Board Minutes – August 14, 2008

 

Minutes submitted by Lisa Mastny

 

 

 

Board members introduced themselves.

 

Invited guest Aileen Tracy introduced herself and distributed the new 4CORE brochure. Sara H. introduced herself and said she was involved with the Urban Alliance of Sustainability in San Francisco. She said she is working with the Cargill Collective and has done work on algae. Paul A. said he is an environmental science major, is deep into permaculture, and is currently working at Open Sky Wilderness Therapies.

 

 

Aileen explained that at 4CORE, she has been tasked with putting together a climate action plan and pulling together stakeholders. She said anyone who is interested in helping out can fill out the form in the brochure to become part of this. She said 4CORE will be maintaining the emissions baseline as well as offering various services and rebates. The current programs are: (1) insulate and seal—if consumers insulate the attic, walls, and/or ceiling, they will be rebated $300 or 20 percent, whichever is  less, and (2) solar hot water—consumers will receive [up to?] a $1500 rebate for a smaller system, $3000 for larger systems. Aileen said they had already received 60-plus phone calls.

 

Riley explained that she is working with installers and talking to homeowners. She said there has been a lot of interest in 4CORES solar program because the Federal government gives a tax credit of up to $2000, which ends this year. She noted that Greg Philips has helped with the website, links to forms, etc.

 

Aileen said she just found out that La Plata County is working with Ignacio, Bayfield, and Durango on a New Energy Communities proposal for a potential grant from DOLA. The group has had several meetings, and the application is due September 19. Aileen is now the lead on this. She said she needs help with some pilot projects and in gathering information from the local cities, etc., to find out what should go in the grant. She is putting together a schedule and milestones. She explained that people are expecting a lot from 4CORE, but that the organization is still not in the build-out phase. She said there is miscommunication in the community, with the false idea floating around that 4CORE will be giving out low-interest loans.

 

Rebecca said she sees 4CORE and the Sustainability Alliance as closely aligned, with similar goals. She said we need to share, not duplicate, and to stay mutually informed so we can complement one another. She said she hopes to continue the ongoing conversation. Tim said he doesn’t see there to be a lack of communication, as he attends the meetings of both groups. Aileen explained that 4CORE is also partners with the Regional Housing Alliance, Discovery Museum, and Housing Solutions of the Southwest (they do the energy audits). She said they are looking for funding to pay for the audits, and in general she is trying to find out where everybody fits in, and how we can all use existing resources to the best of our ability. She noted that Indiana Reed assembled the new brochure and that LPEA paid for it.

 

Jim Dyer asked when and whether 4CORE would be looking at agriculture issues in the emissions inventory. Tim said the inventory already has a section on land-use changes and their impact on greenhouse gas emissions. Aileen said it would be great if Jim could become a climate action stakeholder on these issues, since no one is doing this piece yet. Dick noted that the people who did the inventory’s land-use section were the same people who wrote the IPCC land-use protocol, and they gave an outstanding presentation back in January.

 

Werner observed that the mission of SASCO is changing. He said that sustainability is a moving target, so we are still defining how we can best utilize the volunteers we have. He said the Farm to School program is well established, but that we’re still looking at what our role is in the community. He asked Aileen: how can we support 4CORE in the coming years? He said the main issue is where can we effectively utilize our time and have input, and affect outcomes.

 

Aileen said 4CORE is in the process of creating a volunteer program, and she is still trying to get a sense of what they need help with, such as data entry. She said they are considering using Donor Perfect, so they can enter people’s contact information in a format that is web-based so anyone can access it. She said they need a plan for how to use the software in a way that is beneficial for the community—for instance, by doing mail merges, etc. She suggested that maybe a few people could form a subcommittee to help figure it out, with the idea of getting several nonprofits working together to join in and maybe even pay for more sophisticated features.

 

Werner noted that the Community Foundation and the Durango Chamber of Commerce are both working on community databases. They recognize there is a lot of duplicative effort and are wondering how it could be more streamlined.

