The next meeting of the Sustainability Advisory Committee is scheduled for Monday, February 3, 2014 at 1:00 p.m. at the County Administrative Building.
Sustainability Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes December 2, 2013
Minutes of Meeting held December 2, 2013
Page 5 of 6
Page 7 of 38
AgendaItem#5•
Adjournment
Moved By: Seconded By:
Councillor Doyle Councillor McDougall
THAT the meeting hereby adjourn at 11:39 CARRIED
Sustainability Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes December 2, 2013
Minutes of Meeting held December 2, 2013
Page 6 of 6
Page 8 of 38
AgendaItem#7•
Correspondence received from EORN regarding it’s Media
Page 9 of 38
AgendaItem#7•
Correspondence received from EORN regarding it’s Media
Page 10 of 38
AgendaItem#7•
Correspondence received from EORN regarding it’s Media
Page 11 of 38
AgendaItem#7•
Correspondence received from EORN regarding it’s Media
Page 12 of 38
AgendaItem#7•
Correspondence received from EORN regarding it’s Media
Page 13 of 38
AgendaItem#7•
Correspondence received from EORN regarding it’s Media
Page 14 of 38
AgendaItem#8•
Report 2013-231 ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT To:
Warden and Council Members of the County of Frontenac
From:
Marian VanBruinessen Acting CAO/Treasurer
Prepared by:
Joe Gallivan Manager of Sustainability Planning Peter Young Community Planner
Date prepared:
December 6, 2013
Date of meeting:
December 18, 2013
Re:
Sustainability - PAPER/CHEERIO Update
Recommendation RESOLVED THAT Council of the County of Frontenac accept the Sustainability PAPER/CHEERIO Update report for information; AND FURTHER THAT staff be directed to discontinue work on developing a business case for PAPER/CHEERIO projects until further information is available regarding PAPER programs in other Ontario municipalities and the Ontario government’s proposed on-bill financing of energy efficiency improvements.
Background Local improvement charges (LICs) are a tool used by municipalities to recover the costs of capital improvements made on public or privately-owned land from property owners who will benefit from the improvement. These have been traditionally used for roads, sidewalks and other local projects that benefit a specific area. However in 2012 the Ontario government increased the flexibility of this tool and allowed projects such as green energy retrofits on private property through Property-Assessed Payments for Energy Retrofits (PAPER) projects.
Administrative Report Sustainability– PAPER/CHEERIO Update December 18, 2013
2013-231 Sustainability
Page 1 of 6
Page 15 of 38
AgendaItem#8•
The intention of PAPER projects is that municipalities would provide the financing and set up the framework for these projects, such as a program for installing solar hot water heaters. The project cost would be applied to the individual’s municipal tax bill for a set time period, and property owners would be able to pay for the project using the increased savings on their utility bills. This type of program has been of increased interest in Ontario since the federal ecoENERGY program which provided financial incentives for green energy retrofits was discontinued in 2012. The County has been on the advisory committee for the Collaboration on Home Energy Efficiency Retrofits in Ontario (CHEERIO) group with a number of urban municipalities such as London, Guelph and Durham Region. The organization facilitating the project (the Clean Air Partnership, a non-profit advocacy group) contracted a number of companies to develop a model that could be used to set up a PAPER program for a typical municipality. The model is based on best practices from similar programs in other jurisdictions, working in the context of the new Ontario local improvement charge regulations allowing municipalities to use these charges for green energy. Legal, finance, and program design experts have been involved. The CHEERIO reports provide a comprehensive map toward implementation of PAPER projects. County Council authorized the following resolution from the Sustainability Advisory Committee at its April 17, 2013 meeting: Motion #: 200-13 Moved By: Deputy Warden Clayton Seconded By: Councillor McDougall RESOLVED THAT the Council of the County of Frontenac authorize staff to enter into discussions with the City of Kingston and other partners such as AMO and the EOWC on a possible collaboration for a PAPER Program and to report back to the Sustainability Advisory Committee on possible further steps. CARRIED Additionally, at its September 18, 2013 meeting, Council approved the following motion: Motion #: 364-13 Moved By: Deputy Warden Clayton Seconded By: Councillor McDougall THAT staff be directed to review actions of other municipalities involved with the CHEERIO project with the intent to develop a business plan to present to Council by the end of 2013. THAT Council approve a Sustainability Speaker Series that would take place every quarter (one in each township) at an approximate cost of $200 per event. AND FURTHER THAT Council approve an ICSP Workshop to be planned for September 20, 2013 at the Verona Free Methodist Church that would include a keynote speaker, catered lunch, and venue rental at an approximate cost of $1,400. Administrative Report Sustainability– PAPER/CHEERIO Update December 18, 2013
2013-231 Sustainability
Page 2 of 6
Page 16 of 38
AgendaItem#8•
CARRIED Comment Staff have continued to research the implementation of PAPER projects through local improvement charges. At this time, staff are aware of two municipalities that have moved forward with this initiative formally. The most prominent program to date is planned for the City of Toronto, where their Council has approved a $20 million program pilot project using transfers from reserves. Durham Region’s investigation led to a recommendation that Council not move forward with this type of initiative. This recommendation has been sent to other Durham Region committees for input, but the report raises a number of concerns with implementation of this type of program. Inquiries with other counties have indicated that many are waiting until other municipalities set up their own program first. Based on the research to date, additional information on other Ontario municipalities’ experiences is recommended before the preparation of a business case requested by Council. However there are a number of potential issues that have been identified by staff to date based on review of the Durham Region and CHEERIO