Jul 22, 2008

City council seeing 'green'

Officials question staff analysis of carbon emissions proposals

By Kristina Peterson / Daily News Staff Writer

The Palo Alto City Council on Monday approved moving forward with several new proposals to reduce carbon emissions, but expressed concerns over city staff's prioritization of where to go green first.

The council grappled with a cost-benefit analysis of the 25 most feasible actions recommended in the city's new climate protection plan, questioning whether a report prepared by staff and outside consultants used the appropriate methodology. A total of 120 actions were listed in the plan.

While the council unanimously approved having staff return in September with a plan for funding the two most affordable actions - replacing street lights with LED units and purchasing re-manufactured printer toner cartridges - they questioned how staff prioritized implementing actions that will require more city funds.

In a city staff report presented Monday, sustainability team member Nancy Nagel proposed moving forward with an additional 14 measures that each would cost the city less than $50 per metric ton of carbon emissions saved and require an investment of roughly $1.3 million.

But council members questioned the practicality of some measures, including selling off city employees' City Hall parking spots and the philosophy behind other proposals, such as buying carbon offsets for employee travel.

"I think buying offsets is just an easy way out," Mayor Larry Klein said.

Council Member Yoriko Kishimoto was one of several council members to express concerns over the assumptions staff used in determining which measures provided the most climate protection bang for the buck.

Her worries over whether staff had underestimated how many employees would take Caltrain if given a pass was echoed by council members who questioned whether staff had properly calculated dropping prices for renewable energy or changing technology costs.

"I'm worried we're moving into a ready-fire-aim approach," said Council Member Pat Burt, who softened his criticism by stressing that staff was dealing with "an emerging methodology."

"It's a moving target for you," he said.

Ultimately, the council asked staff to look for immediate funding only for the LED streetlights and eco-friendly toner cartridges, the two steps that should save the city about $500,000, according to Nagel.

And they asked staff to look for funding sources, particularly the Utilities Department, for the next tier of relatively low-cost solutions. City Manager Frank Benest balked at drawing the $1.3 million from the city's general fund.

"Our budget has a razor-thin surplus right now," he said.

But Benest agreed to schedule a discussion in October for how the city could implement more of the proposed measures.

Council Member Sid Espinosa told staff that the council's scrutiny was motivated by enthusiasm for the subject matter.

"It's only because we're passionate about the topic that we delved so deeply," he said.

E-mail Kristina Peterson at kpeterson@dailynewsgroup.com.