IV.3. Resolution Approving CPRG
CITY OF HOPKINS
City Council Report 2024-079
To: Honorable Mayor and Council Members
Mike Mornson, City Manager
From: Mikala Larson, Sustainability Specialist
Date: July 9, 2024
Subject: Resolution Approving Memorandum of Agreement Regarding the Climate
Pollution Reduction Grant
_____________________________________________________________________
RECOMMENDED ACTION
MOTION TO approve Memorandum of Agreement regarding the Climate Pollution
Reduction grant
OVERVIEW
The City of Hopkins, as part of a coalition of cities with the City of Minneapolis as the
lead applicant, submitted a grant application to the EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction
Grant to propose a Twin Cities Commercial Energy Efficiency (TCEE) program. If
awarded, the program would create additional resources to decarbonize commercial
buildings in our community through electrification. As the lead applicant, the City of
Minneapolis would disburse funds to coalition partners to administer this program. The
City of Hopkins has an existing green cost share program, the Hopkins Climate
Solutions Fund, which allows for a seamless flow of funds from the proposed TCEE to
eligible commercial entities, scaling up efforts in these program areas.
A response from EPA on the status of the funding award is expected in summer 2024.
The cities and organizations in the coalition must sign and submit a Memorandum of
Agreement to the EPA by August 1, 2024. The City of Hopkins’ legal team reviewed the
draft Memorandum of Agreement and provided comments.
City staff included information on this program during the May 7, 2024 Sustainability
Update to City Council, and City Council conditionally approved the Memorandum of
Agreement at the June 6, 2024 meeting.
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
• Resolution 2024-042
• Resolution 2024-041
• Memorandum of Agreement
• Project Narrative
• Letter of Intent
Engineering
DOCSOPEN\HP145\120\959384.v2-6/18/24
CITY OF HOPKINS
HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA
RESOLUTION 2024-042
RESOLUTION APPROVING MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT REGARDING THE
CLIMATE POLLUTION REDUCTION GRANT
WHEREAS, the City of Minneapolis has recently proposed that the City of Hopkins (the
“City”) enter into a Memorandum of Agreement Regarding the Climate Pollution
Reduction Grant (the “Agreement”); and
WHEREAS, other prospective parties to the Agreement include the Cities of
Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Bloomington, Burnsville, Eagan, Eden Prairie, Edina, Hopkins,
Inver Grove Heights, Richfield, Roseville, Saint Louis Park, as well as the Midway
Chamber of Commerce, the African Economic Development Solutions, the Lake Street
Council, and Energy Smart (the “Prospective Parties”); and
WHEREAS, under the Agreement, the City of Minneapolis would apply to the United
States Environmental Protection Agency for a Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (the
“Grant”) for funding similar to its current Green Cost Share Program; and
WHEREAS, under the Agreement, the Prospective Parties would form a coalition of
local governments and nonprofits from the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area to distribute
the Grant funding to eligible businesses, property owners, nonprofits and government
organizations for commercial energy efficiency improvements and projects (the
“Project”); and
WHEREAS, the Agreement and the Project are detailed more extensively in a Project
Narrative provided to the City Council; and
WHEREAS, the Agreement and the Project Narrative have been reviewed by the City
Attorney; and
WHEREAS, the City Attorney and City staff recommend that the City Council approve
the Agreement.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the City Council of the City of Hopkins
hereby approves the Agreement subject to the following conditions:
1. That the above recitals are incorporated into this Resolution as findings as if fully
set forth herein.
2. City staff, the City Attorney, and consultants are hereby authorized and directed
to take any other actions deemed reasonable and necessary to carry out the
intent of this Resolution.
DOCSOPEN\HP145\120\959384.v2-6/18/24
3. The Mayor and the City Manager are hereby authorized and directed to execute
and deliver the Agreement. All of the provisions of the Agreement, when
executed and delivered as authorized herein, shall be deemed to be a part of this
resolution as fully and to the same extent as if incorporated verbatim herein and
shall be in full force and effect from the date of execution and delivery thereof.
The Agreement shall be substantially in the forms on file with the City, which are
hereby approved, with such omissions and insertions as do not materially change
the substance thereof, or as the Mayor and the City Manager, in their discretion,
shall determine, and the execution thereof by the Mayor and the City Manager
shall be conclusive evidence of such determination.
Adopted by the City Council of the City of Hopkins this 9th day of July, 2024.
By: ___________________________
Patrick Hanlon, Mayor
ATTEST:
_______________________________
Amy Domeier, City Clerk
CITY OF HOPKINS
HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA
RESOLUTION 2024-041
RESOLUTION CONDITIONALLY APPROVING MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT
REGARDING THE CLIMATE POLLUTION REDUCTION GRANT
WHEREAS, the City of Minneapolis has recently proposed that the City of Hopkins (the
City") enter into a Memorandum of Agreement Regarding the Climate Pollution
Reduction Grant (the "Agreement"); and
WHEREAS, other prospective parties to the Agreement include the Cities of
Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Bloomington, Burnsville, Eagan, Eden Prairie, Edina, Hopkins,
Inver Grove Heights, Richfield, Roseville, Saint Louis Park, as well as the Midway
Chamber of Commerce, the African Economic Development Solutions, the Lake Street
Council, and Energy Smart (the "Prospective Parties"); and
WHEREAS, under the Agreement, the City of Minneapolis would apply to the United
States Environmental Protection Agency for a Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (the
Grant") for funding similar to its current Green Cost Share Program; and
WHEREAS, under the Agreement, the Prospective Parties would form a coalition of
local governments and nonprofits from the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area to distribute
the Grant funding to eligible businesses, property owners, nonprofits and government
organizations for commercial energy efficiency improvements and projects (the
Project"); and
WHEREAS, the Agreement and the Project are detailed more extensively in a Project
Narrative provided to the City Council; and
WHEREAS, the Agreement and the Project Narrative has been reviewed by the City
Attorney, who has provided comments to City staff about finalizing and executing the
Agreement; and
WHEREAS, Minneapolis has provided a deadline for the execution of the Agreement of
July 1 , 2024; and
WHEREAS, the City has cancelled its second meeting during June 2024 and does not
meet again until Tuesday, June 9, 2024, which is after the deadline for the Grant; and
WHEREAS, given the impending deadline, the City Attorney and City staff recommend
that the City Council provide conditional approval of the Agreement as stated below;
and
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the City Council of the City of Hopkins
hereby approves the Agreement subject to the following conditions:
1. That the above recitals are incorporated into this Resolution as findings as if fully
set forth herein.
2. City staff and consultants are hereby authorized and directed to take any other
actions deemed reasonable and necessary to carry out the intent of this
Resolution.
3. The Mayor and the City Manager are hereby authorized and directed to execute
and deliver the Agreement. All of the provisions of the Agreement, when
executed and delivered as authorized herein, shall be deemed to be a part of this
resolution as fully and to the same extent as if incorporated verbatim herein and
shall be in full force and effect from the date of execution and delivery thereof.
