Burlingame electrification projects get specific

Burlingame received over half a million for clean energy projects through the program and some has already been spent, Sustainability Program Manager Sigalle Michael said.

Rebates for electric leaf blowers after the City Council’s ban on gas-powered leaf blowers went info effect in June are costing the city $40,000. The program has been popular, Michael said, with over 60 applicants and $7,000 already spent.

Another $170,000 of the grant money went to new electric landscaping equipment for city staff, who were ready to make large-scale purchases to electrify their fleet, she said.

But funding remains, Michael said, proposing a variety of options for the City Council to choose from, including electric vehicle charging stations at parks, bringing induction cooktops to schools and the electrification of city buildings.

Installation of eight charging ports at the corporation yard for a future electric fleet of city vehicles, which will be needed to comply with the state’s all-electric regulations on municipal vehicles by 2040, was another popular potential project for councilmembers. Staff requests $175,000 for that project.

“Since transportation is such a huge greenhouse gas portion from a climate impact, I would certainly put priority on anything that touches that transportation thread, [it’s] probably well worth the investment,” Vice Mayor Peter Stevenson said.

It’s likely the City Council won’t be moving forward with increasing electric vehicle charging stations at parks at this time, however.

“I would just strike EV charging at parks,” Councilmember Michael Brownrigg said. “As somebody who looks for charging … at this point I don’t even consider city infrastructure because it’s so poor, and I just think we’re always going to be playing catch-up with the private sector.”

The city is looking into studying where to place electric vehicle charging in locations with the most power, rather than basing development on repaving or vendor interest, Michael said. But a majority of councilmembers seemed to agree the remaining $320,000 could be better spent elsewhere.

One of those places is in electrification of municipal buildings — including Burlingame’s Village Preschool and Easton Library. Concerns were raised that the library might not have the existing infrastructure to handle the installation of water heat pumps. But the preschool, which also already has an electric water heater, could be a prime target for the energy-efficient heat pump system, which uses electricity to transfer heat from cool to warm spaces.

“To the extent that we can do a demonstration for our homeowners and business owners about heat pumps, I think we’ll get a lot more climate bang for the buck. Even for the induction stove tops, heat pumps are so amazing and so few people understand them,” Brownrigg said.

Should the project be successful, the city could likely apply for separate PCE electrification grants to tackle the library while using the preschool as a successful example, Mayor Donna Colson suggested.

PCE Community Advisory Committee member and City Council candidate Desiree Thayer noted that Burlingame could also sell the idea of the library functioning as a cooling center in the summer if heat pumps were installed due to their air conditioning capabilities.

“We could make the argument that could be a cooling center for resiliency purposes for anyone in the neighborhood, especially elders,” she said.

Michael also broached the idea of two separate grant programs: one, $10,000 for induction cooktops for schools, which she said was brought to her and Colson by high schoolers who “wanted to make a difference.”

The other would build on green business certifications gaining traction in Burlingame, particularly on Broadway. Spearheaded by local business leader John Kevranian and high schooler Anjuli Mishra, businesses have become increasingly empowered to meet requirements like efficient water systems and LED use, something with which a $10,000 grant program could further assist.

The city could combine the two into a general, $20,000 green mini-grant for schools and businesses of all kinds, Colson — who is chair of the PCE Board of Directors — suggested.

“Combining those two gives you a little flexibility — if you only get a few thousand in cooktops you can use the rest for mini-grants,” she said.

She also suggested an electric bike program based on a successful PCE initiative that would give Burlingame youth a certificate with a certain amount of money to go toward purchase of a class one e-bike. An equity element could also prioritize low-income children who might not otherwise be able to afford the bike, Colson suggested.

“If you can get 500 kids on bikes going to school and get 500 cars off the road driving kids to school, that would do a lot to reduce traffic, congestion, idling and start to develop a culture of safe biking in our city,” she said.

Public commenters also broached the idea of adding e-bikes for city employees.

Michael will take the direction given by the council and work with PCE and other stakeholders to come up with the most cost-effective way to implement the proposed projects.

holly@smdailyjournal.com

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