reports. Financing: Council would need to determine whether this type of program would be financed through borrowing or reserves. Based on the research done to date, it is not recommended that the program would be financed through borrowing as it could impact the credit rating and future borrowing abilities of the municipality for a project which is not under the County’s core legislative responsibilities. If Council chooses to dedicate part of the County reserves toward this project, the administrative costs charged to the applicant should take into account the interest rate the County would have received from having the money in a reserve. Costs: It should be noted that the program would be intended to be revenue neutral, and the cost of administration would be included in the total local improvement charge to be calculated for the homeowner. The CHEERIO report estimates program set-up costs for 100 participants a year of $150,000 and operating costs of $80,000, with total administration costs of $1,300 per participant based on a three year pilot project. This would give administrative costs of about 10%, which could be a barrier to the effectiveness of the project. Costs per application are projected to decrease as more participants sign up. Figure 1 provides a sample cost structure. Having lower than 100 participants would mean a higher cost per person due to the fixed costs built into the cost structure. A survey or market research study may be necessary to estimate the potential uptake, as the County could be left with budget shortfalls if the program participation is less than anticipated Figure 1: Table from CHEERIO Working Group: LIC Financing Pilot Program Design report – Dunsky Energy Consulting
Administrative Report Sustainability– PAPER/CHEERIO Update December 18, 2013
2013-231 Sustainability
Page 3 of 6
Page 17 of 38
AgendaItem#8•
Administration and Staffing: Although it would be possible for the administration of the program to be done through a private contractor such as Hearthmakers Energy Cooperative, financial oversight of the design and administration of program would have an impact on staff resources. There would also be increased administrative costs to the Townships to implement local improvement charges through the tax bill, although these types of charges are used in other municipalities and a system could be developed to track the charges. If debentures were issued there would also be increased administration costs for the municipality. Legal: The legal analysis prepared by Aird & Berlis LLP as part of the CHEERIO project outlines potential legal issues with enforcement regarding registering private LICs on title as a way to better ensure enforcement. The report’s authors believe that further amendments to the Municipal Act would be required to implement this form of enforcement. There is also risk that the municipality could be sued if the work undertaken by a contractor is not sufficient. While the Aird & Berlis report offered a number of ways to mitigate this risk, Durham Region’s report stated that “from a risk management perspective, an LIC program would create a series of potential litigation issues for the Region,” such as contractor negligence or energy savings not materializing. Any design of the program and contracts should be reviewed extensively by the County’s solicitor. Duplication of Existing and Future Programs: The popular federal ecoENERY retrofit program was discontinued in 2012, leaving a large gap in the Ontario marketplace. However there are still a number of rebate, loan and incentive programs available through the federal and provincial governments, banks and certain utilities. There would Administrative Report Sustainability– PAPER/CHEERIO Update December 18, 2013
2013-231 Sustainability
Page 4 of 6
Page 18 of 38
AgendaItem#8•
be potential that a County program could duplicate some of these efforts. While not all of these are available for Frontenac County residents, a new program recently announced by the Ontario government offers significant potential. On December 2, 2013, the Ontario government unveiled its Long-Term Energy Plan, a plan that Council had submitted comments on earlier in 2013. The new plan includes the commitment for making new financing tools available to consumers, including on-bill financing for energy efficiency retrofits, starting in 2015. According to the Toronto Star, further details will be available as part of the 2014 Ontario Budget this spring. Depending on the details, this program may be more effective and a better use of resources than starting a program at the County level. Provincial-level programs for energy retrofits are available in BC, Manitoba, Newfoundland, and other jurisdictions around the world. The CHEERIO report outlines a number of benefits to a provincewide approach in Ontario including significant economies of scale and a substantial mitigation or elimination of risk. While on-bill financing may not address all forms of energy efficiency, it offers a number of positive attributes according to analysis done as part of the CHEERIO project. This includes minimizing the debt of the owner, minimizing debt and resources of the municipality, and low interest rates. The program can be designed to be attached to the meter and stay on the property, or could be due upon change of owner/customer. Another advantage of on-bill financing is that it can address the rental market (business and residential) where the tenant pays utilities, unlike a PAPER project. Conclusion: Given the potential for a province-wide program for energy efficiency improvements and the lack of sufficient examples in Ontario of municipal PAPER programs to date, particularly for rural areas of the province, County staff are recommending that work on this project be discontinued until further information is available on the proposed Ontario program and on LICs being used by other Ontario municipalities.
Sustainability Implications This program supports the Energy and Infrastructure focus areas adopted in Directions for Our Future. There are benefits in Economic, Social and Environmental pillar; retrofit projects can support local businesses and contractors, energy costs can be lowered for homeowners, and greenhouse gas emissions and electricity use can also be reduced. Sustainability also involves the wise management of funds and any program design and use of funding will have to be justified with an analysis of the costs and benefits of the program.
