Board Meeting Minutes January 29, 2009 PESC Offices 4747 North First Street, Suite 140 Fresno, California
I.
Welcome & Introductions Board Members: Ricardo Amon Jeff Briltz Roger Christy William Delain Phil Erro Gary Hanson Jeff Manternach Roger McNeil Rollie Smith Mark Stout Linda Urata Colby Wells Jeff Wright
Alternates: Devon Jones Staff: Paul Johnson Courtney Kalashian Affiliates: Bethany Thompson, EDC Philip Brown, USDA Joseph Oldham, City of Fresno Wayne Waite, HUD
Rollie Smith called the meeting of the Board of Directors of the San Joaquin Valley Clean Energy Organization (SJVCEO) to order at 10:00ap.m. Elizabeth Knudsen has issued her resignation from the board effective January 28, 2009.
II.
Approval of Minutes of November 6, 2008 Board Meeting
The minutes of the November 6, 2008 SJVCEO Board of Directors were approved on a motion made by Bill DeLain, seconded by Jeff Manternach, and unanimously approved by the board
III.
Sponsor Check Presentation
Gary Hanson
Gary Hanson presented a check in the amount of $50,000 as an unrestricted donation to the SJVCEO. During the presentation Gary noted, “This is an easy connection for PG & E; we are very proud to be a part of it.” Rollie Smith added, “We all have our own level of contribution that we can each make.” Photos were taken of the check presentation by the SJVCEO and PG&E staff.
IV.
Reports and Updates A. Financial Report
Jeff Manternach, Treasurer
Jeff reported on the balance sheet provided as an attachment to the board. There is approximately $100,000 in unrestricted funding available for 2009. The report was approved by the board on a motion made by Jeff Manternach and seconded by Gary Hanson. Roger Christy asked if a full financial report could be emailed to the board in advance of the next meeting.
SJVCEO Board Meeting Minutes – January 29, 2009
B. 2009 Board Structure and Appointment Process
Cynthia Downing, PESC
Cynthia provided an explanation of the nomination process as outlined in the bylaws, and provided the board with a meeting attendance tally so the board could review who has been coming and who has not, as there is an attendance requirement in the bylaws. The board tasked the nomination process to the Executive Committee under the leadership of Gary Hanson. C. Fundraising Committee
Mark Stout
Mark gave an update of the regular meeting of the Funding Committee. The committee consists of Rollie Smith, Gary Hanson, Mark Stout, and Jeff Manternach. Courtney Kalashian and Cynthia Downing are also attending the meetings and assisting the committee members as tasked. Mark explained that the committee has decided to focus attention on foundations, specifically those foundations with an interest in clean energy. Cynthia Downing is going to assist the organization in grant writing and administration of these grants. D. Project Update Paul Johnson, SJVCEO a. Greening Arvin: Currently we are working with Alan Christensen greening businesses in the city and getting the word out to the businesses. Our focus is helping the city identify opportunities for their green pan. This project began in November 2008 and SEI is assisting as a subcontractor for the technological assistance. b. VIEW Partnership: Focus of the VIEW Partnership is on Energy Efficiency Services. Funding for this local partnership is through the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). Paul explained the funding as a three year budget, with $2.2 million in funding from Southern California Edison. Paul asked the board to provide feedback and comments on handout ASAP so he could report back. This project is a big deal, and is very performance based. Bill Delain, of SCE, explained that this project will contribute to the SJVCEO viability and credibility. E. Strategic Planning Project Meeting Rollie Smith, Chair th Rollie reported that the Executive Committee had met on December 19 to set basic priorities for pursuit of project funding in 2009. Top priorities identified were 1) support for community work through the economic stimulus bill; and 2) funding through the California Energy Commission’s Renewable Energy Secure Communities (RESCO) program solicitation. F. Sustainable Cities Committee. Jeff Briltz Jeff reported that there hadn’t been many group meetings since the last report. It is time, once again, to survey th the cities; Jeff will provide Paul and Courtney with survey content and contact list. On February 12 there will be a meeting of the Southern San Joaquin League of Cities, and Jeff will present on the Sustainable Cities program. G. Bioenergy Chair Ricardo Amon Ricardo provided the board with a recap of the committees finding from the November Farming Clean Energy Conference. The group has created a work group bulletin to bring information to the public and track biogas projects throughout the state. Ricardo will work with Courtney to get needed materials to the website. Paul and Courtney will work together to create a process for this information. H. Renewables Committee Mark Stout Mark informed the board that the committee had not met since last spring. He updated the numbers of renewable projects in the fall. I.
Green Workforce Roger McNeil Roger reported on that there will be a meeting for San Joaquin Valley Green Jobs in Fresno. Roger also presented on the coming together of a consortium of higher education professionals to work together to create Green Jobs programs for their schools.
J.
