Title
Approval of a Resolution Authorizing an Interlocal Agreement Between the City of Olympia, Thurston County, City of Lacey, City of Tumwater and Thurston Regional Planning Council for Implementation of the Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan
Recommended Action
Committee Recommendation:
Not referred to a committee.
City Manager Recommendation:
Move to approve a Resolution authorizing an interlocal agreement between Thurston County, City of Lacey, City of Olympia, City of Tumwater, and Thurston Regional Planning Council for Implementation of the Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan.
Report
Issue:
Whether to approve a Resolution authorizing an interlocal agreement between Thurston County, City of Lacey, City of Olympia, City of Tumwater, and Thurston Regional Planning Council for Implementation of the Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan.
Staff Contact:
Pamela Braff, PhD, Climate Program Manager, City Manager’s Office, 360.753.8249
Presenter(s):
None - Consent Calendar Item
Background and Analysis:
Regional Climate Mitigation Planning
In April 2018, Thurston County, Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater and Thurston Regional Planning Council (TRPC) signed an Interlocal Agreement to complete Phase I of a regional Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan, with TRPC leading the effort. Phase I work resulted in the following regional greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets:
• 45% below 2015 levels by 2030
• 85% below 2015 levels by 2050
In November 2018, Olympia and the other regional jurisdictions approved a Phase II Interlocal Agreement to develop a regional climate mitigation plan. Over the next two years, all partner jurisdictions worked cooperatively to develop the Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan (TCMP).
In February 2021, the partner jurisdictions accepted the TCMP as the framework for local climate mitigation action and approved a Phase III Interlocal Agreement to move the TCMP into implementation over the next year. Phase III was intended to serve as a bridge year, during which the partners would further develop implementation details and longer-term strategies for governance, monitoring and outreach to support a coordinated regional approach to climate mitigation.
Over the past year, with support from TRPC, the partner jurisdictions completed the following tasks:
• Developed the proposed longer-term Phase IV Interlocal Agreement and 2022 Climate Mitigation Work Program.
• Began work on two policy white papers to evaluate regional approaches for developing Residential Energy Efficiency and Carbon Sequestration Programs.
• Evaluated options for long-term monitoring and assessment, and produced a 2021 Climate Mitigation Progress Report.
Phase IV Agreement and 2022 Work Program
The proposed Phase IV Interlocal Agreement between the regional partners would move the TCMP into longer-term implementation over the next three years. This 3-year Interlocal Agreement would require jurisdiction partners to approve an annual work program and budget to achieve the purpose and goals of the Phase IV agreement. This annual work program would include:
• Convening the Climate Action Steering Committee and Multijurisdictional Staff Team.
• Developing an annual list of regional initiatives to be included in the annual work program.
• Developing and maintaining a monitoring and assessment program that tracks and reports on climate mitigation activities and outcomes.
• Coordinating public outreach activities and convening and Climate Advisory Workgroup, consisting of up to 15 interested stakeholders appointed by the Steering Committee.
The 2022 Climate Mitigation Work Program, provided in Exhibit A, includes four regional priorities, in addition to the standing tasks described above. Annual initiatives may be led by TRPC or any of the partner jurisdictions. The 2022 regional priorities include:
• Energy Efficiency Program Design: Design and launch Phase 1 of a community-wide residential energy efficiency program.
• Building Electrification Cost Assessment: Develop a regional assessment of costs to build and operate all-electric housing, commercial development, and mixed-used development. Olympia will serve as the lead partner on this project.
• Carbon Sequestration Program Design: Design and launch Phase 1 of a regional carbon sequestration program.
• Financing Strategy: Research options for creating a dedicated, shared regional fund for climate mitigation work.
Exhibit B includes a Scope of Work for TRPC to complete the tasks identified in the 2022 Annual Work Program. A total budget of $242,648, split evenly among the four jurisdictions, will fund the first year of this agreement. Each jurisdiction is also expected to contribute at least 0.25 FTE of staff and elected official time to support regional coordination and implementation of the TCMP. Olympia’s Climate Program Manager will be the lead staff for this effort, working with City Council representatives serving on the Climate Action Steering Committee.
Neighborhood/Community Interests (if known):
During the TCMP planning process, many stakeholders and community members voiced support for taking significant action to reduce the region’s greenhouse gas emissions. These community members expressed the importance of both development and implementation of the TCMP, and have continued to express their support for significant action and investment in climate mitigation since the acceptance of the TCMP last year.
Options:
1. Approve the Resolution authorizing an interlocal agreement between Thurston County, City of Lacey, City of Olympia, City of Tumwater, and Thurston Regional Planning Council for Implementation of the Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan. The City will be able to move forward with regional partners on the implementation of the TCMP as outlined in the Scope of Work.
2. Do not approve the Resolution and direct staff to work with regional partners to modify the Interlocal Agreement.
3. Do Not Approve the Resolution authorizing an interlocal agreement between Thurston County, City of Lacey, City of Olympia, City of Tumwater, and Thurston Regional Planning Council for Implementation of the Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan. The City would no longer work regionally on the implementation of the TCMP. The City would move forward on its own to implement the TCMP.
Financial Impact:
The cost to implement to 2022 work program is $60,662 per jurisdiction. Sufficient funds are contained in the 2022 budget for work on climate change. Long term costs to achieve regional climate mitigation targets are expected to be significant over time and will be determined in more detail as implementation of TCMP continues to progress.
Attachments:
Resolution
Agreement