The Natural Step Monona board chose Marsh for his instrumental work in guiding the city and the city’s Sustainability Committee in working toward energy efficiency improvements, fuel savings, and operating cost reductions for city buildings and vehicles.

Marsh stands out for leading the city’s effort to win two important grants. The first award, a $30,000 Energy Independent Communities (EIC) grant from the State Office of Energy Independence, was announced in February. This grant will fund a year-long planning process to collect energy data and identify energy efficiency and renewable energy projects to move toward energy independence. EIC communities create “25×25” plans to meet the goal of generating 25 percent of the state’s electricity and transportation fuels from renewable resources by the year 2025.

The second award, just announced last week, is a $225,000 Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant to be applied to significant HVAC upgrades to the library, city hall, and community center, and new windows at city hall.

Marsh also earned recognition from The Natural Step Monona for working effectively with Focus on Energy to maximize rebates for a variety of improvements to city buildings and for participating in the 2009 quarterly EIC conferences around the state.

Heather Gates, Executive Director of The Natural Step Monona, worked with Marsh on the EIC grant. “Pat understands that conservation of the resources we rely on is the first place to start in facing current economic constraints and those of the future,” said Gates. “Tomorrow’s markets will reward the communities, companies, and individuals that have the foresight to take action now, and I am so pleased that Pat is leading the city in taking steps to ensure our community prospers well into the future.”

This is the first Sustainability Champion Award presented by The Natural Step Monona. The three-year-old organization advocates for, educates about, and promotes sustainability for Monona.

“City staff has to wear many hats in their jobs and Pat is to be commended for taking on an additional leadership role relating to the city’s commitment to a sustainable future,” said Bob Miller, Board Chair. “Now some of Pat’s hard work is literally paying off with the awarding of the first two major grants.”

The Natural Step Monona plans to make this an annual award to salute the achievements of sustainability champions who help move Monona to a greener, more resilient and sustainable future.

According to Patrick Marsh, City of Monona Administrator, the funds will be used to upgrade the more than 20-year-old HVAC systems in the City Hall, Library and Community Center. The windows in City Hall/Police Department will also be replaced with high efficiency windows. All upgrades are scheduled to take place later this year with a required completion date of December 31, 2010.

Mayor Robb Kahl stated, “We are pleased that the State of Wisconsin, specifically Governor Doyle and Judy Ziewacz, Director of the Office of Energy Independence,  and their staffs have recognized the City of Monona for our efforts in sustainability and our commitment to energy efficiency. We’ve been working at this for many years.”

The $225,000 grant will be matched with local funds to complete the project.

“What’s Up in Monona?”

Hear about the status of sustainability in our community from the people helping to make it more resilient, efficient, and green. Peter Sobol, member of the Monona Grove School Board; Pat Marsh, Monona’s City Administrator; Robin Schmidt, our Dane County Supervisor; Alanna Medaris, from the Aldo Leopold Nature Center; and a TNS Monona representative will describe efforts that are underway and those being planned for the future.

What’s happening with the school district’s energy efficiency upgrades? Has the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act meant anything for our area? How will the Regional Transportation Authority work and what will it do for us? When will the expansion of the Aldo Leopold Nature Center be completed and what will be in it? You’ll find answers to these questions and more, and be able to pose your own.

About Green Tuesdays

Green Tuesdays: Films & Lectures on Sustainability is a community exchange of information and ideas on sustainable living brought to you by The Natural Step Monona and the Monona Public Library.

Upcoming presentations: the film Mama Earth (3/30), and “Preparing Our Communities for the Future, Now” from last November’s “Bringing Bioneers to Wisconsin” conference. Bryant Moroder of Sustain Dane will share this video from the conference and the Bioneers story (4/13).

Green Tuesdays are from 6:30 to 8:00, with engaging and fun conversations often pushing the conclusion a bit past that hour. The series is free and open to the public. Sessions are on the second and fifth Tuesdays of the month, from September through May. The Monona Public Library is at 1000 Nichols Road.

Whole Foods serves treats. Attendees are encouraged to come early for delightful food and drink.  

Green Tuesdays: Films are supported by the Dane County Environmental Council.

www.tnsmonona.org
www.mononalibrary.org
http://www.countyofdane.com/commissions/environmentalcouncil/

Spring is slowing making her way here. I know the deep snow cover can fool you, but the willows have been yellowing for weeks, the cardinals are singing their morning song, and the daylight is so much longer!

