Under the
administration guidelines approved by Council in April 2004, the MESF is
replenished annually to $300,000,
or more. Community projects
are allocated up to $100,000 annually (approximately one-third of the fund)
with the remaining $200,000 available for Town internal projects.
Program Requirements
The
following objectives are to be considered by Environmental Issues Committee
when reviewing the applications:
·
the project provides a widespread lasting
environmental benefit for the community;
·
the project is a leading environmental
innovation that can be showcased by the Town of Markham;
·
the projects promotes education, understanding
and participation in environmental sustainability in the Town of Markham; and,
·
the project supports the Town’s environmental
policies and strategic plan
Projects are expected to meet at least one of these criteria.
Community Funding Criteria
These are
as follows:
·
projects must be within the Town of Markham, initiated by Town
Staff or Councillor of the Town of Markham or Town of Markham community groups;
·
applicants can request a maximum of $10,000
from the MESF per project per year;
·
applicants may only apply once a year, for
projects that will be completed within that same one-year time frame;
·
only materials and equipment costs (not
consulting services) are eligible for funding from the MESF; and,
·
the project should have measurable results.
In addition to ensuring applications meet the
above criteria, staff review each application for completeness and evaluate
each application to ensure that all applications meet the intent of the MESF
prior to recommending approval to the Environmental Issues Committee. Each MESF
application is circulated to staff in Operations/Parks Department, Asset Management, Urban Design, Finance
Department, By-law Enforcement and the Clerks Department to solicit any
concerns or conflicts with any projects or initiatives underway that may be
affected by the MESF application or project.
MESF
Application Form Update
At its
meeting on May 1,
2006, General Committee requested staff to refine
the MESF application form to better define private vs. public benefits and to
establish within the application process an opportunity to preclude
applications that provided only a private benefit.
The MESF
application form, attached as Appendix 1, has been changed to reflect the
following wording (in bold) under the “Who Can Apply” section:
“Eligible
organizations include: other levels of government, public agencies, school
boards and Markham community groups including: Markham-based, community ratepayer associations
and local organizations, such as conservation groups, Scouts, etc.
Multi-jurisdictional
groups, such as NGOs, or other organizations may be considered if there are
clearly demonstrable benefits in the Town of Markham, conditional on such
groups working with a local Markham community group.
A maximum
of 3 schools may receive funding per funding cycle, to a maximum of $5000 each.
Individuals
and “for-profit” organizations are not eligible. Any
project that results in a direct financial
private benefit to the fund recipient is not
eligible.”
Revisions have also
been included in the section “What
are the Community Funding Criteria for an Application?” to include the following wording: “Funding
will not be granted where projects have commenced.” This revision will
ensure that retrospective or retroactive funding cannot be provided.
In
addition to the changes noted above, wording promoting benefits to the Markham community has been
enhanced on the application form and guide in the introduction.
Although
there was some discussion between Strategic Services staff and Legal Services
around precluding MESF applications from private corporations on the whole, it
was determined that in many circumstances, private corporations could provide
benefits to the Markham community through a variety of projects or initiatives.
For example, a private corporation may wish to undertake a tree planting in a
community park. In this example, there is no private benefit to the applicant
and there would be benefits to the Markham community. As another
example, a water efficiency program funded by the MESF may provide residents
with low flow shower heads or toilet dams which would provide private benefits
to the resident via financial savings as well as water conservation savings. As
a result, staff revised the wording on the MESF application form and guide to
preclude private benefits only.
Because the MESF
application did not have any of these revisions in place at the time of the
February 6, 2006, round of applications, staff suggest that the revisions be
effective immediately and influence the September 8, 2006, round of MESF
applications. Staff do not recommend using
the revisions in evaluating the Hunt Club’s application for MESF funding for an
Energy Retrofit Program because the private benefits of receiving the MESF
funding is offset by the significant environmental benefits of the energy
savings and emissions reductions.
The Hunt Club, 610 Bullock Drive, Markham
·
requesting
$10,000 for their Energy Retrofit Assistance Program
The Hunt Club is a condominium
corporation, comprising 235 suites represented by a five member volunteer board
of directors, working towards energy efficiencies since 1998. The Energy
Retrofit proposal includes replacing existing inefficient boilers with new,
high-efficiency boilers, which results in requiring only five boilers from the
ten boilers previously required. The estimated project savings in energy for
this proposal is 168,022 cubic metres of natural gas or $63,500 per year. In
addition, the project will preclude an estimated 323,893 Kg of CO2
emissions, a significant contributor of greenhouse gas. The project is
submitted under the energy efficiency and leading innovation criteria of the
MESF.
The MESF $10,000 would be applied
directly to the capital costs of the high-efficiency boilers, which have
already been installed at the Hunt Club. In addition to the MESF application,
the Federal Government’s Energy Innovators Initiative and Enbridge have
contributed $57,700 funding for this proposal.
The Hunt Club’s Energy Retrofit
Assistance proposal could be showcased through the Town of Markham’s
Energy Conservation Office (MECO) as an example of a private corporation taking
a proactive position to become more energy efficient. This proposal would tie into three of MECO’s
initiatives including the Energy and Environmental Management System (EEMS),
the Better Buildings Partnership and to a lesser extent, the Advancing High
Performance Buildings program. These are
discussed in further detail below.
