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Meeting Notes
Alaska Municipal Government Climate Community of Practice
2nd Convening
Wednesday,October 21,2020 from 4:00-5:00 p.m.
To watch/listen to a recording of the meeting please go to: https://agnewbeck.zoom.us/rec/share/OPOQs-
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Meeting Objectives
• Reconnect and strengthen cohort linkages
•
• Determine how we move forward together
Attendees
Meeting Hosts
1. Polly Carr,The Alaska Center
2. Micah Hahn,Anchorage.Public Health Professor at UAA Institute for Circumpolar Health Studies
3. Louie Flora,Government Affairs Director,The Alaska Center
4. Nancy Fresco,Climate Researcher at UAF
5. Tanya Iden,Agnew::Beck,Facilitator
Fairbanks
6. Terry Chapin,Fairbanks
Mat-Su Borough
. Ted Eischeid,Mat-Su Borough Planner II
Municipality of Anchorage
8. Shaina Kilcoyne,Solid Waste Services,Municipality of Anchorage
9. Mark Spafford,General Manager,Department of Solid Waste Services,Municipality of Anchorage
10. Mackenzie George,Municipal Policy Fellow at the Municipality of Anchorage
11. Micaela Hogan,Anchorage Solid Waste Services,Sustainability Fellow
12. Felix Rivera,Municipality of Anchorage,Assembly Member
13. John Weddleton,Anchorage Assembly
Kenai Peninsula Communities
14. Jordan Chilson,Soldotna City Council
15. Lynda Paquette,City of Seward Port and Commerce Advisory Board Commissioner
16. Anthony Baclaan,Seward City Council
17. Penelope Haas,Homer,Kenai Peninsula Borough Climate Action Coalition
18. Donna Aderhold,Homer City Council
Juneau
19. Gretchen Keiser,Juneau Commission on Sustainability
I
Summary of Discussion
Welcome + Introductions
Polly Carr,Executive Director of the Alaska Center kicked of the meeting with a land acknowledgement to
recognize the indigenous Dena'ina people whose unceded lands she lives and works upon.Meeting attendees
introduced themselves using the chat function on zoom.Tanya Iden,facilitator,reviewed the meeting agenda
and turned it over Micah Hahn who provided context and framing about how the group initially convened.
Louie Flora,with the Alaska Center,reminded attendees of what was discussed at the first convening of the
group last March 2020.
Climate Resilience Planning Process
Nancy Fresco,UAF Climate Researcher,discussed the results of the Alaska Climate Cohort Decision Tree
that was sent in advance to attendees.The Presentation slides that include the results of the questionnaire are
attached to the notes.Attendees then provided verbal updates of their progress as follows(North to South):
• Fairbanks:COVID meant that the government entities shifted focus to local economy and climate
went on the back burner.A bit stalled.While at the government level is not as focused on climate,
smaller scale activities outside the borough are taking place at the utilities and university.
• Mat-Su Borough:We haven't engaged in a lot of climate work;however,there is interest.The
planning division is operating with 1/3 the normal staffing.Want to stay engaged and listen and
when we have more capacity we can do more.
• Anchorage:It was challenging to fill out the decision tree.We have done a lot but can always use
help prioritizing,getting to the next step,connecting to resources and experts.Anything that this
community of leaders can do to push us forward would be great.We have interest in working with
other communities.Anchorage is focused more on mitigation.Assembly Member Felix shared that
Shaina gave a really great presentation today to the assembly on clean energy financing.CPACE—
we're going to move forward to establish that program and property tax credits.COVID has taught
us that we need to be able to adapt.
• Seward:We filled out the survey and we're pretty much with the pack.COVID derailed a lot of the
work on climate but we also take a break during the summer.
• Soldotna:There is interest with every city in the KPB but most action is happening at the borough
level with the creation of the Safety+ Resilience Commission.Ideally we can bring members of this
new commission into this�group.Soldotna doesn't have anything for
mal happening related to climate
action. "As a council member I want to take action to mitigate and adapt,but it's really
overwhelming to know where to start."It would be great to have a guide for small communities who
don't have resources or political will.
• Homer/KPB:Penelope is a coordinator around the KPB and helped develop the Resilience and
Safety commission.This was a big step because we have a very conservative borough mayor.
Prioritizing is hard in the political climate of the KPB because there are always new people in
positions for power and changing dynamics.When the political moment arrives—we need to have
plans ready to implement. Homer has a local draw down group(https://drawdown.org/)that has
taken on a waste reduction project.People are looking for roadmaps.Donna mentioned that Homer
climate plan is 10 years old.We need new information and it's very important to get things in code.
New police station is a new,green building that was supported with a green infrastructure grant.
• Juneau: The commission on sustainability didn't meet for about 3 months.Commission is advisory
to the assembly.Juneau has about 25 seriously dedicated citizens. Envious that Anchorage has a
2
dedicated staff person. In Juneau the work of climate efforts defaults to citizens to do the research
and promote policy change.We look at small bite size things that we can get our hands around. In
the absence of staff we have a hard time. Gretchen mentioned a few specific examples of the issues
they are focused on-electrification of cruise ship docks,but hard to get info from the electric
cooperatives. Bond package that passed with some climate/energy focused items.
