Versión en español a continuación. Meeting of the Joint Sustainability Committee March 24, 2021 Joint Sustainability Committee to be held March 24, 2021 with Social Distancing Modifications Public comment will be allowed via telephone; no in-person input will be allowed. All speakers must register in advance (March 23, 2021 by noon). All public comment will occur at the beginning of the meeting. To speak remotely at the March 24, 2021 Joint Sustainability Committee Meeting, members of the public must: •Call or email the board liaison at 415-694-3111 and zach.baumer@austintexas.gov no later than noon, (March 23, 2021). The information required is the speaker name, item number(s) they wish to speak on, whether they are for/against/neutral, and a telephone number or email address. •Once a request to speak has been called in or emailed to the board liaison, residents will receive either an email or phone call providing the telephone number to call on the day of the scheduled meeting. •Speakers must call in at least 15 minutes prior to meeting start in order to speak, late callers will not be accepted and will not be able to speak. •Speakers will be placed in a queue until their time to speak. •Handouts or other information may be emailed to zach.baumer@austintexas.gov by Noon the day before the scheduled meeting. This information will be provided to Board and Commission members in advance of the meeting. •If this meeting is broadcast live, residents may watch the meeting here: http://www.austintexas.gov/page/watch-atxn-live Reunión del Comité Conjunto de Sostenibilidad Marzo 24, 2021 La junta se llevará con modificaciones de distanciamiento social Se permitirán comentarios públicos por teléfono; no se permitirá ninguna entrada en persona. Todos los oradores deben registrarse con anticipación (marzo 23, 2021 antes del mediodía). Todos los comentarios públicos se producirán al comienzo de la reunión. Para hablar de forma remota en la reunión, los miembros del público deben: junta al 415-694-3111 o • Llame o envíe un correo electrónico al enlace de zach.baumer@austintexas.gov a más tardar al mediodía (el día antes de la reunión – marzo 23, la 2021). La información requerida es el nombre del orador, los números de artículo sobre los que desean hablar, si están a favor / en contra / neutrales, y un número de teléfono o dirección de correo electrónico. • Una vez que se haya llamado o enviado por correo electrónico una solicitud para hablar al enlace de la junta, …
Aust in Climat e Equit y Plan St at us Updat e March 24, 2021 Recent Event s & Response Events • City Manager directed moving forward with implementation planning in anticipation of Council adoption in late Spring/early Summer • Negative letters from several organizations regarding Natural Gas concerns (equity and affordability) • Winter Storm Uri Response • Collecting Implementation Baseline data from departments • Planning more business engagement • Re-engaged members of Sustainable Buildings Advisory Group on Extreme Weather Resilience • Developing an Equity Lessons-Learned White-Paper • Finalizing a new Draft Final version of the Plan 2 Plan Summary (reminder) 4 Cross-Cut t ing St rat egies – Big picture themes 17 Goals - Accomplishments by 2030 to keep on track 74 St rat egies - Implemented in next 5 years Centered on Equity Throughout, particularly in Strategy details ● Prioritize incentives and target communications towards low-income communities / communities of color ● Anti-displacement ● Just transition (training and jobs) for new industries/ technology ● Prioritize Eastern Crescent health + other benefits ● Center communities of color in ongoing learning /studies 3 Priorit izat ion ● 15+ conversations: proposed strategy status + next steps ● Sorted 74 Strategies into 3 categories: ○ Ready Now if addit ional funding or resources were available ■ Ease of direct implementation if more funding/focus ■ Immediate + direct Equity Benefits (from Equity Tool and Ambassador Priorities) ○ Capit al Int ensive Project s requiring sust ained commit ment ○ Complex project s needing det ailed Implement at ion Plan ● No detailed $ estimates Breakdow n Implementation Status 37 21 16 Ready Now with Extra Funding Capital Intensive More Complex - Further Out 5 Sust ainable Buildings – Ready Now ● Goal 1 St rat egy 1 - Pursue a comprehensive energy povert y mit igat ion st rat egy by partnering with trusted community organizations, affordable housing developers and schools in equitable outreach and program development. This will ensure that the benefits of repair, energy conservation and renewable energy incentives and programs flow to low-income communities and communities of color. ● Goal 1 St rat egy 2 –Enhance resident and building owner underst anding of energy savings opport unit ies, benefits and climate impacts of energy consumption. This will be done through direct outreach, culturally relevant communications, expanding benchmarking requirements for all existing buildings and better access to energy and water data. …
