HomeMy WebLinkAbout6.q. Resolution of Support For Regional Indicators Program
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
City Council Meeting: May 20, 2015
AGENDA ITEM: Resolution of Support For Regional
Indicators Program
AGENDA SECTION:
Consent
PREPARED BY: Kim Lindquist, Community Development
Director AGENDA NO. 6.q.
ATTACHMENTS: Resolution, Background Information
APPROVED BY: ddj
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Motion to Approve Resolution Supporting the
Institutionalization of the Regional Indicators Initiative
SUMMARY
The City has been a participant in the Regional Indicators project over the last several years. Most recently,
the City through the RCP process has been provided additional information about the City’s use of energy,
water, waste, travel and greenhouse emissions. These projects add to the City’s goal in increasing
sustainability practices in the City, both for public and private property owners.
The Mayor is a member of the Regional Council of Mayors that was instrumental in starting the Indicators
Initiative and providing on-going support. The group is now moving to institutionalize the program to aide
in integration of the information into regional and local planning exercises. The concept is to provide a more
formalized information collection and comparison structure which will be more usable for various
participants. The Regional Council of Mayors has requested local communities to support this initiative and
a resolution of support is attached for the Council’s consideration and recommendation action of approval.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the approval of the resolution supporting the institutionalization of the Regional
Indicators Initiative.
CITY OF ROSEMOUNT
DAKOTA COUNTY, MINNESOTA
RESOLUTION 2015 -
A RESOLUTION SUPPORTING THE INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF THE
REGIONAL INDICATORS INITIATIVE
WHEREAS, the Regional Council of Mayors (“RCM”), is composed of the mayors of Minneapolis,
St. Paul and 47 municipalities in the developed and developing suburbs. The collaborative partnership
provides a non-partisan platform focused on building action strategies to raise overall economic
competitiveness, accelerate innovation and improve the quality of life in the MSP region; and
WHEREAS, the Regional Indicators Initiative collects, analyzes, and makes publically available
citywide environmental metrics (energy, water, travel, waste, and greenhouse gas emissions) for
Minnesota cities; and
WHEREAS, the five-year plan for the institutionalization of the Regional Indicators Initiative
includes: a peer review of the project’s methodology by a third party, the creation of an automated
online database to manage the data, the collection of Regional Indicators da ta for all metropolitan
area cities and counties, support for cities in using Regional Indicators data to integrate energy
planning into the comprehensive planning process, the establishment of a utility repository for
community scale energy data, the collection of Regional Indicators data for all cities and counties in
the state of Minnesota, and the continued public tracking of Regional Indicators data to measure
progress toward city-, region-, and state-wide goals;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that The City of Rosemount, as one of the
communities in Minnesota’s fast-growing 11-county metropolitan region, and a participant in the
Regional Indicators Initiative, hereby declare that we support the planned institutionalization of the
Regional Indicators Initiative.
ADOPTED this 20th day of May, 2015, by the City Council of the City of Rosemount.
_________________________________
William H. Droste, Mayor
ATTEST:
___________________________________
Clarissa Hadler, City Clerk
REGIONAL INDICATORS INITIATIVE ‐ GET INVOLVED
WHAT
The Regional Indicators Initiative measures annual performance metrics for
Minnesota cities committed to increasing their overall efficiency and level of
sustainability. The project collects the following data that reflect the activities
of the people who live, work, learn, travel, visit, and play within each city’s
geographical boundaries:
ENERGY | Electricity, natural gas, fuel oil, coal and biomass, and
district energy consumed for both residential and
commercial/industrial use.
WATER | Potable water consumption for both residential and
commercial/industrial use
TRAVEL | On‐road distance traveled by all vehicles within the
municipality boundaries.
WASTE | Total municipal solid waste that is landfilled, composted,
incinerated or recycled.
The greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and costs associated with each of these
indicators are also calculated, providing common metrics to compare the
economic and environmental impacts of the indicators.
WHEN
This Initiative was started in 2010, and it collects annual data for 2007‐2013.
WHO
The Regional Indicators Initiative is managed by LHB, Inc. for the Urban Land
Institute, with technical assistance from ORANGE Environmental, LLC and
financial support from the Department of Commerce, the Minnesota
Pollution Control Agency, and the Great Plains Institute.
WHY
Recording these performance metrics is essential to promoting efficiency and
sustainable change at the city scale. Benefits to cities include:
Highlight opportunities to save resources and money;
Provide a baseline for estimating the effectiveness of sustainability
measures;
Enable comparison with peer cities and within each city over time;
Inform subsequent analyses, plans, and policy decisions;
Improve each city’s competitiveness for federal and state funding
opportunities that are targeted to cities that have taken steps to measure
and improve their energy efficiency and reduce their carbon footprints;
Assist in promoting public understanding of the city’s effect on climate
change;
Satisfy criteria for Step Four recognition under the Minnesota GreenStep
Cities program.
WHERE
Twenty‐Seven Minnesota cities (33%
of Minnesota’s population),
including:
Central/Stand‐Alone Cities:
Minneapolis
Saint Paul
Rochester
Duluth
Saint Cloud
Bemidji
Inner‐Ring Suburbs:
Richfield
Hopkins
Saint Louis Park
Saint Anthony
Edina
Falcon Heights
Maplewood
Outer‐Ring Suburbs:
White Bear Lake
Coon Rapids
Oakdale
Shoreview
Eagan
Eden Prairie
Minnetonka
Woodbury
Lake Elmo
Burnsville
Elk River
Kasson
HOW
Contact Rick Carter at LHB, Inc.:
regionalindicatorsMN@lhbcorp.com
612‐752‐6923