Community of Practice
Micah Hahn briefly discussed what a community of practice entails.Two slides related to this in the attached
PowerPoint presentation.
Next Steps and Wrap-up
Actions
• Develop a listsery that everyone can post to
• Send out the Alaska climate action toolkit:
o Alaska Community Climate Action Planning Toolkit:This is an open source resource for
communities interested in climate resilience planning.There is an overview of the process that
was used to develop the 2019 Anchorage Climate Action Plan as well as links to additional
resources and templates.This is a good starting place to give you some ideas for how to
approach climate planning in your community.If you have questions,email Micah Hahn
(mbh ahn@alaska.edu).
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/19cV nKn i 1'1>w 1'pxwrDi.)Ki'7_'\I\V-4PU J
• Share info about AK webinars to listsery
o The Climate,Care and Community webinars hosted by The Alaska Center one Thursday per
month from 1-2:30pm.Topics have included Green Banks,Community Solar and Voting for a
Just Transition;and we are eager to hear from you about other topics of interest.We are also
interested in hosting a webinar in the future that features the great work happening across this
cohort,so can discuss at our next convening. Contact louie@akcenter.org for more information.
November 12,1-2:30pm will focus on federal clean energy legislation.
Subjects for future meetings
• Enacting code/policy that supports climate mitigation and adaptation
• Climate incentives,financing,greenbanks (https://greenbanknerwork.orr/what-is-a-green-bank-2/)
What you can expect next
• Notes from this meeting
• Survey to gather more feedback in lieu of break-out groups (we ran out of time)on the following
subjects baps://www.surv-eymonkey.com/r/AKclimate CoP
o What do you hope for your participation in this collective?
o How can we collaborate and support each other?
o What is your capacity to engage?
o What are you most excited to start working on this month?
Lastly,a poll was administered through the zoom interface.Results are on the following page.
3
Attendees are most interested in meeting every other month.
How often should this community of
practice gather/meet?
Answer 6:I don't know
Answer 5:I'm not interested in...
Answer 4:Twice a year:April..
Answer 3: Monthly:Nov,Dec..
Answer 2:Every other month:..
Answer I:Quarterly:Jan 2021,..E
0% I0% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Attendees found the community updates most useful.
What part of this meeting was the most
useful to you?
Answer 4:No preference 1111
Answer 3:Small group break-outs
Answer 2:Community updates
Answer I:Reviewing questionnaire -
results
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Attendees thought the meeting was worth their time and will attend future meetings.
This meeting was worth my time and I'm
likely to attend another.
Answer 5:strongly agree
Answer 4:agree
Answer 3:neutral
Answer 2:disagree
Answer I:strongly disagree
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
4
Alaska
Center
Alaska Municipal
OUR HOME.OUR FUTURE
Government Climate
Community of Practice
Ask UAA Institute for
Hc Circumpolar Health Studies
Presenters:
IC"-3 l NivEmiIYNfAlANKA A\(lif WAGE
Polly Carr,The Alaska Center
Micah Hahn, UAA, Institute for Circumpolar Health Studies
Nancy Fresco, UAF, International Arctic Research Center
Louie Flora,The Alaska Center
Facilitated By:Tanya Iden,Agnew::Beck
October 21, 2020 Engage Plan Implement = A g E C K
Land Acknowledgement
Dena'inaq elnen 'aq'
gheshtnu ch 'q'u yeshdu. (Dena'ina)
,11/1
I live and work on the
land of the Dena iDena'ina. (English)
A Land Acknowledgement is a formal statement that
recognizes and respects Indigenous Peoples as
traditional stewards of this land and the enduring \
4
relationship that exists between Indigenous Peoples For more information
and their traditional territories. https://nativegov.org/a-
guide-to-indigenous-land-
http:l/convention.myacpa.org/nashville2020/inclusion/land-acknowledgement) acknowledgment/
Agenda
4:00 — 4: I 0 Welcome + Introduction
Climate Resilience
4: I0 - 4:30 `�
Planning Process
4:30 — 4:45 Community of Practice
4:45-5 The Way Forward
Climate Resilience Planning Process
Mt
Climate Action Decision Tree
Inbsa crenate Cohort Decls,pn Tree
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• An c h o rage re�.t `� g poser �cin�yro
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• Fairbanks North �ConifnuralY More interested en n _
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Adaptation Roth
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• np lust on mnpahon
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• j u n e a u <�as on[ne Yestook Of s anetelegant relating
heextent greenhouse gases(an g)a gager
cede one: Yes hlo9 engage w,m
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• Kenai Peninsula O°'t"Sran�maemtonnaron
Click one: Yes ano�Dlanahon of these topics la yourself or to share with<)Oo YOU want help Onne
Borough
9�reluctant 'nth
stakeholders
tap into speak local m r Y't0 broaden
Cuck one: Yes �,Lse ofs,a en Your
• Soldotna �°
Si Nave .
tOOrWinl.�dNeacy assessed Your Ov
according to hew to c t l s rows
Mitigation or Adaptation or Both ?
