Sustainability and Resiliency Meeting Minutes - December 10, 2024
The meeting of the Sustainability and Resiliency Committee was held in the City Commission Chambers at Fargo City Hall at 3:00 p.m., Tuesday, December 10, 2024.
Present:
John Strand (chair), Fargo City Commissioner
Brenda Derrig, Assistant Fargo City Administrator
Bruce Grubb, Fargo City Administration
Maegin Elshaug, Fargo Planning Department
Ben Dow, Fargo Public Works Director (via conference call)
Becki Majerus, Director of Facilities Management for the City of Fargo
Shawn Ouradnik, City of Fargo Inspections Director
Greta Gramig, At-Large Member of the Public
Zoe Absey, At-Large Member of the Public
Jennifer Sweatman, At-Large Member of the Public (via conference call)
Casey Steele, At-Large Member of the Public (via conference call)
Shawn Paschke, Xcel Energy Representative (Ex-officio)
Chad Brousseau, Cass County Electric Cooperative Representative (Ex-officio) Dave Bietz, Fargo Park District Representative (Ex-officio)
Julie Bommelman, City of Fargo Transit Director
Absent:
Dr. Tim Mahoney, Fargo Mayor
Mike Williams, At-Large Member of the Public
James Hand, Fargo School District Representative (Ex-officio)
Chair Strand called the meeting to order. Introductions were done around the table.
Approval of Agenda
Mr. Grubb moved, second by Mr. Ouradnik that the agenda be approved as read. There was unanimous approval by all members present.
August 13, 2024
Minutes Approved
Ms. Elshaug moved, second by Ms. Derrig that the minutes from the August 13, 2024 meeting be approved with one edit: Ms. Elshaug is with the Fargo Planning Department, she is not the Director. There was unanimous approval by all members present.
Presentation from North Dakota Clean Cities:
Heather Betts, American Lung Association, said there are more than 75 U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)-designated Clean Cities and Communities in the U.S. that work to strengthen the nation’s environment, energy security and economic prosperity. She gave an overview of current projects and activities, including EMPOWER, Electric Nation, the Electric School Bus Initiative and Low-Income Access to Charging and EVs (LACE). She said EMPOWER promotes workplace charging adoption by offering education, technical assistance and resources, Electric Nation offers federal grant management and application writing skills, develops working training programs, installs fast and Level 2 charging stations at key locations and along travel routes, educates community members, staff and first responders and deploys light-duty EVs, electric school buses and shuttles. The Electric School Bus Initiative provides electric school bus trainings for participating coalitions, who then lead trainings for school districts in their regions. LACE focuses on developing innovative financing models to make EVs more accessible. She also presented information on upcoming projects including the Northern Mountain West Collaborative Expansion Project, which works to transition biodiesel and renewable diesel, which reduces asthma incidences, eliminates lost employee workdays and adds $262 million to the local economy annually. Clean Cities and Communities will start critical emergency first responder training in 2026 and over the next four years, the NDCC’s strategic plan is aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions which expanding their reach through diverse and engaged partnerships.
In response to a question from Commissioner Strand asking with the lay of the land politically with EVs and a change in administrations, will that affect North Dakota's path going forward, Ms. Betts said North Dakota Clean Cities stays fuel neutral and it is possible certain projects could be set back. She said there may not be as much access to electric vehicle funding or grants; however, there is a lane for all sorts of different alternative fuels that may open up such as hydrogen, compressed natural gas, biodiesel and renewable diesel. She said the funding has been awarded and the contracts are in place. so that money is not going away and the work will continue no matter who is the commander-in-chief.
In response to a question from Commissioner Strand asking about biodiesel and Transit buses, Ms. Bommelman said Transit did work with biodiesel when it was new to the market about 12 years ago and there were challenges. Just recently, she said, there was a meeting to discuss how things have improved considerably with biodiesel, so Transit is revisiting the subject.
Ms. Betts said Grand Forks got some grant funding and has implemented biodiesel in its buses and has seen a big reduction in carbon emissions. Biodiesel comes with some challenges, she said, with engines and parts; however, there could be a tradeoff. Renewable diesels are exciting, she said, and North Dakota does produce some biodiesel; however, there is not a lot of infrastructure.
Mr. Grubb said the City did a biodiesel pilot project with NDSU several years ago and it was used in heavy equipment at the landfill in the early days of biodiesel and there were challenges.
In response to a question from Commissioner Strand asking does ethanol fit in to the picture, Ms. Betts said many fleets are using ethanol, including Schwan’s, which just went bankrupt. She said the benefits of ethanol are great and she would like to learn more about it.