Financial Implications Council could potentially authorize the use of funds from the working fund or other reserves to fund a PAPER program. Additional resources would be required for administration through additional staffing or contracting a private company to administer the program. The goal of the program would be that the costs to design and administer Administrative Report Sustainability– PAPER/CHEERIO Update December 18, 2013
2013-231 Sustainability
Page 5 of 6
Page 19 of 38
AgendaItem#8•
the program would be revenue-neutral, however there would be risks that the program could lose money if uptake was less than projected. Organizations, Departments and Individuals Consulted and/or Affected County of Frontenac Treasury Clean Air Partnership Ministry of Energy Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing
Administrative Report Sustainability– PAPER/CHEERIO Update December 18, 2013
2013-231 Sustainability
Page 6 of 6
Page 20 of 38
Multiple files are bound together in this PDF Package. 2013-231 Sustainability
Adobe recommends using Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat version 8 or later to work with documents contained within a PDF Package. By updating to the latest version, you’ll enjoy the following benefits: • Efficient, integrated PDF viewing • Easy printing • Quick searches
Don’t have the latest version of Adobe Reader?
Click here to download the latest version of Adobe Reader If you already have Adobe Reader 8, click a file in this PDF Package to view it.
AgendaItem#8•
Report 2013-056 SUSTAINABILITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE REPORT To:
Chair and Members of the Sustainability Advisory Committee
From:
Marian VanBruinessen Acting CAO/Treasurer
Prepared by:
Anne Marie Young Manager of Economic Development Alison Vandervelde Communications Officer
Date prepared:
April 1, 2014
Date of meeting:
April 7, 2014
Re:
Sustainability – 2014 Work Plan Update
Recommendation THAT the Sustainability Advisory Committee receives this Sustainability - 2014 Work Plan Update report for information; Comment Directions for Our Future, the County of Frontenac’s Integrated Community Sustainability Plan (ICSP) was finalized in 2009. The Sustainability Advisory Committee was formed shortly thereafter with the following mandate: •
•
To provide input and suggestions regarding the implementation of Directions for Our Future, in particular to help meet the “Commitment Towards a Sustainable Future” and the “Community Input” elements To report periodically to County Council and to produce an annual work plan for adoption by Council County of Frontenac
Five years on, the ICSP has driven progress across the region on a number of fronts, through both County-lead projects and grassroots initiatives. The Sustainability Advisory Committee has focused on regularly capturing and reporting that progress and the community’s evolving priorities through direct reports to County Sustainability Advisory Committee Report – 2014 Work Plan Update April 7, 2014
2014-054 2014 Work Plan Update
Page 1 of 5
Page 22 of 38
AgendaItem#8•
Council, at the annual celebration breakfast and workshop and through the publication of Sustainable Actions. County Council recently approved a draft County Strategic Plan that includes three “Wildly Important Goals” (as attached to the agenda), one of which focuses in part on the prioritization of economic development objectives. A review of the committee’s mandate, terms of reference and workplan in relation to the draft Strategic Plan’s three goals will ensure the committee continues in the right direction toward a sustainable future for the Frontenacs.
The 2014 Work Plan items follow here with updates as available.
- Maintain expertise in sustainability to ensure valuable guidance can be offered for current and future municipal decision making (strategically support webinars, workshops and conferences). Deputy Warden Denis Doyle, Councillor John McDougall, SAC Chair Geoff Sandiford and Manager of Economic Development, Anne Marie Young attended the 2014 FCM Conference, February 11-14 in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Deputy Warden Doyle and Councillor McDougall reported on the conference to County Council in March. Their reports are attached to the SAC agenda for information.
- Enhance awareness of community sustainability and encourage the adoption of more sustainable choices through venues such as: A Media Release from the Eastern Ontario Regional Network dated January 10, 2014 announced the expansion of high-speed fibre internet connections at more than 50 business parks and clusters across rural Eastern Ontario. The hamlets of Verona and Sydenham in Frontenac County are among the locations that will receive new fibre optic broadband connections by the end of 2014. The media release is attached to the SAC agenda for more information. a. Community Sessions and Events The proposed Speaker Series has seen no progress since the December 2013 committee meeting. In the late spring of last year, a survey was conducted to gauge community interest in a variety of possible topics for a speaker series. For the committee’s consideration, following are the results presented at the May 28th, 2013 SAC meeting: Topic Seed Banks & Heritage Foods Eating Locally in the Winter Wild Law Car Share Programs Solar Hot Water Heaters & Your Home Local Medicinal Plants A history of Local Hunting and Trapping The Frontenac Arch Biosphere Greening for Local Businesses Sustainability Advisory Committee Report – 2014 Work Plan Update April 7, 2014
2014-054 2014 Work Plan Update
Very Interested 13 19 8 10 25 18 9 18 17
Somewhat Interested 25 27 18 18 26 21 13 19 23
Not at all Interested 13 6 17 21 5 12 25 12 11 Page 2 of 5
Page 23 of 38
AgendaItem#8•
Movie Nights - Environmentally Conscience Movies Mining Healthy Homes (cleaning products, building materials, etc) Local Recreational Opportunities Lake Management Plans Septic System Alternatives Community Development Encouraging Volunteerism Energy Retrofits
