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Home My WebLink About2008-08-20 Correspondence~~ ¢ ¢~ Jo~o~ Cotknt BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Rod Sullivan, Chairperson Pat Harney Larry Meyers Terrence Neuzil Sally Stutsman GLOBAL WARMING ACTION PLAN Recently several communities within Johnson County have cc-m><nitted to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Iowa City, Coralville, Nurth LiLerty, and Johnson County have become memLers of• ICLEI -Local Governments for Sustainability, a membership organization of local governments connnitted to advancing clin-ate protection and sustainable development. Other Joh--son County cities have also expressed their desires to 1-ecoine snore sustainable. During previous discussions, municipalities, the County.. and tl-e ilniversity of Iowra have agreed that Johnson Gxn-ty, as a whole, must collaborate towards establishing a comprehensive, integrated, comnnuiity-wide plan to provide leadership and a visioi- on climate change and sustainable developmeY-t. The goal of this plan would Le to develop workable strategies and practical actions that can be used to si-eceed in reducing our community's "carbon footprint" by 80`% by 2050. This will ensure a lival-le and prosperous community for future inhabitants. This action plan will call out several community secturs to take action to reduce green house gases and to promote sustainaLility. At a mininnim, the sectors to be included are: county and municipal governments, educational institutions, businesses, and hc-useholds. The plan will call for each sector to seek strategies related, but not limited tc-: reduced energy cons~~mzl-tion, Letter transportatioi~>i options, sustainable land-use plans, comprehensive recycling programs, prutectiog water reso--rces, and mitigating against flooding. LEADERSHIP Prc-blems related to gloLal warnung, pollution, uud unsustainable human activities are well documented and threaten the public health and the natural world. 1'he scientific con~imunity demands that change must occur while adnutting that not enough is being done to remedy the problem. This challenge is serious, but it is achievable. 913 SOUTH DUBUQUE STREET, SUITE 201 • IOWA CITY, IOWA 52240-4207 • PHONE: (319) 356-6000 Recognizing these facts, the. county government, municipal governments, and the University of Iowa mast continue to work together to solve this proLleui. After each entity has sufficiently Legun work to create its own Sustainability plan, Johnson County would like to suggest that representatives from each entity come together to create the first ever Climate Change and Sustainable Development Action Plan for the Johnson County conunuuity. VISION In order to create a shared vision across the community as a whole, it is necessary to include talented public officials, subject matter experts, educators, business owners, and community leaders. The charge of this multi-talented grog-p shall Le to create an action plan that will yield. change, achieve progressively sensible goals for greenhouse gas emission reductions, and sustainable developme><-t. In order to further accomplish this goal. the Johnson County Board of Supervisors would like to suggest that the. ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability milestone process Le adopted. Tl-is five-milestone process is listed below and will enable us to create a Laseline from which te- adopt reduction goals while we develop our action plan and monitor our f-~-ture progress. Fully paid members of ICLEI-Loral Governments for Sustainability can obtain tl-e Clean Air and Climate Protection (CACP) software used to calculate greenhouse gas e>tnissions free of charge. Milestone 1 Condact a ba~:eline ernis~;ions inventory aad Corcea~+t. Milestone 2 Adopt an e-nissions redaction target for the forecast year. Milestone 3 Dcyelop a Local Action l'lau. Milestone 4 Implement policies and measures. Milestone 5 1louitor and verify results. The Johnson County Board of Supervisors has already taken direct action to Login reducing its carbon footprint. For instance, Cho new Health and Human Services building is r-n track to 1-ecome LEER Certified. Johnson County leas also conducted a 2913 SOUTH DUBUQUE STREET, SUITE 201 • IOWA CITY, IOWA 52240-4207 • PHONE: (319) 356-6000 2 baseline greenhouse gas emissions inventory for county operations related to building managetnent, vehicle fleet operations, and employee connm~ttes. As the table demonstrates Lelow, Johnson Cout>lty has room for improvetueut. Johnson County Government Greenhouse Gas Emissions in 2008 Summary Report EquN t: Q, Equiv CO, Eoetgy nonsi 1'+) IkWhl Co: tSl Buildings 1,7'88 32 5 3.281.455 Vehicle Fret 2.871 52.2 10744,184 Employes Coaemute 844 15.3 35502 17i; 529 714,i'Si6 Total __ 5,9D'S 100 0 17,?33„264 ~ Lguro~ert e02 poty'ie9) ~ trayr ldfl 89 t •OC18 L>< order to remedy this problem., the Johnson County Board of Supervisors has set its ow-u emission reduction goal of reducing greenhouse gases by 10'% by 2010 for all county operations. To achieve this goal, the Board has directed the Planning and Zoning Department along with the Facilities Ma><u.agement Department to create a County Operations Sustainability Plau. This plan is currently Leiug developed and shall be adopted this Nove><uber. The Johnson County Board of Supervisors encourages all local governments to take this small step and is willing to offer any and all assistance possible - as this is truly a problem that knows no mttnieipal 1-oundarics. Any questions, please contact Josh Busard with Johnson County Planning and Zoning at aLuGard(a'co johuson.ia.us or 319-356-6083. 913 SOUTH DUBUQUE STREET, SUITE 201 • IOWA CITY, IOWA 52240-4207 • PHONE: (319) 356-6000 3 Buildings Employee Vehicle Commute Fleet