The Agreement shall be substantially in the forms on file with the City, which are
hereby approved, with such omissions and insertions as do not materially change
the substance thereof, or as the Mayor and the City Manager, in their discretion,
shall determine, and the execution thereof by the Mayor and the City Manager
shall be conclusive evidence of such determination.
Adopted by the City Council of the City of Hopkins this 11th day of June, 2024.
By:
Patric""'`.n on, Mayor
AT E•T:
I (eA
Amy Domeier, City lerk
1
MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT
BETWEEN
THE CITY OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA,
THE CITY OF ST. PAUL , MINNESOTA,
THE CITY OF BLOOMINGTON, MINNESOTA,
THE CITY OF BURNSVILLE, MINNESOTA,
THE CITY OF EAGAN, MINNESOTA,
THE CITY OF EDEN PRAIRIE, MINNESOTA,
THE CITY OF EDINA, MINNESOTA,
THE CITY OF HOPKINS, MINNESOTA,
THE CITY OF INVER GROVE HEIGHTS, MINNESOTA,
THE CITY OF RICHFIELD, MINNESOTA,
THE CITY OF ROSEVILLE, MINNESOTA,
THE CITY OF ST. LOUIS PARK, MINNESOTA,
THE MIDWAY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE,
THE AFRICAN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SOLUTIONS,
THE LAKE STREET COUNCIL, AND
ENERGY SMART
2
REGARDING THE
CLIMATE POLLUTION REDUCTION GRANT
TWIN CITIES COMMERCIAL ENERGY EFFICIENCY COLLABORATION
3
PREAMBLE
WHEREAS, the Minnesota Cities of Minneapolis, St. Paul, Bloomington, Burnsville, Eagan, Eden
Prairie, Edina, Hopkins, Inver Grove Heights, Richfield, Roseville and St. Louis Park, the Midway
Chamber of Commerce, the African Economic Development Solutions, the Lake Street Council,
and Energy Smart seek to form a coalition of local governments and nonprofits from the Twin
Cities Metropolitan area to provide grant funding to eligible businesses, property owners,
nonprofits and government organizations through a program built on the foundation of success
Minneapolis has had with the Minneapolis Green Cost Share program; and
WHEREAS, with the funding made available through the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant
recently awarded to several Minnesota units of government the participating Minnesota cities
that are parties to this agreement will expand the Green Cost Share program to those parties by
providing program dollars to support Green Cost Share programs in those cities; and
WHEREAS, the Minnesota Cities of Minneapolis, St. Paul, Bloomington, Burnsville, Eagan, Eden
Prairie, Edina, Hopkins, Inver Grove Heights, Richfield, Roseville and St. Louis Park are
authorized to work cooperatively pursuant to the authority contained in Minnesota Statutes §
471.59, commonly known as the Joint Powers Act.
NOW, THEREFORE, the Minnesota Cities of Minneapolis, St. Paul, Bloomington, Burnsville,
Eagan, Eden Prairie, Edina, Hopkins, Inver Grove Heights, Richfield, Roseville and St. Louis Park
enter into this Memorandum of Agreement and agree as follows:
I. SCOPE OF THIS MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT
The parties to this Memorandum of Agreement (“MOA” or “Agreement”) agree:
a. That the City of Minneapolis will cooperate with the other parties to establish
commercial energy efficiency initiatives such as green cost share programs or to provide funding
for existing municipal cost share programs through funding received from the United States
Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grant.
b. To work cooperatively with existing implementation partners of City of Minneapolis
such as Energy Smart, the Lake Street Council, African Economic Development Solutions and the
Midway Chamber of Commerce.
c. To actively promote the program to business and property owners in their community.
d. To collaborate with Black, Indigenous, People of Color and Immigrant (BIPOCI)
community organizations to help promote the program.
e. To participate in four annual meetings of this coalition.
4
f. To s hare information with local, state, and federal staff to improve programming and
results over time.
g. Exhibit A is for reference only and is not part of the parties’ agreement herein.
II. PARTICIPATING PARTIES’ RESPONSIBILITIES
The Minnesota cities that are parties to this Agreement agree that they are accountable to the
City of Minneapolis and accept full responsibility for effectively carrying out the full scope of
work and the proper financial management of the program as defined in Section I: Scope of this
Memorandum of Agreement and as stated below:
• The City of Minneapolis will act as the contract manager and be responsible for
reporting progress semi-annually and coordinate the collection of results from all
partners. Minneapolis will also use existing infrastructure to pay grants to participants
and manage all invoicing and budget between partners and the EPA.
• The City of St. Paul will conduct extensive outreach to Saint Paul businesses, with a focus
on smaller businesses located in Low-Income and Disadvantaged census tracts, to
encourage utilization of grant funds to pursue weatherization and decarbonization
projects. The City of Saint Paul has a long history of delivering programs that benefit
local businesses as well as programs targeting greenhouse gas reductions and energy
efficiency. City of St. Paul will use staff funding to establish the City’s first St. Paul Cost
Share Program that will continue on after the CPRG grant period.
• Cities of Edina, Hopkins and St. Louis Park will administer the distribution of grant funds
as they have staff and resources to do this at no cost to the grant. They are interested in
growing their programs with the support of the CPRG grant. This is an example of the
work these three cities will perform as part of the grant implementation: Edina has years
of experience delivering incentives for commercial efficiency, like providing free ASHRAE
Level 1 Audits and matching utility rebates for equipment maintenance and
replacement. The coalition proposal will allow Edina to scale up citywide efforts to
decrease building energy emissions and achieve Climate Action Plan goals. As part of the
coalition, Edina will promote energy efficiency and building electrification opportunities
for commercial buildings; and administer cost-share funds for buildings located in the
city of Edina.
• Cities of Bloomington, Burnsville, Eagan, Eden Prairie, Inver Grove Heights, Richfield, and
Roseville will utilize Energy Smart’s turnkey services to manage the energy audits and
cost share distribution and reporting on behalf of the cities. Minneapolis will contract
with Energy Smart to disburse fund to Energy Smart on behalf of projects in these
communities. This is an example of the work these seven cities will perform as part of
the grant implementation: In 2018, Bloomington adopted a goal to reduce energy-
related greenhouse gas emissions by 75% by 2035 (from a 2016 baseline). Commercial
5
energy use contributes a significant amount of greenhouse gas emissions to
Bloomington's overall total. This opportunity will allow Bloomington to scale up citywide
efforts to meet emission reduction goals.
III. GOVERNMENT DATA
The parties acknowledge that this Agreement, as well as any data created, collected, stored, or
maintained under the terms of this Agreement, are “Government Data” within the meaning of
the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act (MGDPA) (Minnesota Statutes chapter 13). The
civil remedies of Minn. Stat. §13.08 apply to the release of the data governed by the MGDPA.
