Sustainability and Resiliency Committee Minutes - February 13, 2024
The meeting of the Sustainability and Resiliency Committee was held Tuesday, February 13, 2024 in the City Commission Chambers at Fargo City Hall.
Present:
Chair John Strand, City Commissioner
Bruce Grubb, City Administration
Mark Williams, Assistant Director of Planning and Development
Brenda Derrig, Assistant City Administrator
Ben Dow, Director of Public Works
Becki Majerus, Director of Facilities Management
Shawn Ouradnik, Inspections Director
Julie Bommelman, Transit Director
Abhinjuna Kavasseri, Youth Initiative Representative
Greta Gramig, At-Large Member of the Public
Casey Steele, At-Large Member of the Public
Zoe Absey, At-Large Member of the Public
Shawn Paschke, Xcel Energy Representative (Ex-officio)
James Hand, Fargo School District Representative (Ex-officio) (virtual)
Dave Bietz, Fargo Park District Representative (Ex-officio)
Absent:
Tim Mahoney, Mayor
Jennifer Sweatman, At-Large Member of the Public
Mike Williams, At-Large Member of the Public
Paul Matthys, Cass County Electric Cooperative Representative (Ex-officio)
Mr. Grubb called the meeting to order.
Approve Agenda:
Mr. Grubb moved, second by Ms. Gramig that the agenda be approved. There was unanimous approval.
Approve Minutes:
Ms. Derrig moved, second by Ms. Gramig that the minutes from the November 21, 2023 meeting be approved. There was unanimous approval.
SRC Bus Wrap Update:
Assistant Planning Director Mark Williams said there were 20 applications from area students for the bus wrap artwork and three were selected to go to the Arts and Culture Commission. Once the Arts and Culture Commission makes their choice, the finalist will go to the City Commission for approval.
Ms. Absey said it was great to see all of the artists’ work and it was hard to make a decision on the top three.
Mr. Williams said a lot of departments were involved in this project including Engineering, Transit and Planning as well as the School District.
In response to a question from Mr. Grubb asking about the process once a selection is finalized, Mr. Williams said if the City Commission okays the final selection in March, the wrap should be ready to go on to a bus in the fall.
In response to a question from Ms. Gramig asking who makes the wrap, Transit Director Julie Bommelman said there is a list of pre-qualified vendors who can manufacture the wrap and there will have to be final approval by Transit before it actually goes on a bus to make sure it follows regulations such as what windows on a bus can be covered and so forth.
Mr. Grubb said at some point there will be an exhibit at City Hall showcasing all of the applicants.
Sustainability Work Plan Update from HDR:
Colin Rohlfing, Sustainable Development Director with Henningson, Durham & Richardton, Inc., said the most important things now for the sustainability strategic plan are items in the near-term. He said in order to get started and have an impact, he honed in on elements that will have the biggest impact, such as energy use and operational efficiency in carbon. He said there are some things in existing facilities and new facilities that should be put in place to get things going and in order to accomplish these tasks, he has also identified funding opportunities. He said the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants and the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants can be utilized in conjunction with efforts that Xcel Energy has and to do inventory on facilities and use this money to come up with a sustainability and decarbonization plan. He said getting benchmarks is important due to the fact that you cannot manage what you do not measure. He said he hopes to work with Xcel to do energy monitoring and benchmarking of key existing facilities, gather data from them for end uses to then figure out which energy efficiency measures would make the most sense for the most buildings in the City’s portfolio. He said he would like to have everything put into an Energy Star portfolio manager dashboard and that way he can see which ones need the most engagement. Once he has the benchmarking and energy monitoring, he said, he can also use funds to put in place an ongoing retro commissioning plan.
In response to a question from Commissioner Strand asking about the timing of the grants, Mr. Rohlfing said the deadline is March for the first round of funding and Phase Two has not come out yet and that is going to be much more money. He said he is not certain if Fargo can get funds for Phase Two if it did not apply for the first round; however, this was all so fast for everybody and he could see a second round of grant opportunities.
Mr. Grubb said the working group should try to figure out the plan for moving forward and getting the plan completed. He said the City has already done a lot of things since 1990.
Brian King, HDR, said he has been following the state sustainability action plan and Fargo is ahead of the curve as far as the way things are being implemented. He said he encourages the committee to continue to keep its foot on the gas to continue to move forward to make sure that Fargo is in the best position as a municipality to capitalize on state funds.
Natural Grasslands and Pollinator Gardens:
City Forester Scott Liudahl, Fargo Park District Forester Sam DeMarais and John DeVries, United Prairie Foundation, gave a presentation on current and future natural grassland and pollinator gardens in the City and Parks. Other topics they discussed included: Arbor Day when about 150 trees are planted by student volunteers; the annual Reforest the Red event where thousands of trees and shrubs are planted along the Red River in a single day; and Urban Pollinator Plots, which are in six locations across the City and include 50-plus acres of wildflower prairie. They discussed the Urban Woods and Prairies Initiative, the prairie restoration project near the North Softball Complex and the plants in the roundabouts and their maintenance, which include selective mowing, herbicide application and occasional burning. They gave an update on the Emerald Ash Borer mitigation plan, which to date has removed and replaced more than 1,000 trees and more than 1,500 trees have been chemically treated. They discussed the ecosystem value of trees and prairies as well as plans for future prairie plantings on levees, power line easements, retention ponds and other areas that do not impose on private property.
Center for Public Enterprise and Inflation Reduction Act Funding Opportunities:
Ryan Phelps, a mechanical engineering student at North Dakota State University, gave a presentation on clean public transportation and power for the City and discussed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which offers tax credits and subsidies for a variety of energy technology, including solar, wind, geothermal and nuclear.
Public Comment:
Mark Taggart spoke.
Next Meeting:
The tentative date for the next meeting will be April 9, 2024.
The meeting adjourned at 5:00 o’clock p.m.