Minutes 04-21-2020 Virtual Business Meeting

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12 Travis Myren asked if an annual review of the projects, how they have performed over time, would be sufficient. Chair Rich said everything the County spends this ¼ cent tax on should be measured. Commissioner Marcoplos referred to page 8, and read the following: “The rooftop solar projects proposed for each school district is proposed to work through a grant to provide the schools with flexibility while preserving the ability of the County to track progress and impact.” He said this says the grantee must provide a reference of sharing information in a report. Commissioner Marcoplos said it is the Climate Council’s practice that everyone at the table is sharing information about their projects, and it is important to learn collectively. Commissioner Dorosin said suggested that a quarterly report come back on all of these projects, such as weatherizations. Commissioner Dorosin reflected on the process of this particular issue. He said two weeks ago the schools did not want these projects, and now the schools have reviewed and accepted the projects. He said the process worked very well. Chair Rich said the timeframe was good. Commissioner McKee said he has no doubt the solar projects will be beneficial in the long run, but he did have an issue with the process. He said he believed the Board could have addressed, and reduced, school capital projects already in the queue that have equal climate value, thus killing two birds with one stone. He said the Board set an expectation and backed the schools in a corner, and he does not blame the schools for taking the project at this point, if the alternative was to refuse it and complete no projects. He said he will vote against this item. Commissioner Dorosin said Commissioner McKee’s characterization of the process was not accurate. He said if the schools had other projects, the Board invited the schools to submit them to the Board for evaluation. Commissioner Bedford said she is glad there is going to be a subcommittee to work on the process of how projects are bought forward in the future. Chair Rich said there is a difference between efficiency projects and climate mitigation projects. She said the solar panels project is a climate mitigation project, which is what the tax is for. Commissioner Marcoplos said it is his understanding that every school board member voted in favor of these projects. Commissioner McKee said he has had off line conversations with the school board members, and he stands by his comments and vote. Commissioner Dorosin said this process started in January, and not two weeks ago. He said if Commissioner McKee has other information he should share it in the BOCC meetings, as it would be good to know. Commissioner Price said she had conversations with school board members and chairs, who initially felt out of the loop on this project, but now all seem to be on the same page. She said she is glad the process will be reviewed. Chair Rich said this project was discussed at school collaboration months ago, and the schools had more than two weeks. Commissioner McKee said he had conversations with school board members, and he feels the two-week notice did back the schools into a corner. He said individual school board members did not know details about these projects, nor did their staff. He said County staff should have done a better job of raising it up the seniority ladder. A motion was made by Commissioner Marcoplos, seconded by Commissioner Dorosin for the Board to approve funding for the recommended Solar for Schools Grant program for FY 2019-20 as outlined in the attached report in the abstract with revisions.