IV. CONTACTS
The primary contacts of each party to this Agreement are:
City of Minneapolis:
Patrick Hanlon
Deputy Commissioner: Sustainability, Healthy Homes, and Environment
Patrick.Hanlon@minneapolismn.gov
612-716-0873
City of Saint Paul:
Russ Stark
Chief Resilience Officer
Russ.stark@ci.stpaul.mn
651-324-2807
City of Bloomington:
Emma Struss
Sustainability Coordinator
estruss@Bloomingtonmn.gov
952-563-4862
City of Burnsville:
Bridget Rathsack
Sustainability Coordinator
Bridget.Rathsack@burnsvillemn.gov
952-895-4524
City of Eagan:
Gillian Catano
Sustainability Coordinator
6
gcatano@cityofeagan.com
651-675-5518
City of Eden Prairie:
Jennifer Fierce
Sustainability Coordinator
jfierce@edenprairie.org
(952) 949-8313
City of Edina:
Marisa Bayer
Sustainability Manager
MBayer@EdinaMN.gov
952-826-1621
City of Hopkins:
Mikala Larson
Sustainability Specialist
mlarson@hopkinsmn.com
952-548-6368
City of Inver Grove Heights:
Ally Sutherland
Environmental Specialist
asutherland@ighmn.gov
651-604-8511
City of Richfield:
Rachel Lindholm
Sustainability Coordinator
rlindholm@richfieldmn.gov
612-861-9188
City of Roseville:
Noelle Bakken
Sustainability Specialist
Noelle.bakken@cityofroseville.com
651-792-7057
City of St. Louis Park:
Emily Ziring
Sustainability Manager
EZiring@stlouisparkmn.gov
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952-924-2191
The Midway Chamber of Commerce:
Chad Kulas
Executive Director
chad@midwaychamber.com
651-646-2636
The African Economic Development Solutions:
Dr. Gene Gelgelu
Founder, President, CEO
ggelgelu@aeds-mn.org
651-646-9411 x.101
The Lake Street Council:
Matt Kazinka
Senior Strategic Initiatives Manager
mkazinka@lakestreetcouncil.org
612-823-0096
Energy Smart:
Patrick Deal
Program Manager
pdeal@mnchamber.com
651-292-3902
The parties agree that if there is a change regarding the information in this section, the party
making the change will notify the other party in writing of such change.
V. RESOLUTION OF DISAGREEMENTS
Should disagreement arise on the interpretation of the provisions of this MOA, or amendments
and/or revisions thereto, that cannot be resolved at the operating level, the area(s) of
disagreement shall be stated in writing by each party in dispute and presented to the other
parties for consideration. If agreement on interpretation is not reached within thirty (30) days,
the parties in dispute shall forward the written presentation of the disagreement to their
respective higher officials for appropriate resolution.
VI. LIABILITY
Each party agrees that it will be responsible for its own acts and the results thereof to the
extent authorized by law and shall not be responsible for the acts of the other parties and the
results thereof.
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Subject to the limitations of Minnesota Statutes sections 466.01 to 466.15 and other applicable
law, every municipality is subject to liability for its torts and those of its officers, employees and
agents acting within the scope of their employment or duties whether arising out of a
governmental or proprietary function, in accordance with Minn. Stat. §466.02.
VII. EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE AGREEMENT AND AGREEMENT AMENDMENT
This Agreement will become effective after each respective party signs the Agreement and all
parties have been notified that the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant has been awarded to
parties of this Agreement. This Agreement may be amended only by written agreement of all
the parties.
VIII. TERMINATION OF AGREEMENT
This agreement will terminate upon written notice of the final close out report that the City of
Minneapolis will submit to the parties or seven (7) years from the effective date of this
Memorandum of Agreement. The foregoing notwithstanding, any party may withdraw from this
agreement upon ninety (90) days’ notice to the other parties.
BY THEIR SIGNATURES, THE UNDERSIGNED REPRESENT THAT THEY HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO
BIND THE PARTIES THEY REPRESENT.
(Official Signature Blocks of Each City Pursuant to their Contracting and Procurement Policies)
THE CITY OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA
THE CITY OF SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA
THE CITY OF BLOOMINGTON, MINNESOTA
THE CITY OF BURNSVILLE, MINNESOTA
THE CITY OF EAGAN, MINNESOTA
By: _______________________________
Mike Maguire
Its: Mayor
By: _______________________________
Elizabeth VanHoose
Its: City Clerk
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THE CITY OF EDEN PRAIRIE, MINNESOTA
_____________________________
Public Works Director, City of Eden Prairie
THE CITY OF EDINA, MINNESOTA
THE CITY OF HOPKINS, MINNESOTA
By: _______________________________
Patrick Hanlon
Its: Mayor
By: _______________________________
Mike Mornson
Its: City Manager
THE CITY OF INVER GROVE HEIGHTS, MINNESOTA
THE CITY OF RICHFIELD, MINNESOTA
_______________________________
Mary Supple, Mayor
_______________________________
Katie Rodriguez, City Manager
THE CITY OF ROSEVILLE, MINNESOTA
THE CITY OF ST. LOUIS PARK, MINNESOTA
THE MIDWAY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
THE AFRICAN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SOLUTIONS
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THE LAKE STREET COUNCIL
ENERGY SMART
Page 1 of 17
Project Narrative of the CPRG Twin Cities Commercial
Energy Efficiency Collaboration
City of Minneapolis – Lead Applicant
Project Summary and Approach:
The City of Minneapolis will lead a coalition of local governments from the Twin Cities Metropolitan area
to provide grant funding to eligible businesses, property owners, nonprofits and government
organizations through a program built on the foundation of success Minneapolis has had with the
Minneapolis Green Cost Share program. Minneapolis has been operating a Green Cost Share Program
since 2013 and has recently scaled up its program with local funding. However, Minneapolis is one of
only a few of cities in the Twin Cities Metropolitan area that have a program to assist business and
property owners with energy efficiency and renewable energy investments. With the help of the CPRG
grant we will be able to provide an already tested and true program to 11 other cities in the
metropolitan area. These cities have committed local dollars to hire sustainability staff but do not have
substantial program dollars to support an independent cost share program of their own. This grant will
provide program dollars to those cities that have started a cost share program, help establish a cost
share program in St. Paul and provide a turnkey program to other cities who would like to participate
but are but are not interested in starting their own cost share program.
Project Partners:
The City of Minneapolis will partner with the cities of Bloomington, Burnsville, Eagan, Eden Prairie,
Edina, Hopkins, Inver Grove Heights, Richfield, Roseville, St. Louis Park and St. Paul, Minnesota. These
cities have existing sustainability staff and would participate by reaching out to local business and
property owners in their community. Our implementations partners include Energy Smart, the Lake
Street Council, the African Economic Development Solutions, and the Midway Chamber of Commerce.
