2023-08-03 Climate Protection Committee MinutesCity of Edmonds - Mayors Climate Protection Committee ("CPC")
August 3, 2023
Mission of the CPC is to (1) Encourage citizens to be a part of the solution, (2)
Encourage City staff and citizens to conserve current resources, (3) Work with the City
Council to implement ideas, and (4) Effectively address the future impacts of climate
change.
In Attendance:
On -Site (Brackett Meeting Room):
Committee Members: Cynthia Pruitt (Chair), Pam Tauer
City Staff: Tristan Sewell, Sarah Brinkley
Council Rep: Susan Paine
Citizen: Georgina Armstrong, Nick Maxwell
Zoom:
Committee Members: Angela Winzen (Vice Chair), Steven Cristol
Citizen: Greg Ferguson, Nancy Johnson
1. Call to Order, Review of Agenda, & Introductions
a. The meeting was called to order at 11:02 am. Georgina requested that the public
comment be moved toward the end of the meeting. The committee concurred.
2. July Meeting Minutes
a. The July meeting minutes were approved with no modifications.
3. Council Update
a. The past Council meeting focused on the Comprehensive Plan that incorporates a
complete environmental assessment. The Comprehensive Plan must be completed by
December 31, 2024. Susan will be reaching out to the CPC committee to discuss
climate action related budget requests.
b. Other areas of focus include the chicken code, public solar project, reimaging
neighborhoods, and green streets. The Greenway Loop will be a multi -year project if
it is approved. On Saturday, August 6t", the Finance Committee will be meeting with
the public at the Asian Center sharing details of the budget planning process.
4. Committee Roles and Responsibilities
a. Committee membership recruitment — Tristan does not have an update. Pam asked to
have the city make the recruitment announcement in the media. Susan asked that the
announcement be sent to community members.
b. Participation by community members - Susan asked that our citizen participants share
their perspective. Angela is interested in how we engage the community.
i. Nancy Johnson was at the Earth Fair event and would like to participate again
if the opportunity arises. Felt that soccer players and families learned
something that they did not expect. Sno-Isle Sierra Club can use their
newsletter to get the word out.
ii. Steven shared that if the event manager could break down the tasks for an
event so committee members and community volunteers can assist and
engage. Susan added that 'job titles" like "photographer" would be helpful.
iii. Greg Ferguson shared about the Edmonds Climate Alliance that is a
communication focused organization to get the word out to all environmental
groups.
iv. Georgina recommended identifying categories of tasks like planning,
execution et al. and do this at the beginning of the event. This allows people
to sign up for areas of their strengths.
V. Georgina questioned the need for an event planner. Susan shared her
perspective on the need of an event planner. Porchfest was brought up by
Angela as a comparison. Pam shared that the Porchfest committee has
committee members that have strengths that precluded a need for an event
planner.
vi. Nick stated that the time element is key when hosting an event. Less time
creates more chaos. Nick shared that the United Methodist church was
considering an EV event but denied the request because 4 months was not
enough time to be successful. Georgina agreed that events require substantial
lead time.
vii. Cynthia brought forth the intention of this topic; that community members sit
with the members and participate freely. Cynthia shared her experience with
community members participating and overall finds it a positive. The caveat is
that we stick to our agenda. Pam supports having community members
participate throughout the meeting. Susan concurs. The committee agreed to
having citizens participate and sit with the CPC members.
c. Meeting Options (Meeting days & times)
a. Thursday mid -morning is the preferred timeframe conducting a 90-minute
meeting. The committee concurred.
b. The survey stated a preference for an additional meeting was Thursdays at
4pm.
c. Georgina suggested we recruit a youth member, and the afternoon would be
preferred. Angela shared that 5pm would be better for business folks and
students.
d. Susan suggested we have a combined meeting with the Youth Commission on
some frequency. Cynthia suggested considering going to other Commission
meetings, like DEIA, or the chamber. We would bring a significant topic to
present and discuss — something to offer would be important.
e. If we get new members, we may have to change our meeting times.
f. Angela referred to Nick's suggestion some time back to bring in a speaker and
invite the community.
g. Cynthia stated we are to report once a year to the Council, so we may want to
think about speakers and the like.
h. Cynthia requested that we add "discussion of our calendar' to our agenda
next month.
i. Tristan asked that the committee keep aware of the comprehensive planning
process; climate change will be incorporated into the plan.
