City Gleanings: Councillor attends AMO/LAS workshops
City of Brockville / Operations Committee Agenda, 19 January 2010
Councillor Noble attended a series of "Town Hall" seminars offered by AMO/LAS and will be reporting to the Operations Committee at its meeting on January 19. These AMO seminars are offered to Ontario municipal staff and representatives as "a chance to learn how to leverage our experience, programs, and leadership so you can do more for your municipality". Of particular interest here are the sessions in energy planning, solar PV, and an update on the Federal Gas Tax program.
9:00 - 10:15 am – Monitor Energy and Plan to Succeed with LAS’ EMTand Energy Management Planning Tool
We will introduce our new Energy Planning Tool (EPT) and outline how it will help your organization meet the regular reporting requirements outlined in the Green Energy Act. We will also demonstrate our successful Energy Management Tool (EMT) and discuss how this web-based software can help municipalities of all sizes save money through active monitoring and benchmarking of electricity, natural gas, and water accounts. The tool can also help municipalities meet corporate environmental stewardship goals including GHG reductions.
10:30 — 11:15 am — Leveraging the Green Energy Act - LAS Solar Photovoltaic Project
LAS now offers a turnkey renewable energy project solution to all interested municipalities. Discover how the installation of solar PV arrays on an existing municipal facility can provide a long-term revenue source for your organization by selling green energy into the Ontario electricity grid. This program also provides a great opportunity to educate your community about the benefits of sustainability and green power.
11:15 — 12:00 pm — LAS Natural Gas and Electricity Program
More than 160 municipalities take part in the LAS Electricity and Natural Gas Procurement Programs. This session will provide current members with an update of both programs (including program savings), and will also provide an overview of program benefits and the enrollment process for municipalities that do not yet participate.
1:00 — 2:00 pm - Municipal Information & Data Analysis System (MIDAS)
Learn about recent upgrade to MIDAS, including the integration of the graphic/reports and mapping sections, and the incorporation of Microsoft’s Virtual Earth into the GIS software. MIDAS is a webbased query and analysis tool that converts raw Financial Information Return (FIR) data into meaningful reports, graphic presentations, thematic mapping, and cartographic printing. MIDAS is a tool that can benefit all municipalities as it makes municipal benchmarking convenient and fast.
2:00 — 3:00 pm - Federal Gas Tax Program Update
This update will advise you of the relevant changes to the Federal Gas Tax funding arrangement for the period of 2010 to 2014, and will provide an update on the focus and purpose of the program going forward. Hear about some progressive projects that are helping municipalities undertake solid, informed infrastructure financial planning.
According to the Minutes of the Operations Committee meeting held January 19, "This matter was deferred" although Councillor Noble was present at the meeting.