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Sustainable Energy Grant on Tap from McKnight Foundation

PlanScape Impact(s): Best Practice ; Sustainability
Public Report on Sustainability and Resiliency Action Plan led by City of Rochester, MN
Last modified: November 14, 2015

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The city of Rochester has the potential to become a leader in energy efficiency and sustainability, according to two reports delivered at a Tuesday night Rochester Energy Commission special meeting.

 

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PB Reporting

Posted: Wednesday, November 11, 2015 9:13 am

The city of Rochester has the potential to become a leader in energy efficiency and sustainability, according to two reports delivered at a Tuesday night Rochester Energy Commission special meeting.

DMC plan

Destination Medical Center plans are at the heart of the opportunity for energy action in the city. A report prepared by the Minnesota Center for Energy and Environment for the DMC Corp Board has aggressive recommendations for its focus area — two DMC districts in the downtown, Heart of the City and Discovery Square.

Those recommendations include establishing the two DMC districts as a sustainable energy zone to focus attention on all energy opportunities in the geographic area; building on Mayo Clinic's district energy and co-generation system; and building any new developments with Architecture 2030 standards, which strive for zero net carbon emission buildings by 2030.

More important than the specific energy goals, though, is the communitywide goal to establish a culture of sustainability, said Sheldon Strom, CEE president.

"We think it's important as we do this to establish a culture of sustainability," Strom said. "It makes a huge difference what the public thinks and what the users of a building think."

The focus area of the CEE's energy recommendations for the DMCC board is relatively small, but Strom hoped the area would become a model for more widespread practice.

"There is a limited focus to those areas, but we're hoping to develop strategies that can be expanded if proven successful," he said.

Strom and Jenny Edwards, CEE director of Innovation Exchange, also emphasized the importance of starting with practical, cost-effective measures.

CEE staff will present the energy update to the DMCC board at a Nov. 19 meeting.

Energy action plan

The city of Rochester is also in the process of evaluating its energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. The Rochester Energy Commission, created in 2009, was tasked with creating anenergy action plan that would help the city reach energy goals set by the state of Minnesota, including to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent, relative to a 2005 baseline, by 2050.

With funding from the city, the energy commission hired Wenck Associates as a consultant to assist in formulating the plan.

After about four months of work, that plan has made significant progress, reported Erin Heitkamp, Wenck global sustainability practice leader. Wenck has completed the major tasks of reviewing its role with the city's comprehensive plan update and comparative analysis with other cities.

A large portion the work so far, Heitkamp said, has been related to: "Ultimately, understanding what the city's baseline greenhouse gas inventory looks like and then understanding what the real material opportunities are to influence that going forward."

As part of its greenhouse gas inventory, Wenck reported the city's emissions impact included more than 76,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions in 2014 from city-owned and city-controlled sources; that was only a fraction of the emissions from indirect sources related to city activities.

A draft energy action plan is on schedule to be ready around the end of March, Heitkamp said.

Great to see this effort.

 


 

 

  

 

Related Reports


 

Other Sustainability and Resiliency Action Plan Pinned Reports


March 03, 2022 : Green Business Recognition Program

An initiative to recognize local businesses for taking strides toward sustainability.



June 17, 2021 : Sustainable, Resilient Rochester

Sustainability Task Force: Presentations to CMRC, Housing and Feedback from survey and action plan



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Pinned City of Rochester, MN organization and project reports


.

Project Report of Rochester Vision 2050 : April 19, 2024 : Rochester Vision 2050

The visioning effort calls for soliciting broad community input to help propose desired strategic initiatives based on desired outcomes through 2050.



Project Report of Equity in the Built Environment (Bloomberg) : April 01, 2024 : EBE Presentation to City Council Study Session

1. Part of Feb 26, 2024 City Council Study Session on DEI: Presentation Slides include actions and measures to City Council Study Session and Link to City Council video 

2. Career Opportunities for Women of Color



Project Report of City of Rochester: 2020 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Action Plan : March 21, 2024 : Requests for Action Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Action Plan

City Council Approved Requests for City Council Approval of two DEI Contracts: 

Contract 1: 2024: Professional Development: Cultural Humility Series $41.3K; 

Contact 2 : Critical Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) Audit ($30K); Cultural Humility Professional Development Series: Digging Deeper $13.5K ;  

Video clip of council discussions and voting and related info about GoodEnough.