Those avid gardeners among us have received many seed catalogs for weeks and have been drooling over the pictures, varieties and possibilities for a new season. As a permaculturist and sustainability advocate I also think about seeds in more complex ways.  Who owns the seed company? Are the seeds genetically modified or treated with herbicides? Is it a plant that will feed me, feed wildlife, pollinators or the soil? As more and more variety of seeds are patented by companies such as Monsanto, I have become a seed saver. True food security lies in not giving up the “ownership” of seeds to such corporations.

I will begin starting my seeds very soon. I have a wonderfully cheap grow system with Shop Lighting from Menards with full spectrum bulbs put in. It works just fine.  I am starting some plants very early this year and experimenting with hooping them in a south facing side of our screened in porch as they get bigger. The hardy cold loving plants will do fine with that. Every year is an experiment, an adventure.

I have been involved in one capacity or the other with the two Monona Community Gardens in the last few years. Monona’s first community garden is located at St. Stephens Lutheran Church on Pheasant Hill Drive. This spring will begin its third season, and it has grown and become a beautiful garden with the honor of also being a pilot project for Sustainable Water Use with a three tiered Rain Garden emptying into a 120 foot swale and berm just above the garden plots. The berm was planted with edible and medicinal plants, shrubs and trees. This project is holding and using thousands of gallons of rain water, and keeping it out of our storm sewer system. It was designed using a previous Eagle Scout Project as the overflow runoff when the rain comes fast and hard. Within the first season of its creation in 2009 it was beautiful. This was all created with the cooperation of the St. Stephens CG, the church and the Madison Area Permaculture Guild. Check it out this summer!

The other wonderful Community Garden in Monona is at the First United Methodist Church on Nichols Rd. The Spring of 2009 was its beginning and with much church participation, it turned into a beautiful garden with some hand-built entrance growing structures that make it pop and invite you right in.  This is community at its best!

Another garden in our fine city is the beds at the Community Center which were started this year through the The Natural Step Monona Project Team with myself as leader.  Native plants put in by community volunteers with some educational opportunities included as part of its creation. The library also has been doing some community planting and nurturing at its property.

Another group that began in our urban area is the Madison Fruits & Nuts group. Working to bring fruit and nut trees and shrubs into urban landscaping and public spaces is its purpose.  Seems like we in Monona could get something going here too!  How about all of those empty school yards and park spaces that aren’t used for soccer, Frisbee and the like?

I encourage people to become involved with community gardening, the sharing of seeds and plants with your neighbors and filling our city with sustainable, edible landscaping that will make us a leader in resiliency and creative land use.

1. Welcome and Introductions

2. Election of Officers

3. Res. 1, 2010, Requiring a Referendum on a Sales Tax

4. Discussion of the following items concerning the organization and operation of the Dane County Regional Transit Authority:

i. Designation of Dane County Clerk to notice agendas and serve as initial repository of public records

ii. Creation of Possible Committees

iii. Setting Meeting Schedule and Meeting Locations

5. Adjournment

- END OF AGENDA -

REFERENCED RESOLUTION:

Res. 1, 2010
REQUIRING A REFERENDUM ON A SALES TAX

BE IT RESOLVED that the Dane County Regional Transit Authority Board of Directors will not vote to establish a sales tax without a referendum that includes a plan for transit. The referendum shall be held at a future regularly scheduled election for the Regional Transit Authority area.

MADISON – Governor Jim Doyle today awarded $500,000 in Recovery Act funds to communities moving toward a clean energy future. The Governor announced 11 grants totaling $500,000 to help 24 communities develop plans to reach his “25 by 25” energy independence goals.

“These grants will help Wisconsin communities across the state seize the opportunity to save money through energy efficiency and grow a strong new part of our economy in clean energy,” Governor Doyle said. “Through the Recovery Act, our communities will lead as the world moves rapidly in the direction of clean energy and energy efficiency. We spend $16 billion on fossil fuel energy every year in Wisconsin, and all those dollars are lost to our economy. By working toward these ambitious renewable energy goals, we will create good jobs and continue our state’s clean energy leadership.”

