Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutEnv - 2012-11-15 - CSD-12-1012 - 2012 Community Environmental Improvement Grant (CEIG) Sub-Committee RecommendationREPORT TO:Environment Committee DATE OF MEETING:November 15, 2012 SUBMITTED BY:2012 CEIG Sub-Committee c/o Carrie Musselman, Senior Environmental Planner x 3148 PREPARED BY: Carrie Musselman, Senior Environmental Planner x 3148 WARD(S) INVOLVED: All DATE OF REPORT: November 1, 2012 REPORT NO.:CSD-12-1012 SUBJECT:2012 COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENT GRANT (CEIG) RECOMMENDATION: That the 2012 Community Environmental Improvement Grant (CEIG), to be funded from the Environmental Stewardship Capital Account, be awarded as follows: Three thousand dollars ($3,000) to My Sustainable Canada for the creation of a prototype mobile application that allows consumers to compare appliances based on energy and/or water consumption and carbon emissions; and further, That of the remaining $22,133.51 in 2012 CEIG funds, be allocated as follows: One thousand dollars ($1,000) be prorated to assist with costs related to the creation and production of commemorative material identifying the City of Kitchener’s contribution through the CEIG towards projects; Seven hundred and fifty dollars ($750) be prorated to assist with 2013 advertising costs; and, The remaining funds ($20,383.51) be prorated for use as part of the 2013 grant 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 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; Promote and initiate the development of short term, intermediate and long term community-based environmental programs; and, Support environmental research. î ó ï To facilitate this program, annually $10,000 is budgeted to the Environmental Stewardship Capital Account. This year the account has $25,133.51 in funds primarily as a result of not all of the funds being allocated in previous years. REPORT: This year the Environmental Committee received applications from My Sustainable Canada and the Children’s Groundwater Festival. To facilitate the evaluation process, Environmental Committee members completed scoring sheets for both CEIG applications; the results of which were compiled to produce an aggregate ranking of all the applications. A sub-committee of the Environmental Committee met on October th 26, 2012. The sub-committee followed a review process that has been in place for several years. Upon review, if the application met the eligibility criteria the average score a group received in the ranking was used as a percentage of its overall funding request to determine a potential baseline of funding. Using this methodology, the sub-committee deliberated as to whether the grant allocation for a particular group should be increased or decreased from its identified baseline. Based on its deliberations, the sub-committee does not recommend funding to the Children’s Groundwater Festival. As the festival received funding in 2010 it did not meet criteria 3.A.V that applicants are not to seek continual support for a project but may reapply every three years. The subcommittee supports the program and recommends the festival reapply at a later date or for a specific project that has not already been funded. The sub-committee is recommending that a total of $3,000 be allocated to My Sustainable Canada, as outlined in the recommendation contained in this report. In addition, the sub- committee is proposing that of the remaining $22,133.51, CEIG funds $1,000 be prorated to assist with costs relating to the development of commemorative material identifying the City of Kitchener’s contribution, $750 be prorated towards 2013 advertising costs and the remaining $20,383.51 be prorated toward the 2013 CEIG program to support additional projects. ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN: The CEIGsupports the community priorities ‘leadership and community engagement’ and ‘environment’ of the City of Kitchener 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 $25,133.51 available for use toward the 2012 CEIG program. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: In August, planning sent targeted e-mails to a database of approximately 60 relevant organizations, non for profits and neighbourhood associations. Promotion of the CEIG was also offered through communications tools of like-minded organizations such as Sustainable î ó î Waterloo, REEP and CREW. The September 13th edition of Your Kitchener included an advertisement for the CEIG. The main focus of communication was social media such as Facebook, Twitter and the City’s website. REVIEWED BY: Brandon Sloan, Manager Long Range and Policy Planning ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Alain Pinard, Director of Planning Community Services Department î ó í