Project Report of Update Intercultural Cities Initiative (ICI) Index : March 19, 2024 : Action Request March 18, 2024

Comment at the 3/18/2024 City Council Meeting:

To act on September 21, 2020 council resolutions for the city staff to develop a Intercultural City action plan.  



Project Report of Planning To Succeed: Rochester 2040 Comprehensive Plan (P2S) : March 18, 2024 : P2S Implementation and Comprehensive Plan Request for Proposal

P2S Implementation Report

P2S Update Request for Proposal 



Organization Report: March 04, 2024 : City Council: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Updates; Housing; International Relations

DEI Presentation Topics: Language Access and Accessibility; Equity in the Built Environment; 2024 Initiatives

Economic Development Incentives for Housing

Mayor Updates: Black History Month, Luther College: Mutable City; International Relations Committee



Project Report of Targeted Business Enterprise Utilization : March 01, 2024 : 2024 Targeted Business Enterprise Utilization Plan Reports

1Q 2024:

Feb 2024 - Admin Message, TBE Report

Jan 2024: Admin Message, TBE Report

Special callouts 



Organization Report: January 25, 2024 : Announcing two new part-time roles to ensure accessible services to all communities.

Two parttime roles

Community Connector – Somali Speaking

Community Connector – Spanish Speaking

 



Project Report of Equity in the Built Environment (Bloomberg) : January 10, 2024 : Trade Readiness

1. PB Reporting Empowering 11th-grade students

2. Trade Readiness: Message from program manager and program flyers; Trades Readiness Certificate program

3. Video recording at Jan 10. 2024 Equity Alliance Talk 

4. Star Tribune Feb 17, 2024 Reporting



Organization Report: December 04, 2023 : City of Rochester, MN

Mayor Norton Honors 2023 Mayor's Medal of Honor Recipients

Mayor Norton Honors 2022 Mayor's Medal of Honor Recipients



Project Report of Targeted Business Enterprise Utilization : December 03, 2023 : 2023 Targeted Business Enterprise Utilization Plan Reports

2023 4Q: November; October

2023 3Q Reports: September; August, July reports

2023 2Q: June 2023 Report (featuring Nashauna Johnson-Lenoir Success);  April 2023 Communications; Equity in Built Environment Career: Mentors and Guest Speakers Wanted. 



Project Report of Targeted Business Enterprise Utilization : May 25, 2023 : Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Barriers Study

(1) DBE Study Session to City Council April 17, 2023 , (2) Memo to DMCC Board; 



Project Report of Targeted Business Enterprise Utilization : April 13, 2023 : 1Q 2023: Targeted Business Enterprise Utilization Plan 2023 Communications

March, February and January communications and reports.  



Project Report of Targeted Business Enterprise Utilization : January 04, 2023 : Targeted Business Enterprise Utilization 2022 Communication

4Q22: December messages and reports; November messages and reports;  October messages and reports; 3Q2022:  August, July messages and reports; 2Q2022: June, May, April message and report; 1Q 2022 (1) TB report and message (2) An apprenticeship readiness program is now recruiting women, people of color and veterans for careers in the construction industry. (3) Bloomberg news



Project Report of City of Rochester Initiates New Budget Process and Publishes Digital Format : August 27, 2022 : Rochester, MN 2023 Budget Supplemental Budget

2022-08-22 City Council Study Session on 2023 Supplemental Budget



Project Report of Sustainability and Resiliency Action Plan : March 03, 2022 : Green Business Recognition Program

An initiative to recognize local businesses for taking strides toward sustainability.



Project Report of Equity in the Built Environment (Bloomberg) : February 03, 2022 : 2021- 2022 Global Mayors Challenge Status Reports

 (1) Updates to Feb. 2022 DMCC Board; 

(2) 2022-01-18 Press Release City of Rochester Winner;

(3) September 2021 DMC Presentation;

(4) References: 90 Second Pitch Video, Public Media 



Project Report of Planning To Succeed: Rochester 2040 Comprehensive Plan (P2S) : January 19, 2022 : Planning 2 Succeed 2022

City of Rochester 2022 Actions extracted from the city website. 

