The City of Takoma Park (“City”) invites qualified firms to submit proposals to supply the City’s residents, staff, and businesses with 100% renewable energy in an opt-in basis. A contract will be awarded to one or more highly qualified and experienced firm(s) with a strong record of supplying renewable energy for both residential and commercial accounts in the Pepco service territory. Takoma Park will publicize and actively promote the chosen supplier(s) to residents and business.

The City wishes to help residents and businesses switch to 100% renewable energy in an easy, convenient way. The current number of companies offering consumers renewable energy is large, and navigating contract terms, pricing in an unfamiliar market, and overcoming worries about fraud can be difficult barriers for consumers to overcome. By conducting research on rates, business reliability, and contract terms through this RFP, the City will make it easier for people to switch to 100% renewable power with confidence with the selected company(s).

Takoma Park has a deep commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions city wide. The city has long purchased 100% wind electricity through renewable energy credits for its own operations. In 2014 the City adopted a Sustainable Energy Action Plan with seventeen key strategies to reduce emissions. In 2016 the Mayor signed the Global Covenant of Mayors, and in 2017 pledged to uphold the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement.  The City reports the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) annually, and is actively seeking new opportunities to reduce emissions and improve sustainability city-wide

In 2017 Takoma Park won 3rd place in the national Georgetown University Energy Prize competition for reducing energy use. Over 20% of homes in Takoma Park participated in a yearlong Neighborhood Energy Challenge in support of the competition, with over 170 homes earning a Green Home Certification, showing enthusiastic support for energy efficiency.

All electricity accounts in Takoma Park are served by Pepco. In 2015 36,859,651 kWh was consumed by residential accounts, and 55,834,236 kWh was consumed by commercial accounts.

The Takoma Park City Council is stunned and dismayed to learn from Washington Adventist Hospital officials that they are seeking permission from the State to move several key health facilities out of the City that they had pledged would remain on the Takoma Park campus once the acute care hospital moves to its new campus in the White Oak area of Montgomery County in the summer of 2019.

Washington Adventist Hospital officials informed the Mayor and City Council that the hospital has been evaluating the relocation of the inpatient psychiatric hospital and inpatient physical rehabilitation hospital units. This information was shared at a meeting with Mr. Robert Jepson, the Hospital’s Vice President for Business Development, and the Takoma Park City Council and City Manager on January 22 and confirmed by the Adventist Health Care President Terry Forde to Mayor Stewart on January 23^rd.

Mayor Stewart noted that, “In the two years since the Certificate of Need was approved, City staff and my colleagues on the Council met regularly with Washington Adventist Hospital officials to discuss plans for the health campus to be left in Takoma Park. We have lobbied for additional investments in the campus to bolster its financial feasibility, and we jointly were pursuing a feasibility study for an aquatics facility that might be added to the campus. We had no indication that consideration was being given by the hospital to not providing these health services described in the Certificate of Need application.”

If the move is permitted, “Behavioral Health,” the inpatient psychiatric hospital, would likely be merged into the Behavioral Health facility in Rockville, adjacent to Shady Grove Adventist Hospital, and the Rehabilitation Hospital would move to or near the Washington Adventist Hospital White Oak campus currently under construction. At this point, it is not clear to the City what State or County approvals are needed to permit such moves.

Loss of the Behavioral Health unit from Takoma Park is of great concern to City officials and police agencies in and near Takoma Park. More than a dozen police agencies in the area transport persons having mental health crises to the Takoma Park facility. At times, these patients are violent or difficult to control, so a long transport to Rockville from Takoma Park, or from nearby Prince George’s County or Silver Spring, increases the possibility of injury and stress for the patients, families and police officers.

Takoma Park Police Chief Antonio DeVaul expressed his deep concern about the possible move of the Behavioral Health unit from Takoma Park. “Requiring transport of persons having a mental health emergency to Rockville is a step in the opposite direction of best practices for community mental health care. The change in location will be a significant hardship on our Department, putting officers, patients and the public at greater risk. In addition, the increased transportation time will likely require a larger financial commitment by the City for personnel and appropriate transport vehicles.”

If the behavioral and rehabilitation units are moved, it is likely that the supporting laboratory and radiology services would also be discontinued. These services were to be available for outpatient use in Takoma Park under the concept of a health campus that was outlined in the Certificate of Need application that, when approved, allowed Washington Adventist Hospital to begin constructing the White Oak campus.

The remaining elements of the health campus were to include a 24-hour urgent care center, a clinic operated by Community Clinic, Inc. (an entity separate from Washington Adventist Hospital), and a prenatal clinic serving women without health insurance. The urgent care center is specifically required to stay in Takoma Park as a condition of the Certificate of Need approval and hospital officials reported that they are currently planning for the urgent care center on the campus. Given what may be left on the campus, it is not clear if the community clinic or the prenatal clinic will stay at the site.

City officials also learned at the January 22 meeting that a financial feasibility study commissioned by the hospital shows that a Freestanding Medical Facility would not be affordable for the hospital, and therefore, the hospital will not pursue a stand-alone emergency facility.

The zoning of the hospital property in Takoma Park is R-60, single-family residential. The Washington Adventist Hospital was allowed to use the site via a Special Exception. Without a hospital on site, a zoning change would be required for almost any use other than single family residential development.

