HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo From City Manager24 May 2010 - Response from City Manager to Sustainability Advisory Board re: (1) Energy
Star Procurement Language and (2) TIF and Energy Efficiency from May 2010 meeting of the
Board:
(1) Purchasing language: I will have Purchasing Division staff look for
ways in which energy efficiency language may be incorporated into
purchasing documents. As I mentioned to you a while back, I am somewhat
reluctant to specify "Energy Star" or other brand type language in
purchasing documents. I believe that there may be other acceptable
methods by which a vendor can document the energy efficiency of their
products.
In light of questionable practices recently pointed out in the media
regarding the thoroughness of the reviews to achieve an Energy Star
designation, I am reluctant to rely only on an "Energy Star" designation
as I may have previously. While some communities have freely added the
Energy Star language to their purchasing documents in the past, I
suspect that the language will be more generic in the future and ask
that the vendor document energy efficiency through an Energy Star
designation or some other generally accepted method to demonstrate
energy efficiency. I would expect that the SAB's goal is to pursue
energy efficiency that can be documented, not simply rely on a single
proprietary method such as Energy Star.
(2) TIF support for building and energy efficiency: Staff is in the
process of creating criteria that may be used to evaluate various TIF
proposals. The criteria are not intended to create minimum requirements
for TIDs; rather, they are designed to provide the Plan Commission,
Council, and the Joint Review Board with a tool that they may use to
evaluate various types of TIF proposals.
In response to the SAB's request on TIF reviews, I have directed staff
to incorporate energy efficiency and sustainable building practices into
the criteria that Council may be able to choose from as they consider a
policy on evaluating TIF proposals. I have asked that staff make the
development of TIF financing criteria a priority over the next 3 months.
I will inform the Council via my weekly newsletter that I am approaching
the SAB's request in this manner so that the Council has the SAB's
recommendation incorporated into a specific action item, rather than
simply placing it on a Council agenda without a specific action to take.
Please share with the SAB that this may create a difficult scenario for
TIF proposals. TIF projects are by their very nature challenging from a
financial viability standpoint. With these projects generally having
little margin for error, TIF is often sought because the project can not
stand on its own for private funding, making public support that much
more crucial. To the degree that immediate, up front costs are added to
an already challenging project may make further complicate the financial
viability of a TIF project.
Mark A. Rohloff, City Manager
City of Oshkosh