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Agendas and Minutes

Climate Policy Committee (View All)

Climate Policy Commission Meeting

Agenda
Thursday, August 12, 2021

Meeting Video

MINUTES FOR THE CLIMATE POLICY COMMISSION

Thursday, August 12, 2021; Held Electronically

1. Call to Order (item starts at approximately 3:00 on the meeting video)

Chair Rick Barth called the meeting to order at 4:02 p.m. Commissioners Chris Brown, Bob Kaplan, Ray Mallette, Gary Shaff, and Jeff Wyatt were present. Council liaison Tonya Graham and staff liaison Stu Green were also present.

2. Consent Agenda

2.1. July 9, 2021 Minutes (3:06)

Shaff/Kaplan moved/seconded approval. Ayes: Barth, Brown, Graham, Kaplan, Mallette, Shaff, and Wyatt. Nays: none. Motion passed unanimously.

3. Announcements

3.1. Next Meeting: September 9, 2021

3.2. Council Update (4:23)

Graham gave an update on the following items:

USDA Zero Interest Loan Application
New Interim City Manager and Interim Finance Director
General Fund Financial Study Sessions

3.3. Staff Update (11:32)

Green gave an update on the following items:

Conservation Division is now supervised by the Electric Director
Electric vehicle (EV) car share
USDA Zero Interest Loan
Positive feedback on the induction cooktop incentive
Northwest Requirement Utility upcoming presentation on the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) contract

Graham added in the Council’s discussion on a standard policy for Commissions to choose to meet in-person or virtually. Graham will attend a webinar series designed for elected officials who want to learn more about the power grid.

3.4. Other Announcements from Commissioners (18:35)

Wyatt stated that the Oregon Department of Energy (ODOE) will release a zero emission vehicle report in September. A conference call will also be set up with Breach Collective who are working with the City of Eugene on legal options for regulating natural gas.

Shaff stated that the Council had approved and forwarded the comments from the Commission on the climate-friendly rulemaking from the Department of Land Conservation and Development. He will send out a webinar link for the task force to the Commissioners.

Brown talked about the Housing Capacity Analysis report which did include the Climate Policy Commission’s (CPC) recommendations. He will distribute the report to the Commissioners when finalized. Mallette will add this into the formal planning tracking sheet.

3.5. Reports from Representatives of Other Commissions

None

4. Public Forum (22:49)

Barth noted that Southern Oregon Climate Action Now (SOCAN) submitted testimony asking CPC to reconvey the priority of the climate action in Ashland’s current strategic planning process and invited Commissioners to a webinar on rethinking streets.

5. Old Business

5.1. Action Items Volunteer (23:28)

Mallette volunteered for this month and Kaplan volunteered for next month.

5.2. Commissioner Recruitment (23:45)

Barth spoke with an interested applicant. There are still voting positions and two student positions vacant.

5.3. Formal Planning (24:11)

Mallette gave an update on the following:

The Talent Ashland Phoenix Intertie (TAP) and the Stormwater and Drain master plans were removed from the Council Look Ahead.
Stormwater Municipal Codes will be updated this year.
Transportation System Plan update will go to Council for approval of the consultant contract.
Ten Year Electric Study is still on the list.
The Pool renovations got delayed due to funding.

Kaplan asked if adaptation was included in the feedback for these plans in addition to mitigation. Mallette said yes and an example was looking at resiliency for the Ten Year Electric Study.

5.4. Transportation Commission Coordination (32:29)

Barth mentioned the correspondence from the Transportation Commission regarding them being the lead on all Transportation issues. The Commissions discussed the issue. It was decided that when asking for feedback from other Commissions, CPC will designate a representative to offer to present to the other Commissions.

5.5. Rethinking Streets (48:26)

The Commission was asked to sponsor this webinar hosted by the Ashland Climate Project and the Ashland Bicycle Advocates group. The Commission cannot sponsor an event without Council permission.

5.6. 2021 Legislative Session Review (51:01)

Wyatt highlighted ODOE’s legislative report on the current State legislative bills. Mallette asked if any follow up was needed from the City on any of the bills or grants available. Green said he will stay up to date on the status of programs being developed.

5.7. CPC Update 2021 (56:57)

Barth explained what he would like to accomplish for the update. The Commissioners proposed changes to the CPC Update 2021 document. Barth, Wyatt, and Kaplan were designated to make changes in the document and create the presentation. The Commissioners reviewed and updated the goals listed in the document. Barth asked initiative leads to email him before the next meeting so he can include the next steps for each initiative in the CPC look ahead.

6. New Business

None

7. Wrap Up

Chair Barth adjourned the meeting at 6:30 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Elizabeth Taylor