Energy Sustainable Committee
February 21, 2023
City of Great Falls Energy Policy:
Rich said the City is facing much higher energy costs now that their contract with Energy Keepers has expired. Shannon said she learned the water and sewer departments’ electricity costs will increase by around $800,000. Shannon said with all the building going on the city really needs a new growth policy. Rich said a developer wants to make the proposed 432-unit apartment complex where Dick’s RV Park is located a TIFF district. Melissa said the TIFF funds have around $4.2 million in them. The group discussed checking out the 2013 City of Great Falls growth policy. Ken T. said he’d try to look at the 2013 growth policy and compare it to the
county’s growth policy.
Rich said the City is facing much higher energy costs now that their contract with Energy Keepers has expired. Shannon said she learned the water and sewer departments’ electricity costs will increase by around $800,000. Shannon said with all the building going on the city really needs a new growth policy. Rich said a developer wants to make the proposed 432-unit apartment complex where Dick’s RV Park is located a TIFF district. Melissa said the TIFF funds have around $4.2 million in them. The group discussed checking out the 2013 City of Great Falls growth policy. Ken T. said he’d try to look at the 2013 growth policy and compare it to the
county’s growth policy.
January 10, 2023
Conservation Outreach and Resolution 10333:
David said he and Ken Palisin met with City Commissioner Dr. Susan Wolff about what the City of Great Falls is doing about energy use in the city. David reported Commissioner Wolff said this is the first budget cycle that the city doesn’t have to pay off the debt due to the HGS coal plant involvement. David said Commissioner Wolff didn’t know the City’s contract with Energy Keepers, Inc. for electricity from the Kerr Dam was expiring this year. David said they also pointed out that the city’s growth plan was not updated three years ago when the 5-year renewal cycle ended. David said they’ll take Susan’s guidance about how to approach the City Commission about doing either an energy audit sweep of all the departments or a resolution regarding resilience, sustainability, energy efficiency, clean energy sources, etc. They also talked about education being a key component to sustainability. Rich hoped the city will come out with a coordinated energy efficiency plan.
David said Susan suggested the committee meet with the Neighborhood Councils. David said they will reach out to the other City Commissioners next; Ken P. will make the decision.
David said he and Ken Palisin met with City Commissioner Dr. Susan Wolff about what the City of Great Falls is doing about energy use in the city. David reported Commissioner Wolff said this is the first budget cycle that the city doesn’t have to pay off the debt due to the HGS coal plant involvement. David said Commissioner Wolff didn’t know the City’s contract with Energy Keepers, Inc. for electricity from the Kerr Dam was expiring this year. David said they also pointed out that the city’s growth plan was not updated three years ago when the 5-year renewal cycle ended. David said they’ll take Susan’s guidance about how to approach the City Commission about doing either an energy audit sweep of all the departments or a resolution regarding resilience, sustainability, energy efficiency, clean energy sources, etc. They also talked about education being a key component to sustainability. Rich hoped the city will come out with a coordinated energy efficiency plan.
David said Susan suggested the committee meet with the Neighborhood Councils. David said they will reach out to the other City Commissioners next; Ken P. will make the decision.
February 8, 2022
Ken Palisin, Chair, said he and Lita S. met with Charles K. and Susan E. and they discussed developing insights and ideas on ways to encourage City, County, and citizens to incorporate clean energy use in public and private situations. The committee plans to engage the City and County on conservation and development of public and private clean energy and work to develop a vision for conservation. Lita was concerned about companies exploiting Montana. Rich asked the committee to ask the City Commission about the City’s growth policy – last updated in 2013. David suggested the committee ask Commissioners about the growth plan outside of the commission meetings and keep the focus on the mission of CCE to promote conservation and
clean energy usage.
clean energy usage.
November 9, 2021
Energy Sustainability Committee - Aquatic Center (ARC): Rich L. asked about the center’s progress and Melissa said the ARC was already almost half a million dollars over budget. David suggested CCE may want to turn attention to new building proposals like the new medical school. David said the City’s conditional use permit (CUP) ordinances don’t require builders to improve energy efficient and suggested the health section in the CUP ordinance could be revised to encourage new construction to try not to add to the City’s carbon footprint. The group agreed focusing on conservation and reducing the use of energy was critical.