Mitigation: reducing Adaptation: adjusting to
emissions of greenhouse ongoing climate change in
gases order to lessen negative
impacts on humans and
ecosystems
All respondents answered BOTH, except Anchorage and
Juneau who are more focused on mitigation.
Agnew::Beck I 6
Mitigation
Understand the Science?
Do you feel that you understand the science relating to
greenhouse gases, their relative impacts, the emissions
from different sources, etc. to the extent that you can
fully engage with others on the topic of climate change
mitigation?
• Five out of six respondents answered yes.
Many would like more information
More information, please Don't need additional info.
• Soldotna • Anchorage
• Homer • FNSB
• KPB • Juneau
Agnew Beck I 8
Connecting with Stakeholders
Do you want help connecting with other stakeholders
in your community to broaden your coalition, bring in
reluctant players, or tap into specific local expertise of
decision-making power?
Yes No
• Soldotna • Homer
• Anchorage • Juneau
• FNSB •
• KPB •
Agnew::Beck I 9
Emissions Assessment/Carbon Footprint
Have you already assessed your overall community or
regional emissions and/or carbon footprint, determined
what your biggest emissions issues are, and categorized
your emissions according to how difficult they would
be to change?
Yes No
• Anchorage • Soldotna
• Homer • FNSB
• Juneau (but very outdated 2008- I 0) • KPB
Soldotna, FNSB, and KPB also don't have a plan for assessing
emissions and all would like help creating a plan — Anchorage
would too.
Agnew::Beck I 10
Resources Needed to Reduce Emissions
For those emissions that can reasonably be reduced, do you
know what resources, money, people-hours, new laws, or
regulations, or strategies such as public education or
monetary incentives would be needed to make this happen?
• All respondents answered no, except Juneau who
answered "maybe — we have a reasonable understanding of
what's needed."
• All respondents want help figuring out resources.
• Anchorage & Juneau have ready access to resources.
• All respondents except Juneau would like help gathering
and implementing resources
Agnew.Beck I II
Continuing Mitigation Efforts
Do you have clear plans for continuing mitigation
efforts indefinitely, including preventing new emissions
sources?
• All respondents answered no, except FNSB
• Juneau offered that they have a general outline but
need to fill in the details to go from wish lists to
specific action plans
Agnew::Beck 1 12
Adaptation
Climate Change Impacts to Community
Do you have a good understanding of how climate
change will impact your community in ways that would
require community adaptation?
• All respondents answered yes, except Juneau who
shared that they are currently completing a climate
impacts report.
• All respondents, except FNSB would like help
learning more about climate impacts.
Local Knowledge
Have you collected local knowledge and input from
diverse stakeholders about what impacts they are
already seeing from climate change that would require
lifestyle or economic change?
Yes No
• Anchorage • Soldotna
• FNSB (need more info.) • Homer
• KPB • Juneau (nothing systematic)
Need help?
Yes No
• Soldotna • Anchorage
• FNSB • Juneau
• Homer •
Agnew::Beck I 15
Prioritizing Impacts + Adaptation Issues
Do you have a strategy for prioritizing which of these
impacts are the most important to address first, given
limited budgets and time?
• All respondents answered NO.
• Soldotna, Anchorage, Homer, and maybe FNSB
would like help prioritizing; Juneau and KPB do not.
• All communities, except Anchorage, need additional
information on adaptation topics and strategies.
• Suggestion: It would be hlpful to understand
municipal-level tools or concepts available to pay for
adaptation — examples from similar sized cities.
Agnew::Beck I 16
Resilience
If there is no real way to adapt to a particular change,
do you know of strategies that would build community
resilience to the change, and what would be needed to
implement such strategies?
Yes No
• Anchorage • Soldotna
• FNSB • Homer
• • Juneau
• • KPB
All communities would like help figuring this out.
Agnew Beck 1 17
Community of Practice
Agnew::Beck I 18
•
What is a Co? • Domain: Community members
have a shared domain of interest,
competence and commitment
that distinguishes them from
others.
• Community: Members pursue
"Domain" this interest through joint
J"Communities of Practice are groups of pcoplc who
activities, discussions, problem-
shareahoncernortbetterastheon for omethingtheydo and solving opportunities, information
learn how to do it better as they interact regularly"
sharing and relationship building.
The notion of a community
"Practice" "Community"
creates the social fabric for
Etienne Wenger enabling collective learning.
• Practice: Community members
are actual practitioners in this
domain of interest and build a
shared repertoire of resources
and ideas that they take back to
their practice.
i
Our Community of Practice
Break-Out Groups
Please select a scribe to take notes.
For the next I 0 minutes discuss and answer these
questions, then we'll report back:
• What do you hope for your participation in this
collective?
• How can we collaborate and support each other?
• What is your capacity to engage?
Agnew Beck I 20
The Way Forward
• Answer poll about meeting frequency
• Next Steps
• Determine next meeting date
• Meeting Note to be circulated
• Key determination from this meeting
• Wrap Up — What are you most excited about?
Agnew Beck I 21
Agnew::Beck I 23