During their Feb. 18 meeting, City Commissioner Mary Moe is presenting a resolution to fellow commissioners that, if approved, would create a task force to evaluate the city’s energy use and resiliency, and to propose a plan to improve energy conservation and emergency response to the effects of changing weather patterns in Great Falls.
If the resolution is adopted, the task force would be formed after securing an Energy Corps member to oversee the work of the task force, under the supervision of a designated city employee.
Getting an Energy Corps member would require $12,000 from the city in matching funds.
The task force would dissolve upon submission of its plan or on May 31, 2021, whichever is sooner.
The proposal grew out of a presentation from Ken Palisin on behalf of Citizens for Clean Energy during a Nov. 5 work session. He proposed that the city establish an energy conservation and sustainability group to increase the city’s use of “clean energy sources of solar and wind to 40 percent by the year 2025. Commissioner Moe provided and discussed a handout that summarized how Bozeman, Missoula and Whitefish are promoting cost-effective energy and developing solutions for conservation and sustainability. The difference between these cities’ efforts and the one proposed by CCE, she noted, is that the other cities focus not just on green energy practices but also on resilience to harsh weather patterns,” according to the agenda report.
“Since the November work session, several proponents of the resolution have become part of the Montana State University’s Climate Smart Montana, a non-partisan, non-profit network of communities, organizations and schools sharing information and resources to better coordinate community-based climate solutions and resiliency efforts in Montana. Through that network, they have been able to study other Montana communities’ initial resolutions and learn more about the resources provided by Energy Corps,” according to the agenda report.
During the commission’s goal setting retreat in January, several commissioners identified climate change as one of their top priorities. During that meeting, Moe suggested that the city create a committee to look at those issues. Commissioner Rick Tryon said another city committee was unnecessary.
