1. Call to Order 
Councilor Stef Seffinger called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m.

Committee members Rick Barth, Shannon Downey, Ben Scott, Jordan Ely, and James McGinnis were present. Staff member Stu Green was present. Committee members Cindy Bernard and Chris Brown were absent.
 
Seffinger welcomed the newest committee member, Rick Barth. Barth gave an overview of his background.
 
2. Council update
Seffinger gave an overview of some upcoming council agenda topics, including new transportation options (Uber and Lyft) and the appointment processes for Council seats 3 and 6. She updated the group on the work of the commissions she is liaison to and how they are working to incoportate the CEAP into their work. Group discussed ways in which they would like other commissions to support the CEAP.

3. CEAP Actions Update

Green gave an overview of the progress on items since the last meeting. These included:

• Renewable Energy – Green is about to hire an Energy Services Company (ESCO) to help plan and determin the feasibility of energy savings projects. Ely gave an overview of how an ESCO operates and what assistance they can provide.
• Website development – Green stated that he is looking for the best option to suit our needs. He hopes tonight’s discussion of performance indicators and dashboard formats will help finalize what is needed in a website.
• Electric Vehicle Chargers – upgraded chargers have been installed in the public lot on the corner of Pioneer and Lithia Way, in the area closest to Pony Espresso. They are currently free but Green is working on payment options/methods. He is also working on a couple of new locations for future installations.

 
Group discussed ways to encourage EV charging installations at hospitality-oriented businesses.
 

• Progress Report. – Green stated the progress report given to the City Council on March 6, went well. He is hoping to have more to report at the next update.

 
Group discussed appointments of new members. McGinnis stated that two high school students submitted their names to the Mayor for consideration. Ely encouraged their appointment and Seffinger agreed to talk to Mayor Stromberg about their appointment.
 
4. Key Performance Indicators
Green stated he needs more specifics in order to identify the most appropriate key indicatiors and, therefore, will be meeting individually with committee members to gather additional input.
 
5. CEAP Dashboard Format
Green showed the group examples of dashboards used by other cities. Group discussed the level of details they think should be on the dashboard. Group agreed that the front page should be simple and easy to read, with each area giving viewers the ability to drill down to more specific indicators, information, and potential actions. Group discussed some of the indicators they would like to see on a dashboard and how to categorize some of the actions. Group dicussed whether they need to start the dashboard with all the “bells and whistles,” or if they could start more simply and add specifics as progress is made. Group determined they need to have further discussion on priorities when it comes to conflicting actions (such as encouraging electric vehicles versus encouraging biking versus lowering overall electricity consumption). Green agreed to send examples of how he hopes to format the dashboard so that group members can submit comments.
 
Green stated there is now a form, www.ashland.or.us/climateinput, for input to the group. He encouraged both interested residents and committee members to use this form to submit input. Group discussed ways in which they would like to receive this input and whether or not they had any interest in having every suggestion or piece of input traced back to which committee member submitted it. Group generally agreed this would be too much staff work and that they trusted staff to summarize input effectively.
 
6. TID Piping Advisory Group
Seffinger stated she was contacted by the Public Works department because they are starting a TID Piping Advisory Group and wanted to know if this group wanted to appoint a member to participate in that group. Group determined there isn’t a need to appoint a member.
 
7. Public Input
Seffinger stated they had received a few emails concerned about the decision to place public input at the end of the meeting and requesting the input section be moved to the beginning of the meeting. She reminded the group they initially placed it on the end both so that working citizens could give input with out rushing to be at a 5:00 p.m. meeting and also so the input could directly relate to the meeting discussions. Group discussed options for when to place public input on an agenda including, at the start of the meeting, in the middle of the meeting, and having a time at both the beginning and the end. Group agreed to move public input to the beginning of each meeting agenda.
 
Willow Denker – stated that she was one of the people who e-mailed the group about when to hold public input. She was glad to have stayed for the whole meeting as she learned a lot and appreciated the work that the group is doing for the community. She encouraged the group to come up with options for easy, middle, and challenging changes community members can do to aid the CEAP progress.
 
Huelz Gutchen – stated that Norway recently divested $1trillion from high carbon producer investments. He appreciated the conversation the group had about public input and its willingness to change. He stated that he believes the City should have a department devoted to climate change with five employees working only on this topic.
 
8. Next Meeting
The next meeting will be April 19, 2018 and will focus largely on community engagement goals. Seffinger asked that each group member bring back at least one community engagement possibility. Green stated that he also encourages the group members to consider at least one demographic in town which is currently under-represented or not active in the plan and ways we could improve outreach to them.

9. Adjournment
Meeting adjourned at 7:06 p.m.
 
Respectfully submitted,                                 
Diana Shiplet, Executive Assistant