Austin Civilian Conservation Corps Program Overview Joint Sustainability Committee | 03/24/2021 1 1 Background & Structure 2 ACCC Background The Austin Civilian Conservation Corps helps Austinites who have been economically impacted by COVID-19 earn income, serve their community, and gain skills that can lead to strong new careers in conservation and sustainability fields. Key points ● Created by Council Resolution 20200507-061 (May 2020) ● COVID-19 recovery workforce development program focused on green jobs, modeled (in spirit) after 1930s CCC program ● Focused on creating equitable access to low-barrier programs that provide support and pathways to additional jobs/careers/training ● Run by a program team with representatives from eight departments (no ACCC staff) ● Authorized to seek $2.5M - $500K from GFR and $2M from departments 2 Where We Are Now 4 Current Programs and Funding Program Area Parks, Preserves, & Wildfire Green Building and Solar Cultural Arts Community Co-creation Green Pathways COA Departments PARD, WPD, DSD, AWD, AFD Sustainability, Innovation EDD Cultural Arts, PARD Innovation PARD, WPD Partner Organizations American Youthworks, GAVA, TOOF Raasin in the Sun, Creative Action MEASURE, Build with Humanity Internal to COA Gulf Coast Carpenters and Millwrights, Community 1st Village Participants 46 Funding Level $2.36M 9 $39K 41 $143K 20+ $40K 4 $200K 100 positions | $2.782M | 2 years 5 Potential Future ACCC Programs Program Funding Partner Depts Begins Participants City positions? Greenspace and Parks Conservation - $1.598M Greenspace and Preserves Crew year two $450K PARD Stream Cleanup and Restoration Crew year two $223K WPD Green infrastructure crew Tree health team $400K WPD, PWD $450K PARD, DSD, APL Forestry/Landscaping individual placements $75K PARD, APL Wildfire Mitigation - $150K Wildfire Crew full funding year two $150K AFD, AWD FY22 Green Building and Renewable Energy - $570K Green Building & Solar Installation (2 cohorts) $70k Sustainability Residential green building and repair crew $500K HPD, DSD Circular Economy and Resource Recovery - $2.08M Circular economy apprenticeship program $550K ARR, EDD Community PC Repair Program expansion $670K Digital Inclusion COA office and equipment repair team $750K ARR (possibly BSD) FY21 Scale the Building Services Surplus Program $110K BSD Community Engagement and Preparedness - $700K Climate emergency and mutual aid corps $500K EDD, Sustainability Environmental project info community outreach $200K WPD FY22 FY22 FY21 Fy21 FY22 FY21 FY21 FY21 FY21 FY21 FY21 FY21 8-10 8-10 8-10 7 3 8-10 18 8-10 50 40 5 1 100 15 Y (1) Y (3) …
Climate Adaptation Joint Sustainability Committee Update March 2021 Climate Adaptation Activities Timeline CAMPO Extreme Weather vulnerability assessment of regional transportation Resolution 20131121-060 passed by Council, directs staff to identify climate change impacts. Austin Community Climate Plan adopted by Council Global Covenant of Mayors signed by Mayor Adler City Council Policy Workshop on Resilience Rockefeller Foundation holds Climate Adaptation Workshop Climate Resilience Action Plan for City assets and operations Resolution 20190509-019 passed by Council, directs staff for climate resilience recommendations Climate Resilience -1 Response to council resolution 20190509-019 Community Climate Navigators Initiate the program with GAVA w/ GTOP grant + UT Smoke Map Prototype Worked with USDN, Alameda County CA & CTM to create a real-time smoke map pilot 2014 2016 2018 2020 2013 2015 2017 2019 Austin-specific climate projections by Dr. Katharine Hayhoe Toward a Climate-Resilient Austin response to Council Resolution Community Planning Assistance for Wildfire review of city codes for wildfire Utility Vulnerability Worked with Austin Energy and Austin Water to assess their larger assets Red= council interaction Open Government Partnership Community Climate Resilience Pilot with GAVA USDN Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion Fellow Celine Rendon joined the team to help with Dove Springs Wildfire & Vulnerable Populations Map grass fire & asthma in Eastern Crescent NSF Grant - Resilience Navigators Work with community in 78744 on flooding Climate Resilience - 2 Response to council resolution 20190509-019 Heat Mapping Grant funding to measure heat in Eastern Crescent JHU Food Resilience Resolution 20200507-022 passed by Council, directs staff to create Resilient Austin: A Comprehensive Community Resilience Plan Pilot Draft community engagement framework in