 



Project Report of Targeted Business Enterprise Utilization : January 03, 2022 : 2021 Targeted Business Enterprise Utilization Plan Reports

Key info includes: 4Q 2021 News;  3Q 2021 News, 2021 Global Mayors Challenge, DMC Discovery Walk Pre-bid 



Project Report of Targeted Business Enterprise Utilization : December 14, 2021 : Building Strong Communities

Minnesota Building and Construction Trades Council is expanding Building Strong Communities to Southeast Minnesota.



Project Report of Sustainability and Resiliency Action Plan : June 17, 2021 : Sustainable, Resilient Rochester

Sustainability Task Force: Presentations to CMRC, Housing and Feedback from survey and action plan



Project Report of Targeted Business Enterprise Utilization : May 28, 2021 : Targeted Business Enterprise Utilization Plan

2021-05-28 News: Msg from JJ,;  May 2021 TB Report;  ACG pledge , 



Organization Report: March 17, 2021 : City of Rochester, MN Study Session on DEI

Rochester City Council session on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion



Project Report of Update Intercultural Cities Initiative (ICI) Index : September 22, 2020 : Intercultural Cities Initiative (ICI) Major Milestone

(1) City Council approved ICI Resolution

(2) City Council Study Session on ICI Index  



Project Report of City of Rochester Initiates New Budget Process and Publishes Digital Format : September 15, 2020 : City of Rochester Initiates New Budget Process and Publishes Digital Format

2021 Budget Discussions



Project Report of Update Intercultural Cities Initiative (ICI) Index : August 20, 2020 : ICI index draft released for City Council review

  The City of Rochester, in partnership with the Diversity Council and others, announced the release of the draft Intercultural Cities Initiative program index report and an upcoming virtual site visit. 



Project Report of Update Intercultural Cities Initiative (ICI) Index : January 30, 2020 : Intercultural Cities Initiative (ICI) Presentation to City Council Study Group

Updating the city council on the ICI workgroup summary of ICI data. 



Project Report of Update Intercultural Cities Initiative (ICI) Index : June 15, 2018 : Mayor Brede signed ICI pledge

On Wednesday, June 13th, 2018 at 11:00 am, the Journey to Growth team, the City of Rochester and citizens of Rochester will gather in the City Hall Atrium for a special Signing Ceremony, designating Rochester as the first U.S. City to join the Council of Europe’s ICI (Intercultural Cities Initiative) program.



Project Report of Planning To Succeed: Rochester 2040 Comprehensive Plan (P2S) : May 11, 2018 : Planning 2 Succeed: Final Version

Final version is now available. 



Project Report of Update Intercultural Cities Initiative (ICI) Index : December 08, 2015 : Intercultural Cities Initiative (ICI): Getting the mayor to buy in.

Met with mayor Brede and Randy Staver to discuss city participation and support



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Project Phase Definitions
The following defines the various project phases:
  1. Available - a product, program or service is in production
  2. Develop - program or application is being developed
  3. Plan - idea is solid, stakeholders are identified, and there is strong commitment to go forward from all parties.
  4. Concept Phase - idea scoped out with enough details to give an early sizing and/or to build a proof of concept
    demonstration
  5. Pre-concept Phase - an early idea or a requirement.
About Beam
  • For the commercial sector, we tend to register startup activities (new companies and new commercial projects) that bring diversification and high-impact opportunities to the area.
  • For the non-profit sector, we wish to shine light on all the organizations and services that otherwise labor under relative obscurity.
  • Our hope is that dmcbeam.org will encourage cross-sector collaborations and creative solutions.

While there are a number of registries in the community, dmcbeam.org's  distinct value is to pilot a database with a data structure and categorizations that answer the questions such as: What organizations or projects/programs in our community that have purported relevance with some of the over-arching focuses put forward by initiatives such as DMC, J2G and Health Improvements?

This database could be used as one of the ways to explore the capacities of the community. If you are someone on an exploratory journey to learn about the greater Rochester community. dmcbeam.org could be an interesting first step.

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