11 6 17 22 21 30 37 18 28
18 18 33 28 17 17 14 27 24
21 23 4 5 11 7 4 7 2
b. Annual Breakfast The Annual ICSP Breakfast has been scheduled for May 22nd, 2014 at the Verona Lions Hall. The breakfast will be a public event. It is recommended that a registration fee of $5 per person be levied to recover the cost of hosting the breakfast. Based on positive input following the 2013 Breakfast, it is proposed that the 2014 event follow a similar format. In order to encourage a tangible, relevant and timely focus for discussions, it is suggested that the event take on a theme of rural transportation. The draft agenda included in Appendix A is proposed for the committee’s review. c. Awards Events 3. Liaise with other like-minded groups to gain insights and share expertise No updates. 4. Stimulate relationships and synergies with the Townships by presenting at Council meetings and through other meeting opportunities No updates. 5. Assist with the preparations for the Annual Workshop Planning for the Annual Workshop will begin in late summer. 6. Contribute to the development and presentation of the 2014 Sustainable Actions report to Council. A draft of 2014 Sustainable Actions will be presented to the Committee after the annual workshop. 7. Raise awareness and solicit contributions through Community Partnerships and Citizen Commitments. To date, the County of Frontenac has entered into 15 Community Partnership Agreements with businesses and organizations throughout the Frontenacs. Sustainability Advisory Committee Report – 2014 Work Plan Update April 7, 2014
2014-054 2014 Work Plan Update
Page 3 of 5
Page 24 of 38
AgendaItem#8•
The importance of community engagement in the realization of a sustainable future for the Frontenacs is highlighted throughout Directions for Our Future: “sustainability in the Frontenacs is also driven by a variety of businesses, community organizations and municipalities which support an aligned vision towards County-wide sustainability”. To that end, there have been no formal criteria used to evaluate or limit potential partnerships. Any and all organizations in the County of Frontenac that are interested in supporting the implementation of Directions for Our Future are welcome to become Community Partners. As resources for promotion have been limited, many community members are unaware of the opportunity to become community partners, and a proactive approach has been taken to secure a number of the existing partnerships. An open invitation for partners was formally offered at the 2013 ICSP Breakfast. With the committee’s review of the Community Partnership Agreement and its intended goals, the partnership program could take on more significance in the drive for increased community participation across the County. Following is a list of Community Partners to date. (The Community Partnership Agreement template is attached in Appendix B). Frontenac Arch Biosphere Network New Leaf Link Kingston Frontenac Public Library National Farmers Union Verona Lions Club Limestone Organic Creamery Seed to Sausage W.A. Robinson Asset Management Ltd. Kingston Frontenac Lennox & Addington Public Health Limestone District School Board Desert Lake Gardens Friends of Arden Sharbot Lake Farmers Market Frontenac Stewardship Foundation Land O Lakes Tourism Association
2010 2011 2012 2012 2012 2013 2013 2013 2013 2013 2013 2013 2013 2013 2013
Update on external communications Initiatives: Facebook • 154 Likes • Highest Total Reach: As high as 200 for one post during the last week of February Twitter • 656 Followers • 275 Tweets (In total) E-Newsletter Sustainability Advisory Committee Report – 2014 Work Plan Update April 7, 2014
2014-054 2014 Work Plan Update
Page 4 of 5
Page 25 of 38
AgendaItem#8•
Date Sent
Name
Sent
Bounces
Opens
Clicks
Forwards
3/28/2014
April 2014*
735
6.8% (50)
36.1% (247)
10.1% (25)
0
2/28/2014
February 2014
727
8.4% (61)
42.6% (284)
10.6% (30)
0
1/31/2014
January 2014
727
8.8% (64)
39.5% (262)
11.8% (31)
0
12/30/2013
Dec 2013
723
9.4% (68)
42.3% (277)
21.3% (59)
0
12/19/2013
Happy Holidays 2013
723
9.7% (70)
41.0% (268)
0
0.4% (1)
*Note – Email Newsletter sent March 28th was repositioned as “April” Newsletter, rather than “March” Newsletter. Moving forward, monthly issues of Frontenac County Bytes will be framed this way as it is most often used as a vehicle to promote upcoming issues/meetings.
Sustainability Advisory Committee Report – 2014 Work Plan Update April 7, 2014
2014-054 2014 Work Plan Update
Page 5 of 5
Page 26 of 38
AgendaItem#8•
Appendix A
DRAFT Agenda ICSP Breakfast: May 22, 2014 7:00 Registration Begins 7:30 Breakfast is Served 7:50 Welcome
- Warden
- SAC Chair 8:00 Introductions around the Room
- Name and affiliation only 8:30 Keynote Speaker
- John Keith, Manager Public Transportation Services for The Rural Overland and Utility Transit 9:00 Community Partnership Plaque Presentations 9:30 County Update
Staff: Possible Topics Breakfast included an update on: o Installation of Solar Panels at County of Frontenac Location o GIS Demonstration
SAC
9:45 Making Progress: Around the Room 10:15 Wrap-Up and Next Steps 10:15-11 Stay for a while and catch up!
2014-054 2014 Work Plan Update
Page 27 of 38
AgendaItem#8•
Appendix B
z Fresh with Opportunity
Directions for Our Future:
2014-054 2014 Work Plan Update
Page 28 of 38
AgendaItem#8•
REPORT ON THE FEDERATION OF CANADIAN MUNICIPALITIES CONFERENCE AND TRADE SHOW FEBRUARY 10-13, 2014 CHARLOTTETOWN, PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND JOHN MCDOUGALL, COUNCILLOR, COUNTY OF FRONTENAC I wish to thank the citizens of the County of Frontenac for this opportunity to attend my first FCM Conference. As a member of the County’s Sustainability Committee, I had heard that this was an excellent conference and it proved to be just that.
