Gainesville City Commission votes to replace Utility Advisory Board with Climate & Sustainability Advisory Board

BY JENNIFER CABRERA
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – At the November 9 General Policy Committee meeting, the Gainesville City Commission asked staff to bring back a model for creating a Climate & Sustainability Advisory Board to replace the Utility Advisory Board (UAB).
Mayor Harvey Ward said he had placed the item on the agenda: “Obviously, we don’t have a need for the Utility Advisory Board at this point, as it is currently written in the Code of Ordinances. But we do have utility issues as a Commission; General Government has utility needs. We also have a commitment to sustainability goals that we’ll be talking about at the next meeting, to remind us of the things we’ve committed to in the past. There is a lot of shared skillset between a Utility Advisory Board and a Sustainability Advisory Board.”
Ward said he believed the people who are currently on the Utility Advisory Board can “very well fit” a Sustainability Advisory Board and that he hoped the Commission would be willing to make that change, which will require “some work in our Code of Ordinances to change those responsibilities.”
Commissioner Cynthia Chestnut said it “sounds like a good idea, reasonable to me… I think it’s moving in the right direction.”
City Attorney Daniel Nee said it would have to be “a new board entirely.”
Saco: “Nine times out of ten, the [Utility Advisory Board] was talking about some sustainability measure or another”
Commissioner Reina Saco said she thought it was a “good idea. I also think it’s a good way to keep the talent we have on the Utility Advisory Board still within the fold and that they have a lot of good talent and skillset that they can contribute.” She said that over the last three years, “nine times out of ten, the board was talking about some sustainability measure or another, so I think it can be a rather seamless transition into that.”
Commissioner Bryan Eastman liked the idea but cautioned that if it was going to be worth the advisory board members’ time, it would have to have “the umph to it” and be taken very seriously by the Commission. He added, “But I think there’s plenty–I mean, there’s so many things that we work on, from electrification, as a focus that we have, all of the grants that are coming in currently for electrical vehicles, we’ve talked a lot about urban infill and green space and decarbonization. I think there’s plenty that a lot of people would want to be involved with.”
Eastman: “There’s so many different ways that we could decarbonize”
Eastman said some of the current UAB members might not be interested because their focus is on utilities, but others might be interested in urban agriculture, density, and multimodal transportation: “But there’s so many different ways that we could decarbonize, and I think there’s a lot of ways we could do it.”
Commissioner Ed Book said he didn’t feel strongly about “sunsetting one board and creating a different board with a slightly different mission,” so he deferred to the City Attorney to determine the best way to handle it and asked that it be brought back to the Commission to “determine it from there.”
Commissioner Casey Willits favored “keeping the talent and the volunteers who’ve already served the City with the City… I think sustainability reaches into our Chief Climate Officer’s role pretty well because almost all aspects of sustainability in the end… come back to… greenhouse gas emissions… So I think it would be good–keeps people engaged, keeps us focused, using our volunteer advisory boards, to focus on one of our larger goals and larger issues as we go forward.”
Ward agreed, “In the absence of a Utility Advisory Board, it would assist me and, I hope, the rest of you, in keeping us focused on sustainability goals, to have that board. If someone wants to make a motion, something to the effect of ‘Let’s have staff… bring back a model for us in January that we could then use to discuss and direct the City Attorney to turn into an ordinance to bring back to us, following that.’ That would be something I would vote for.”
Eastman made the motion: “Direct staff to bring back a model on how we could, I guess, create a Climate and Sustainability Advisory Board while either sunsetting or transitioning the Utility Advisory Board.” Chestnut seconded the motion.
The motion passed unanimously.
Demonrat typical talking points. Climate BS.
I wish they would provide the necessary services in a proper manner, and preserve order. Please leave Camelot as a fairy tale, and run Gainesville in a sensible way.
Screw this liberal nonsense. Fix the damn roads!
The level of ignorance has no boundaries from these folks. They must have magic mushrooms for breakfast everyday to come up with the decisions they make.
The only climate that they can possibly control or influence is the climate of fear for any Gainesville citizens with common sense.
Any chance of cutting the budget instead?
This feckless group of Fired Commissioner’s and Fired Utility Advisory Board just does not get it. The Mayor has major financial audits and accountability coming down the pike, and perhaps his cronies. While remaining in denial they are fired and continuing their reckless decisions they need to be removed from office , period. Comments by this group are bizarre and not moving in the right direction, DUH!
Why don’t you try winning an election? That’s what we do in a democracy.
Or are you not from around here?
in 500 yrs ice core samples will show that gaineville fla was the difference in saving the planet -“SARC!”