Bloomington, Burnsville, Eden Prairie, Eagan, Inver Grove Heights, Richfield, and Roseville would like to
have a turnkey Commercial Energy Efficiency program in their city that would bring the benefits of an
incentive program to their community without the expense of hiring new staff, developing a standalone
program, and securing program funding. Edina, Hopkins, and St. Louis Park, already have a cost share
program and the staff to manage it but have limited program dollars. These cities would receive the
audit and utility rebate technical assistance from Energy Smart but review and distribute their own cost
share funding. St. Paul will use funding to increase their climate staff capacity which will help them
continue (leverage?) incentive funding with local or other dollars after the CPRG grant funds have been
fully expended. With new staff in place St. Paul would also manage, review, and distribute funds while
receiving technical assistance support from Energy Smart and other partners.
Cities will participate in the proposed work through active engagement in developing and refining
programming to effectively deliver on the purpose of ensuring low-income and disadvantaged
communities are centered and prioritized in the work of decarbonizing business, industrial? (see below),
nonprofit and government-owned properties in the participating cities. At a minimum, this means the
coalition cities will:
• Actively promote the program to business and property owners in their community
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• Collaborate with Black, Indigenous, People of Color and Immigrant (BIPOCI) community
organizations to help promote the opportunities
• Participate in the four annual convenings
• Share information from the communities we serve to local, state, and federal program
staff as part of program development and to improve programming and results over
time
• Contribute in specific ways that emerge out of the development of the proposed work
and make sense for our organization
• Commit to signing on to a MOA with Minneapolis no later than July 1, 2024
How the Program will Work – Ensuring Benefits to J40 Designated Communities
Funding received from a CPRG grant will be placed in a pool of funding that will be available on a first
come, first served basis. The fund will set aside 50% of the funding for EJ communities to ensure we
meet and surpass the Justice 40 (J40) requirements. The funds will flow from the EPA to the City of
Minneapolis, who will then distribute funds based on how the MOUs have been established. For cities
receiving the turnkey services funding will flow to Energy Smart who will conduct the energy audits and
disburse the funds to the contractors and/or property owners. Minneapolis will disburse program funds
directly to cities that have an operating cost share program as well as to Minneapolis property owners.
To receive funding eligible commercial participants sign up for a free energy audit with Energy Smart, a
program sponsored by the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce with funding from energy utilities, to
assess lighting, HVAC, insulation and renewable energy options. Other partners include local business
associations such as the Lake Street Council.
After the assessment, participants will receive a customized report with recommendations on how to
save energy, costs, and emissions. The recommendations will also include estimates on utility rebates,
federal grants and tax credits and the additional Cost Share grants. Energy Smart staff will assist with
finding a contractor and reviewing bids as well as completing and submitting all grant and rebate
paperwork once the project(s) are complete.
To be eligible the property must:
• Be in the participating cities of Bloomington, Burnsville, Eagan, Eden Prairie, Edina, Hopkins,
Inver Grove Heights, Minneapolis, Richfield, Roseville, St. Louis Park and St. Paul, Minnesota
• Fall into one of the following categories
o Business Commercial
o Industrial
o Nonprofit Commercial
o Government-owned (mentioned above)?
Eligible Improvements
The energy efficiency project must:
• Qualify for an Xcel or CenterPoint utility rebate, or other local utility serving the participating
city.
• Electrify a piece of gas equipment
Page 3 of 17
• Grants, matches and rebates cannot exceed total project cost.
• If the request is more than $5,000 for LED lighting, the project must include a non-lighting
component, sensors, or controls.
The match is based on the total cost of the project and the incentive category for which the project
qualifies:
Category Maximum match from CPRG funding
Base 20% up to $20,000
Environmental Justice* 30% up to $30,000
Energy benchmarked building 25% up to $75,000
Eligibility for base incentive: Any eligible commercial property located in the participating city’s
boundaries.
Environmental Justice category
• See definition from EPA CPRG NOFA
Energy benchmarked Building
Commercial and multifamily residential buildings greater than 50,000 square feet under a city or state
Energy Benchmarking ordinance.
Equipment guidelines
Equipment must meet the recommended minimum efficiency guidelines, unless otherwise recommended
by a utility energy audit partner.
Recommended minimum energy efficiency guidelines
Terms
AFUE - Annual fuel utilization efficiency
ECM - Electronically commutated motor
EER - Energy efficiency ratio
EF - Energy factor
HSFP - Heating seasonal performance factor
IEER - Integrated energy efficiency ratio
SEER - Seasonal energy efficiency rating
UEF - Uniform energy factor
Page 4 of 17
Efficiency Measures
Boiler: 91% AFUE
Furnace: 96% AFUE or higher
ECM motor
Gas water heater tank < 75,000 BTU: .68 UEF
Gas water heater tank > 75,000 BTU: 88% efficient
Gas water heater tankless: .87 UEF
Heat pump water heater: 3.5 EF
Attic/roof insulation - pitch roof: R-49 and air sealing
Attic/roof insulation - flat roof: Evaluated case by case
Wall insulation: Minimum of R-11
Attic joist insulation: Minimum of R-10
Ventilation - bathroom exhaust: Multispeed with ECM motor
Air source heat pumps: (SEER, EER, HSFP)
Central: 16 SEER (10.5 EER), HSFP 9.5
Non-ducted: 16 SEER (9.0 EER), HSFP 10.6
Air source heat pumps: (SEER2, EER2, HSFP2)
Central: 15.2 SEER2 (10 EER2), HSFP2 8.1
Non-ducted: 16 SEER2 (9.0 EER2), HSFP2 9.5
Rooftop Unit <5.4 Tons: 15 SEER or greater
Rooftop Unit >5.4 Tons: 12 EER and 13 IEER or greater
How our GHG Reduction Proposal Supports the MPCA PCAP?
The Twin Cities Commercial Energy Efficiency (TCCEE) Program matches with goal 3.2 on the MPCA PCAP
which states “Reduce greenhouse gas emissions from commercial and public buildings by promoting
energy efficiency, renewable energy, electrification, and lower-carbon design, materials, and fuels.” It
goes on to describe how to achieve this goal: “Accelerate commercial and public building
decarbonization through energy efficiency, renewable energy, and electrification; expand and improve
district heating and cooling; implement local geothermal networks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions;
and support workforce development, especially in LIDACs. Buildings include, but are not limited to
schools, government buildings, commercial properties, small business districts” . Our program will focus
on action 3.2.1 from the PCAP to “Decarbonize existing commercial and public buildings by combining
Page 5 of 17
multiple technologies and approaches including: energy efficiency, energy recovery, energy storage,
renewable energy, and electrification. Eligible activities include, but are not limited to energy audits,
energy efficiency upgrades, HVAC and electrical upgrades, solar panels, and battery installations,
transitioning to low-temperature water heating systems, local geothermal networks, and district heating
and cooling systems.”
TCCEE incentives will help accelerate the transition to a more electrified and low carbon future for
commercial properties throughout the metropolitan area with 50% of the funding dedicated to LIDAC
and J40 designated communities.
