HomeMy WebLinkAboutCSD-11-054 - Local Environmental Action Fund (Leaf) - 2011 ApplicationsREPORT TO:Planning & Strategic Initiatives Committee
DATE OF MEETING:
April 11, 2011
SUBMITTED BY: Jeff Willmer, Deputy CAO
Community Services Department
PREPARED BY: Barbara Steiner, Senior Environmental Planner,
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WARD(S) INVOLVED: All
DATE OF REPORT:
April 5, 2011
REPORT NO.:
CSD -11-054
SUBJECT:
LOCAL ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION FUND (LEAF):
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR 2011 APPLICATIONS
RECOMMENDATION:
THAT the Local Environmental Action Fund (LEAF) grant applications recommended for
funding by the LEAF Steering Committee be approved as outlined in staff report CSD –
11 – 054.
BACKGROUND:
On April 16, 2007, $5 million was established by Council resolution for Kitchener’s Local
Environmental Action Fund—$2 million in 2007 and $1 million each for 2008, 2009 and 2010.
Throughout 2007, input on how LEAF should operate was obtained from staff, Council,
Kitchener’s Environmental Committee, and the community at large. Based on direction from all
stakeholders, an Operating Framework for LEAF (DTS-08-33) was approved by Council on
March 17, 2008, and the application and evaluation process (DTS-08-194) was received for
information on November 17, 2008; refinements to some aspects of the fund’s Operating
Framework were approved by Council on January 24, 2011 (CSD-11-004).
On December 8, 2008 the original composition of the LEAF Steering Committee was approved
by Council and included two (2) citizen advisors; Council amended this composition to add up to
three (3) additional citizen advisors on February 14, 2011 (CSD-11-032).
City Council is the final decision-making authority on whether or not an application for LEAF
funding is successful or not.
In 2009, the first year of grants from the fund, Council approved sixteen (16) projects for LEAF
funding in the amount of $1,163,559. In 2010, Council approved seven (7) projects for funding in
the amount of $97,022. In addition, a loan of $1,367,000 to fund the solar roof at the
Consolidated Maintenance Facility was made in 2010.
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REPORT:
In accordance with the operating framework, and the application and evaluation process
outlined in the staff reports noted above, web content, advertizing and other communications
tools were launched in late fall 2010 and early 2011 to solicit applications to LEAF. Key dates in
the application and evaluation process were:
February 28, 2011 Application Submission Deadline (all grants, both under $50,000
and $50,000 or over)
March 2011 Assessment by LEAF Steering Committee
THE 2011 APPLICATIONS
A total of sixteen (16) applications were received, nine (9) for under $50,000 and seven (7) for
$50,000 and above. The total amount requested in the sixteen (16) applications was $2,510,154
($258,236 for under $50,000; $2,251,918 for $50,000 and above). See attached table.
STEERING COMMITTEE EVALUATION
The applications were distributed to the members of the LEAF Steering Committee in advance
of the first meeting. Three (3) meetings (2.5 hours in length) of the steering committee were held
on March 9, 10 and 15, 2011.
The LEAF Steering Committee is comprised of the following individuals: the Deputy CAOs of the
three (3) City departments, the Director of Planning, the Senior Environmental Planner
responsible for LEAF, and at least two (2) to a maximum of five (5) members of the public who
are environmental experts and / or community leaders with experience in granting
organizations, or represent other relevant specified sectors of the community (“citizen
advisors”).
The five citizen advisors who are members of the LEAF Steering Committee are Teresa
Cornwell, James Danckert, Scott Piatkowski, Charles Priddle and Karen Redman. Staff would
like to thank these committed citizens for giving their time, expertise and considerable good
judgement to the evaluation and selection process.
During the evaluation process, certain applicants were contacted for more information or
clarification in order for the steering committee to conclude deliberations on a particular
application, and make a recommendation.
A full consideration of all the applications was made by the steering committee with the engaged
participation of all of the members. Ultimately, a final recommendation was arrived at in every
instance by consensus. There was no need to canvass committee majority as consensus was
always achieved.
It is noted that conflicts of interest were declared as follows:
Scott Piatkowski and James Danckert - Westmount Public School
Alain Pinard - Waterloo Green Solutions (REEP), applicant,
partner or participant
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In these instances, members who declared a conflict of interest left the meeting room and did
not participate in the discussion.
In addition, when the two applications from City divisions were considered, the City staff
members of the LEAF Steering Committee remained to answer technical questions but left the
final decisions on recommending the grants or not to the committee’s citizen advisors.
STEERING COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS
The detailed recommendations of the LEAF Steering Committee are reflected in the table
attached. In addition, all original, complete applications to LEAF have been made available for
Council consideration to aid in their review of staff report CSD-11-054.
Of the sixteen (16) applications received, five (5) were determined to be ineligible:
One (1) is a request for a $58,620 in seed money as an investment in a private
enterprise which makes it ineligible;
Four (4) are from organizations which are, or are intended to be, commercial
enterprises. These include two (2) applications from a registered not-for-profit
organization operating as a commercial enterprise, one application for a proposed co-op
for solar investors, and one application from a for-profit business. The commercial or for-
profit nature of the organizations was determined to make the applicant organizations
ineligible.
