PITTSBORO — The Chatham County Climate Advisory Committee, tasked with advising the commissioners on how to adapt to and mitigate climate change, met last Thursday to discuss topics ranging from additions to the county’s sustainable infrastructure to climate recommendations for the fiscal year 2023-24 budget.
The committee also announced a letter of support for a quantitative tracking system of climate goals, as presented as a budget item for next year’s fiscal budget.
“This is a proposal from the Planning Department that we in our committee have been very supportive of, and that reflects some of our work with the attempts to develop a climate dashboard that monitors Chatham’s progress on a range of environmental and climate issues,” Committee Co-Chairperson Robbie Cox said.
The proposal asks for funds to get outside expertise for the county to develop a system of “consensus-based metrics” to track the environmental goals previously included in the 2017 Comprehensive Plan, “and then monitor the county’s progress on those,” Cox said.
Kevin Lindley, director of the Environmental Health Department, said the resolution is expected to be included in the county manager’s budget recommendations for FY 2023-24. He said officials seemed to have a “general favorable attitude” toward the budget item.
Lindley also gave an update on the county’s sustainability division’s progress. He reported that the electric vehicle charging station at the Goldston Library was up and running. He was excited about the charger’s completion and said he appreciated the enthusiasm he saw about it from the community.
“Almost every time I go in the library, there’s somebody from the community asking me questions about it,” Lindley said. “I had a lady when I pulled into the [charging] spot, she actually didn’t even let me get out of my car! She came over and started knocking on my window. It was really funny, and she just wanted to know how electric cars worked — and just had all kinds of questions about them, and so I thought that was great. So it’s at least starting conversations.”
Lindley also reported that the solar panels recently installed at the county’s Agricultural & Conference Center had passed inspection. The new energy system is expected to generate approximately 154-kilowatts and reduce the building’s electric bill by at least $12,000 annually.
The committee also discussed supporting the county’s ability to provide sustainability resources to residents. For example, they are hoping to spread the word about the Rewiring America calculator, a digital tool that estimates the availability of energy-efficiency tax credits and rebates. Households that chose to implement more sustainable appliances, such as electric cars and heat pumps, may be able to qualify for rebates under the Inflation Reduction Act that passed last summer.
CCAC will hold its next monthly meeting from 7 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, May 25, via Zoom. A meeting link can be found here: https://www.chathamcountync.gov/Home/Components/Calendar/Event/38909/4930.