The grant program is funded through the Recovery Act’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) program. The 24 communities will create “25×25” plans to meet the Governor’s goal of generating 25 percent of the state’s electricity and transportation fuels from renewable resources by the year 2025.

The 2010 Wisconsin Energy Independent Community Partnership Pilots are: City of Altoona, Crawford County, City of Eau Claire, Eau Claire County, City of Fennimore, Village of Ferryville, Green Lake County, City of Gays Mills, City of Jefferson, City of Kaukauna, Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, Village of La Farge, City of Monona, Polk County, City of Prairie du Chien, Shawano County, Village of Soldiers Grove, Vernon County, Village of Viola, City of Viroqua, Waukesha County, and City of Whitewater.

The 25×25 plan process begins this month and will be completed by December 2010. During the process, opportunities will be available for other communities to learn from the experiences of the pilot communities. Open meetings on the topic will be held by the Office of Energy Independence during the months of April, August and December.

The program builds on Governor Doyle’s work to make Wisconsin a clean energy leader. Last month, Governor Doyle launched the Clean Energy Jobs Act, a landmark legislative package to accelerate the state’s green economy and create jobs. The package calls for updating renewable portfolio standards to generate 25 percent of Wisconsin’s fuel from renewable sources by 2025 and sets a realistic goal of a 2 percent annual reduction in energy consumption by 2015. A comprehensive economic assessment of the package found that it would directly create at least 15,000 green jobs in Wisconsin by 2025.

The Energy Independent Community Partnership, which is led by the Governor and the Office of Energy Independence, helps individual communities take advantage of their unique resources and develop new strategies to foster innovative clean energy solutions. More than 135 communities have joined this voluntary partnership with the state. For more information, please visit: www.energyindependence.wi.gov.

Over 100 varieties of woodland and prairie plants
* Propagated plants — not dug from the wild
* All plants native to area
* Experts on hand to answer questions
* Information sheets detailing care with each plant
* Order prairie mixes, native shrubs, vines and trees through March 23
– Go to www.uwarboretum.org/foa or phone 608.263.7760

Open to the public — proceeds benefit Arboretum projects 10% discount to Friends’ members

I love a bargain. I love coupons, I love getting things for free, and I love getting money back on purchases, especially on earth-friendly goods!

Therefore, I was thrilled to find out that Cash-Back Rewards are now available under the Wisconsin State Energy-Efficient Appliance Rebate Program (SEEARP). Simply go shopping (gladly), purchase an Energy Star qualified appliance, then complete and send in a reward application. It’s the excuse I’ve been looking for to replace our “charming” 1960s dishwasher!

The cash-back program started on January 1st, and here is how it works (for additional information, contact Focus on Energy at 800.762.7077):

• Cash-Back Rewards are only available to residential customers who are replacing an existing appliance that will be installed in a Wisconsin residence. Businesses, including landlords, are not eligible.

• Rewards are available on qualified appliances installed in Wisconsin residences. Go here to see which makes and models qualify: www.focusonenergy.com/Residential/loose_pages/recovery.aspx.

• Rewards are for replacement appliances only. Appliances installed in new construction are not eligible for rewards.

• The rebates will not be retroactive. Purchases made prior to January 1, 2010 will not be eligible to receive Cash-Back Rewards.

• The program is available to all residential customers regardless if their utilities participate in Focus on Energy. For customers whose utilities do participate in Focus on Energy, eligibility for both rewards is possible if the equipment qualifies for both SEEARP and Focus on Energy.

• Retailers or contractors will provide the mail-in reward application at the time of purchase. Customers must send in the form within 30 days of purchase and can expect a reward check within 6 to 8 weeks.

• Customers applying for Cash-Back Rewards on refrigerators, freezers, or central air conditioners must provide proof that their old unit was taken out of service and properly recycled.

• The program will last until February 2012 or until funds are exhausted. The allocation of funding for the State of Wisconsin is $5.4 million.

Appliances eligible for Cash-Back Rewards

Check out the following list of the types of appliances that are eligible for Cash-Back Rewards through the program. The rebates are great!

• Boilers – $200

• Central air conditioners & Air-source Heat Pumps – $75

• Furnaces (oil and gas) – $200

• Geothermal Heat pumps – $75

• Clothes washers – $100

• Dishwashers – $25

• Freezers – $50 & Refrigerators – $75

• Water heaters – $150 (Electric heat pump water heaters – $50)

• Solar hot water – $2,000

Benefits of Energy Star Appliances

This is one of those times when you can feel good about shopping. There are many ways that an Energy Star appliance can save you money and help the environment to boot!