 

Riley asked whether there is a privacy issue with having multiple people accessing personal information remotely through the web—do they need to sign disclosure forms, etc? Aileen said the software offers “system admin” privileges that enable administrators to mask certain pieces of information.

 

Tim noted that supporting 4CORE is the top goal of the Smart Energy Committee (SEC). He said that one of the key things that 4CORE needs is money to use for programs, rebates, overhead, etc. He said that the SEC has already provided funds, but any further activity to help provide money to 4CORE would be good.

 

Sara said that she e-mailed Lon a few weeks ago and would love to help out with grant writing, so she will e-mail Aileen with her info.

 

 

Aileen noted that there will be a home energy makeover workshop on Saturday that will feature presentations, door prizes, etc. She said the link is on the 4CORE website.

 

Laurie observed that Tuesday’s Eco-Eve event was “very disappointing.” She said she “did double the advertising and got a third of the participation.” Dick noted that Tuesday was also Election Day so this may have been an issue.

 

Werner announced that the Sustainability Alliance will be hosting Green Drinks at Cocina Linda on August 20, to follow with the tradition of drinks every third Wednesday of the month. He said it has been hard to get people to show up this summer. Lisa noted that there was no advertising over the summer for the events, due to circumstances. Laurie said that summer is a hard time, with many activities in Durango and school eventually starting up.

 

Chris Paulson said there will an event on September 11 on area public lands issues in the Eolus room of the Durango Rec Center from 7 to 9 PM. The presenters will provide an update on Twin Buttes, the Tamarron land swap, and Hermosa Creek.

 

Jim said the Durango Farm to School project will be featured in an exhibit at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. He said that Foxfire Farm will also be providing all loose ground beef (organic, local) for 9R School District, covering 10 schools this coming year. He said the effort could get derailed, however, if farms don’t have proper ID for their premises—a mandate that one federal congressman has suggested.

 

Denise said the SOS-sponsored farmers market in Pagosa is continuing to grow—it started with 4 vendors and they now have 15. It meets Fridays from 4 to 7 PM. They will be getting music as well, and businesses have pledged to stay open an extra hour.

 

Marcus said the FLC Seeds Campus Ecology Club has received a $2100 grants from the Ecological Society of America. Students are doing research on Horse Gulch, collecting information and assembling recommendations for policymakers. He explained that Ewing Mesa has been subdivided into 35 acre parcels to get it out of regulation, and there is concern that the college needs to be more proactive, since the college and the foundation together own 600 acres.

 

 

Dick noted that the LOCAL request for 2008 supplemental funding from the County was submitted to meet the August 1. The deadline for applying for 2009 funding from the County is September 1, a date that is approaching fast. He said the two items that have come up for discussion are support for LOCAL and the proposed SLAP program.

 

 

Marcus distributed a rough budget/ list of funding sources for LOCAL. He explained that Jack Llewellyn has already submitted a request to the City for $20K, split between the two local groups, so the Sustainability Alliance is taking the lead for the County proposal. He noted that all of the budget is projected, so a lot of the pieces are still in motion. He said that right now, projected revenues are higher than projected expenditures, so the idea is to use the surplus to create a foundation for ongoing support of LOCAL.

 

Marcus noted that things are happening quickly with the coupon book—they have the cover, coupon designs, text, and website. He said they are planning a mid-November release. Tim said this is good timing to be near the America Unchained event. Linda suggested maybe holding the release party in the Albertson’s parking lot or at the Discovery Museum.

 

Denise asked whether the line item costs are estimates or actual, and if the fee for graphic design is really as high as listed. She also asked whether the staff person would be full or part time. Marcus said the estimate for the graphics cost was based on the experience with the Ft. Collins book, and that the position is a half-time contract position.

 

 

Werner explained that SLAP stands for the Sustainability Learning and Action Program. He said that he and several others had looked at various programs in the County, such as Leadership La Plata (LLP), and wanted to do something different. He noted that LLP has lots of interaction in the community. He said that he had talked to the County planning staff, who felt that several people who had participated in the Design Academy this spring wanted to take the next step and pursue an action program. He said the idea would be to follow the Design Academy with a SLAP program, which would involve having meetings to decide on a specific topic, study and learn about it, then implement it. He said possible topics range from composting to energy issues to agricultural land, community gardens, and transportation. He said the County Planning Department likes the transportation idea.