Tuesday February 11, 2014 Day One was billed as a full-day Advanced Training Session. I chose the theme ‘Green Economic-Strategies for Making Green Buildings Financially Successful’. The delegates included politicians and staff from all three governmental levels, professional engineers, architects and environmentalists. The objectives of the course were: • • • • • •
To explain why building green is important and how LEED rating systems are used to certify green buildings Identify the cost premiums and financial risks with building green Describe strategies for minimizing and financing cost premiums Identify the benefits of green development from a local government perspective Identify how life cycle costing can show the long-term financial benefits of green buildings Identify alternative finance mechanisms
The morning featured outstanding examples of green buildings across the Country. This was followed by an overview of the impact that buildings themselves have on our communities: 30% of Canada’s energy production; 50% of extracted natural resources; 30% of our landfill waste; 10% of airborne particulates. We spent an hour on the definition of a ‘green’ building, using the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) point-based system. Risk and challenges from higher capital costs, rate of return for developers, technological risks, risk pricing from trades, regulatory hesitancy, unanticipated delays and market uncertainty were the topic of lively discussion from the floor. The day proceeded with an outline of the Integrated Design Process, including the need for clear objectives, shared commitment, a multidisciplinary and collaborative team and stakeholder involvement. Potential Subsidies, Grants and Financing Mechanisms were revealed ranging from those available through municipal, provincial and federal tax development mitigation and incentives, FCM Conference Report – February 10-13, 2014 Councillor McDougall
2014-054 2014 Work Plan Update
Page 1 of 5
Page 29 of 38
AgendaItem#8•
Feed-In-Tariff programs, FCM’s ‘Green Municipal ’ programs, Re-Finance Programs, Life Cycle Costing, Green Mortgages, Green Condo Loans and Energy Services Companies. In summary, Green construction brings direct payback to the municipality that includes real green targets, financial payback (LED lights), green-funding options, a renewed housing demand, bragging rights, identifiable precedents and an expanded definition of infrastructure. For society, Green construction recognizes our environmental footprint, our respect for our quality of life, community pride and respectful planning for future generations. Wednesday’s Plenary Session ’ Resilient and Sustainable Communities in CanadaLooking Back, Looking Forward’ This session began with a discussion of FCM’s Green Municipal Fund and whether it can work in a rural setting. This led me to an encouraging private discussion with FCM staff later in the day around support for infrastructure and housing initiatives at our County and Township level. Of particular interest, was the discussion about the Integrated Community Sustainability Plan long-term challenges, featuring the past Mayor of Whistler. The Whistler experience was the model for our County of Frontenac ICSP. He had just lost the election and was very disappointed that the new Council had not followed the roles and direct responsibilities that his Council had developed for the community aimed to relinquish some control from the City government. His hope was that the community task forces would endure changes in administration. He wondered aloud whether municipal leaders can actually be the leader as we confront global challenges. He recommended that Council’s spend more time listening to nay-sayers and take the pulse of the community more often. He also cautioned not to push too far too fast. The word ’ Sustainability’ over the long term did not help his Council’s cause. The Mayor of Yarmouth encourages municipalities to prepare for the time when provincial and federal governments will come to the take by defining waste diversion targets, development laws, ways to fund our own depreciation and deficits and plans to collaborate with other municipalities. This session and the one on Wednesday afternoon were most valuable for our Frontenac delegates as we review our commitment to the ICSP process.
FCM Conference Report – February 10-13, 2014 Councillor McDougall
2014-054 2014 Work Plan Update
Page 2 of 5
Page 30 of 38
AgendaItem#8•
Wednesday February 12, 2014 A session on Regional Sustainable Transportation for Low Density Communities highlighted a Youth Taxi-Bus program in rural Montreal, where the municipality supports the membership fees and payments of young people’s travel, in partnership with a local taxi company. Membership cards are $ 10.00 and young people are charged $ 10.00 for a taxi ride (they can split this with a full cab). The municipality pays the taxi company $ 20.00, leaving the cabbie with a $ 30.00 fare. I wondered if this partnership with a cab company might be another model we might support for our transportation initiative at the County level. The other initiative described in this session was a very creative volunteer-led Cycling support program called ‘The Bikery’, which includes basic repairs, safety training, a promotion program and The Corn Hill Bicycle Festival. Sackville, New Brunswick, offers a Poverty Reduction transportation on line program at ecoenergy.com, with volunteer drivers, car share and shuttle options. The afternoon session was entitled Catalyzing Change: What is the Future of Sustainability Planning. I will try to summarize the lessons learned at this session: • • • • • • • • • • • •
Is your ICSP continually endorsed by the community? Do you have broad civic participation? Do you look to the ’long-term? Do you have meaningful discussions about the co-benefits of economy vs. environment? Does your Council use a Sustainability Matrix in its decision-making? Is you ICSP integrated with your Official Plan and Strategic Plan? Do you simplify things for the public’s understanding? Is the community involved in on-going feed-back and evaluation? Don’t miss the checklist of options. Can we afford it today? What are the management costs? What are the life-time costs? Remember that people are worried about jobs. Include your natural assets and Eco-assets in your Asset Management Plans, not just infrastructure. Use a one-page plan, with vision, simple objectives and the core business.
I also took a Heritage Walking Tour of downtown Charlottetown with the Manager of Culture and a member of the city’s Heritage Committee. It was a delightful demonstration of a community that has been able to balance the need to save its heritage core, while encouraging development. The city is a tourist mecca and it has a flair and feel that is unique. I look forward to the walk again in warmer weather.