Supporting CPRG Program Goals
The City of Minneapolis has been managing the Green Cost Share Program for the last 10 years and has
achieved significant GHG reductions. The Green Cost Share program is a local incentive program to
prevent climate change and reduce air pollution in the City of Minneapolis. Through this program the
city offers matching funds to participants when completing a solar, energy efficiency, or air pollution
reduction project.
Over the last 10 years the program has funded 1,071 projects that have saved 172,412 Million Btus and
16,074 metric tons of carbon dioxide. Our goal over the next four years of TCCEE is to double the annual
number of projects completed, with at least 50% of them in EJ communities, and dramatically scale up
the cumulative GHG reductions throughout the Twin Cities.
With Minneapolis’ experience with our own EJ communities known as Green Zones we have developed
new ways to reach out to and connect with BIPOCI community members and organizations. We will
Page 6 of 17
build upon the relationships we developed during our outreach efforts as part of the Minneapolis
Climate Equity Plan and described later in this narrative. This means that our EJ communities will see
the greatest benefits resulting from a reduction in CAPS, HAPS and GHG emissions.
The results show that our Green Cost Share program and the Energy Smart audit and technical
assistance have and will continue to maximize the leverage of local, state, federal and utility rebates,
and incentives. The CPRG funding is anticipated to leverage 3 to 1 these other funding services meaning
that $8 million in CPRG direct program investments will leverage an additional $24 million in other
investments. Starting in 2024, the City of Minneapolis committed $10 million in local funding to a
Climate Legacy Initiative to support implementation of the Minneapolis Climate Equity Plan. With the
EPA supporting our collation we can help our 11 other city partners do the same. This program would be
the first of its kind in Minnesota to “scale up” a successful commercial efficiency program across the 12
local jurisdictions representing more than 1.2 million people.
As a result of already having a program in place and a relationship with Energy Smart and our local
utilities we believe we can accelerate the program implementation starting in the fall of 2024 and invest
the full CPRG funding over a four-year period rather than five years, starting in late 2024. This means
this grant will accelerated and increase the magnitude of near-term GHG reductions. Minneapolis
currently has Energy Smart and the Lake Street Council under a 3-year master contract that will allow us
to immediately start serving our local city partners.
Minneapolis has also invested heavily in outreach to our BIPOCI business members since the murder of
George Floyd and the following civil unrest that destroyed more than a thousand buildings, many of
which were on and around East Lake Street. The Minneapolis Lake Street business district was heavily
damaged and was home to the 3rd police precinct that was gutted by fire on the third day of unrest. The
City of Minneapolis looked to partners such as the Lake Street Council for help in planning a new future
for Lake Street. We are proposing to incorporate best practices and training led by the Lake Street
Council into our TCCEE program so that our local partners can learn from our efforts to reach BIPOCI
businesses, churches, and nonprofits in their community to take advantage of this opportunity.
Demonstration of Funding Need
Energy Smart completed 393 energy consultations in 2021, 40% or 139 resulted in a project that had
documented savings within the next 24 months. Energy Smart has been increasing its number energy
consultations in local Minnesota EJ communities 1 going from 46% in 2021 to 64% of total energy
consultations in 2023. However, it has been challenging to get business to finance and move forward
with energy efficiency recommendations. Over the last five years Energy Smart has recorded that utility
rebates, business energy grants and the current local funding covers only 32% of the upgrade costs. We
believe that by providing additional grant match of 20% and 30% for EJ based projects we can increase
the project match to 50% to 60% . Additional funding from the recently approved IRA tax credits will
also make these programs viable for almost everyone we audit. If we are not able to get a property
owner to move forward with the recommendations, we forfeit all the upfront investment in the energy
consultation/audit and follow up. By getting a higher conversion rate we save time and money.
1 MN Pollution Control Agency Environmental Justice Areas of Concern
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It not only uses funding more efficiently it uses staff resources more efficiently. With a tight labor
market finding skilled professionals to work in this field is challenging. Increasing the project conversion
rate reduces unproductive staff time and leads to more action and less time completing audits that are
not acted on.
The City of Minneapolis has been exploring numerous opportunities for additional funding including the
creation in 2023 of the Climate Legacy Initiative of $10 million that is used across the enterprise and the
community to implement actions listed in the 2023 Minneapolis Climate Equity Plan. Of this, less than
20% is used to support businesses through the existing Minneapolis Green Cost Share program. We
need to be able to double this with the help of CPRG to have hope we can achieve our local climate
goals to reduce GHG emissions for our community by 75% by 2030 and carbon neutral by 2050.
Three cities in our coalition have setup commercial cost share grant programs and have allocated small
amounts of local funding to help two – six businesses annually. There is capacity to do more in these
cities, but they do not have the local sources to scale the effort to truly be effective.
St. Paul, the capital city of Minnesota is beautiful and filled with state government offices that do not
pay property taxes. With a tax base less than half the size of Minneapolis, St. Paul has not had the
budget to invest in a commercial cost share program. But they do have great leadership and want to use
this opportunity to build additional capacity and show results so there will be a case to continue the
support after the CPRG grant funding has ended.
Funding for commercial energy efficiency cost share grants have not been available from state or federal
sources in the past. None of the cities in the coalition have applied for federal or state grant funding for
a program like this.
Over the last year Minneapolis has applied for three federal grant opportunities to support our
commercial energy efficiency green cost share program. Unfortunately, we were not awarded any
funding through those processes. Those grants were the NOAA Climate Resilience Regional Challenge,
Department of Commerce Recompete Pilot Program, and the Department of Energy’s Buildings Upgrade
Prize.
Transformative Impact
The most significant transformative impact will be the collaborative engagement with BIPOCI
community-based organizations. There has never been a collaborative effort to coordinated across the
metro area to engage non-climate community-based organizations. These organizations have
constituents that reach across city boundaries and are trusted members of their communities and can
help us reach and engage with their communities’ elders, business, and property owners about the
benefits of this program.
The second transformative impact of this grant is the extensive collaboration among the cities. This
funding has the potential to solidify the relationship and coordination with a dozen cities across the
metro. It is our belief, that his grant, if funded, would lead to many collaborations with our BIPOCI and
local city partners that will lead to even more significant GHG reductions in the future.
Impact of GHG Reduction Measures
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In this proposal the anticipated number and type of projects as well as emission reductions are derived
from real-time data from the City of Minneapolis Green Cost Share Program from 2021 – 2023. This
timely and post-pandemic data is the most relevant and replicable to predict GHG reduction projects in
the near future. From this period, 330 greenhouse gas emission reduction projects included on-site solar
installation or energy efficiency improvements were implemented. GHG emission reductions were
calculated using total average annual kWh saved and eGrid emission factors. Solar projects were given a
25-year lifespan with a .5% annual degradation factor.
