This report provides an update to the Ad Hoc Sustainability Committee on the work of the County’s Sustainability Coordinator since the Committee last met on March 26, 2018. Key activities during this period are listed below.

• Hosted internal kickoff meeting for the Renewable Resource Potential Study at the end of March and working regularly with Meister Consultants. We will hold a first stakeholder meeting on May 24, 10:30 - 12:00. If there are individuals or organizations the Supervisors would like us to invite, please let us know.
• Continued collaborating with the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) on funding to support development of an Electric Vehicle Readiness Blueprint. CCTA was notified in early April that they did not receive the California Energy Commission (CEC) grant. The Contra Costa application was ranked fourth for the Northern California Region, and the CEC is making only three awards in each of the three regions. The Contra Costa application scored higher than some of the winning proposals in other regions. CCTA expects to hear about the CalTrans grant in May.
• Supported the Sustainability Commission by working on the agenda for a retreat, facilitating the April meeting of the Commission, and facilitating a meeting for Sustainability Commission members with Public Works staff who are developing a polystyrene (Stryofoam) ban. The April meeting included a status report from MCE and a presentation on the North Richmond Urban Greening and Resiliency project.
• Received notification that the County has been selected as a host for a CivicSpark Fellow for the 2018-2019 Service Year. The Civic Spark Fellow will be sponsored by the Health Services Department and the Department of Conservation and Development.
• Advertised vacancy in the Education, At-Large seat on the Sustainability Commission, and reviewed applications received by the deadline of April 24. The Ad Hoc Committee on Sustainability will interview candidates at this May 7 meeting.
• Initiated discussion with public information officers in other County departments regarding a countywide communication strategy on sustainability, as directed by the Ad Hoc Committee on Sustainability at its March meeting. The Sustainability Coordinator is participating in a newly formed working group of the Urban Sustainability Directors Network (USDN) on community engagement; the USDN group is well-timed to inform the work in Contra Costa County.
• Participated in Earth Day events hosted by the Pittsburg Unified School District and Cal State East Bay, Concord campus.
• Submitted letters of interest to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District for two proposals for Climate Protection Grants, one in the Reducing GHGs from Existing Buildings category and one in the Innovative Strategies category. The proposals are due May 11.
• Collaborated with County staff working on topics including land use and transportation, hazardous materials, green business program, economic development, Planning Integration Team for Community Health (PITCH), codes, solid waste, energy.
• Participated in regional activities.