FCM Conference Report – February 10-13, 2014 Councillor McDougall
2014-054 2014 Work Plan Update
Page 3 of 5
Page 31 of 38
AgendaItem#8•
The afternoon finished with the Sustainability Communities Awards and Partners for Climate Protection Ceremony. I encourage you to look at these amazing projects on the FCM website.
Thursday February 13, 2014 The opening plenary was on Decision-Making for Resilience- Finding the Path Forward and Minimizing Risk in our Communities. This was a terrifying session presented by the mayor of Lac-Megantic (The CN Rail disaster) and a councillor from Calgary (the 2013 flood). Both these speakers spoke of the need to have a disaster plan that is public knowledge. Councillors, Mayors, staff and the community have to be sure of their roles. The biggest lesson for both was THAT THEY HAD NOT PLANNED ADEQUATELY FOR HOW TO COMMUNICATE WITH THEIR CITIZENS, BOTH TO LET THEM KNOW WHAT HAS HAPPENED AND TO REQUEST VOLUNTEERS. It is almost impossible for governments to plan fully for disasters of this magnitude. The City of Calgary had fixed its planning on the 2008 flood. In this case, the water had risen to the 2008 levels after only one day. Making Every Drop Count-Affordable, Sustainable, Solutions to Wastewater Services in Rural Communities was the afternoon workshop. It featured a state-of-the-art, very appealing, Engineered Wetland approach to wastewater management by the ABYDOZ company, which has installed this amazing technology in Appleton, Glenwood, Marystown, Stephenville and Cornerbrook Newfoundland. The technique includes settling chambers and the construction of man-made wetlands using reed plantings, as well as the sale of the final water and waste product. I encourage you to look at this www.abydoz.com. I also attended a session on Citizen engagement and Participation. In Conclusion This was a very busy, but extremely valuable convention experience. I met dozens of people in both the sessions and the social times throughout the day and evening. I came home with the following: • • • • • • •
An appreciation for the important role that we play as civic governments. The funding opportunities that are available through the FCM Green Municipal Fund. The need to carefully review and re-engage our community in the ICSP process, including finding an option to the word ‘sustainability’ such as long-term resilience. The need to review and promote our severe weather and disaster plan. The need to focus on rural / urban partnerships for our mutual benefit. The need to look at creative alternatives to waste management and transportation. The fact that communities presenting at this conference have for the most part given up on the fourth ‘cultural’ pillar of sustainability planning and have lost the sense of
FCM Conference Report – February 10-13, 2014 Councillor McDougall
2014-054 2014 Work Plan Update
Page 4 of 5
Page 32 of 38
AgendaItem#8•
•
balance that the exercise should bring to our decisions. There was a feeling throughout this conference that ‘planning’ is changing from ’longterm’ to disaster avoidance, mitigation and communication challenges.
I enjoyed this opportunity to spend uninterrupted days, with some of my County colleagues, looking at planning from long-term perspective without the busyness of our normal municipal day-to-day agendas. Yours respectfully,
John McDougall, Councillor, County of Frontenac and the Township of South Frontenac March 4, 2014
FCM Conference Report – February 10-13, 2014 Councillor McDougall
2014-054 2014 Work Plan Update
Page 5 of 5
Page 33 of 38
AgendaItem#8•
REPORT ON THE FCM CONFERENCE FEBRUARY, 2014 CHARLOTTETOWN, PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND Denis Doyle, Deputy Warden, County of Frontenac
First of all I wish to thank John McDougall for taking the initiative to share his notes before I had a chance to type mine up, I will try not to repeat what John reported on, but there were several sessions going on at a time and we often attended different presentations, thus I will focus my comments on those sessions. Before getting into the detail I want to report that several presenters commented that the word “Sustainability” has been overused during the past 5 years, and becoming a yesterday’s word, and that the new thrust is on building “Resilient Communities” that can deal with whatever is thrown at us, floods, ferries frozen in ice, tornado’s, etc.! The point was made that there is not a generic Resiliency Plan that will address every ones circumstance, and it must be developed by each Municipality. Can’t you just see a whole new crew of Resiliency Consultants knocking at our doors!! See the cover article in March 2014 Municipal World magazine for an article on “Resilience”. Tuesday February 11 The first day was an optional training session, I attended one titled “From Plan to Action – Delivering on Community Energy Plans”. Before getting into presentations from various municipalities, and individuals a presentation was made covering the following basics: • •
•
•
•
• • •
You must base line your energy consumption by clearly documenting, in detail, your current Energy Consumption Determine what action can be taken to reduce energy consumption, and try to find partners that will assist you. For example there are lighting companies that will install LED street lights and pay for them out of the energy savings. Some municipalities develop a plan strictly for themselves, commonly called a Municipal Energy Plan, while others go beyond that and include the residents across their municipality, and this is referred to a “Community Energy Plan”. The easier to do is the Municipal Energy Plan, however if you do a Community Plan ensure you dedicate lots of time and have several public meetings to engage the public. It will be a lot of work, but is the Community Plan is the preferred way to go. Various ideas on how to save energy, such as capture the heat from waste water, Ground Source heat, District Heating systems, heat from burning waste and Biomass, change all incandescent lights to the much more efficient LED bulbs etc. Whatever methods used, you should document in a Strategic Action Plan, and follow the plan. FCM have various programs to assist municipalities “Green Municipal Fund”. The biggest thing to ensure that is in place is the political will. And Council support, to make the necessary change and have broad community buy-in is critical.
