City's green goals fall short in Tosa

The city fell short of its target to reduce energy consumption by 3 percent in 2011 and many of the goals set by the Energy Committee went unmet.

The committee, made up of seven residents, shared with aldermen on Tuesday their progress on the goals set last year and previewed what they intend to accomplish in 2012.

The city spent $1.65 million in energy costs in 2011, said committee member Chuck Rohrer. That was only an overall decline of 2 percent from the year before.

When it came to electric, the city dropped its usage by 4 percent. Natural gas and gasoline each were used 2 percent less than in 2010. But diesel fuel usage actually climbed 3 percent, perhaps because of all the heavy snowstorms last year requiring plowing operations, Rohrer said. Greenhouse gas emissions mirrored the overall energy usage with a 2 percent reduction.

The reductions that did occur likely came from reduced lighting usage in city buildings and changing out traffic signals and some street lights to more energy efficient equipment, committee chairman Jim Krol said.

The committee doesn't want to back down and has set a 5 percent reduction in all sources from the 2010 levels as a 2012 goal

"They are very achievable goals," Krol said.

The most controversial goal this time last year was hiring an energy manager to oversee the city's usage and come up with programs aimed at reduction.

"The city's not in the position to be adding any more people to the payroll so that didn't happen," Rohrer said.

Instead, the committee would like its members - people with expertise in energy-related fields and programs - to work more closely with city staff to measure and track energy usage so it can look at specific spots and methods for improvement.

Committee members also offered their services to the Community Development Department to provide energy efficiency reviews of private developments that come forward as well as any energy conservation projects being taken on by the city.

It's been several years since former Mayor Jill Didier established the Energy Committee to provide advice to staff and the Common Council on energy matter and help reduce energy consumption and spending. However it was only in recent months that the group felt it was getting real interest from city officials. City Administrator James Archambo and Public Works Director Bill Porter have started attending the committee's meetings.

"The two really have their sights set on reducing their energy usage," committee member Nancy Alberte said. "In the last two months we've made a lot of progress."

The committee would like to see an aldermanic liaison appointed to have a better connection to the Common Council and evidence that the city takes their work seriously.

The city has made progress on the goal of improving walking and bicycling routes with sidewalks and bike lanes planned for Mayfair Road and the new road going in at Innovation Park between Swan Boulevard and Watertown Plank Road, committee member John Bahr said. The Village and East Tosa master plans also call for pedestrian and bike facilities. To make sure these routes are used, the city needs to work toward safe and well-marked streets and places to park bicycles.

Bahr heads up the community outreach component of the committee. He also encourages residents to get involved in the Green Neighbor program, greenneighbor.org.