October 12, 2021
Energy Sustainability Committee - Aquatic Center (ARC): Rich L. noted Melissa S., Kathy G. and he attended the ground breaking ceremony for the ARC at Lions Park on September 15th. Rich was impressed that the speeches were short and to the point; he also had a chance to speak with architect, Tim Peterson. Melissa said Tim plans to put solar on his house. David said the City isn’t motivated to install solar on the ARC until they have a resolution to reduce electricity use.
September 14, 2021
Energy Sustainability Committee - Aquatic Center (ARC): Rich L. asked David S. for an update on the ARC. David said there was no change on the ability to install solar panels and David didn’t think solar would be added to the ARC after it is built. David reported the Milwaukee Station had new solar panels installed and the new system should pay for itself in six years.
Rich noted the new Indoor Aquatics and Recreation Facility (ARC) ground breaking ceremony was taking place at Lion’s Park on Wednesday, Sept. 15th at 2:00 p.m. Rich said he planned to chat with the military representatives and the architects.
Rich noted the new Indoor Aquatics and Recreation Facility (ARC) ground breaking ceremony was taking place at Lion’s Park on Wednesday, Sept. 15th at 2:00 p.m. Rich said he planned to chat with the military representatives and the architects.
June 8, 2021
Energy Sustainability Committee - Aquatic Center (ARC): Rich welcomed two guests. Jason Cohn is Cheryl Reichert’s cousin. Jason received his mechanical engineering degree from MSU. Jason has worked on hydropower and solar systems and he shared some funding opportunities for alternative energy projects. Jason works in a public utility district in Washington state but still has property in Great Falls. Tyrel Hlavnicka works with Aquasource Drilling https://www.aquasourcemt.com/ and his engineering expertise is in drilling - Cheryl had contacted him about using a geothermal system for the proposed Aquatic Center (ARC). Tyrel presented some fascinating background of drilling in the Great Falls area; Paris Gibson drilled down 3600 ft in 1915.
Tyrel answered questions about using geothermal wells to heat and cool the ARC. Tyrel said there would be no net usage of well water for a “pump and dump” system using water from the Madison Aquifer; a pair of 1700 ft pump and dump wells would cost around a million dollars and a pair of 600 ft wells would cost around $250,000. Tyrel noted the water rights for a pump and dump system was not covered in the early Montana water rights laws; he said laws about injection wells are a gray area. Jason said the ARC would need to get a nonconsumptive water right. Ken T. noted earlier attempts at injection well in the Great Falls area failed.
Rich noted the ARC was scheduled to start construction at the end of September 2021 and had hoped the City would “green up” the design of the ARC. Rich noted discussions with the architect and the City hadn’t provided information about the costs involved or the amount of energy needed to run the ARC so green ideas could be presented based on real energy use. The group discussed options for finding out the energy costs for the ARC including getting an estimate from LPW Architecture since they built the Peak and might give CCE an estimate of their energy use.
[FYI - from an email from Cheryl R. after the June 8th CCE meeting: “I have received information from my cousin, engineer Jason Cohn, of how to contact engineers Adam Hawks and Mike Foran, both of Energy-1 in Bozeman Montana, https://www.energy-1.net. According to their impressive website, this company is "focused on driving smart energy solutions, promoting sustainability across the industry, and meeting the unique needs of clients in the most sensitive and challenging environments". They specialize in geothermal and have done projects in Montana and across the country.” Cheryl said Mike and Adam would be willing to participate via Zoom at the Sept. CCE meeting.]
Tyrel answered questions about using geothermal wells to heat and cool the ARC. Tyrel said there would be no net usage of well water for a “pump and dump” system using water from the Madison Aquifer; a pair of 1700 ft pump and dump wells would cost around a million dollars and a pair of 600 ft wells would cost around $250,000. Tyrel noted the water rights for a pump and dump system was not covered in the early Montana water rights laws; he said laws about injection wells are a gray area. Jason said the ARC would need to get a nonconsumptive water right. Ken T. noted earlier attempts at injection well in the Great Falls area failed.
Rich noted the ARC was scheduled to start construction at the end of September 2021 and had hoped the City would “green up” the design of the ARC. Rich noted discussions with the architect and the City hadn’t provided information about the costs involved or the amount of energy needed to run the ARC so green ideas could be presented based on real energy use. The group discussed options for finding out the energy costs for the ARC including getting an estimate from LPW Architecture since they built the Peak and might give CCE an estimate of their energy use.