Energy and Environmental Management System (EEMS)
With the purchase of the Energy and Environmental Management System (EEMS)
from the Region of York, the Town of Markham
is now adept at measuring current consumption patterns and load shedding impacts
of energy conservation programs within the Town's own operations. EEMS is
a versatile, web based software designed to record and manage energy
consumption and expenses of buildings, street lights, and other types of
facilities. EEMS has the capability to track electricity, natural gas, water
and waste water accounts, and other fuel usage (gasoline, diesel, etc.), as
well as provide analysis on utility performance.
This tool will also be utilized going forward to measure and track
conservation performance of high performance buildings. MECO could
establish a pilot project with the Hunt Club to begin measuring the
condominium’s energy and greenhouse gas emission reductions. The Hunt Club
would have to provide MECO with their historical data (consumption and cost)
for hydro, water and gas and then continue to provide the information in order
for EEMS to track and report on the energy savings.
In addition, Markham could
benefit from partnering with the Hunt Club through EEMS by securing ownership
of the carbon credits that would be saved by the investment in the energy
efficient boilers. The Town of Markham
could then use these credits towards Markham’s
Kyoto targets.
Better Buildings Partnership
The Better Buildings Partnership (BBP) is an innovative initiative being
implemented by MECO. The purpose is to promote and implement energy
efficiency, water conservation and building renewal enhancement across the
Town's facilities including street and traffic lighting, while reducing C02
emissions. The program involves identifying energy conservation
opportunities that may include energy efficient retrofits and building renewal
initiatives that will consist of a mix of short and long-term paybacks but will
greatly reduce energy demand on the grid and save the Town significant
dollars.
While MECO’s current focus is on Town-owned facilities, Markham
intends to launch this program externally to the private sector in the future
which would include working with the broader community to encourage energy
efficiency and building renewal enhancements that will contribute to
conservation goals and emission reduction targets. Again, the Hunt Club
could be considered a pilot study of the BBP and their savings and success
could be showcased as an example.
Advancing High Performance Buildings (AHPB)
The AHPB Program represents an opportunity for the Town to create a
sustainable community that will lower the overall environmental load on the
built environment through reduced energy consumption. The program focuses
on new designs, construction and operating methods that will reduce the energy
consumption of new infrastructure. Existing benchmarks will be documented
and outputs will be measured from new buildings that participate in the AHPB
program. Pre- and post-program performance capabilities will be identified to
project future cost avoidances while reducing overall consumption.
Although the focus of the AHPB program is currently on new buildings,
recognizing retrofit initiatives, both within the Town’s infrastructure and
within the Markham community could
be part of the program evolution. Because the Hunt Club has taken the
initiative to undertake this Energy Retrofit Assistance Proposal and has done
many other energy initiatives prior to this project, it may be an ideal partner
to showcase the AHPB program within the existing community.
As a result of Markham Council’s commitment to building a “conservation
culture” within Markham and because the Hunt Club’s Energy Retrofit Assistance
Proposal represents a significant benefit to the Town of Markham community due
to its energy and greenhouse gas emissions reductions, staff recommends
approval of the application on the following conditions:
The Hunt Club agrees to partner with the Town of Markham
on the three MECO programs outlined in this report;
The Hunt Club agrees to provide all the historical (data from before the
installation of the high efficiency boilers to the present) and future energy
data necessary, including hydro, water and gas, to participate in the outlined
MECO programs;
The Hunt Club agrees that the Town of Markham
will be entitled to the greenhouse gas credits attributed to the investment in
the energy efficient boilers;
The Hunt Club agrees to promote energy efficiency and the MESF to other
condominium corporations within the Town of Markham, by hosting a workshop at
the Hunt Club and demonstrating the energy efficiency initiatives underway at
the Hunt Club, including the new boilers, and;
The Hunt Club agrees to promote the MESF and the Markham Energy Conservation
Office in all communications associated with the Energy Retrofit Assistance
Proposal, including any communications to other levels of government related to
this project and to the Hunt Club residents.
MECO’s Budget
While MECO supports the recommendation that the Hunt Club receive MESF
funding for the upgrade of its boilers, and recognizes that the nature of the
Hunt Club’s proposal fits well with three of the MECO programs as outlined
above, direct funding for the Hunt Club proposal from MECO is not an
option.
PowerStream has provided MECO with funding to design, deliver and market
conservation demand management projects and initiatives under each of the six
approved MECO programs. In essence, the
funding is for program delivery and not for capital investments in one-off
projects. The funding available under
the Better Buildings Partnership is being utilized to roll-out a program that
initially will seek to capture energy efficiency opportunities in our Town-owned
facilities, including street lighting and later on, will be utilized to
roll-out a business and marketing plan to encourage the private sector to do
the same.
CONCLUSION
The MESF was created to assist the Town with
funding innovative and leading environmental initiatives that contribute to the
sustainability and health of the natural environment. The fund is intended to provide financial
resources for Town of Markham-based projects and initiatives that promote
environmental responsibility and enhance the protection of the Town’s natural
resources. Staff will continue to improve communications to promote the fund to
attract better and more applications and also to improve the review process as
this program grows and matures.
