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August 10th, 2026 St. Anthony Council Work Session - 3 <br />Councilmember Doolan reminded the Council that the 30,000 dollar amount was selected for <br />one year, but that the City still has long-term sustainability goals. She stated that she does not <br />feel a single-year commitment will be enough, and that research is important to inform the <br />programming the City uses to reach its 2040 goals. <br />Councilmember Doolan informed the Council of the specific 2040 sustainability goals, including <br />an 85 percent reduction in emissions from 2005 levels. <br />Councilmember Jenson asked whether measuring emissions levels has been possible so far. <br />Councilmember Doolan confirmed that regional data is available and that Met Council will <br />continue to monitor. <br />Councilmember Doolan reflected on her time in the Parks and Environmental Commission and <br />noted that they were able to see how much Excel was impacting the grid and the emissions <br />impacts of City infrastructure improvements. She noted that the last time she was able to see <br />this data, the City’s actions were insufficient. She clarified that this data was received before <br />solar improvements and other sustainability initiatives. <br />Councilmember Jenson asked who is responsible for informing the Council of the data <br />described by Councilmember Doolan. Councilmember Doolan stated that the State had a <br />contract in the past with a specific vendor that provided this information, but she is unsure who <br />the contract is with at this point. She commented that Met Council compiles the same sort of <br />data, including electricity, gas, waste, and transportation measurements. <br />Councilmember Jenson asked who the point of contact is in St. Anthony. He noted that it is <br />unlikely someone will reach out with this information on their own. <br />Mayor Webster recentered the conversation on paying for sustainability initiatives with the <br />Excess Fund Balance. She clarified that the Council’s main point of contention with doing so <br />regarded how they would measure the impact of these sustainability initiatives. <br />Councilmember Doolan highlighted that the only data the State can assist with is emissions <br />data. She noted that the Climate Plan includes goals related to residential behavior, and she felt <br />there should be a better measure of energy-efficiency actions taken in homes. <br />Councilmember Doolan expressed the need for increased funding for Sustainability Coordinator <br />Saulog to support education and the achievement of Climate Plan goals. <br />Assistant City Manager Morello noted that Sustainability Coordinator Saulog’s position is new, <br />and the City is still working to determine an appropriate budget for sustainability initiatives. She <br />highlighted that St. Anthony has a great amount of overlap with sustainability in all departments. <br />She clarified that the goal of the sustainability initiatives discussed in the Tax Levy Scenarios is <br />to allocate a specific amount of funds to the broader sustainability target. She stated that she <br />was unsure of the applicability of discussing measurement, as they do not apply this level of <br />rigor to discussions of other department initiatives. Assistant City Manager Morello encouraged <br />the Council to reframe their discussion to center on whether they would like the sustainability <br />projects to be a one-year or longer-term goal. <br />Mayor Webster summarized this Levy option as providing funds for the Sustainability <br />Coordinator to perform their job more effectively and achieve more in educating the community. <br />5