[FYI - from an email from Cheryl R. after the June 8th CCE meeting: “I have received information from my cousin, engineer Jason Cohn, of how to contact engineers Adam Hawks and Mike Foran, both of Energy-1 in Bozeman Montana, https://www.energy-1.net. According to their impressive website, this company is "focused on driving smart energy solutions, promoting sustainability across the industry, and meeting the unique needs of clients in the most sensitive and challenging environments". They specialize in geothermal and have done projects in Montana and across the country.” Cheryl said Mike and Adam would be willing to participate via Zoom at the Sept. CCE meeting.]
May 11, 2021
Rich said Tim Peterson, President of LPW Architecture, liked the acronym ARC for the Aquatic Recreation Center and Rich told him to feel free to use the acronym. No one on the energy committee was able to find out what the energy costs to run the ARC would be. Rich said he would ask Tim about using a geothermal system in the ARC like the geothermal system Susan said was being used at MSU in some of the dorm buildings. https://www.montana.edu/news/19588 Cheryl and Charles noted they looked at geothermal for their (5-11-2021) house but ran into problems. Susan said usually the geothermal wells and piping were put under parking lots. Ken Thornton said the best heat transfer was in wet soil and dry soil was not as effective for transferring heat and solar would be cheaper than geothermal. Shannon will call Greg Doyon about energy costs for the ARC. Cheryl suggested Susan and Charles contact one of the City Commissioners like Tracy Houck and outline their personal experience with geothermal to get her feedback.
April 13, 2021
Rich noted Shannon Wilson was quoted in an April 9, 2021 Tribune article by Nicole Girten about the “Concerns raised over energy efficiency of aquatic center design at Council 9 meeting.” Shannon mentioned the Chair of NC9, Barney Danisefsky, said that the design and location of the center was not endorsed only the concept of the center. Shannon said her council agreed that the center designers should look into incorporating solar into the center to “make the facility cheaper to run in the future.” Read the article on the CCE website under “News of Interest.”
Ken Thornton said he had a good talk with Tom Coburn, Senior Mechanical Engineer at Morrison-Maierle (a subcontractor for LP&W Architects). Ken thought Tom was receptive to the idea of using a hot water roof-top solar system using plastic pipes to heat the aquatics center and Tom asked for more information on the Albuquerque, NM municipal pools that use solar heat [see https://www.cabq.gov/municipaldevelopment/renewable-energy/solarprojects/ solar-thermal-water-heater-at-city-pools/ ]. Ken said the aquatic center’s plant needs about 200 kw of energy and hopes the design will shoot for 100% renewables in the new building. Ken said Tim Peterson with LP&W might be willing to set up the design to add on a realistic solar system if the City balks at funding the solar system initially. The group had a discussion on how to convince the City to use solar on the aquatics center from the start. David agreed to talk to Commissioner Mary Moe about finding grant money for solar additions. Ken T. said he would continue to work with Tom on using renewable energy in the center, and Rich agreed to try to talk to Tim Peterson, President of LPW Architecture about getting their LEED “scorecard” on the aquatic center project to date.
Ken Thornton said he had a good talk with Tom Coburn, Senior Mechanical Engineer at Morrison-Maierle (a subcontractor for LP&W Architects). Ken thought Tom was receptive to the idea of using a hot water roof-top solar system using plastic pipes to heat the aquatics center and Tom asked for more information on the Albuquerque, NM municipal pools that use solar heat [see https://www.cabq.gov/municipaldevelopment/renewable-energy/solarprojects/ solar-thermal-water-heater-at-city-pools/ ]. Ken said the aquatic center’s plant needs about 200 kw of energy and hopes the design will shoot for 100% renewables in the new building. Ken said Tim Peterson with LP&W might be willing to set up the design to add on a realistic solar system if the City balks at funding the solar system initially. The group had a discussion on how to convince the City to use solar on the aquatics center from the start. David agreed to talk to Commissioner Mary Moe about finding grant money for solar additions. Ken T. said he would continue to work with Tom on using renewable energy in the center, and Rich agreed to try to talk to Tim Peterson, President of LPW Architecture about getting their LEED “scorecard” on the aquatic center project to date.