Here comes the liberal BS from the lefties who believe they are saving the world. This will be a new way to seperate citizens from their money for phoney causes that will have no effect on the climate.
The planet is fine. —Hanrahan ruined our utility trying to comply with Kyoto protocol which the US was not a signatory too…go woke, go broke…these idiots are for great reset…”you will own nothing & be happy”…the mask wearer is the devils minion … “you will not be able to engage in commerce if you don’t get the mark”…resist the vax passport!!! Sustainability goals are UN talking points… Why are they taking their marching orders from Bill Gates, the UN, the WEF, & the WHO? Didn’t they take a loyalty oath to uphold the state & US constitutions? Barratry! They are for one world government global totalitarianism…hell on earth, the most advanced system of slavery ever devised by man…the devil is hiding behind the environment…these
People need to stay in their lane and focus on essential services. Are those paper straws they mandated on us saving any turtles on the other side of the world? No. They need to create a vagrant & panhandling advisory board with zero tolerance instead.
Mr. Pink, you are absolutely right! Y’all listen to him.
Chief climate czar officer? That position can be sh!tcanned as part of their budget cuts. They need to stay within their jurisdiction which is inside GNV’s urban services boundary line.—their job is to provide essential services. Our local government has been infiltrated with fascist Marxist commies.
Maybe Desantis needs to step in and mandate local & county governments stay within their jurisdiction and follow the state constitution and not implement foreign policy from the United Nations , Karl Schwab (WEF), & the WHO . The WHO wants to usurp our constitution
And shut down the planet for great reset (iatrogenicide).
If you read Bill Gates’ book on CO2 production and cutting it, you would find that the biomass plant would not be considered a viable way of cutting CO2. I think it is safe to assume that Pegeen was not taking marching orders from Bill Gates.
I know this is inappropriate and to some crude BUT this is the definition of a “Circle Jerk”. Do your JOB and quit this nonsense.
Indeed Clown, these comments usually devolve into that. Appreciate your honesty.
Still enjoying your playtime I see… I’m sure Ward is really appreciative of that.
I wonder if any of these commissioners ever see these comments? Or do they get their information or feedback from “highly qualified” outlets like the Sun or MSNBC?
Someone needs to remind them of the state audit coming up soon.
Their simple mindedness is numbing to anyone with a brain.
These city commission members and their supporters are not progressives – they are regressives – wanting to return to the status quo of having the Gainesville City Commission serve as the board of directors of GRU.
They maxed out their taxpayer funded credit cards on a monstrous grossly overpriced forest burning incinerator, aka Gainesville Renewable Plant/biomass plant, for power we did not need, causing GRU bills to skyrocket, leaving the City/GRU chocking on nearly TWO BILLION DOLLARS of debt.
There is NO money left for any of their “green/climate” shiny initiatives.
Every time these commissioners try to paint themselves as trying to help the poor and disadvantaged, they need to be confronted with some simple questions:
“If you care about the poor so much, then why did you triple their utility bills? How did saddling GRU customers with $1.7 BILLION in debt that they will never be able to repay help anyone?”
More bureaucracy to slow down real progress. Shows they favor campaigning to the 3% instead. Perfect.
Do you ever get the feeling all this is scripted performance for something already decided in the shade? Who is this ‘staff’ tasked with creating a model for the new board and its transition?
Eastman: “But there’s so many different ways that we could decarbonize, and I think there’s a lot of ways we could do it.”
How about reducing the number of ‘boards?’
You can’t be serious about reducing carbon footprints while maintaining current footprints or creating more.
More performance, less progress.
The thing that needs “decarbonization” in Gainesville are the City Commissioners.
That’s all I got to say ’bout that.
Another pork barrel department, funded by higher taxes, staffed by uneducated employees.
Yep, that’s G’ville alright. Folks, take off your blue lense glasses and see what is happening to ‘your city.’
Isn’t coal the primary source of GRU’s generation capacity? Why not just turn the lights off? Save manatee farts and use that.
Primary source is natural gas, both at Kelly and Deerhaven.
Wasting time banning drinking straws and plastic bags while the infrastructure crumbles, hobos and criminals rule the streets, taxes and utility rates cripple the property owners, and the city is remains bankrupt. What a pack of feckless idiots.
“Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program” – Milton Friedman
“Nearly all actively publishing climate scientists say humans are causing climate change.[4][5] Surveys of the scientific literature are another way to measure scientific consensus. A 2019 review of scientific papers found the consensus on the cause of climate change to be at 100%,[2] and a 2021 study concluded that over 99% of scientific papers agree on the human cause of climate change.[3] The small percentage of papers that disagreed with the consensus often contain errors or cannot be replicated.[6]
…Since 2001, 34 national science academies, three regional academies, and both the international InterAcademy Council and International Council of Academies of Engineering and Technological Sciences have made formal declarations confirming human induced global warming and urging nations to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.