 

Werner noted that the purpose of the Design Academy is to make planning more friendly to the average citizen. He said the County would like more community input and action in transportation. He said the next Academy is scheduled for Feb/March 2009, and SLAP would then follow in the Fall, with the Sustainability Alliance taking the lead. He said he would contact the cities, communities, FLC Business School, Region 9, Adult Education Center, etc, to get their input and to ensure that critical stakeholders in the community participate. He said the first step would be to apply for the money set aside by the County.

 

Marcus said the County planning staff is really behind this idea, and they see it as a natural second phase of the Design Academy. He said they will start planning in the Fall to get ready for next spring. The idea would then be that in the Spring the class would choose an issue/topic to tackle, and would continue working on it in the following Fall.

 

Tom asked whether the city/county would then implement the proposed action plan. Marcus said “not necessarily.” Rebecca said the idea would be to educate a group of people around a particular topic, and to encourage them to go ahead with a sustainable business venture.

 

Tom said it sounds like the action plan is like a business plan, and that some money is needed to make it happen. He said the City and County could provide the seed money for managing and executing the action plan, but asked how we are ultimately going to pay for it.

 

Tim said $20K seems like a lot of money. He asked whether anyone has been through the LLP program, which is paid for mainly by attendees and others and doesn’t have a huge budget. He said the goal of that program is to develop awareness among an active group of leaders who have done considerable things in the community as a result. He warned about launching something duplicative. Lisa noted that she has gone through both LLP and the Design Academy, and seconds Tim’s concern about duplication.

 

Werner said he sees the focus of SLAP as being on policy, working with the City and County. He said the idea arose because several people were asking, “how can we implement sustainability action, and who can we collaborate with?”—and then this opportunity came up. He said we want an audience of people who are committed, and who want to implement sustainability actions.

 

Tim said that when he first heard about SLAP, it sounded like an education program, but that now it sounds like an effort to influence municipalities on environmental action. He asked: “What are you really trying to achieve?”

 

Marcus explained that the difference would be in the format—this would be more of an action research and planning experience. The idea would be to get people together to create a plan, focusing on the technical, financing, policy, social aspects, etc. But at the same time, the goal would be to try to weave in some education about sustainability.

 

Tim asked where the group sees itself as “meeting an unmet need.” He said the proposal sounds a bit like trying to get a citizen’s group to carry out the agenda of the County government. He said this would be very different from LLP, which is about education and learning. But he added that there is a lot more community action as a result of LLP than many people realize.

 

Laurie said she is feeling a bit overwhelmed by what the Sustainability Alliance is taking on. She said there is a sense of duplication, that there is too much going on. Lisa agreed and distributed a list of existing and proposed activities so people have a sense of the many ideas that are being considered by a relatively small group of volunteers. Rebecca said she sees SLAP as a way of “bringing it all together.”

 

Dick said it sounds like there is little or no question we should go ahead with the LOCAL proposal. Tim added that, after 2009, LOCAL will probably be on its own, so we won’t need to ask for additional support for that group in the future.

 

Dick proposed a resolution “That the Sustainability Alliance request $10K from La Plata County for 2009 for the LOCAL Project, as our share of a joint request with LEAD for a total of $20K .” All were in favor.

 

Dick asked whether we should also submit a proposal for SLAP and asked what exactly the $20K for SLAP would be for. Marcus said the big cost item would be hiring a facilitator to help with the process, to bring people together around the issue. But he said the project had no specific budget right now.

 

Tim said that in order to make things happen, the group would need to delineate how the money will be used, explain how the program is not duplicating other efforts, and take the time to talk to others doing similar things. He suggested putting the funds toward building the course and paying someone to pull it together, while making sure that things complement existing activities in the community.