March 2, 2021
Rich welcomed Tim Peterson, President of LPW Architecture, and invited him to speak about the Aquatic Center scheduled to be built in Lions Park in Neighborhood Council 9. Tim said the building was designed as a high performance building, which means it is about 40% more energy efficient than a basic building but is not a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified building. The building is designed to minimize the energy requirements with insulation, heat exchange equipment, and special programing to control the whole system. Tom Coburn spoke about the mechanical and electrical systems and the different equipment they planned to use to meet the high performance standard for buildings over $10 million dollars. The discussion that followed the presentation included questions about solar, using geothermal, horizontal wind turbines, etc. The presenters said they had studied the use of geothermal but the cost was over a million dollars; they asked for more information from Ken Thornton about the parking lot photovoltaic system used in the Albuquerque, NM five pool projects; the buildings were designed to have high air turnover and have MERV 13 filters to pick up virus carriers (i.e., droplets or dust) to reduce the chance of Legionnaires disease; they plan to look at the use of horizontal wind turbines; and the presenters hope to set up the design to allow for future solar panels if the City doesn’t want to pay for them now. The presenters said the project should be shovel ready by September 1, 2021. The design presentation shows the Aquatic Center using 8 acres of the 14 acre Lion’s Park and includes a lazy river section, large slide that goes outside and lights up, a party/multipurpose room, yoga room, lap pool, fitness area upstairs, walking track above the gym, etc. Rich thanked Tim and Tom for the detailed presentation.
February 9, 2021
Rich asked for an update on the proposed Aquatic Center now scheduled to be built in Lions Park in Neighborhood Council 9; Rich noted Shannon Wilson is on the NC9 board. Ken P., Chair of the committee, said Chuck, who works at Malmstrom, will try to update CCE about the DOD energy requirements for the proposed Aquatic Center.
David S. said he was surprised to learn Sandra Guynn was the Chair of NC4 (and the Council of Councils) and appreciated the opportunity to attend the NC4 Zoom meeting where Steve Herrig, Great Falls Park and Recreation Director, spoke about the proposed Aquatic Center. David said he was invited to join the Rec Center Energy Focus Group panel that met via Zoom which included Steve Herrig, Commissioner Mary Moe, and Tim Peterson, LP&W lead architect for the Aquatic Center, among the panelists. David said Tim Peterson was willing to walk CCE through LP&W’s design which is LEED compliant but won’t be a LEED certified project because it would be too expensive. LP&W does plan to design the Aquatic Center so future additions to the Aquatic Center could make it LEED certified if the City of Great Falls wanted to make the additions. Rich said LEED certification is all about energy efficiency.
Shannon Wilson invited everyone to the in-person Neighborhood Council 9 meeting on Thursday, Feb. 11th at 7 p.m. Shannon said locating the Aquatic Center at Lions Park is on the Agenda for that meeting.
David S. said he was surprised to learn Sandra Guynn was the Chair of NC4 (and the Council of Councils) and appreciated the opportunity to attend the NC4 Zoom meeting where Steve Herrig, Great Falls Park and Recreation Director, spoke about the proposed Aquatic Center. David said he was invited to join the Rec Center Energy Focus Group panel that met via Zoom which included Steve Herrig, Commissioner Mary Moe, and Tim Peterson, LP&W lead architect for the Aquatic Center, among the panelists. David said Tim Peterson was willing to walk CCE through LP&W’s design which is LEED compliant but won’t be a LEED certified project because it would be too expensive. LP&W does plan to design the Aquatic Center so future additions to the Aquatic Center could make it LEED certified if the City of Great Falls wanted to make the additions. Rich said LEED certification is all about energy efficiency.
Shannon Wilson invited everyone to the in-person Neighborhood Council 9 meeting on Thursday, Feb. 11th at 7 p.m. Shannon said locating the Aquatic Center at Lions Park is on the Agenda for that meeting.
