CANTON - Canton is hiring a consultant to assess how the city can reduce its environmental impact and take advantage of some federal sustainability grants.
Canton City Council on Monday unanimously agreed to hire California-based Nutter Consulting for $132,530 to develop a climate action and sustainability plan, which would include an analysis of the city's current initiatives as well as goals and action steps the city can take.
The legislation was sponsored by council members John Mariol II, Ward 7; Robert Fisher, Ward 5; Richard Sacco, Ward 8; Crystal Smith, at-large; and Brenda Kimbrough, Ward 2. Mariol and Smith were absent from Monday's meeting.
Mariol said in an interview with the Canton Repository last week that the consultant's plan is the next step in Canton's efforts to go green.
"We're doing this so we can stay ahead of the curve and not be behind," Mariol said. "Green energy is the future. We might not have oil fields under our feet, but if we can become a player in the green energy sector, we have to position ourselves for that. It means jobs, lower utility bills and efficiency in government energy usage. And it's important that we do our part to save the climate."
Council in March purchased the city's first electric vehicle and approved replacing the lights at City Hall, the Southeast Community Center and the City Service Center with energy-efficient LED lighting. The city installed four public EV charging stations in 2021, joined the Power a Clean Future Ohio coalition in 2022, and hired a consultant to assess its vehicle fleet and buildings for energy improvements.
Federal officials earlier this year cited Canton's lack of a plan to reduce carbon emissions as a primary reason they didn't award the city a federal grant for its Tuscarawas Street W reconstruction project, according to city officials.
Mariol said the consultant's plan will help the city take advantage of the millions of grant dollars that federal lawmakers included for climate sustainability as part of the federal Inflation Reduction Act.
He also said the plan will include a public outreach component to help Canton residents learn about the grant opportunities that are geared toward residents with low to moderate incomes to help them make their homes more energy efficient and lower their utility bills.
"It's essentially free money that can make a big difference for a lot of people," he said.
Mariol also wants council to incorporate the consultant's recommendations into the city's comprehensive plan, which council adopted in 2016 and is the overarching plan that guides leaders on where and how to invest city resources. Mayor William V. Sherer II, who has publicly supported Stark Solar's proposed utility-scale solar energy system in Washington Township, has been discussing amending the comprehensive plan to include more neighborhood improvement projects.
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Canton will pay Nutter Consulting using money from its comprehensive plan fund, which receives 60% of the money generated by a half-percent sales tax increase that voters approved in 2018.
The comprehensive plan, which recommended Canton invest in six core neighborhoods, doesn't specifically discuss climate action or environmental sustainability.
Finance Director Mark Crouse said the consultant's fee still is an eligible expense for multiple reasons. He said the comprehensive plan called for the Canton Planning Department to be created and gave it broad authority to suggest policies the city should adopt. The Planning Department will oversee the consultant's recommendations.
Crouse said the sustainability plan also will help the city become more efficient, which is a goal stated throughout the comprehensive plan that calls for less city infrastructure. He believes the consultant's plan also will help the city determine ways to help residents invest in their properties, which follows the comprehensive plan's stated goals to invest in city neighborhoods.
Reach Repository staff writer Kelli Weir at 330-580-8339 or [email protected].