 

Marcus agreed that there are many unanswered questions—maybe too many. He said he sees the project as doing many wonderful things for the Sustainability Alliance. Tim observed that the “30-second elevator conversation” needs work.

 

Dick said the choice right now is to either vote on SLAP in an unfinished state, or to wait until there is a more final proposal and then conduct an e-mail vote on it. He asked whether the money would go into the Planning Department budget. Marcus said the Planning Department wants the Sustainability Alliance to take this on. Dick noted that this is essentially outsourcing the organization of the program, and said he was not comfortable that we’re really clear on what we’re agreeing on here. He suggested deferring the vote until a proposal can be assembled—but that the deadline is August 30.

 

Jim said he doesn’t get the sense that we’ve come to a consensus on this, and that this may be too complex for a simple e-mail vote, which is typically more of a formality. Laurie agreed that there is not much information or agreement on this. Denise said her main concern is who has the time to do this.

 

Werner said he could do it. He added that the County also has funds to spend throughout the year, so in theory we could try to get the money later. He said we could work on developing the project now with the planners, and separate SLAP from the Design Academy.

 

Marcus made a motion “That the Sustainability Alliance not submit a 2009 request to La Plata County to support the SLAP proposal, but continue to work on the SLAP idea, with the goal of solidifying funding over the next few months.”  All were in favor.

 

Tim noted that in any proposal to the County, we should add that the Sustainability Alliance strongly supports continued funding for 4CORE, since 4CORE can’t advertise for itself in the same way.

 

 

Dick said that he had received a call from Kim Herb, and she had explained that the members of the SEC felt that Denise is the best and most informed of the four candidates to the LPEA board for Archuleta County. They felt that the issue that hadn’t really been addressed is experience, which Denise clearly has.

 

Dick proposed a resolution: “That the Board endorse Denise Rue-Pastin in the election for the Archuleta County seat on the La Plata Electric Association Board of Directors; and that the Board authorizes the Smart Energy Committee (SEC) to act on behalf of the Sustainability Alliance to support her candidacy, including expenditure of up to $250 of funds earmarked for the SEC.”

 

Jim asked whether we have specifically endorsed candidates before. Tim noted that SASCO hasn’t, but SWCRES has. It has also endorsed specific legislation. Dick added that influencing policy is a key mandate of the SEC, and that moving policy toward smart energy is a key goal. He said the SEC felt SASCO couldn’t just “endorse our own” without doing adequate evaluation of the candidates. Tim asked Denise whether she wants the endorsement. Denis said that yes, she had asked for support and a letter of endorsement from both SASCO and the SJCA, and would love to advertise this support at the bottom of her campaign ads. She said she has never run for public office before and has found out that she is running against a tough incumbent and two other candidates.

 

Laurie asked whether it might be better to support an ad rather than give the money. Tim suggested that we let the SEC figure out the best means of support. He said the goal would be to “spend up to $250 for this purpose.”

 

The motion passed, with Denise abstaining and all others in favor.

 

Dick said the Twin Buttes project is a tough issue because it is “far and away the most sustainable proposal for Durango, but unfortunately it’s on fabulous wildlife habitat.” In other words, “it’s a great idea, but bad place”—so this makes it hard to get consensus. He said that SASCO can take the position of being an information broker in the community, so that people are able to get a sense of the range of possibilities.

 

Dick proposed a resolution “That the Board endorse in principle the idea of sponsoring a public forum for discussion of the proposed Twin Buttes development and authorizes the Policy Committee, at its discretion, to organize such an event, with a budget not to exceed $200 in Sustainability Alliance funds.” He suggested that maybe we could get the City, County, and/or developer to provide some funding for the event, which could be low cost. He said we need individuals to step up to help organize the event. It would probably have to happen in September, since the proposal is going before the City Council on October 21.

 

Jim said the forum would be a good way to elevate the discussion, but we should make sure it is done well. Dick said the idea would be to have a small group discussion. Laurie said we should get a facilitator. She said she had mixed views about the criticisms of the project, because “the farther we get developments out of town, the less sustainable it becomes.”

 

The resolution passed unanimously.