Four (4) of the five (5) eligible grant applications for smaller projects are recommended for some
level of funding while three (3) of the six (6) eligible grant applications for larger projects are
recommended for some level of funding.
Projects recommended for funding are:
Conservation and Stewardship of Urban Turtle Populations (City of Kitchener,
Operations Design and Development)—This is a continuation of a 2009 research and
public outreach project to educate schools, community groups, and the general public
about these species of concern and their habitats in the city.
Growing the Regional Carbon Initiative in Kitchener (Sustainable Waterloo)—This is an
18-month push to bring on more Pledging Partners and paying members belonging to
this organization which guides, supports and celebrates the energy and greenhouse gas
reduction initiatives of private businesses, a sector not normally supported in such
undertakings.
Schoolground Greening (Westmount Public and St. Dominic Savio Catholic Schools)—
These schools will receive small grants to help them plant native trees and engage the
school community in an environmental activity.
Community Access Bicycles (The Working Centre)—This organization is proposing to
launch a bike share project in Kitchener. Currently contemplated is 100 bicycles at 10
public access locations throughout the city. However, before moving directly to the
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placing of the racks and bikes, the LEAF Steering Committee has requested that further
investigation—including community surveys—be undertaken to produce a good
business case for the project. The business case will be reviewed by both the LEAF
Steering Committee and Kitchener’s Cycling Advisory Committee to assess its merit
prior to the balance of the funding for the project being released.
Kitchener Home Energy Improvement Program (Waterloo Green Solutions or REEP)—
This project proposes to provide incentives to the owners of pre-1970s homes to
complete energy audits and install insulation and air-seal their homes using the federal
government’s ecoENERGY model including those accepted procedures for grant
verification. Only pre-1970s homes installing insulation and doing air-sealing—the two
most effective retrofits to reduce energy use, but the least undertaken in the recent
ecoENERGY program—will be eligible for the incentives. This project could bookend the
Kitchener Green Housing Incentive Program which provides financial incentives to
builders who undertake LEED certified new residential construction.
¡RAIN! An Ecological Approach to Stormwater Management (Waterloo Green Solutions
or REEP)—This is a comprehensive outreach and action project to motivate behavioural
and physical changes in homeowners and their properties respectively that will result in
the improvement of the quantity and quality of water running into our streams, rivers and
wetlands. Reductions in storm run-off and non-point-source pollution are the goals.
Outreach activities include workshops, hands-on demonstrations, events and best
practices tours, website articles and displays at the REEP House for Sustainable Living
in Kitchener. A REEP-developed online tool, the Green Home Planner, will be piloted
with ten (10) Kitchener families in the first year of the project.
Therefore, total LEAF funding being recommended in 2011 is $847,206 with $79,364 being held
in reserve pending the completion of a satisfactory business case for the Community Access
Bicycles (The Working Centre) project and $440,037 being reserved to provide the incentives
and grant verifications for the Waterloo Green Solution’s (REEP’s) Kitchener Home Energy
Improvement Program.
ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN:
Community Priorities
Leadership and Community Engagement
Financially supporting local environmental initiatives through LEAF will enhance our partnership
with citizens, business, agencies, organizations, school boards and all orders of government in
all Healthy Community initiatives (Strategic Direction 1)
Environment
Funding important environmental projects through LEAF will help achieve the Citizens’ Vision
for the Environment (2027), in which our community focuses significant energy and resources
on becoming more environmentally friendly.
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FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
On April 16, 2007, $5 million was established by Council resolution for Kitchener’s Local
Environmental Action Fund—$2 million in 2007 and $1 million each for 2008, 2009 and 2010. In
2009, $1,163,559 was allocated to successful LEAF grantees. In 2010, Council approved seven
(7) projects for funding in the amount of $97,022.
In 2011, it is recommended that $847,206 be granted to applicants.
In addition, a loan of $1,367,000 to fund the solar roof at the Consolidated Maintenance Facility
was made in 2010.
Therefore, if Council approves the recommended 2011 grants, $2,892,213 remains in the LEAF
reserve fund with $1,367,000 of that amount currently on loan to the Consolidated Maintenance
Facility’s solar roof project.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
A draft of this report was distributed to the LEAF Steering Committee, which includes five (5)
citizen advisors (50% of committee membership) for review and comment.
All grant applicants were informed of the recommendations of the LEAF Steering Committee
and of the dates that Committee and Council would be considering these recommendations.
After LEAF grantees have been selected, an announcement of funding recipients will take place
through media releases to be issued after Committee / Council resolution. Information on
grantee projects and environmental information will also be posted on the LEAF website
www.kitchener.ca/leaf. Media releases and any future articles in Your Kitchener will notify the
public of grantees and build awareness of the local environmental enhancement being enabled
by LEAF.
ACKNOWLEDGED BY:
Jeff Willmer, Deputy CAO
Community Services Department
Attachments:
Table: Summary of LEAF Applicants 2011
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