Title
Resolution Directing the City Administrator to Update and Revive the City of Ann Arbor’s “Green Fleets Policy”
Body
Whereas, The City enacted a Green Fleets policy dated 5/20/04 with the expressed mission “Through implementation of this Green Fleets policy, all Service Units that own/operate vehicles and fuel-using equipment shall seek to decrease total gasoline and diesel use by 10 percent by 2012, resulting in reduced emissions”;
Whereas, In December 2012, the Ann Arbor City Council passed the Climate Action Plan (CAP) an ambitious multi-strategy vision to reduce our community-wide greenhouse gas emissions 8% by 2015, 25% by 2025, and 90% by 2050, relative to year 2000 baseline emissions levels;
Whereas, In spite of the newly adopted CAP and its aggressive GHG-reduction targets, the Green Fleets policy has not been updated since 2012 after the City achieved its stated fuel reduction goal;
Whereas, The transportation sector makes up 32% of Ann Arbor’s community-wide greenhouse gas emissions according to a newly updated GHG inventory conducted by City staff;
Whereas, The City should lead by example when it comes to climate action and needs to contribute to community-wide greenhouse gas reductions through its own operations;
Whereas, The City faces an expenditure vs. revenue gap thereby making operational cost savings an imperative;
Whereas, A green City vehicle fleet would support the objectives of fuel-efficient, low- emission and low-cost fleet operations;
Whereas, Vehicles running on current biodiesel and ethanol fuels do not significantly reduce total net GHGs;
Whereas, Plug-in Electric Vehicles (PEVs) are already among the vehicles with the highest driver and consumer satisfaction, lowest overall emissions and lowest operating costs, especially when charged by solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, and an ever increasing number of PEV models and classes with expanding travel ranges are becoming available thereby extending their breadth of suitable applications; and
Whereas, The “Resolution to Adopt City Policy on Solar Power Generation and Energy Efficiency in City-owned Facilities” adopted by City Council on May 1, 2017 directs the City to incorporate solar PV system design into and build / renovate City-owned facilities according to LEED Silver standards providing an excellent synergistic opportunity to charge City-owned (and other) PEVs;
RESOLVED, That City Council directs the City Administrator to update and revive the City’s Green Fleets Policy incorporating 1all of the major elements of the original policy (goals, objectives, measures of success and targets, team approach, etc.), accounting for changes in departmental units and organizational structure that have changed since the original adoption of the policy;
RESOLVED, That the updated policy promote the purchase of PEVs and their charging by city-owned solar PV to be installed according to the above referenced “Resolution to Adopt City Policy on Solar Power Generation and Energy Efficiency in City-owned Facilities”;
RESOLVED, That the updated policy incorporate best practices and lessons learned from peer municipality policies, for example alternatives to travel (e.g. virtual meetings) and the use of alternative modes of transportation, use of telematics, signage proclaiming City-owned zero emission vehicles, and aggressive, regularly updated targets;
RESOLVED, That the updated policy be open ended and not be suspended or materially revised without first conferring with the Energy and Environmental Commissions; and
RESOLVED, That the updated policy be put into effect no later than December 31, 2017.
Sponsored by Councilmembers Frenzel and Smith