…American Association for the Advancement of Science as the world’s largest general scientific society, adopted an official statement on climate change in 2006:[74]
The scientific evidence is clear: global climate change caused by human activities is occurring now, and it is a growing threat to society. … The pace of change and the evidence of harm have increased markedly over the last five years. The time to control greenhouse gas emissions is now.
…..Since 2007, when the American Association of Petroleum Geologists released a revised statement,[156] no longer does any national or international scientific body reject the findings of human-induced effects on climate change.[149][150]…”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_consensus_on_climate_change
Jazzhole, Bro, relax ….the planet is fine : “ he who sacrifices freedom for safety gets neither”.
The Harvard Guide to Using Sources:
“…Nevertheless, when you’re doing academic research, you should be extremely cautious about using Wikipedia. As its own disclaimer states, information on Wikipedia is contributed by anyone who wants to post material, and the expertise of the posters is not taken into consideration. Users may be reading information that is outdated or that has been posted by someone who is not an expert in the field —or by someone who wishes to provide misinformation.”
ennui, always check sources, including wikipedia. You may note that the article I linked to is fully footnoted and I can assure you that the basic data has not changed in the decade or more since I first read it. ALL the major scientific organizations in the world, including national academies of science, and active and knowledgeable researchers in the field agree that human activity is triggering climactic change with unpredictable results for humans and our political institutions. Maybe the idea of some arable land becoming deserts while some non-arable lands now will become so, while cities on low lying land next to harbors and along rivers – most of them – become subject to flooding, while oceanic currents which impact weather on adjacent continents may stop or reverse doesn’t concern you. But keep in mind we are approaching 8 billion people and most countries are armed to the teeth. Maybe chaos and upheaval under those circumstances sounds like fun to you, but rocking a boat filled to the max is not advised for serious humans.
Not worried about the planet Pink, it’s our kids and grandkids I worry about, and so does the overwhelming scientific consensus on the subject.
If you’re so worried about CO2 then shut down the Biomass Plant. It puts out at least 1.5 times more CO2 than DH2 does when it runs on coal and carbon neutral is another lie you and your friends like to pedal, while stuffing their friends’ pockets full of our money.
I’ll get right on it Fred.
You totally miss the point. That point is that a small political subdivision such as Gainesville doesn’t have the financial and technical capacity to change one data point on the climate change battle. Religious fervor towards a Net Zero Goal will only bankrupt the utility and leave the community in a financial mess (it has begun). Global climate change will only be addressed through nationwide, and regional initiatives of material magnitude and a Moon rocket type approach. What Gainesville has done is just silly, if not for the damage it has done.
I think you miss the point Ed, which is that change based on voluntary habits by individuals and families will not do it since the inconvenience factor is high and there are always politicians – like you apparently – eager to tell willing listeners to not bother. Cities like Gainesville however, represent over 150k residents, and are therefore able to make significant impacts on the problem if well targeted. Yes, if MAGA locations around the state and the nation flaunt bad practices, this will not solve the problem, but one hopes that even the proudly ignorant who predominate here on this comment page will smarten up over time, or their kids already have, and/or the results become too alarming for even them to ignore – as if the hottest year and hottest decade on record with instant hurricanes wasn’t enough. We will pay for this ignorance, and given that CO2 in the atmosphere is cumulative and goes back to the industrial revolution, ignoring it will not come with a mulligan.
PS, while i agree with action by political entities of size, my posts preceding the one by you said nothing about the city’s actions but limited itself to countering the ignorant dismissive posts on the entire threat of climate change. What we do about it is a legitimate consideration and discussion for all citizens. One about the reality of this much proven fact is not.
150,000 people in a world of, what 7 billion, won’t make a difference. Particularly if they bankrupct the utility forcing a takeover by another IOU. Think Jazzman. Our modern way of life, our safety and our health are being sustained through fossil fuels. Think I’m crazy. Try having 150,000 residents running their air conditioners on solar. What supports it when the sun don’t shine. It’s not batteries. It’s fossil fuels. Hospitals, military bases, our supply chain are dependent on fossil fuels. It will require absolute sea change to make that different. In the transition many people will be hurt, even die. But sure, let’s destroy GRU in the Quixotic quest for Net Zero in a 100 square mile strip of land. La la land.