• Lower Utility Bills. Appliances account for nearly 20 percent of the average household’s energy use. A comprehensive package of ENERGY STAR qualified appliances can save up to $80 a year in energy costs compared to standard appliances.

• Improved Quality and Durability. Energy-efficient appliances often include quality components surpassing those found in standard appliances. These can result in fewer mechanical problems, longer equipment life, and in many cases extended warranties.

• Enhanced Performance. ENERGY STAR qualified appliances often outperform standard appliances due to improved design and advanced technologies. For instance, some ENERGY STAR qualified appliances include features that decrease operating noise, while others include technologies that reduce water use.

Even if your current appliances aren’t avocado green, you may see significant savings by switching to ones that are Energy Star qualified. After all, every appliance comes with two price tags: what it costs to take it home and what it costs to operate and maintain it each month.

Sources: www.focusonenergy.com, www.energystar.gov

It’s that time of year! Time to reflect on the past and look forward to the year ahead. We’ve asked Steppers to think about what additional actions they would like to take (or would like to see the world take) to become more sustainable in 2010. Here is what they had to say:

Dan Karamanski
For commuting to and from work, I will drive a car for fewer than 20% of the trips (5 miles each way).

Lindsay Wood Davis and Amanda L. Davis
Plant way more native Wisconsin trees and shrubs to enjoy in our yard, and have way less grass to mow!

Amelia Speight
My green New Year’s Resolution is to become more active in the various environmental groups I’m in (Natural Step, Environmental Club at the High School), and to direct other groups I’m in to more environmental practices.

Kate Heiber-Cobb
• Discretely put a clothes line up in our backyard and line dry more of our clothes. Discretely because, shocking as it seems, new lines are illegal in our city. Maybe get that ordinance changed?
• Get 10 Monona properties to hold storm water on their properties.
• Have a solar assessment done for our property.
• Increase my food production by 50%.
• Get the okay to plant fruit and nut trees in our Monona City Parks.
• Grow spinach and hearty greens in a small hoop set up on our back porch (with full southern sun exposure) this winter.

Jed Hannemann
I work part-time at a bar and restaurant. Many, many times there are recyclable items in the garbage bin. In 2010, I will make a conscious effort to pull all recyclable items that I see out of the garbage and place in recycling. I’ll also tastefully mention to fellow staff that plastics, glass, aluminum, and cardboard should be placed in the blue recycling bin and all other items in the garbage.

Heather Gates
• I resolve to replace more lawn area with food plants, so I am ever more self-sufficient, and my land is ever more absorbent of rain.
• I resolve to eat less, which will not only be good for me, but good for the planet, too. Our over-consumption of resources in this country and other developed nations extends to food. The more food we consume, the less there is for the rest of the world. The more food we consume, especially the highly-processed and/or packaged variety, the more resources are used in making it and getting it to our plates. And the more food we consume, the fatter and less healthy we become!
• I resolve to lower my electricity use (average of 297 kWh) and gas use (average of 32 therms). You can see your average use and that of other MG&E customers at www.mge.com/MyAccount/averagecost/index.htm.
• I would like every alderperson to resolve to participate in one of The Natural Step Monona’s study circles, so the leaders of our community understand the power of possibility for our city, can speak the same language about sustainability, and can be strategic in planning for and with our community. (There are no city meetings on Sunday nights! How about it, Alders?)
• I would like everyone who has internet access to resolve to watch the twenty-minute video The Story of Stuff. It shows the underside of our production and consumption patterns, and will make you think differently about just how much “stuff” you need. Having less stuff leaves more room for happiness!

Jim Keck
I will schedule our home energy audit follow up appointment and complete the items on our list to make our home more energy efficient.

Melissa Zietz
• I will reuse my existing containers and purchase more bulk items at the grocery store each week to reduce the packaging that I bring home.
• I vow to finally change over to rechargeable batteries!

We hope that our resolutions inspire you to make one (or several) of your own! Even a small step can make a huge difference for our planet. From all of us at The Natural Step Monona, have a happy and sustainable new year!