Minutes 04-08-2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

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not have enough staff. She thinks a coordinated effort would be helpful. She suggested a possible standing work group and trying out different scenarios. Commissioner Gordon asked Dave Stancil about the greenhouse gas emissions initiative that got pushed aside because of a lack of resources. She asked if this could somehow be folded in or taken up again. Dave Stancil said this is a related topic. He said the County did do an inventory and forecast of greenhouse gas emissions along with Chapel Hill and Carrboro several years ago. He said one of the recommendations for next steps of this group is related to encouraging energy efficiency and renewable energy in the community. He said a lot has been done in- house, but the question how is how to take this to the community in outreach. Rich Shaw said as it relates to staffing, the CfE meets every month, and he suggested that every other meeting could be used to address issues like renewable energy. David Neal said that would be a good plan so as to not overtask the staff. Commissioner Rich said one of the problems they had in Chapel Hill when promoting programs in the past was an inability to get to the people that really needed it because of the affordability of some of the fixes. She said it is important to consider that lower income families might need some funding. Chair Jacobs said when there was stimulus money, there was funding to do what Commissioner Rich is suggesting. He said there may be entities established to bring together funding for energy rehab for low income families, and he suggested this might be an avenue to follow. He said Economic Development needs to be a part of this process. He imagines there are non-profit foundations that would give grant money to incentivize businesses to be greener. He said if the County has to make an investment in this, it would have a return for the community. David Neal said a proposal was put together about two years ago to have Counties put together a rebate system to encourage residential and commercial buildings to be built more efficiently. He said there are only a couple of counties that have taken advantage of this. He said this is another way to incentivize on the efficiency side through the rebate of permitting fees. He said there was another idea for how to incentivize the use of solar. He said the Green Plus Program that came out of Chapel Hill would be another potential partner. Commissioner Pelissier emphasized the need for collaboration with other partners in the community. She said there are so many groups that are doing things and putting on presentations. She said she would welcome any suggestions the group may have for the Board of County Commissioners and for future legislative goals. Chair Jacobs asked what is needed from the Board at this point. David Neal said the group would like the blessing of the Board and any encouragement the Board can offer other volunteer boards to encourage partnership and engagement in this effort. Commissioner Price asked if work is still being done with the planning department. David Neal said he realizes that the planning board has a full work load and he does not want to overburden them, but there is a need for some way to communicate policy recommendations and suggestions. Chair Jacobs said this could come in a budget recommendation from Dave Stancil's department. He said the next way to move forward would be through the budget process and either a budget public hearing or staff's request to the manager. Commissioner Gordon asked for clarification on what kind of encouragement is needed. Dave Stancil said he was looking to see if the Board sees this as an area of value that is worthy of exploration.