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some similar energy studies on its existing buildings. He noted that Ms. Eichner Kelley was the City's <br />resident expertise and liaison to EWEB and the Northwest Energy Council. The City had taken advantage <br />of EWEB incentives for both energy studies and reimbursements based on the energy saved. Mr. Sutton <br />said the City had done about as much as it could in terms of energy efficiency and big projects, and now was <br />trying to fine-tune its efforts. <br /> <br />Responding to a question from Ms. Bettman, Ms. Eichner Kelley overviewed contributions to the library <br />from EWEB, saying the agency had been as generous in its assistance and incentives as she believed the <br />Energy Trust would have been. EWEB helped the City make some informed choices about the building. <br /> <br />Ms. Eichner Kelley noted that the Oregon Department of Energy also operated programs such as the <br />Business Energy Tax Credit that nonprofits and government agencies such as Eugene could take advantage <br />of with a pass-through partner. Mr. Svendsen said that the City had an opportunity for a Business Energy <br />Tax Credit in the amount of about $15,000 available now for interested businesses. He invited interested <br />businesses to call him. <br /> <br />Mr. Kelly complimented staff on its specific accomplishments and its dedication to the City's sustainability <br />goals. He asked for more information about Retrocommissioning and its resource implications. Ms. <br />Eichner Kelley characterized Retrocommissioning as a detailed energy study of an existing building with the <br />point of returning the building to its original design intent and finding opportunities for improvement. She <br />said that frequently, equipment changes are involved, and those can be expensive. Mr. Sutton said the City <br />would have to identify funding to meet that prerequisite. <br /> <br />Mr. Kelly believed the LEED-EB approach made good environmental sense as well as good economic sense <br />in terms of the life cycle costs of maintaining City buildings. <br /> <br />Mr. Kelly did not think the City did a good job of celebrating its own successes, and recommended that it in <br />this case staff go to various local business organizations such as the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce to <br />share the presentation. He suggested the potential of the City providing a training/consulting service on <br />LEED-EB to the private sector. Mr. Sutton indicated staff was more than happy to share the information <br />with others. <br /> <br />Mr. Pap~ also congratulated staff for its progress. He thought the approach showed leadership through <br />example. <br /> <br />Mr. Pap~ asked if staff would be assisted by the council taking a position on the standards that it hoped the <br />City would strive for. Mr. Svendsen said yes, noting that staff had tentatively recommended designing to a <br />silver standard. Mr. Pap~ wanted to have a work session on the standards that the City would pursue. Mr. <br />Sutton added that would be useful from both a Facilities Management Division and organizational <br />standpoint. <br /> <br />Mr. Meisner also commended staff for its effort. He asked to what degree other local public entities were <br />involved in LEED, such as School District 4J. Mr. Sutton was unsure. He said Eugene was happy to share <br />the information it had developed with the school districts. Mr. Meisner thought it critical for consultation, <br />assistance, and education. <br /> <br />Mr. Meisner referred to the City's ~Working City" cable program and suggested that the information <br />presented by staff could be shared with the public via that route more quickly and more comprehensively <br />that it could be shared through one-on-one presentations. He agreed that the City did not do a good job of <br /> <br />MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 8, 2004 Page 5 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br /> <br />