Ms. Gordon presented on Community Choice Energy (CCE). CCE allows cities and counties to buy or generate energy that goes to the grid and is delivered to homes and businesses. The utility continues providing power, maintaining the grid, and billing customers, but energy comes from CCE. Customers can choose more renewable energy, often at a lower cost and with regulated consumer protection. It can become a revenue source that funds local energy programs. She provided examples and estimated that with about one million customers, depending on location, approximately 6 million tons of CO2 could be eliminated and 3 billion gallons of water per year saved. Around ten cities/counties in Arizona have expressed interest in the program, and AZ4CC is building a statewide coalition.  

Cody Hooven with AZ4CC Policy Advisory also presented. Her firm, Evolution Affairs, advises entities around the country on climate initiatives. She explained that CCE shields cities from debt and liability by creating a new entity. Many businesses are interested because they don’t have to install solar and batteries to use renewable energy. Initially, the City pays for the CCE to start up, and costs run in the hundreds of thousands, but the City is reimbursed with interest by the CCE within a couple of years. $2-4 million in startup capital usually comes from bank loans. The CCE is a non-profit staffed locally. The board comprises locally elected officials, and some CCEs have a technical committee of experts providing recommendations to the entire board.  

Ms. Hooven and Ms. Gordon encouraged the City of Flagstaff to undergo a study to see if a CCE is a good option here. Cities and counties have a role in advocating for the legislation and regulation changes required to move forward with creating a CCE.  

Sustainability Director Nicole Antonopoulos recommended a presentation from the Public Affairs Director at the City of Flagstaff summarizing the City Council’s state and legislative priorities/agenda as a future agenda item for the Commission. 

Ms. Pearthree reviewed the pilot ADU Model program (for detached ADUs), applicable to the 10-year Flagstaff Housing Plan and the City’s Carbon Neutrality Plan (CNP). The goals include a decreased dependence on cars, greater flexibility and density, decreases in travel distance, affordability, and the provision of various housing options in the community. To reach these goals, the City is working to create a library of pre-approved all-electric and energy-efficient ADU model plans, as many other cities have. A library of plans can lower entry barriers by making it easier and cheaper to build ADUs.   

There were various questions and discussions surrounding this topic:   

• Ideally the plans will incentivize long-term renting of ADUs rather than shorter-term rentals. How this might be done is uncertain at this time.   

• City code does not require kitchens, and while the ADU Model Plans will meet minimal City codes, they can and will have additional standards, and may require kitchens.  

• Pre-approved models are for detached ADUs only. Internal or connected ADUs require custom plans.  

• The team is considering prefabricated and other options to lower construction costs while still meeting building codes. Trailers are ineligible because they do not meet building codes. 

Ms. Pearthree stated that there will be a request for formal proposals later this year, and a selection committee is forming to select winning ADU model plans. The committee will also provide feedback and assist with program development. She invited Commissioners to join the committee if they were interested. Chair Wolkowinsky indicated she would like to participate. 

Ms. Pierson reported on the results of a 3-year project using $184,000 of a 2023 USDA grant across five counties in northern Arizona to analyze how food gets from cultivation to consumption and following consumption. This includes analyzing the growing, foraging, processing, distributing, retailing, marketing, and preparation of our community’s food, waste management, land and water stewardship, and preservation. All this is entwined with education, equity, and sustainability and is affected by housing, income, and education levels. Partners in the project include New Venture Advisors, Flagstaff Foodlink, and Pinnacle Prevention. Additionally, she announced that Casey Rapacki is the Sustainability Office’s new Waste Reduction Supervisor to help with these efforts. 

Last year’s work for the project involved data collection, surveying, and assessment. These findings are ready to be presented to stakeholders and contractors to begin building infrastructure to address gaps. A Food Action Plan will guide City policy and programming and hopefully will be incorporated into the CNP.  

The findings include: 

• Local food consumption is on the rise, but infrastructure is limited.   

• Greater access to healthy food in rural areas and reservations is needed.   

• Arizona leads the nation in food waste. Northern Arizona University (NAU) has a food recovery network but is at capacity.  

• Children and BIPOC have higher food insecurity.  

• Community interest exists in learning where/how to grow their food.   

• Many eligible for SNAP benefits are not receiving them. 

Ms. Pierson mentioned that there are six upcoming conversations to reach community members struggling with food insecurity and a collaborative event with the Climate Resilience Project. She responded in the chat to a question about the primary sources of food waste - according to a 2019 study, the leading producers of food waste are Restaurants & Caterers (29% or 8,600 tons/year), Food Manufacturing & Processors (26% or 7,800 tons/year), and Residential (23% or 6,800 tons/year).

Ms. Hatton informed the Commission that the Neighborhood Sustainability Grants (NSG) opened a week earlier. She mentioned a variety of widespread outreach efforts, including an upcoming informational session on Tuesday, August 27th, from 5:30-7:00 P.M. at the Downtown Library (with a virtual option) and virtual support hours over Microsoft Teams during the month of September.   

She reported that she and Director Antonopoulos discussed reserving up to one thousand dollars of this year’s budget of seventy-five thousand to apply towards equity goals, possibly requiring a reduction in one or two projects’ proposed budget(s); this would cover the costs of translation services as well as stipends to non-Commissioner community members who join a review panel. Ms. Hatton asked Commissioners if they had any questions or concerns before finalizing this decision. 

• If the cost exceeded the earmarked amount for equity implementation, the Sustainability Office would find a way to obtain more money for this purpose with the Commission’s guidance and permission rather than denying the application.  

• Usually, savings for this program cannot be used from one year to the next.  

• Staff is most comfortable paying individuals for their work and time for equity reasons and prefer not to rely on volunteer services.  

• In the next budget cycle, staff are considering requesting an increase of twenty-five thousand dollars. 

Applications are due September 30th. October 6th is the beginning of application review. Final scores are generally decided at the combination November/December Commission meeting. 

The Commission was asked several practical questions and decided the following:  

• Three Commissioners are sufficient to review each application. If there are significant deltas in scoring, Ms. Hatton will follow up with those Commissioners before the final review meeting.  

• The September agenda can include a review of the scoring rubric and process/methodology for application review.