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15 <br /> 1 A motion was made by Commissioner Bedford, seconded by Commissioner Fowler, for <br /> 2 Commissioners Hamilton and Commissioner McKee to create a draft charge for review by the <br /> 3 Board on November 15, 2022. <br /> 4 <br /> 5 VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br /> 6 <br /> 7 A motion was made by Commissioner Bedford, seconded by Commissioner McKee, to <br /> 8 appoint a facilitator to lead the Schools Safety Task Force. <br /> 9 <br /> 10 VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br /> 11 <br /> 12 b. Consulting Services Award to Blue Strike Environmental Consulting for the Orange <br /> 13 County Climate Action Plan and Approval of Budget Amendment#2-A <br /> 14 The Board approved a Professional Services contract with Blue Strike Environmental Consulting <br /> 15 for the preparation of an Orange County Climate Action Plan, and to approve Budget Amendment <br /> 16 #2-A. <br /> 17 <br /> 18 BACKGROUND: As part of the County's, on-going efforts to accelerate climate change mitigation <br /> 19 actions in Orange County, a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) was issued to identify a consultant <br /> 20 to help lead the climate action planning process. An evaluation review committee consisting of the <br /> 21 Director of Asset Management Services, the Director of the Environment, Agriculture, Parks and <br /> 22 Recreation, the Deputy Financial Services Director, the Sustainability Programs Manager, and a <br /> 23 member from the Commission for the Environment evaluated Blue Strike's proposal. The group <br /> 24 unanimously recommend Blue Strike Environmental Consulting to develop the County's climate <br /> 25 action plan. <br /> 26 <br /> 27 Blue Strike Environmental has helped develop over 100 climate action plans and has local <br /> 28 experience including a recently completed Renewable Energy Plan for Durham County, a Climate <br /> 29 Action Plan for Research Triangle Institute, and a Solar Energy Development Evaluation for <br /> 30 Chapel Hill Transit. The evaluation committee contacted both local and out of state references <br /> 31 and was very impressed with the feedback received. Blue Strike Consulting demonstrated the <br /> 32 desired knowledge, innovation, and proven track record of working with local governments that <br /> 33 the review committee was looking for. <br /> 34 <br /> 35 The Climate Action Plan will lay the foundation and identify the specific strategies that will help <br /> 36 the County meet the climate change mitigation goals set by the Board in recent years: <br /> 37 • Reduce greenhouse gas emissions community-wide by 26 percent by 2025 (from 2005 <br /> 38 levels). <br /> 39 • Transition to a 100% renewable energy-based economy by 2050. <br /> 40 <br /> 41 Key elements of Blue Strike Environmental Consulting's proposal include: <br /> 42 . project coordination <br /> 43 • an updated Greenhouse Gas inventory <br /> 44 • a robust community/stakeholder engagement process <br /> 45 • review and synthesis of Town climate action plans <br /> 46 • identification of specific climate actions <br /> 47 • methodology for implementation, evaluation and updating, and <br /> 48 • presentation of draft and final climate action plans. <br /> 49 <br />