This proposal will seek to replicate the success of the Minneapolis Green Cost Share Program with two
important distinctions. First, it will allocate 50% of total project costs to LIDAC communities to directly
address environmental justice and climate vulnerability issues. This allocation will be supported by
increasing capacity of community liaisons to introduce businesses to energy efficiency resources and
information with culturally centric approaches. Second, it will serve as a model to replicate and expand
the Green Business Cost Share Program across participating metro coalition members. This will occur by
expanding the accessibility of free business energy audits in cities that currently do not offer them, and
increase public dollars directed toward GHG emission reduction projects for cities that have a cost share
program established, but have insufficient funding to meet the magnitude of necessary emission
reduction from commercial buildings to achieve city, metro, and statewide climate goals.
The Twin Cities Commercial Energy Efficiency Program Proposal will provide additional capacity for
Minneapolis and St. Paul to coordinate the execution and management of this contract with all financial
and reporting responsibilities. It increases capacity for Energy Smart to expand their free business
energy assessment services to offer approximately 529 reports to cities that are unable to currently
provide these services. With an estimated 60% assessment-to-project conversion rate, 317 projects are
anticipated from these audits. This proposal also creates additional capacity for communications and
outreach in community-based organizations in low-income and disadvantaged communities while also
documenting lessons learned and creating engagement materials for other cities interested in
replicating EJ-centered outreach. With a conservative estimate of a 40% assessment-to-project
conversion rate for 794 audits in LIDAC and environmental justice communities, 318 projects are
anticipated from these audits.
An estimated 635 total GHG-reducing projects are anticipated from this funding: 69 on-site solar
projects and 566 energy efficiency projects.
For 2025 – 2030, projects estimates are:
• 69 solar projects
o Dollars spent: $1,594,200
o GHG reduced: 3,049.25 tons at $523/ton
• 566 energy efficiency projects
o Dollars spent: $6,376,800
o GHG reduced: 10,159.28 tons at $628/ton
• Total: $603/ton; 13.33 tons of combined SO2 (3.99 tons) and NOx (9.34 tons) reduced
For 2025 – 2050, projects estimates are:
• 69 solar projects
o Dollars spent: $1,594,200
o GHG reduced: 10,336.62 tons at $154.23/ton
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• 566 energy efficiency projects
o Dollars spent: $6,376,800
o GHG reduced: 20,125.11 tons at $316.86/ton
• Total: $262/ton; 30.8 tons of combined SO2 (9.24 tons) and NOx (21.56 tons) reduced
Detailed technical analysis is provided in the technical calculations appendix.
3. Environmental results
Outputs
Total Number of Energy Audits performed @
60% project conversion rate
529
Number of audits performed in EJ communities
@ 40% project conversion rate
794
Number of projects funded 635
Number of staff hired 4
Number of BIPOCI CBOs partnered with 5
Number of residents trained 25
Number of training workshops held 8
Outcomes
Annual GHG savings 2025-2050 1,218.47 tons
Reduction in cumulative metric tons of GHG
emissions: 2025-2030 and 2025 - 2050
2025-2030: 13,208.53 tons
2025-2050: 30,461.73 tons
Reduction in annual amount of CAP and HAP
emissions in 2030
2.67 tons
Reduction in annual amount of CAP and HAP
emissions in low income and disadvantaged
communities in 2030
1.33 tons
Number of annual and cumulative costs
savings for participants
Annual Individual Savings: $2,885.48
(24,861.7 median project kWh saved
@ $0.1158/kWh)
Annual Total Savings (635
businesses): $1.83 million
(15,822,783 kWh @ $0.1158/kWh)
Cumulative Individual Savings:
$57,709.60 (@ 20yrs)
Cumulative Total Savings (635
businesses): $36,645,565.43
Page 10 of 17
Number of annual and cumulative costs
savings for participants in LIDAC communities
Annual Individual Savings: $1,442.74
(24,861.7 median project kWh saved
@ $0.1158/kWh)
Annual Total Savings (318
businesses): $916,139 million
(7,911,391 kWh @ $0.1158/kWh)
Cumulative Individual Savings:
$28,854.8 (@ 20yrs)
Cumulative Total Savings (318
businesses): $18,322,782.72
Private dollars invested per dollar of CPRG $23,913,000 (other funds leveraged
with 25% program coverage)
Performance Measures and Plan
The performance measures will be administered by Energy Smart and the City of Minneapolis. Both
organizations have a history of managing similar programs. Energy Smart has more than 16 years of
experience performing commercial energy audits and utilizing utility rebates and other incentives on
behalf of property owners. The City has more than 10 years of experience managing the Green Cost
Share program as well as millions in federal and state grants. The City has a AAA bond rating and a 2024
annual budget of $1.7 Billion.
Information will be gathered from Energy Smart and our local government sponsors and uploaded to a
page on our Green Cost Share Website with a specific standalone dashboard for this grant. This will
allow us to update progress at least semi-annually and will be what we use as the basis for our reports
to the EPA. A screen shot of the Green Cost Share EJ and J40 communities dashboard is shown below.
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Authorities, Implementation Timeline and Milestones
The City of Minneapolis will function as the contract manager and be responsible for reporting progress
semi-annually to the EPA and coordinate the collection of results from all partners. We will also use our
existing infrastructure to pay grants to participants and manage all invoicing and budget between
partners and the EPA.
Energy Smart brings 16 years of local business energy efficiency program experience to this proposal.
They will be a program implementer and administrator by performing energy consultations and
technical assistance for small to medium-sized businesses and managing a turn-key grant process for
businesses in smaller coalition municipalities. Energy Smart is committed to providing accessible and
equitable services for businesses to improve their facilities, save on energy costs, and reduce air
pollutants. A letter of Commitment and staff bios are included in the application.
Lake Street Council (LSC) is a small nonprofit organization that fosters the economic vitality of Lake
Street, in Minneapolis, MN, a key business and cultural corridor in south Minneapolis. They amplify Lake
Street's vibrancy to create a thriving and livable commercial corridor by connecting business owners and
entrepreneurs from communities of color and historically disinvested communities to vital resources,
training, and opportunities. As advisors, troubleshooters, and bridge builders, LSC support
entrepreneurs to increase their economic potential while making meaningful contributions to Lake
Street. Since 2015, our organization has tested and implemented outreach and engagement strategies
for helping hundreds of small, BIPOC and immigrant-owned businesses access energy assessments and
technical assistance through our partner Energy Smart. They utilize their position in the community as a
trusted source of advice and support to help build pathways for small businesses to explore and take
advantage of clean energy opportunities. A letter of Commitment and staff bios are included in the
application.
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The City of St. Paul will conduct extensive outreach to Saint Paul businesses, with a focus on smaller
businesses located in Low-Income and Disadvantaged census tracts, to encourage utilization of grant
funds to pursue renewable energy, electrification and decarbonization projects. The City of Saint Paul
has a long history of delivering programs that benefit local businesses as well as programs targeting
greenhouse gas reductions and energy efficiency.