Quixotic…. I like thst
That
Ed, I agree we are dependent on fossil fuels for much of our energy, and if CO2 wasn’t a problem with long term substantial consequences, I’d be singing “Drill baby, Drill”. What luck – outside of those looming consequences – that it is so powerful, portable, convertible into so many uses. But, the BUT is huge and we should start adjusting to saving it for important functions, not fast cars, lawyers driving 3/4 ton pick-ups to the office, and AC! You might not believe this, but I grew up in Florida with no AC except in the grocery store and the movie house. Not in our families house, car, none of my friends the same, not in schools, and not GD UF! Don’t know about you, but I’d trade it now vs war with Canada once our grain region goes desert.
150k is a lot if aligned with hundreds of 150k cities across the country, the continent, and the world, and each CO2 deposit not made puts off the time and the severity of the reckoning. Does the commission have something more important to deal with?
PS Maybe this will catch your attention.
“The Gulf Stream system could collapse as soon as 2025, a new study suggests. The shutting down of the vital ocean currents, called the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (Amoc) by scientists, would bring catastrophic climate impacts.
Amoc was already known to be at its weakest in 1,600 years owing to global heating and researchers spotted warning signs of a tipping point in 2021.
The new analysis estimates a timescale for the collapse of between 2025 and 2095, with a central estimate of 2050, if global carbon emissions are not reduced. Evidence from past collapses indicates changes of temperature of 10C in a few decades, although these occurred during ice ages.
Other scientists said the assumptions about how a tipping point would play out and uncertainties in the underlying data are too large for a reliable estimate of the timing of the tipping point. But all said the prospect of an Amoc collapse was extremely concerning and should spur rapid cuts in carbon emissions.
Amoc carries warm ocean water northwards towards the pole where it cools and sinks, driving the Atlantic’s currents. But an influx of fresh water from the accelerating melting of Greenland’s ice cap and other sources is increasingly smothering the currents.
A collapse of Amoc would have disastrous consequences around the world, severely disrupting the rains that billions of people depend on for food in India, South America and west Africa. It would increase storms and drop temperatures in Europe, and lead to a rising sea level on the eastern coast of North America. It would also further endanger the Amazon rainforest and Antarctic ice sheets…”
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-021-01097-4.epdf?sharing_token=L8wfIeQkRQPnGGX-CV6F69RgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0ODQw4Na6S4LwvIIwjZ_S3NdBoG6pi8c5NBfIwoUKp1VAfbSfrMzrb0iHzsa8RoOriAyIbFfv2NdFYlOWAP_u8GNi04esr5H82r3z0JBGkkuwsvu-6bpKfEcF-5iB1_sCVs61ILuw6q94g_DwZOHjlpkultTrj9ulqdLxROydV5t5UVgBnF_8rDV-2LgnpXLA6LhwzMaTWr6jRQS6EEoks_jBEGsp8X_7KSLKXfKsku2KZiWz27SzHchwhWqq5FMK18o3JrUql-yJTE-8RlWrNMkmZ_uWaIcwqK4EqvHXIhUgfASQm7HwCBn16fQF7_b50%3D&tracking_referrer=www.theguardian.com
The Gainesville City Commission continues to prove their lack of value. They need to focus on TWO things – public safety and infrastructure!! These are the primary purposes of government. The citizens deserve better than the continued foolish plans that will create nothing but the appearance of activity.
I personally no longer care how the idiots of the city of Gainesville commission and mayor spend money now that they can’t use what I paid GRU to do it. I hope people like Jazzman gets tax out of their ass since he is so for them. Be happy you pay for all this stuff.
GH, I am for the local leaders in a democracy being elected by citizens, not imposed by hostile forces in the state capital. I have no allegiance to these particular leaders. On this particular subject – climate change – no one with a brain who pays more attention to scientists than politicians can possibly disagree the seriousness of the issue.
Liar. If you were for the local representatives you would be a little more supportive of those who have called out the City Commission and GRU.
No one with a brain would keep voting for such fiscal incompetence and perhaps malfeasance.
Some of us feel that way about Trump and DeSantis, but there you go.
I am not a city resident, have been gerrymandered out of Clemons and Perry’s districts (Rep is in McClenny, state senator in Orange Park) so none of this is directly my fault. You can keep trying however, and I recommend you do that at the polls rather than asking Daddy in Tally to take care of it for you.
Many of you felt that way BEFORE Trump was elected and although DeSantis won the state election you’re still having a problem despite your claims of adhering to the elected officials.
Problem with most of you liberals is you feel the rules only apply to certain people, not all people. (Some conservatives do as well.)
By the way, don’t have a daddy in Tally and haven’t asked anyone other than city leadership to mind their budget and chill with the utility rate increases. I’m not alone in that regard and we see how well that’s worked.
Perhaps you missed it somehow, but your Daddy in Tally took over the property that belongs to the citizens of Gainesville, not the state of Florida. Hard to believe that after all this you don’t know who’s your Daddy.