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COUNTY OF SAN MATEO
Inter-Departmental Correspondence
County Manager’s Office
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DATE:
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July 23, 2010
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BOARD MEETING DATE:
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August 10, 2010
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SPECIAL NOTICE/HEARING:
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None
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VOTE REQUIRED:
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Majority
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TO:
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Honorable Board of Supervisors
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FROM:
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Peggy Jensen, Deputy County Manager
Danielle Lee, Energy Upgrade Program Manager
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SUBJECT:
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Energy Upgrade contracts
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RECOMMENDATION:
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Adopt a resolution authorizing the County Manager to execute agreements with the Association of Bay Area Governments and Sacramento County necessary to expedite receipt of California Energy Commission grant funds to implement Energy Upgrade San Mateo County.
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BACKGROUND:
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The Board of Supervisors adopted the Cool Counties Declaration in October of 2007. The Declaration commits the County to reducing our carbon (CO2) footprint 80% below current levels by 2050. To help achieve that goal, the Board approved participation in two regional pilot projects, Retrofit Bay Area and CaliforniaFIRST, on February 23. These two pilot projects, collectively referred to as Energy Upgrade San Mateo County, aim to encourage residential retrofits for energy efficiency through an outreach and education campaign, workforce development initiatives, policy support and the establishment of a financing option. Energy Upgrade San Mateo County is funded by American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds channeled through a combination of State Energy Program (SEP) grants from the California Energy Commission (CEC) and Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) funds.
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Retrofit Bay Area and CaliforniaFIRST participants will receive funds from the CEC through their lead applicants, the Association of Bay Area Governments and Sacramento County, respectively. The Notice of Proposed Award (NOPA) from the CEC for both pilot programs was released on February 11, 2010. Upon release of the NOPA, lead contract execution for the pilots was expected by April 1, 2010. Sub-contracts were anticipated approximately one month after that and program launch was planned for June 1, 2010.
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DISCUSSION:
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Your Board may delegate to the County Manager the authority to execute sub-contracts necessary to expedite receipt of CEC grant funds to implement Energy Upgrade San Mateo County. Authorizing the County Manager to execute these agreements would accelerate implementation of the Energy Upgrade program. This is critical due to the CEC grants requirement that all funds must be expended by March 31, 2012 regardless of the contract start date. Adoption of this resolution would enable Energy Upgrade staff to quickly move forward with program implementation once the CEC – lead agency contracts are finalized, which is now expected to occur in early August. An accelerated sub-contract process and release of CEC funds would also allow the Energy Upgrade San Mateo staff to do project planning needed in advance of the utility company rebates currently scheduled for early fall.
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Approval of this Resolution contributes to the Shared Vision 2025 outcome of an Environmentally Conscious Community by supporting the energy retrofit market in San Mateo County. Energy retrofits help to protect our natural resources by creating local green jobs and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by lowering energy consumption.
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County Counsel has reviewed and approved the Resolution as to form.
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FISCAL IMPACT:
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The total cost of the project is estimated at approximately $1.7 million. All project costs will be funded through ARRA funds, leaving no net County cost.
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There is no impact to the General Fund.
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