Project Details
| Description | Transportation Planning Sustainable Solutions GHG Inventories & Climate Action Plans |
| Location | Bartow, FL Newberry, FL Green Cove Springs, FL |
| Client/Owner | City of Bartow City of Newberry City of Green Cove Springs |
Florida Municipal Electric Association Climate Action Plan’s
Reynolds, Smith and Hills, Inc. (RS&H) has assisted the City of Bartow, the City of Newberry, and the City of Green Cove Springs with the development of a Climate Action Plan. The plans reduce resource consumption and greenhouse gas emissions within government operations and in the wider community. Through a focus on reducing costs and saving money, the plans establish a framework for continuous improvement.
A greenhouse gas inventory based on calendar year 2010 data was completed for each city. Data on government buildings, facilities, vehicles, waste, community energy use, and transport was requested and obtained from the cities. A snapshot of the cities’ recent past, the inventory supplemented the Community Profile by establishing a baseline for quantifying all future efforts to improve the cities’ and communities’ resource efficiency.
RS&H assembled a database of measures that the cities will use as a reference for action. The database included 50 measures representing a cross-section of typical strategies for driving waste and inefficiency out of an organization or community. The database evaluated each measure according to 38 criteria, ranging from cost-effectiveness to important stakeholders. Based on these criteria, 10 optimal measures in six sectors – Buildings, Education, Land Use, Transportation, Waste, and Cross-Cutting Measures – were recommended for implementation. Included were measures that leverage the cities’ strength as a provider of utility services.
City of Bartow
With a population just under 20,000 and a city-run electric utility, RS&H developed a strategy for climate stewardship responsive to Bartow’s particular needs and interests.
City of Newberry
Utilizing comprehensive data on energy use in buildings and in vehicles, interviews of city staff, and research of publicly available data, including 2010 U.S. Census data, RS&H documented the unique characteristics of Newberry government and community. This Community Profile served as the basis of the project, ensuring that the project’s analysis and recommendations served the city’s needs as a municipal electric and water utility serving a population of about 5,000.
City of Green Cove Springs
With a population of about 7,000 and a city-run electric and water utility, RS&H developed a strategy for climate stewardship responsive to Green Cove Springs’s particular needs and interests. The plan is designed to reduce resource consumption and greenhouse gas emissions within government operations and in the wider community. Through a focus on reducing costs and saving money, the plan establishes a framework for continuous improvement.
Sustainability for Florida Municipal Electric Association
Taken as a whole, the recommended measures have the potential to reduce energy and GHG emissions within all of the cities’ operations by about 8 – 12 percent by 2017. Community emissions may be reduced by 2 – 4 percent. Several of the recommended measures can be implemented at no – or very low – additional cost. A comprehensive review of funding options that can leverage federal, state, local, or private resources were detailed for measures requiring significant investment.