Farm Bill
SJVCEO Board Meeting Minutes – January 29, 2009
Phillip Brown
Only section 9003, “Bio Refinery Assistance” has published NOFA. Next week Phillip will be in Colorado for a meeting with other Energy Coordinators. Section 9007 (formerly 9006), “Grants for Renewables and Energy Efficiency Projects” NOFA not yet published—it didn’t get in before the new administration came in, and it is now under review. With the funding there will now be $25,000 in grant funding for feasibility studies. There are three cycles for application, versus the old open submission process. Scoring favors small projects. This is not funding from the stimulus. The major issue facing applicants is collateral. Philip noted that the application process is difficult for the average person—40% did not get approved. K. RESCO a. City of Fresno Joseph Oldham, City of Fresno The City of Fresno is moving forward on their sustainability program known as, Fresno Green.” The goal is to have 50% of energy from renewables by the year 2025. The City already has in place a diversion from the waste stream and a way to turn green waste into fuel. The objective of their plan is to have 95% of city vehicles on LNG by June. The City has identified a gap in the LNG supple between Fresno and Sacramento. The RESCO solicitation means an opportunity for full development of renewables and biogas through anaerobic digestion. . This solicitation provides this is an opportunity for Fresno, SJVCEO, and sister communities to work together, not compete. The carbon benefits of this project are huge. The City of Fresno wants to work with the SJVCEO on this project. The SJVCEO will support and endorse the efforts of the City to pursue RECO funding. b. SJVCEO Jeff Manternach Jeff provided a background on the RESCO program, and applicable projects. Jeff would like to work on behalf of the SJVCEO, and funded through by the Air District via the SJVCEO to write a grant for RESCO funds for a dairy generation program of pilot scale. The program burns low NoX through fuel cell (noncombustion) engines. This is a great opportunity for the SJVCEO to receive a grant. The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District will provide a $5,000 grant to the SJVCEO to pay Jeff for his services. Since Jeff will be funded to work for the SJVCEO, he will need to resign from the board. L. California Public Utilities Commission/NSP Wayne Waite, HUD HUD is moving into the Residential. The common thread is the reduction of the carbon footprint. This plan includes energy efficiency in existing housing. Together HUD, CEC, and SJVCEO can put together a Strategic Forum with local governments to help guide better use of funding opportunities. The time frame is May/June 2009 to hold the meeting. M. E.D.C. Devon Jones Devon reported that the EDC is excited as everyone else! The EDC focus is more immediate—they want to create a marketing tool mapping projects to increase public and industry awareness of energy and water projects. Paul Johnson will follow up with Devon Jones.
V.
Key Strategic Opportunities
Paul Johnson, SJVCEO
A. American recovery and Reinvestment Package/New Administration Paul reviewed major new funding opportunities that were about to become available through the new economic stimulus legislation. Primary opportunities for the Valley include 1) the new energy block grant program; 2) and increased funding for the State Energy Program and Weatherization Assistance Program. Paul will pursue these opportunities on behalf of the Valley as a top priority. . B. Farming Clean Energy Conference (FCEC) 2008 Follow Up Paul briefly review the follow-up opportunities coming out of the FCEC and indicate that the SJVCEO would be pursuing funding from USDA, utilities and others to fund these activities.
SJVCEO Board Meeting Minutes – January 29, 2009
VI.
Action Items/Next Steps/Responsible Committee & Staff
Rollie Smith
A. Board Structure: Motion by Jeff Briltz and second by Gary Hanson to task the nomination process to the Executive Committee. Courtney will send out a current list of board positions, who fills them, and which positions are open. If anyone has recommendations for the board they should be sent to Courtney who will forward them on to the Executive Committee. Mark Stout commented that it was important to have an alternate lined up. B. Capturing New Federal Clean Energy Opportunities: Paul Johnson and Jeff Briltz will work together to draft a strategy for the office. This plan will include what we offer, our approach to the CEC and major utilities. C. RESCO Approach: A motion was made that the SJVCEO take advantage of the solicitation on SJAPCD to fund grant process to the RESCO-Gallo Project. Jeff Briltz wanted a confirmation of where the matched funds, $100,000 would come from. The motion was accepted. D. Development of MOU with City of Fresno: A MOU has been drafted and will be shared with the Executive Committee once feedback is received from the City. In addition, the Board confirmed its support for the Fresno efforts for RESCO funding. E. CPUC Meeting with Cities on NSP: The board approved moving forward with HUD to create a program. VII.
Wrap Up and Adjourn
Rollie Smith
The meeting adjourned at 1:10 p.m. The next meeting will be April 2nd from 10-1 at the UC Merced Campus in Merced. Meeting minutes were recorded by Courtney Kalashian and submitted by Jeff Wright, Vice Chair.
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Jeff Wright, Vice Chair Board of Directors, San Joaquin Valley Clean Energy Organization
Date
SJVCEO Board Meeting Minutes – January 29, 2009