Councils get first look at energy action plans

Curbing energy use might require a hired full-time helper

Reducing energy use and conserving resources is projected to save Americans a lot of money in the long run. Both President Barack Obama and Senator John McCain hung their campaign hats on that idea last fall. But when the short run starts off with an economic slump and a busy schedule, making the up-front investment into energy efficiency can be daunting.

This week the town councils of Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte got their first look at their municipalities’ respective energy action plans, which have been formulated to reduce energy use and pollution in the Gunnison Valley.
The question asked by council members in Crested Butte was how to pay for some of the suggested programs, and who can assist in keeping the plan moving ahead efficiently.

Up in Mt. Crested Butte, council members felt some of the suggested items—like mandated energy sensors on new appliances—were unrealistic, and they felt there needed to be more positive benefits and incentives rather than stricter codes.
However, both councils were excited to see the energy (no pun intended) that was put into the planning process.

In Crested Butte
The town of Crested Butte’s energy action plan calls for a 20 percent reduction in emissions by the year 2020. Council member Billy Rankin presented the plan to the council on Monday, February 2, and said finding no increase in emissions was a particular challenge, given anticipated growth.
Town building and zoning director Bob Gillie described the process, saying, “I think a lot of times you have the choir talking to the choir. I think some of the town staff grounds the process in a little more reality. There are some things that are maybe not achievable, that we maybe shouldn’t be spending time on. This process started out as a big shotgun approach… Some of the ideas were pretty wild.
“This document has a lot further to go in terms of how to actually implement these things. Some are systemic changes in infrastructure. Some are behavioral changes that might fall into ORE’s (The Office for Resource Efficiency) world. I think we have to focus on a couple things we really think we can make a big difference with and implement them.”
Rankin said the town’s energy planning committee hoped to be back in March with a better draft of the plan, and would then proceed with an official proposal to the council in April.
Mayor Alan Bernholtz asked how complete the document was before them, and Rankin said it contained only those actions the committee felt pretty sure on.
Rankin said implementation and funding would also be challenges of the plan.
Bernholtz asked, “Do we need someone at our level to be on top of what’s going on?”
Town planner John Hess said he thought it would take a dedicated staff position to keep track of implementing the energy plan. “I’ve been saying this for a while—I don’t think anything is going to happen unless there’s a staff person dedicated to it, at least half-time, if not full-time, covering all the bases,” he said.
Bernholtz suggested splitting the cost of a staff person with other interested municipalities.
Council member Leah Williams asked if ORE could help the town implement the plan.
ORE board member Vicki Shaw explained that it was a joint decision of the four governments to contract with ORE to take up the energy planning process, up to the point of developing the energy action plans. “I don’t see why ORE couldn’t be asked to implement them, but it always comes back to—well, it takes money for ORE to hire someone, or for the town to hire someone. I think it’s important to figure out how to pay for implementation and who’s going to do what,” Shaw said.
Rankin asked the council to take a further look at the document in the next week and provide more feedback to the committee.
Councilmember Skip Berkshire commended the work done so far. “It is a big deal. I’m very hopeful, with the same kind of energy and passion, it will become workable and something we can really achieve. It may not be as grand as originally envisioned, but I think it will yield very tangible benefits,” Berkshire said.
Bernholtz asked Rankin if he had any comments. “You sit on this side of the table, you must have thought about it. What are your answers?”
Rankin said a staff position would be great, but he also realized this wasn’t realistic. He suggested getting some more input from community members and local businesses.
Williams asked Rankin and the committee to consider better ways to quantify ongoing carbon reductions and associated savings.
Bernholtz said he wanted the town to be the energy efficiency leaders in the valley, and was anxious to see the next draft.

In Mt. Crested Butte
Community development director Bill Racek introduced Mt. Crested Butte’s energy action plan to the Town Council on Tuesday, February 3. Citing the greenhouse gas inventory released last fall, Racek said Mt. Crested Butte produced the equivalent of 47,930 tons of carbon emissions. Eighty-nine percent of that came from buildings. He said the goal of the town’s plan was to improve building standards.
Racek said the energy action plan has one-year goals to improve efficiency in new construction, and five-year goals to improve efficiency in existing buildings.
“I think you all understand the need. It ought to be our biggest priority to improve building performance,” he said. “The likely thing we need to do is adopt an energy code that will reduce CO2 output.“ Racek suggested the town should adopt a higher building code based on the International Code Council’s efficiency standards.
Council member Bill Babbitt asked what such a code would entail, and Racek said it would be very similar to adopting LEED (Leadership in Energy Efficient Design) standards.
Council member Mike Kube said things like mandated energy sensors on new appliances were a bit much. “The gut feeling I got is that’s a little bit overkill,” Kube said. He said rather than requiring energy use sensors, the town should stick to asking for the community to purchase Energy Star-rated appliances.
Racek said the town’s energy planning committee included all the suggestions they developed in the draft energy action plan, and now their objective was to narrow the options down. He admitted that things like energy use sensors don’t equate to actual energy savings, but they’re meant to encourage more responsible energy use.
Babbitt agreed with Kube, and said he wasn’t in favor of mandating certain things in the plan. ”I think this is kind of heavy-handed… I think we need to find a way to encourage citizens to do this on their own,” he said.
Council member Dave Clayton said the plan’s five-year goals to mandate efficiency standards on existing buildings could put some homeowners in a bind. He said it would be especially tough for those who recently tried to upgrade their homes, for instance with better insulation, and wondered if such citizens should then be held to a higher standard.
Mt. Crested Butte community development assistant and energy plan committee member Theresa Henry said the feedback was great. “This is why we’re doing it. I agree some of these things are going to be hard to mandate,” she said. Henry also agreed that implementing some of the programs would be challenging.
Racek said the community development department might not have time to adequately enforce some of the plan’s suggestions.
With buildings taking such a large focus in the town’s plan, Racek sent the Gunnison County Contractors Association information about the plan.
Contractors Association board member Cory Watt thanked Racek for the information and said the association had some ideas of its own for the plan. Watt encouraged the town to look at the National Association of Home Builders’ energy efficiency code.
She said the Contractors Association wanted to step back in the process and provide their input. “Instead of more mandates and regulations, we want to work together to find better incentives,” she said.
ORE energy action plan coordinator Maya Silver said some of the other governments participating in the process were backing away from mandates.
Crested Butte Mountain Resort planning director John Sale said he attended some of the town’s energy planning meetings. “I’m certainly for trying to reduce energy use… but in order to accomplish any of this, it’s going to be painful. There are sacrifices that have to be made. A lot of these things aren’t going to be easy,” Sale said.
Sale said he was also concerned about the plan’s effect on future growth in the town. He said as the plan stood, any new growth would have to be at least 50 percent more efficient, if not a “net zero” development.
Mayor William Buck said the council members should provide input on the plan to the energy committee before their next meeting.
Racek said he wanted the council to begin considering some of the one-year actions before the next building season.
Future council discussions about the energy action plans have not been scheduled in either town.