November 17, 2020
Ken Palisin, Chair of the Energy Sustainability Committee, planned to gather the committee over Zoom and discuss their future goals. The group discussed the Aquatic Park proposed by the City and links to the topic would be added to the new CCE website: https://www.ccemontana.org/news-of-interest.html
October 13, 2020
Ken Palisin, Chair of the Energy Sustainability Committee, reported on an Oct. 8th Zoom meeting Great Falls Rising (GFR) held to discuss climate resilience. David S. said he received an email from Gerry Jennings, President of GFR, who was hoping more Great Falls citizens would join with GFR to work with the City Commissioners to encourage the city to do more to help Great Falls become more resilient in the face of climate uncertainty. Gerry said Commissioners Mary Sheehy Moe and Tracy Houck are allies and we all need to work together to plan the next step to get the whole community on board on how to make our city more sustainable. Melissa S. said the Forest Service representative on the panel spoke about the role of fire in the West and what citizens could do to keep property safe. David S. said Gerry was interested in revisiting CCE’s resolution and helping rework it. Rich L. said he would speak to Commissioners Owen Robinson and Rick Tryon about a revised sustainability resolution.
September 9, 2020
Ken Palisin, Chair of the Energy Sustainability Committee, would like his committee to focus on networking, developing resources, a new vision, and setting up practical goals. Lita Sharone said she was discouraged by the sidelining of Resolution 10333 by the City Commission and thought a new direction was needed. Kathy said the committee did a great job working with the City on the resolution and might want to promote solar projects on the CCE website to show what people are doing right now to promote sustainability. Rich asked Melissa Smith and David Saslav what solar company installed their solar panels and they said Solar Montana did the work and they seemed to be competitively priced - https://solarmontana.com/. Cheryl and Charles said Mark Ray with Alternative Energy Systems put in their system about 20 years ago but he no longer installs solar systems; they have been pleased with their system and enjoy watching the meter run backwards. Cheryl noted NorthWestern Energy strongly promoted residential solar systems when they installed their system.
Rich suggested the committee talk to Commissioner Mary Moe again to see if there is any hope of reworking the resolution. Rich also noted the Commissioners said the City is already doing sustainability and perhaps the committee might encourage Commissioner Rick Tryon to report on how the City is meeting the goals of the 2016 McKinstry study to make the City more energy efficient. Rich also noted Paul Skubinna was appointed as the new Great Falls Public Works Director and he has an environmental background. There was discussion on how to reach out to the City.
Rich suggested the committee talk to Commissioner Mary Moe again to see if there is any hope of reworking the resolution. Rich also noted the Commissioners said the City is already doing sustainability and perhaps the committee might encourage Commissioner Rick Tryon to report on how the City is meeting the goals of the 2016 McKinstry study to make the City more energy efficient. Rich also noted Paul Skubinna was appointed as the new Great Falls Public Works Director and he has an environmental background. There was discussion on how to reach out to the City.
June 9, 2020
Ken Palisin, Chair of the Energy Sustainability Committee, said his committee met to discuss how to work with the City of Great Falls to address climate change since Resolution 10333 was sidelined by COVID-19. The group plans to respond to Commissioner Mary Moe’s email about R-10333. The committee would like to maintain a working relationship with her and the City so they can stay involved with helping Great Falls become more sustainable and energy efficient.
The group discussed Governor Bullock’s Climate Solutions Council and suggested CCE members review the task force’s interim recommendations for ideas for long term goals for CCE to follow up on. (Click here to see their calendar of Zoom meetings open to the public and downloadable materials).
The committee hoped to get Great Falls in alignment with the Governor’s Climate Solutions Council while realizing the City claims it has no extra money to spend. The group discussed the issues and suggested the City report to the public on how they were meeting or implementing the McKinstry study results, apply the goals in the Governor’s interim recommendations on climate to the City, reevaluate the whole climate sustainability concept, and study what the private sector has to offer.
The group discussed Governor Bullock’s Climate Solutions Council and suggested CCE members review the task force’s interim recommendations for ideas for long term goals for CCE to follow up on. (Click here to see their calendar of Zoom meetings open to the public and downloadable materials).
The committee hoped to get Great Falls in alignment with the Governor’s Climate Solutions Council while realizing the City claims it has no extra money to spend. The group discussed the issues and suggested the City report to the public on how they were meeting or implementing the McKinstry study results, apply the goals in the Governor’s interim recommendations on climate to the City, reevaluate the whole climate sustainability concept, and study what the private sector has to offer.