St. Paul will also use staff funding to establish the City’s first St. Paul Cost Share program that they plan
will continue on after the CPRG grant period. A letter of Commitment and staff bio are included in the
application.
African Economic Development Solutions (AEDS) will participate in the proposed work by actively
engaging in the development and refinement of programming and strategies to effectively deliver
energy efficiency, electrification, and decarbonization services to businesses, with a strong emphasis on
those located in disadvantaged communities. A letter of Commitment is included in the application.
Cities of Edina, Hopkins and St. Louis Park will administer the distribution of grant funds as they have
staff and resources to do this at no cost to the grant. They are interested in growing their programs with
the support of the CPRG grant. This is an example of the work these three cities will perform as part of
the grant implementation: Edina has years of experience delivering incentives for commercial
efficiency, like providing free ASHRAE Level 1 Audits and matching utility rebates for equipment
maintenance and replacement. The coalition proposal will allow Edina to scale up our citywide efforts as
we work to decrease building energy emissions and achieve our Climate Action Plan goals. As part of the
coalition, we will promote energy efficiency and building electrification opportunities for commercial
buildings; and administer cost-share funds for buildings located in the city of Edina.
Cities of Bloomington, Burnsville, Eagan, Eden Prairie, Inver Grove Heights, Richfield, Roseville will utilize
Energy Smart’s turnkey services to manage the energy audits and cost share distribution and reporting
on behalf of the cities. Minneapolis will contract with Energy Smart to disburse funds to Energy Smart on
behalf of property owners in these communities. Here is an example of the work these three cities will
perform as part of the grant implementation: In 2018, Bloomington adopted a goal to reduce energy-
related greenhouse gas emissions by 75% by 2035 (from a 2016 baseline). We know that commercial
energy use contributes a significant amount of greenhouse gas emissions to our overall total. This
opportunity will allow us to scale up our citywide efforts to meet our emission reduction goals.
A letter of Intent from our city collaborators and a letter of commitment from our implementation
partners as well as staff bios are included in the appendix of this application.
Timeline for Twin Cities Commercial Energy Efficiency Grant
Milestones Date Responsible Party
Collaborate with State MPCA to draft
and execute MOUs with collaboration
partners and submit by July 1
April-June 2024 City of Minneapolis and partner cities
Ongoing Quarterly CPRG Partners
meeting
May, August,
December, March
City of Minneapolis and partners
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Execute contracts with EPA, Energy
Smart, LSC
July - Sept 2024 City of Minneapolis
Begin staff recruitment and hiring Oct - Dec 2024 Minneapolis, St. Paul, Energy Smart
Begin planning for outreach,
engagement, and communications
Nov - Feb 2025 LSC, all partner cities, AEDS, Chamber
of Commerce
Program outreach Launch Feb 2025 LSC, all partner cities, AEDS, Chamber
of Commerce
Deliver first semi-annual report to EPA April 1, 2025 Minneapolis, St. Paul, Energy Smart -
assumes an October 2024 start date
to the grant
Launch new CPRG Dashboard webpage May 1, 2025 City of Minneapolis
Launch BIPOCI partners outreach June, 2025 LSC, all partner cities, AEDS, Chamber
of Commerce
Public and Semi-Public Engagement
with all stakeholders
June - Sept 2025 All partners
Green Careers Job training ongoing City of Minneapolis and career training
partners
Ongoing quarterly partners meeting
and semi-annual reporting to EPA
2025-2028 All Partners
4. Low Income and Disadvantaged Communities
Community Benefits and Engagement
In summer of 2023, the City of Minneapolis completed its Climate Equity Plan. A replacement of the
2013 Climate Action Plan, this document is the foundation of City of Minneapolis’ greenhouse gas
reduction efforts over the next 10 years. At the core of this document is centering equity and elevating
voices of low-income and disadvantaged communities that have historically been underinvested and
underserved.
Outreach, engagement, and listening sessions began in February of 2022 and community input was
incorporated into the creation, revising, and finalizing of the climate goals within the document. Voices
from Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities as well as immigrant, (BIPOCI) elderly, young,
and differently-abled were intentionally centered. Listening sessions with cultural groups included:
Hmong Community, Lao Assistance Center, Little Earth of United Tribes Community, Native American
Community, One Family One Community, Climate Generations – A Polar Explorer Will Steger Youth
Initiative , Latinx Churches, several Somalian, and Oromo Community facilitators and organizers.
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In addition, Minneapolis designated in 2017 two Environmental Justice Communities known as Green
Zones; communities that have been deeply affected by pollution as well as racial, political, and economic
marginalization. Located in North and South Minneapolis, these communities were in the 90th percentile
of vulnerability characteristics that include air quality, brownfield sites, housing characteristics, food
access, vegetation, health outcomes, race, language spoken, unemployment, education, and income.
EPA priority LIDAC census tracts also overlay with these boundaries.
Within the Climate Equity Plan, the Buildings & Industry category sets ambitious goals to achieve 75%
GHG reduction by 2030. These are goals based on the C40 Cities and United Nations supported Race to
Zero. Our efforts to center equity in this work include:
• Provide access to no-cost energy audits to all building owners, small and large.
• Develop a program model with equity-based criteria for qualifying buildings utilizing City
resources
• Expand the Green Cost Share Program to incentivize commercial buildings to increase efficiency
and on-site renewable energy
• Advocate for and educate business and residents about Federal, State, and local resources to
reduce energy use and improve air quality both outdoors and indoors
Leading the way in community engagement and relationship building, Lake Street Council and Energy
Smart have been working together to provide free energy assessments for BIPOC and immigrant-owned
businesses along the Lake Street cultural corridor since 2015. As a first point of contact, Lake Street
Council is a trusted and well-respected organization within the Lake Street business community. After
introducing and familiarizing business owners with free resources as well as the benefits of energy
efficiency, a Lake Street Council representative refers the business to Energy Smart, which then provides
a free energy assessment and assistance leveraging technical and financial resources to complete
identified projects. The City of Minneapolis Green Cost Share provides further financial incentives for
projects at a prioritized environmental justice match.
LIDAC Continual Engagement:
This proposal will replicate the model created by Lake Street Council, allowing for staff capacity and
engagement within multiple community organizations to engage local BIPOC businesses in culturally
relevant ways. In addition, these partnerships will provide additional insight into effective engagement
strategies with other business and cultural communities on an ongoing basis, allowing for adaptive
program management to tailor resources to business community needs.
In addition to expanding this community-centric engagement model in Minneapolis, this effort will help
inform coalition partners’ approaches to the needs of cultural communities within their jurisdictions.
Sharing materials and lessons learned from programmatic expansion will allow partners to build on pre-
existing expertise, utilize resources that can be tailored to specific communities, and clearly exhibit the
business demand to leverage additional public resources to support a sustainable and long-term
continuation of this effort.