increase food resilience Climate Resilience Action Plan - City Assets & Operations 01 02 03 04 Emergency Response Emergency Procedures Safe Emergency & Evacuation Routes Disaster Response Resources Staff Safety Field Staff & Workplace Safety Hazard Training Existing Facilities & Infrastructure Critical Infrastructure Building Efficiency & Redundancy Telecommunications New Facilities & Infrastructure Design for Adaptation Plan for Resilient Infrastructure ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● Resolution No. 20190509-019 Resilience Planning ● ● ● equitable…” “perform a literature review of climate resilience plans of peer cities…” “explore available, potential partnerships (such as the 100 Resilient Cities model)…” “recommendations for creating a comprehensive, community-wide climate resilience plan that is fair, just, and Chief Resilience Officer Recommendations should include funding options, such as grants or other revenue sources, to … 1) fund a position for a Chief …
COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION Joint Sustainability Committee Recommendation 20210324-2D –Joint Sustainability Committee Budget Recommendation The Joint Sustainability Committee recommends funding for the following items: • • • • • • Procuring emergency management equipment for winter storms, including plows and deicing equipment Workforce development with an equity focus Advance community resilience work, through the Resilient Austin plan Pursuing a comprehensive energy poverty mitigation strategy, as written in the draft Austin Climate Equity Plan Sustainable Buildings section (goal 1, strategy 1) Implementation of resilience hubs, distributed in neighborhoods across Austin Expand Climate Ambassadors Program to include more ambassadors and be year-round Record of the vote: Motion to approve by Commissioner White, second by Commissioner Coyne. Motion passes 8 approve, 0 opposed, 0 abstained. Date of approval: March 24, 2021 Attest: __________________________________ Zach Baumer, Liaison
Item 1 JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES REGULAR MEETING March 24, 2021 The Joint Sustainability Committee convened in a special meeting on March 24, 2021 via videoconferencing. Chair Kaiba White called the Board Meeting to order at 5:33 pm. Board Members in Attendance: Kaiba White Chair, Katie Coyne Vice-Chair, Alberta Phillips, David Carroll, Nhat Ho, Rob Schneider, Fisayo Fadelu, Alexis Taylor, Karen Magid Board Members Absent: Melissa Rothrock, Kelly Davis, Karen Hadden City Staff in Attendance: Zach Baumer, Phoebe Romero CALL TO ORDER CITIZEN COMMUNICATION The speakers who registered in advance for public comment have three minutes each to address items on the agenda at this time. • None 1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES a) March 12, 2021 meeting of the Joint Sustainability Committee • Commission Schneider requested an amendment to remove a duplication error: Remove Rob Schneider from Board Members Absent section, keep in Board Members in Attendance • Motion to approve (Commissioner Coyne), second (Commissioner Schneider), 7 approved, 0 opposed, 1 abstained. 2. NEW BUSINESS a) Update on Climate Resilience (Discussion and/or possible action) • Provided an overview of the Climate Resilience Action Plan for City Assets and Operations and ongoing existing and proposed efforts in response to the 2019 Climate Resilience Resolution 20190509-019 • Discussed resilience hubs concept and key points from the draft council resolution on this topic • Commissioners discussed the importance of addressing food supply and opportunities for the farming community, the extensive outreach needed for resilience hub planning—including using models like GAVA’s Climate Resilience Navigators, determining geographic areas of need based on where calls from assistance came from, and ensuring equipment inventory for events. b) Update on Austin Climate Equity Plan Implementation (Discussion and/or possible action) • Reviewed recent events and next steps on the plan process • Evaluated climate plan strategies based on their equity impact and feasibility to develop a categorized list, including ready now, capital intensive or otherwise complex; provided an overview of “ready now” strategies across the different sections of the plan to provide commissioners perspective on near-term actions • Commissioners discussed importance of keeping process transparent regarding discussions on the gas, energy, and code portions of the plan, discussed deadline for energy code public comment on April 15th, how federal actions may affect this work and ongoing business engagement c) Austin Civilian Conservation Corps Briefing— Daniel Culotta, Innovation Office (Discussion and/or possible action) • Overview of how ACCC program …