S. Public Comment
a. Georgina Armstrong presented a statement regarding the 2023 CAP captured in
Attachment A.
b. Susan Paine strongly supported appending the 2023 CAP with the 2010 CAP
Implementation Plan. Referred to Shoreline and Bainbridge. Prefer to see the grant
writer position assigned to the mayor's office. Need community support to help with
grant management. Human Services needs a grant writer. Georgina's vision is to have
an externally facing public commission focused on climate change.
c. Pam shared her support for incorporating an implementation plan to the CAP. She
expressed concern that at the June CPC meeting with Mayor Nelson the CPC had no
tasks associated with implementation. She wants this committee to be action -
oriented and not meeting -oriented.
d. Angela asked Susan if the CPC would be allowed to help with writing grants.
e. Susan responded that the administration is the final say as to whether an external
group could write grants.
f. Georgina asked for the CPC's endorsement to make the addendum to the CAP 2023
and add a grant writer by writing a letter to the City Council.
g. Angela made a motion to endorse the 2010 Implementation Strategy and the grant
writer; Pam seconded.
h. Susan acknowledged that the City is working on a new CAP 2023 implementation
strategy.
i. Steve supports the endorsement especially the grant writer.
j. Cynthia has mixed feelings about a positional strategy. Concerned that we are not
taking the opportunity to amend and approve. Cynthia plans to abstain.
k. A recommendation was made to amend the endorsement to include "subject to
updates to align with the 2023 Implementation Strategy Plan."
I. CPC members voted to endorse the 2010 CAP Implementation Plan: all yes with one
abstention by Cynthia.
m. Greg added writing grants is no small task. Our primary goal should be to have the
city to hire a grant writer.
6. Climate Champions Update
a. Tristan has drafted requests for public artists to depict sea level rise.
b. Tristan has the new code package on his desk.
c. Future Climate Champion events are being discussed but staffing resources are
curtailing this effort.
7. Action Items
a. Tristan to follow up with Carolyn on recruitment.
b. Tristan to work with Planning Management to get a CPC briefing on the
Comprehensive Plan
c. Tristan will share the draft code package with the CPC.
d. On the agenda for September, add "Develop 2024 CPC calendar", such as the annual
report.
e. Angela requested that all meeting documents are submitted into an agenda packet
like other commissions.
f. Steven will send a potential grant opportunity to CPC. Deadline is in second half of
October.
Meeting adjourned at 12:43pm.
Attachment A — Georgina Armstrong Public Comment
Cities often create plans, but they are not always implemented or they fall short of being successful.
This is never the intention of those who have written those plans. Sometimes, the past can influence
the future, and that can be true in this case, where the CPC's 2010 CAP could now be used to
strengthen the opportunity for success of the 2023 CAP update, which does not have an
Implementation Plan.
Let's consider the expertise and commitment of those who developed the 2010 CAP and how much
they also contributed to the 2023 CAP update:
The 2010 CAP was developed by a very large number of people - 10 citizen members of the CPC, the
Mayor and 7 members of the City staff, six subcommittees representing each element in the CAP, plus
an overall CAP subcommittee, 11 community partners, additional citizen contributors, a partner agency
(ICLEI) for calculating emissions, an editor and calculation analyst, and a volunteer project coordinator.
This large group's work was authorized under Resolution 1129 in September 2006, the same year that
the CPC was established. It was not long after the resolution was adopted that the CPC embarked on a
multi -year journey to research and write the 2010 CAP.
A reiteration of the history of climate action in Edmonds and the role of the 2010 CAP was contained in
the City's Resolution 1389 in June 2017, which added language that affirmed the need for both
oversight and implementation of the City's climate action planning, as well as some additional
objectives.
Sadly, the private sector increased its greenhouse gas emissions from 2000 to 2017, with 2017 being
seven years after the 2010 CAP was developed and accepted by the City Council. For almost another
six years, from 2017 to 2023, before the 2010 CAP converted to the 2023 CAP update, it would have
been vital that the 2010 CAP continue to be in force. In the minutes of January 2021, "Hank (Landau)
reminded us that actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions needed to continue to take place NOW
and notjust in future plans" so a reminder that even though the update was underway, climate
mitigation still needed to be implemented. For 13 years, the 2010 CAP had been accepted as
Edmonds' climate mitigation plan for both the municipal and private sectors.