CJEST Census Tracts and EPA EJScreen Census Block Group IDs – See Attachment
Job Quality and Training
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The City of Minneapolis has two primary paths for workforce and green careers development. The first is
the Minneapolis Employment and Training (MET) programs through the City of Minneapolis Department
of Community Planning and Economic Development (CPED). MET works with community-based partners
to help residents find and keep jobs with an emphasis on low-income adults, laid-off workers, and
youth. MET is the administrative team to the Minneapolis Workforce Development Board, which guides
the design of local workforce in coordination with 15 other workforce boards designated by the
Governor across the state of Minnesota. Workforce initiatives include career counseling, computer lab
access, resume-writing help, skills assessment and training, and free jobseeker workshops across a
variety of fields, including manufacturing, construction, and administrative/professional services.
In addition, the City’s Health department also offers career preparation for climate-specific fields.
Through the Green Careers Explorations Program (GCEP), the City partners with public schools,
nonprofits, government, and the energy sector to connect youth with training and certification for green
careers like solar and heat pump installation. Participants complete an industry certification or
credentialing program, get on-the-job experience, meet, and network with clean energy professionals,
and earn money from employers.
Contractors are rewarded for participating in these programs by scoring higher on City requests for
proposals on publicly resourced initiatives. In this way, career ladders are supported holistically from
community engagement all the way through job placement with thriving wages supported by funded
programs.
Past Performance with Federal Grants
Project Title: Minneapolis Enhanced Air Quality Monitoring
Assistance Agreement Number: Grant Number (FAIN) 00E03365
Brief Description: The purpose of this competitively ARP selected grant is to conduct ambient air
monitoring of pollutants of greatest concern in communities with environmental and health outcome
disparities stemming from pollution and the COVID-19 pandemic. The Minneapolis Health Department
(MHD) will collaborate with community members from Green Zones environmental justice
neighborhoods, community based organizations, residents, and educators to: 1) monitor for exposures
to VOCs and other pollutants from industrial and residential activities as well as traffic, 2) develop air
quality curriculum, outreach materials, and hands on activities with air sensors as well as understanding
and interpreting air sensor data, and 3) increase understanding of hyper local air pollution sources and
strategies to mitigate air pollution in environmental justice communities
These are on-going programs and have successfully submitted adequate and timely reports towards
outputs and outcomes successfully achieved.
Contact:
Juan Morales, EPA Project Manager
77 West Jackson Blvd. AR-18J
Chicago, IL
Morales.juan@epa.gov
312-886-6036
Project Title: HUD Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes Grant
Assistance agreement Number: Instrument Number: MNLHD0437-20
Page 16 of 17
Brief Description:
This funding is used to detect and remove lead and other harmful pollution from low-income homes in
Minneapolis. These are on-going programs and have successfully submitted adequate and timely reports
towards outputs and outcomes successfully achieved.
Contact:
Virginia Jackson
HUD Technical Representative
Virginia.L.Jackson@hud.gov
202-402-4897
Project Title: Minneapolis Public Health Infrastructure Program
Agreement Number: Award Number 1NE11OE000027-01-00
Brief Description: This grant is being used to strengthen the Public Health workforce by looking at
retention and diversification. Additionally, it is being used to strengthen our Public Health Foundational
Capabilities such as communications. These are on-going programs and have successfully submitted
adequate and timely reports towards outputs and outcomes successfully achieved.
Contact:
Kristin Loncorich
Health and Human Services Program Officer
uik5@cdc.gov
770-488-2742
Staff Expertise
Kim Havey has been the Director of Sustainability in the Sustainability, Healthy Homes, and Environment
division of the Minneapolis Health Department for the last six years. He is responsible for the
development of policy and programs that support the City’s Climate Equity Goals and elevates racial and
environmental justice initiatives. With an education and twenty years of experience in urban planning
and the environment, Kim leverages the resources of the community and city to create a more resilient,
equitable and healthy community through public policy and collaboration with local utilities, community
residents, business, and government. Kim has a master’s degree in Urban Planning from the University
of MN – Twin Cities and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Real Estate and Finance from the
University of WI-Madison. For the last three years Kim has been a President Joe Biden appointee to the
White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council (WHEJAC).
Russ Stark is the Chief Resilience Officer for the City of Saint Paul working in Mayor Melvin Carter’s
Office, where he leads the City’s climate and sustainability work. Previously, Russ served for 10 years on
the Saint Paul City Council including three years as Council President. Prior to his public service, he
worked at nonprofits focused on community development, environmental advocacy, and improved
transportation options, including early planning for what is now the Green Line LRT. Russ has a
Bachelor’s in Political Science from Swarthmore College and a Master of Urban Affairs and Public Policy
from the University of Delaware.
Patrick Deal first began working with Energy Smart in February of 2017. As a graduate of Saint John’s
University with a BA in Environmental Studies, Patrick learned field research firsthand by completing
fellowships in Colorado, the Bahamas and China. After graduating, Patrick conducted diagnostic
Page 17 of 17
residential energy audits throughout the Twin Cities metro. Enthusiastic about energy conservation and
field investigation, Patrick joined Energy Smart and has helped hundreds of Minnesota Businesses
identify ways to reduce energy consumption.
Matt Kazinka’ s work at the Lake Steet Council centers on making communities more sustainable and
welcoming to everyone. He is developed programs to help small businesses and community
organizations access financial and technical resources that will help them create less waste and use less
energy. He has also participated in collaborative efforts to improve transit, biking, and walking
infrastructure in small business districts like Lake Street in Minneapolis.
All the other participating cities have at least one staff person dedicated to sustainability in their city.
They will help with the program management and outreach. Additional bios are included as an
attachment.
City of Hopkins
1010 First Street South Hopkins, MN 55343-3435 Phone: 952-548-6300 Fax: 952-935-1834
Web address: www.hopkinsmn.com
March 25th, 2024
Commissioner Damon Chaplin
Minneapolis Health Department
505 4th avenue South, Suite 520
Minneapolis, MN 55415
Dear Commissioner Chaplin,
I write to confirm that the City of Hopkins intends to participate in the coalition proposal on Twin Cities
Commercial Energy Efficiency (TCEE) being submitted by the City of Minneapolis, as a City partner for
the proposal.
As part of the coalition, we will deliver programming to help eligible commercial entities in our
community take part in the program to decarbonize commercial buildings through electrification. The
City hired a sustainability staff member in January 2024, and the City of Hopkins has an established
green cost share program, the Hopkins Climate Solutions Fund (HCSF), that connects Hopkins
commercial properties and residents with incentives for energy efficiency and decarbonization. Our
existing program enables a seamless flow of funds from the proposed TCEE to eligible commercial
entities, scaling up efforts in these program areas.
We will work with the lead applicant, City of Minneapolis, and other coalition partners to meet any
deadlines for the proposal.
Sincerely,
Mayor Patrick Hanlon
Partnering with the Community to Enhance the Quality of Life
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