to: Mayor and Town Council
from: Jim Ward, Mayor Pro Tem and SEE Committee Chair
subject: North Carolina League of Municipalities Green Challenge
date: September 8, 2008
The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of the North Carolina League of Municipalities Green Challenge program and ask the Mayor and Council to consider supporting the Town’s participation in this statewide program by adopting the attached resolution.
On June 25th, 2008, the President of the North Carolina League of Municipalities, Mayor Pro Tem Susan Burgess of Charlotte, invited all member cities and towns to participate in the Green Challenge program. The mission of the Green Challenge initiative is to “encourage member cities and towns to implement short-term and long-range actions that will conserve resources and save money, thereby protecting the environment and operating municipal government in a more cost-effective, energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly manner.” This program is modeled on a similar initiative from the Virginia Municipal League.
At its core, the Green Challenge serves as an awards program whereby member cities and towns can gain recognition for both existing and planned green initiatives. The Green Challenge has three levels of participation, the first of which has been formally established as Policy Adoption and Energy Efficiency. Additional levels of recognition will be formalized after the enrollment process for the first level is complete. To meet the minimum requirements of this first level, cities and towns with a population of greater than 10,000 must complete three of the five suggested actions. For a list of these actions and additional background information about the Green Challenge, please refer to Attachment 1.
The deadline for enrollment in the Green Challenge is Monday, September 1st. Because the application process requires all member cities and towns to complete the first level Intention and Progress Survey (see Attachment 1) and submit a resolution reflecting the governing board’s commitment to participate, Town staff have confirmed with staff at the North Carolina League of Municipalities that it will be acceptable for the Town to apply by September 1st and then submit a resolution of commitment following the September 8th Council Business Meeting. The League of Municipalities has granted this extension to the Town with the knowledge that the September 8 meeting will be the first opportunity for the Council to consider this item.
Because the full SEE Committee was unable to meet on August 15, the Chair of the SEE Committee reviewed the Green Challenge and recommended that staff complete the initial portion of the application process, securing the option for the Town to fully enroll with the Council’s adoption of the attached resolution. Staff submitted the Intention and Progress Survey to the North Carolina League of Municipalities staff on August 29.
The Green Challenge offers an opportunity for the Town to participate in an awards program which recognizes member cities and towns for their outstanding environmental achievements and ongoing commitments to environmental protection that “save energy, money and natural resources.” As noted above, the first level of the Green Challenge addresses actions and commitments related to Policy Adoption and Energy Efficiency.
Town staff has reviewed the possible actions for level one participation and estimates that the Town has already fulfilled four of the five action steps, thereby completing the requirements for level one. The only action step that the Town has not yet commenced but which we hope to implement next year, is the development and adoption of an energy improvement plan for Town facilities. When considering these existing and planned actions, it appears that the Town has met and exceeded the requirements of level one participation in the Green Challenge. Furthermore, the staff’s review of possible steps for the intermediate and advanced levels of participation in the program suggest that the Town is well-positioned to achieve additional successes in the Green Challenge.
The staff’s assessment for level one participation appears below, with the possible action steps in italics and the Town’s existing or planned actions in parenthesis.
That the Council adopt the attached resolution to accept the North Carolina League of Municipalities Green Challenge and pledge to work toward achieving the various levels of the challenge, indicating measures accomplished to save energy and other natural resources over the next three years.