Mr. Paschke said Cass County Electric is more on the EV side and has done a number of EV projects from the level three fast chargers, electric buses and EVs in the Cass County Electric fleet. He said he does not have anything to add on the biodiesel side but Cass County Electric is definitely supporting the electric transportation initiative.
Ms. Betts said Cass County Electric helped with the West Fargo electric school bus project and there is now some funding for electric school buses.
Mr. Brousseau said the West Fargo transportation director has a lot of good data about the bus and there are a lot of considerations if someone is considering electric school buses, pros and cons.
Ms. Betts said Glen Ullin and a couple other school districts have electric buses and she is curious to see the comparison between a rural district and West Fargo.
Mr. Brousseau said the Mapleton School District has a brand new Elyon brand electric school bus, whereas West Fargo has an almost 10-year-old Bluebird brand bus and it would be interesting to compare the two brands side by side to see the differences. He said it has to be the right tool for the right job, it is a great bus for what it does with the West Fargo in-town route; however, it cannot do all the routes, there are some limitations with range and charging time.
EV Readiness Study Presentation:
Adam Altenberg, a community and transportation analyst with MetroCOG, said to accommodate growth, the F-M region will require between 7,000 and 11,000 charging ports, which includes 5,000 to 8,000 single-family, 900 to 1,300 multi-family and 1,600 to 1,900 publicly accessible ports. The goal is to engage city and regional leaders, utilities, business partners and the public, he stated, and provide actionable recommendations. He said high-priority strategies include updating zoning codes, developing building code requirements, updating parking minimums, developing charging site standards, creating a density bonus to multi-family developers and adding charging stations to parking. He explained the different types of electric vehicles and charging stations, as well as the study accomplishments, including forecasted EVs and supporting infrastructure needed for 10-year planning, documented potential utility impacts, categorized charging types based on use and identify potential hot spots for EV infrastructure siting. He said some strategies for cities would include removing barriers in zoning code, develop charging station design standards, make building codes EV ready and offer density bonus examples. He outlined some of the longer-term priority strategies, which would include developing a net metering program, encouraging utility-provided charging rate enrollment, developing a municipal fleet transition strategy and expedited permitting processes, promote charging opportunities to employees and converting streetlights to LEDs. Some potential funding sources, he said, would be the U.S. Department of Transportation Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grant Program and the NDDOT/MnDOT Carbon Reduction Programs. He highlighted some recommended studies that could be done and also a list of next steps, such as planning for an update to this study in 3 to 5 years, holding annual working group meetings focused on EV infrastructure development and exploring additional options for enhancing EV readiness.
In response to a question from Commissioner Strand asking with administrative changes at the Federal and State level, is that something to worry about, Mr. Altenberg said it remains to be seen if there is going to be any changes. He said some of the programs in the current transportation bill do not expire for a couple of years.
In response to a question from Commissioner Strand asking will the tax credits disappear, Mr. Altenberg said he does not have a good answer to that question. He said it is really hard to determine what the future will look like.
In response to a question from Commissioner Strand asking what will happen to the electric grid if the State gets to that 18,000 cars number, Mr. Brousseau said if there is a slow steady pace of growth, it can be managed. He said Cass County Electric Cooperative is doing an engineering study now to determine what the impact will be and how much capacity is needed to charge a car. He said it depends on a person’s driving habits and if they are someone who only drives five miles round trip to work every day, a 120-volt charger in the garage is more than sufficient. The high-capacity DC fast chargers should really only be for interstate travel, he stated, and right sizing some of these things is needed when evaluating EVs.
In response to a question from Commissioner Strand asking if North Dakota is on a path to have one charger every 50 miles or so on the interstate or to having a charging station within a mile of the interstate, Mr. Altenberg said that is the goal.
In response to a question from Commissioner Strand asking where funding stands for charging stations, Mr. Brousseau said the first round of funding just closed, which was for rural areas, then round two will open early next year for the urban city centers.
Mr. Grubb said the question now is where does this go next, especially without any money. He said the City just went through a difficult budget cycle and the age-old question is how to pay for something and how to prioritize.
Mr. Brousseau said some of the incentives, programs and rebates are good to get new technology going; however, long-term sustainably and the technology and the savings are going to have to stand on its own two legs and make long-term financial sense on its own without some of those tax incentives and rebates.
Public Comment:
There were no comments from the public.
Next Meeting:
The tentative date for the next meeting is February 11, 2025.
Adjourn:
The meeting adjourned at 4:05 o’clock p.m.