Title
Authorizing the City to apply for $72,000 from the Minnesota Department of Commerce’s Solar on Public Buildings Grant Program for solar installation at Frogtown Community Center.
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WHEREAS, the City of Saint Paul’s Climate Action and Resilience Plan adopted in December 2019 established the goal of achieving carbon neutrality in municipal operations by 2030 and included a key action of increasing installations of renewable energy at city buildings; and
WHEREAS, the Minnesota Legislature established the Solar on Public Buildings Grant Program in 2023 to provide grants to stimulate the installation of solar energy systems on public buildings; and
WHEREAS, the Frogtown Community Center was built in 2019 and designed to align with the State of Minnesota's B3 Sustainable Buildings Guidelines; however, the guidelines at that time did not require on-site renewable energy to meet the SB2030 Energy Standard; and
WHEREAS, the Frogtown Community Center will need to implement additional decarbonization strategies to reduce its operational greenhouse gas emissions in support of the City’s climate goals; and
WHEREAS, the Office of Financial Services and Department of Parks and Recreation are requesting permission to apply for $72,000 in grant funds from the Solar on Public Buildings Grant Program to cover a portion of the estimated $150,000 cost for installing a 40-kW rooftop solar array at Frogtown Community Center, with the remainder of the project cost to be paid for from the 2025 Parks and Recreation capital budget; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, the Saint Paul City Council expressly provides its support for the City of Saint Paul to submit a grant application to the Solar on Public Buildings Program to support solar installation at the Frogtown Community Center.