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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFCS-11-224 - Environmental Committee CEIGREPORT TO:Council DATE OF MEETING: December 5, 2011 SUBMITTED BY: Environmental Committee PREPARED BY: Dianna Saunderson, Committee Administrator, 519-741-2594 WARD(S) INVOLVED: All DATE OF REPORT: November 29, 2011 REPORT NO.: FCS-11-224 SUBJECT: ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION - 2011 COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENT GRANT (CEIG) RECOMMENDATION: That the 2011 Community Environmental Improvement Grant (CEIG), to be funded from the Environmental Stewardship Capital Account, be awarded as follows: $500 to Community Renewable Energy Waterloo (CREW) Kids and Community Power Saving Project for education/public awareness material; $200 to Laurentian Hills Christian School for the purchase of their ‘Green Team’ t- shirts, which shall include the City logo to corporate communication standards; $550 to Resurrection Catholic Secondary School for the purchase and installation of a bicycle rack; and, $3,000 to River Ridge Community Park Committee for the purchase, installation and maintenance of trees; and further, That the remaining balance of $10,250 in 2011 CEIG funds be allocated as follows: $1,000 to assist with costs related to the creation and production of commemorative material identifying the City of Kitchener’s contribution through the CEIG towards the projects receiving funding in 2011; and, $750 to assist with 2012 advertising costs; and further, $8,500 for the 2012 CEIG program. BACKGROUND: The Community Environmental Improvement Grant (CEIG) was created in 2004 to foster a sense of environmental stewardship throughout the City. The aim of the CEIG program is to encourage residents to actively participate in environmental initiatives, by undertaking projects that meet the following objectives: increase awareness of how we view and treat the air, water and land resources, and encourage solutions to improve the quality of these resources; promote healthy lifestyle practices; foster a sense of environmental stewardship; ê ó ï promote and initiate the development of short-term, intermediate and long-term community-based environmental programs; and, support environmental research. To facilitate this program, annually $10,000 is budgeted to the Environmental Stewardship Capital Account. For 2011, the account has $14,500 in funding due to the return of funds from a group in 2008 as well as not all of the funds being allocated in 2010. REPORT: This year the Environmental Committee received six CEIG applications, from the following groups: Community Renewable Energy Waterloo (CREW); Laurentian Hills Christian School; Resurrection Catholic Secondary School; Mosaic Counselling and Family Services; River Ridge Community Park Committee; and, Cherry Park Neighbourhood Association. To facilitate the evaluation process, Environmental Committee members completed scoring sheets for each of the applications; the results of which were compiled to produce an aggregate ranking of all the applications. Upon review, if an application met the eligibility criteria, the average score it received in the ranking was used as a percentage of its overall funding request to determine a potential baseline of funding. Using a methodology, a sub-committee of the Environmental Committee met and deliberated as to whether the grant allocation for a particular group should be increased or decreased from its identified baseline. At the November 24, 2011 Environmental Committee meeting, the Committee considered the sub-committee’s recommendation. Due to the ambiguity and timing related to other City projects, members were in agreement that the Cherry Park Neighbourhood Association and the Mosaic Counselling and Family Services were premature in their request; and, were encouraged to re-apply for CEIG funding in 2012. In addition, members requested that Laurentian Hills Christian School include the City’s logo, in accordance with corporate communication standards, somewhere on the ‘Green Team’ t-shirts, recognizing the CEIG funding contribution; rather than a commemorative sign. Community Renewable Energy Waterloo (CREW) applied for a grant in the amount of $3,000. for their Kids and Community Power Saving Project. In reviewing the application, the Committee decided that the educational portion of the request best met the eligibility criteria set out in Council Policy 1-590 (Grant Program - Community Environmental Improvement). It should be noted, if approved, this would be the third time that CREW will be receiving funding through the CEIG program. Based on its deliberations, the Environmental Committee is requesting that a total of $4,250 be allocated to four of the six CEIG applicants, as outlined in the recommendation contained herein. In addition, the Committee proposed that the remaining $10,250 of the 2011 CEIG funds be allocated to assist with costs relating to the development of commemorative material identifying the City of Kitchener’s contribution; 2012 advertising costs; and that the remaining $8,500 be carried forward toward the 2012 CEIG program to support additional projects. ê ó î The Environmental Council Policy 1-590 (Grant Program - Community Environmental Improvement); evaluation score sheets; and, grant criteria have been attached for Council’s reference. ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN: The CEIGsupports the community priorities ‘leadership and community engagement’ and ‘environment’ of the City of Kitchener’s Strategic Plan and the recommended projects support initiatives found within the Strategic Plan for the Environment and Air Quality in Kitchener. The CEIG also helps achieve the Citizens’ Vision for the Environment (2027), in which our community focuses significant energy and resources on becoming more environmentally friendly. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: The Environmental Stewardship Capital Account has $14,500 available for use toward the 2011 Community Environmental Improvement Grant (CEIG) program. It has been recommended by the Committee that $8,500 be carried forward toward the 2012 CEIG program to support additional projects. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: In July 2011, staff sent out a media release announcing that applications were being accepted for this year’s CEIG program. Staff also sent targeted e-mails to a database of relevant organizations and neighbourhood associations. Promotion of the CEIG was also offered through communications tools of like-minded organizations such as Sustainable Waterloo, REEP, Grand River Carshare and CREW. The summer 2011 edition of Your Kitchener included an article on the CEIG. In August 2011, Advertising was purchased in the Kitchener Post and Kitchener Citizen. Social media such as Facebook, Twitter and the City’s website were also used. ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Dan Chapman, Deputy CAO Finance and Corporate Services Department ê ó í