City of Guelph approach was discussed. They started by reviewing what has been done in
2014-054 2014 Work Plan Update
Page 34 of 38
AgendaItem#8•
Europe for years, Germany is away ahead in this area. They engaged organizations and companies that have been involved in Energy Plans, such as AMO, FCM, Quest, etc. Once staff work was done they started engaging the public through numerous meetings involving 100’s and 100’s of citizens. They pointed out that the Planning department is a key driver of the process and may need changes in the Official plan, and a Building Code, etc. Do not underestimate the work, but the Green Energy act has help put focus on the issue. They have found that there can be spin off benefits in the community and that a Green Energy Economy has started to develop in their community. They made the point that an important change was made by Municipal Affairs, which now allows us to use Local Improvement Charges (LIC’s) to help home owners implement energy savings in their homes and use the tax system to pay back the loan using the monthly dollar savings achieved by reducing energy consumption. We have looked at this at the County but it has gone nowhere. Further in this report there will be an update on what others are doing with LIC’s. A group out of BC called Community Energy Association presented the good work they are doing. This is a member’s organization and track energy consumption information and compile data to measure how they are doing against targets help communities. Several years ago Premier Campbell’s Government lobbied BC municipalities to become carbon neutral, they felt this was possible because virtually all power is from Hydro plants, and carbon neutral. This eventually led to legislation requiring every municipality to have carbon reduction targets. The Community Energy association put a lot of focus on energy retrofits that assist in reducing energy, for new buildings they promote building the most energy efficient building possible, and reusing heat from waste water, using air exchangers and etc. They generally assist their members in meeting their carbon reductions targets with the end goal to become carbon neutral. At the end of this session there was a promotion presentation suggesting that to really make a difference we really have to convert from gasoline cars to electric, forget the hybrids, diesels or whatever. This means that Municipalities and provincial government have to be proactive and install charging stations to make this idea workable! In BC where electricity is very cheap, and they have a well-run power company with lots of excess capacity, this approach has a lot of merit, but in Ontario with expensive power and a questionable grid and power system, we simply would not have the capacity if everyone switch to pure electric vehicles. Perhaps over time, but it will be after our time before we have the infrastructure needed. The day was concluded with the suggestion that all municipalities should be lobbying their Provincial Governments to do all the data collection on energy usage in a consistent way across their province. This way all municipalities will be measured the same way and you will have a fair apples to apples comparison system.
Wednesday February 12th The day started off with a Plenary Session Resilient and Sustainable Communities in Canada- Looking Back, Looking Forward’. John’s report covers this well but I will make a few comments. The previous Mayor of Whistler BC, Ken Melena, has no doubt done the best job of any Municipality in Canada in developing and implementing a sustainability plan. On a trip to BC
2014-054 2014 Work Plan Update
Page 35 of 38
AgendaItem#8•
two and a half years ago I drove up to Whistler and meet with him and staff members and it was evident that they took this stuff extremely serious, with very detail monthly status reports on dozens of projects, and these were presented to Council. As Mayor, Kens main focus was on this activity, and he had previously moved all gas stations out of town, but what got him in trouble he decided to move all parking out of town shortly before the election. You guessed it, someone decided to run against him campaigning that he had gone too far, and Ken was defeated. The lesson is go slow, ensure the public is with you, and time your announcements on contentious program carefully. Ken joked in his wrap up that he learned a big lesson that he wanted to pass along to all politicians in the room that is; “never talk about bold new actions in the 6 months before an election”. Greening Existing Buildings: This discussion was started off by a group called Building Owners and Managers Association BOMA’ The first point made is that only 2% of the money spent on buildings per year in Canada is on new construction, but this area gets all the press, and there are programs such as LEED getting a lot of attention. The buildings that consume 98 % of the budgeted money basically get ignored. BOMA have a great program called BOMA Test that starts off with a 175 question analysis of the building. They have a 4 level program to assist people to save energy and money. There focus is on building operations best practices, as opposed to construction and major structure change. They claim that those who build a new building to the best standards possible find that after 5 years they really are not much better, if any, from a 25 year old building, and the key is your operating procedures. The talked about a 14 steps they go through when planning to green a building. This was an interesting presentation and for more information rather than listing their process check out the BOMA website. We should look into BOMA to see if we can benefit with their program at the County! STANTEC was up next, and strongly support the BOMA organization and work with them to improve building operation. They went as far as saying many LEED certified buildings end up worse than non-LEED buildings as there is a tendency to think they are so well built that they do not have to worry about good building operations practices! They claim that the Architects and builders never concern themselves with ongoing operating costs, and that the LEEDs program fails to address operating costs and maintenance programs. Redefining rural areas – Stories & Lessons: The communities of Georgetown PEI and Yarmouth NS talked about fish plants closing and the ferry to Maine being shut down which had drastic effect on their local economy and employment opportunities. There was much discussion on the detail of what they had done, the main message was that other than organizing meetings and meeting places, the process to rebuild form such issues has to be from the grass roots, not the Politicians, as the ideas will come from the public. The following summarizes key points necessary to kick off a successful rejuvenation movement:
- There is no room for finger pointing, the first rule is be positive and that any negativity must be parked outside the door.
