Opinion: Use ARPA Funds To Implement Climate Action Plan

We now have three fiscal years to meet our 2025 Town Council goal of reducing our emissions by 25 percent. I believe that there is no possible way for the town to achieve its climate goals on time without more funding and more staffing. It’s an issue of timing and of the urgency of the climate crisis. Over the last two years, the Energy and Climage Action Committee (ECAC) has asked for a department level position and other relevant support. The town’s Climate Action Adapatation and Resilience Plan (CAARP) lists adding staff capacity also. Yes, we do have a sustainability coordinator and she does a great job, but she wears many hats and is already pulled in many directions, and because her work is as a coordinator and not a department head, she works 9-5. If we truly want to achieve our climate goals by 2025, we need to act with urgency. That means we don’t simply tell our coordinator that she has an additional 25-54 actions she is in charge of implementing above and beyond her existing overfull plate. Thus, I propose the use of the ARPA sustainability funds for three climate-related staff positions, in addition to keeping the coordinator position. These positions are:

1. A fulltime consultant in charge of startup implementation of the action items in the Roadmap to 2025, starting with the 25 actions listed for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
   
   
2. A fulltime outreach consultant, tasked with outreach for the action items in the Roadmap to 2025 that require outreach and education of the public, businesses or others. This position could also provide energy coaching for residents and administration of a community climate dashboard.
   
   
3. A full time energy manager staff position in charge of building heating and retrofitting, energy efficiency, and tracking energy efficiency savings, solar, energy storage and microgrid siting and installation, and interfacing with the Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) entity when it is on board.

Many towns that are serious about retrofitting and adding solar energy to municipal buildings are adding the position of energy manager. The creation of these positions could actually save money because a department level position would be on the lookout for grant opportunities that would more than pay for their position, and an energy manager would substitute for much higher paid consultants we will need to hire to do the same thing.

An outreach coordinator is needed to reach out to residents and businesses to enlist them in helping to achieve our goals. One 9-5 coordinator cannot possibly do what needs to be done within the time allotted.

The chance we have to do this with ARPA funds is not something that will come around again. Using these funds for a one-time project instead will not put us ahead in implementing the plan as a whole. Creating these department level positions would show our commitment getting this done and done on time.

Darcy DuMont is a member of the Amherst Energy and Climate Action Committee, founding member of Local Energy Advocates of Western MA, a founding member of Zero Waste Amherst and an Amherst Town Councilor representing District 5. Views expressed are hers and not those of the Town Council.