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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDecember 10Environmental Initiatives Committee Regular Meeting Minutes DATE:Thursday, December 10, 2015 TIME:7:00 PM LOCATION:Parks & Recreation Building, 26379 Fremont Road, Los Altos Hills Ja 1.Roll Call Raj Reddy opened the meeting with a quorum present at 7pm. Present: Raj Reddy (chair), Serena Giori, Peter Evans, Sheela Veerina Council Liaison: Roger Spreen Councilmember: John Harpootlian Members of the public: Steve Schmidt, Kjell Karllson, Henry Nguyen 2.Approval of Minutes Peter Evans motion/Sheela Veerina second to approve the minutes of the November 12, 2015 minutes, passed unanimously. 3.EIC Meeting dates Item tabled. 4.Recommendations for water conservation Sheela Veerina reported on updates to the “Sustainability” tab on the town’s website to promote ongoing water conservation as part of a complete website redesign to be completed in mid-December. The committee discussed the possibility of a mailer, perhaps once a year, items in Our Town, and outreach via Nextdoor. Evidently the town has the ability to broadcast Nextdoor posts to all of the zones in LAH, but it is not clear if residents would be able to respond. NOTICE TO PUBLIC Any writings or documents provided to a majority of the Environmental Initiatives Committee regarding any item on this agenda will be made available for public inspection in the City Clerk’s office located at Town Hall, 26379 Fremont Road, Los Altos Hills, California during normal business hours. 5.CCA Peter Evans explained that the town has or will receive a package from SVCCE for action by the Town Council regarding joining the JPA prior to March 31, 2016. The draft JPA agreement indicates that the town would be responsible for $25,000 as its share of startup costs; this amount would be reimbursed by SVCCE. The Technical Study performed by SVCCE’s consultants predicts that low-GHG power supply options from SVCCE would be lower cost or competitive with PG&E’s present rates. The committee discussed pros and cons of the CCA, looking ahead to January or February when the committee will likely be asked to make a recommendation to the Town Council. Some of the points discussed included: SVCCE would offer residents a choice Dollars at risk are modest – seems to be little downside for LAH SVCCE “fit” for LAH – SVCCE would be largely non-residential load; other similar semi-rural cities Woodside and Portola Valley will most likely be in Peninsula Clean Energy (San Mateo County), not SVCCE. Governance –initial SVCCE voting is one-city-one vote (more favorable to small cities than other JPAs LAH participates in). However, two SVCCE participants represent more than 50% of load in share-based voting. Duplication of effort – why create a whole new organization? PG&E will eventually offer greener power options for customers. SVCCE membership could represent an ongoing burden for the EIC. Prospects for innovation just by having new players in retail electricity Several members asked if the town might have alternatives, now or in the future, given the San Mateo County/PCE effort and that Marin Clean Energy is actively recruiting members in Napa and Contra Costa counties. Steve Schmidt agreed to reach out again to San Mateo County. 6.Previous EIC Recommended Ordinances Item tabled. 7.GHG Report and Status of New Contract Steve Schmidt confirmed that the GHG contract is signed and work is underway. He expects the 2013 and 2014 inventories to be complete for an update to the Town Council in the first half of 2016. Los Altos Hills is also one of the first participants in a new statewide GHG emission inventory tracking system. Steve will also produce a new draft Climate Action Plan (CAP) for the committee to review and recommend to the Town Council for adoption. This will replace the town’s present GHG Reduction Plan and comply with present AB-32 requirements. The committee noted that other cities have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to produce these Climate Action Plans, but the form of the plans has matured and is distilled down to a 20 page template. By having a GHG Reduction Plan in place before the first CAP requirements emerged, Los Altos Hills has avoided significant expenditures and effort. 8.EIC Mission Item tabled. 9.Follow-up and Updates on EIC Initiatives Item tabled. 10.Public Comment Henry Nguyen introduced himself as a new LAH resident, working for Solar City and interested in green power. He worked for Nextdoor in the past. 11.Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 9:15 pm.