- Take the attitude that United we Stand, Divided we Fall
- The strategy must be getting citizens to work cooperatively together to come up with agreeable, practical and implementable solutions
2014-054 2014 Work Plan Update
Page 36 of 38
AgendaItem#8•
The answers and solutions are in the heads of the hundreds or thousands of residents in the community, not the few Politicians sitting around the council table with many other priorities to deal with The program and process you devise must be resilient so that as people who started the program move on, or out of the community, the program keeps going They have found that solutions that are community initiated, and led, have a much higher chance of successful implementation and last over time, as opposed to a Council who try to solve ever issue that comes up. Council’s role is to be the Facilitator! It is all about the “Attitude” of the people involved, and there is zero room for negativity All communities have the power within it to solve their own issues and problems – “just do it”
Thursday February 13 Decision Making for Resilience: John covers this very well but didn’t mention that the Mayor from Lac-Megantic, Colette Roy-Laroche, sat at our table. People must have been dozing off, or not paying attention as the presenters kept coming up with things to keep people active the first person to speak said get up and introduce yourself to someone at the next table, the next made everyone do some exercises for a few minutes, the third made us get up and kiss the person next to us, guess who had to kiss Madame Mayor Ro-Laroche? At this session we once again were reminded that the new theme is “Resilient Communities” and the idea is that municipalities must be resilient enough so that the things we enjoy today, and what we have in our community, will still be there for our Great Grand Children. Climate Resilience – Adopting to Climate Change: Again it started with the comment that the term “Sustainability” has become too trendy and socialist and is much over used. The “resilience” term is to make the point that communities must have the ability to hang in through the toughest of times and get through whatever the cruel world throws at us. Dr. Blair Feltmate from the University of Waterloo, said climate change is a done deal “the ship has sailed” and we simply have to plan and adopt to the new order of things. Money and resources is the biggest issue that is delaying plans and strategies to cope, but whatever we do we have to get it right. If we are going to keep burning fossil fuels we simply must come up with programs to capture carbon, we must find ways to control floods, and many other issues created by climate change. Temperatures have already gone up an average of 1 degree C, and will be up 2 degrees in the next 50 years or so. The reality is we cannot stop it so we have to become more resilient and come up with strategies to adopt to the change. He talked about the cost of not taking action. For example by spending $1 million on flood control, you might save $5 million in damages. There are already many places that insurance companies have pulled out of and people simply cannot get any kind of house insurance, there will be many more such areas if Municipalities do not implement strategies to adopt to the new world, and protect their community from new risks. Chris White from Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) gave a very depressing talk. He said the question is not if floods like what happened in Calgary will happen in other cities, like Toronto, the only question is “When”. They have been pushing the Federal Government to develop
2014-054 2014 Work Plan Update
Page 37 of 38
AgendaItem#8•
across country flood plain mapping, but to date the current government is hiding from the issue. He stated that the Calgary flood cost the Feds over two billion dollars to clean up after last summer. He said the cost to companies and the city of Calgary will be even higher than that amount. It was mentioned that IBC has have a Municipal Risk Assessment Tool that can be used to identify risks. His conclusion is that all levels of Government have to partner to address the issue to build a more resilient infrastructure to cope. Smart money – Innovations: This was a very interesting workshop on a topic that I have had a long standing interest, that using the Local Improvement Charge (LIC) system to help promote Energy Retrofits in your community. There was much discussion on the best approach, but the City of Halifax has the most successful program so far. They set out to keep it simple to start with, “learn to walk before you run”! They decided to offer only one plan, and that is for Solar Hot Water, and they have one contractor who does all the work. Thus it is administratively simple and once the homeowner signs the paperwork, it is turned over to the contractor, and he does the installation. Once complete the contractor advises the city, triggering his payment and the charge on the house owner tax bill, which is paid off over 10 years, with the money saved on the energy savings. It was said that the more you open it up for other energy retrofits the more it will cost to administer. At our County Council table we have talked about the PAPER/CHERIO program in place in Ontario, but have made no progress. It was concluded that someone has to take the Bull by the horns and just do it, otherwise the program like Halifax has just will not happen. My feeling is that we must get onto this idea and just do it! Resilience Plan – Participation & Engagement: A few different presenters discussed setting up programs to engage the public. Robin Campbell from Iqaluit spoke about how she engaged the community to develop a resilience plan. The project actually went on for many years before approval and she had several public meetings, and got people to complete surveys. When that did not work as well as hoped she set up a process to meet people and completed the surveys together. They tried to make it fun by going out to public events, and got very high quality feedback. Once data was collected an action plan was developed, presented to, and approved by Council regarding their Resilience plan. Other presenters talked about getting help from FCM, green municipal fund to promote trails in Bromount Quebec and open a bicycle shop in Moncton NB. The point was made that some level of support was needed from local Council on these programs, and the recommendation was that Council must resist the urge to get to involved and take control of this kind of projects, but instead let interested citizens run with them, but do support their efforts, and let them follow their dreams!
Summary We should continue to be involved with FCM, and take advantage of some of their programs, such as the Green Municipal Fund. We need to look at such things as developing a plan to use the LIC feature of the tax system to encourage Energy Retrofits across the County. Good conference and I would recommend that others consider it next year.
2014-054 2014 Work Plan Update
Page 38 of 38