Since the 2010 CAP was not deemed a success in the private sector, it might be of interest to the CPC
to conduct an analysis of what the main contributors to its failure were and what should be done in the
future to ensure its success. Implementation would surely be one of them, since the City did not follow
the implementation recommendations of the 2010 CAP, and its Implementation Matrix was not
completed and activated. There may be other factors that also contributed to the private sector's poor
results, but we will never know if they aren't identified.
The CPC worked on the new CAP update from November 2017, shortly after Resolution 1389, through
most of 2022, and worked very closely, and continuously, with the ESA consultant, with some sessions
lasting as much as 100 minutes, and covering such components as the GHG Reduction Tool. They
provided the consultant with information, asked questions and contributed suggestions towards
ensuring that the 2023 CAP update would be accurate. The update document states that the CPC was
one of the key organizations that contributed to the 2023 CAP update. I would suggest that it was the
one organization that provided extensive contributions which were vital to the caliber of the end
product.
As we sit here today, the issue remains: How do we incorporate implementation strategy into the 2023
CAP update? Simply put, it is hidden in plain sight. No need for the City to spend any more money on
this plan in searching to provide important oversight for the Mayor and city council that will strengthen
the likelihood of the plan's success.
The following is part of the introduction (on page 16) to the CPC's 2010 CAP Implementation Plan,
along with details they included that were never used:
"The true test of our commitment and success toward addressing climate change will be in
implementing this plan. While great community effort went into preparation of the plan, implementing
it will require a significantly greater level of involvement." The same can be said of the 2023 update.
The 2010 CAP's implementation plan was as follows:
"Action programs:
1: Evaluate and align future development applications and the City's Capital Improvement Program
with the Climate Change Action Plan.
2: Prepare an annual report to the Planning Board and City Council assessing the implementation of
this plan.
3: Hire an action plan coordinator to advance efforts and to provide accountability and coordination
between community and City efforts.
4: Appoint an action plan commission to continue to advance efforts to be responsible for prioritizing
efforts that impact the Climate Change Action Plan.
5: Review and revise this plan as appropriate on an annual basis."
Additionally, another important component of the plan was an Implementation Matrix, which is
contained in Appendix C of the 2010 CAP. It is a complete Matrix that includes every component of the
CAP, including an Outreach Action Plan. The columns for each item in each component are titled:
Potential GHG Reduction, Start -Up Costs, Staffing Level, Estimated Annual Cost, Time Frames, Who's
Responsible, Funding Sources, How Progress Will Be Measured, and GHG Reduction Goals. All vital for
oversight and implementation.
The CPC citizens, mayor, city staff, subcommittees, contributors, and consulting firm left no stones
unturned. Their effort should now be fully realized by incorporating their implementation strategy into
the 2023 CAP update in order to ensure greater success in lowering GHG emissions in the private
sector.
If a grant writer is added to the City's budget, then a channel for funding the 2023 CAP update will help
offset the costs to the City for implementing this climate plan. If a grant writer is not approved, a
citizen's group could provide the help needed to write the grant applications and give them to a
Climate Action Coordinator to review and submit accordingly. The CPC may wish to consider
participating in such a task, should the city council not hire a grant writer.
The above Implementation Plan is the only way to ensure that the intentions of the city council, when
adopting the 2023 CAP update as policy, and the council's need for thorough oversight, will be
achieved.
For the CPC, its endorsement for a plan to use its 2010 CAP implementation strategy will be an
affirmation of its stated advice in the 2010 CAP that implementation is vital for a climate action plan's
success.
The biggest issue we face is lowering GHG emissions in the private sector and, currently, there is a
significant missing link between the City and the community. In working on lowering existing building
emissions, I've seen this personally. While I do have individual City staff members, like Tristan, to reach
out to on codes and what's coming down the pipeline, more public outreach from the City is really
needed. If we have a climate coordinator, the community's organizations that are working on climate
mitigation and adaptation would have a path for providing and receiving important feedback on more
effectively working through the individual issues we are encountering. The climate commission is also
vital as a link between the coordinator, the community and the city council. It can also work
immediately on the plans the City's does not have: A Climate Adaptation Plan, a Climate Vulnerabilities
Study, and a Sea Level Rise Study.
I hope you will see the value in endorsing this plan, which is supported by many of Edmonds' climate
and environmental groups whose members will shortly be speaking at city council meetings during
public comment and writing to members of the city council requesting that they act on adding this
implementation plan to the 2023 CAP update.