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Sustainability Manager Updates
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The ESB receives routine updates from the Sustainability Manager.
1. The October Sustainability Newsletter highlighted ways to reduce food waste and highlighted the pumpkin dumpster set at Fuller Lodge to collect pumpkins. Subscriber numbers increased from 95 to 99.
2. Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure
a. The County is working on deployment of six Level 2 - EV Chargers at Municipal Building to serve County fleet and the community.
i. The ChargePoint amendment was approved by Board of Public Utilities on April 2 and County Council on April 8.
ii. The County Council approved the construction task order on July 8, 2025. Construction will begin by August 2025.
iii. The kickoff meeting with R&M construction was held on Thursday, August 14. R&M will provide a project schedule based on equipment lead times and obtaining permits.
iv. September 5 - R&M received permits from NM CID. We are awaiting the project schedule. The contractor is investigating lead times for the vault box that is needed for the project.
v. October 13 - Construction began and is estimated to be complete November 21st.
b. Los Alamos County applied for the NMDOT DC Fast Charging Grant and has received official notification of award. The project will install two DC Fast Chargers at Mesa Public Library, with each charging port providing a minimum of 150 kW.
i. September 30 - Council approved grant agreement and passed a Resolution.
3. Fleet Conversion and Community-Wide EV Charging Plan
a. The County had the kick-off meeting for the Fleet Conversion and Community-wide EV Charging Plan.
b. County Council received an overview on March 25th and BPU on April 2nd.
c. Stantec met with Public Works and Community Services Department on May 12 to understand vehicle utilization.
d. Community Visioning Meeting was held May 12 in Council Chambers and virtually.
e. The survey opened on May 28, 2025, and closed on July 31, 2025.
f. Stantec conducted site visits on July 10th and 11th on County property to understand feasibility, identifying potential EV charging locations and reviewing electric capacity.
g. Staff reviewed modeling for Fleet Conversion. An update on the study will be presented to ESB, BPU, Council and a Community meeting in October 2025.
4. Education and Outreach
a. Finalizing scope of work to provide climate action marketing and engagement services for the community. The Request for Proposals was advertised on April 29th, and a preproposal meeting was held on May 7th.
b. The County received 11 proposals; the evaluation committee is in the process of reviewing proposals.
c. County Council approved the agreement with Modern Entrepreneur Firebrand Creative on October 7. Next steps are to host a kickoff meeting with the committee.
5. Energy Audits
a. Staff will begin developing scope of work for energy audit services. This is the time for the working group members to provide assistance. If you’re still interested in serving on this working group, please let me know.
6. Municipal food composting program is on hold; the County is currently working through logistics.
7. Events - Volunteers Needed
a. Past - Thank you to all volunteers!
i. Clean Up LA Day - September 20th
b. Upcoming
i. Create holiday ornaments from recycled materials - due December 1st.
ii. Eco Club: Oct. 27 to Nov. 7: Drop off clothing donations at the front desk. Help needed from ESB: advertise to the community to attract donations.
iii. Eco Club: Nov. 20: Sort and set up for the sale (times TBD). Help needed from ESB: Come help sort and set up. Requires a background check and volunteer badge.
iv. Eco Club: Nov. 21 (11:14-12pm) and Nov. 22 (AM, time TBD): Clothing sale. Help needed from ESB: Staff the sale, carry out an activity with a prize. Requires a background check and volunteer badge.
v. Eco Club: Nov. 22 (after the sale): Help needed from ESB: Load up excess donations
Attachments
A - Residential Sustainability Report - September 2025