In December 2015, in a media statement issued when the Certificate of Need was approved, President Wangsness stated: “Washington Adventist Hospital will continue to be an integral part of the Takoma Park community as it has for 108 years. When the acute hospital services relocate to White Oak in 2019, we will still provide a robust array of health services on our Takoma Park campus, including a 24-hour urgent care center, behavioral health services, physical rehabilitation services, a Federally Qualified Healthcare Center operated in conjunction with Community Clinic Incorporated, and Women’s Health Center. We will work closely with the City in identifying possible other services and facilities that will create a vibrant community health campus in this location.”

In response to the news delivered by the hospital this week, City Manager Suzanne Ludlow stated, “The fears that Takoma Park have had since the hospital first announced its plan to move, may now be coming to pass: no acute care hospital, the loss of the City’s major employer, no health facilities left on the Takoma Park campus for our community, and potentially a vacant unattractive site left in the heart of our community.”

The Takoma Park City Council will continue to pursue information on the plans under consideration by Adventist HealthCare and Washington Adventist Hospital.

Stewart noted, “Takoma Park has many critical needs. We need health facilities to serve those in our community who cannot easily travel for their care. I want to assure the public that we will do everything we possibly can to ensure the property remains a valuable asset meeting the vital needs of the Takoma Park community.”

For more information about the Washington Adventist Hospital relocation, please visit the project page.

For questions or media inquires:

Jeremy Dickey, Media Specialist

jeremyd@takomaparkmd.gov

301.891.7236 (office) or 202.870.9573 (mobile)

In November, the Department of Homeland Security announced its intention to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for persons from Haiti and Nicaragua, and today announced the same for individuals from El Salvador.

The City of Takoma Park condemns the ending of TPS for some 200,000 El Salvadoran immigrants throughout our region and reaffirms our values as a welcoming and inclusive community for all who call Takoma Park home.

During the 1980s, local churches began offering sanctuary to thousands of refugees fleeing civil wars in El Salvador and Guatemala. It was that display of compassion and activism that led to an ordinance in 1985 officially designating Takoma Park a “Sanctuary City.”

This 30-year commitment still stands today. As a city, we believe that approaching issues such as immigration with compassion and empathy are key to building strong, inclusive and healthy communities. “Those members of our community now being targeted are our neighbors and friends,” said Mayor Kate Stewart. “As elected officials it is our responsibility and moral imperative to raise our voices and join together for those who need it the most.”

This Wednesday, the City Council will vote on a resolution to “Call on Congress to Extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Current Countries and Establish a Pathway to Permanent Residency for TPS and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Recipients.”

We understand that it is a difficult time for members of our community and their families. We hear you and we are with you. Here are two resources that may be able to provide additional support and legal advice:

• Charles W. Gilchrist Immigrant Resource Center
• Montgomery County Legal Immigration Service Providers

Georgetown University Energy Prize brought together 50 communities that competed in a two-year competition to increase energy efficiency, reduce municipal and household energy budgets, and create replicable, nationwide models

Takoma Park, Maryland, (December 18, 2017) –  The city of Takoma Park, Maryland, tied for third place in the final round of the Georgetown University Energy Prize (GUEP), a two-year, nationwide competition that brought together 50 communities in rethinking the way America’s small- to medium-sized towns, cities, and counties use energy.

In the final round, 10 top performing cities and counties were evaluated on their energy-saving approach, performance, and prospects for nationwide replicability and scalability.

The city of Fargo, North Dakota, took first place, while Fort Collins, Colorado, placed second and the city of Bellingham, Washington, tied for third with Takoma Park. The cities of Chula Vista, California, and Walla Walla, Washington, performed best overall in terms of the absolute reduction of energy use.

“Community-based initiatives are rising to the forefront of our national conversation about sustainability,” said Energy Prize executive director Uwe Brandes. “The communities that have participated in this competition have invented and implemented new approaches to reduce energy consumption and on that journey they have saved money and provided new leadership models for other communities to act.”

Over the last month a panel of judges representing academia and industry evaluated each community’s approach to innovative, replicable, and scalable energy efficiency programs. The 10 finalist communities were scored in weighted categories, including innovation; potential for replication; likely future performance; equitable access, community and stakeholder engagement; education; and overall quality and success. The winner was selected based on a combination of energy performance scores and the creation and advancement of new best practices over the course of the two-year energy-saving period.

“Takoma Park built a robust program with high levels of community engagement, including direct involvement of Mayor Stewart and city council members in The Neighborhood Energy Challenge,” said Brandes, who prior to joining Georgetown was Senior Vice President of the Urban Land Institute and is now faculty director of the master’s program in Urban and Regional Planning at Georgetown. “Gina Mathias, Sustainability Manager for City of Takoma Park, worked tirelessly to ensure city residents were engaged in rethinking the way they use energy.”

During the competition, Takoma Park saved almost 101 billion BTUs of energy, and reduced carbon emissions by 5,364 metric tons. Takoma Park achieved remarkably high levels of residential participation with its “The Neighborhood Energy Challenge.” This competition within the competition engaged all 18 of Takoma Park’s neighborhoods, and 22% of all housing units (single and multi-family) completed, at minimum, an entry level energy assessment with installs including CFLs, LEDs, faucet aerators, shower heads, pipe insulation, and smart power strips. Their fun and quirky marketing campaigns, featuring viral videos, festivals, and “tiny home” workshops, led to effective and educational outreach strategies that made them a leader in community engagement.

The Energy Prize released the complete set of data and calculations which document the overall energy reduction achieved by each of the cities that completed the competition. This comprehensive data is available on its website www.guep.org. Leading up to the final stage of the competition, communities were ranked by overall energy score, which quantified each community’s energy-saving performance during the 2015 and 2016 competition years. The score measured the percentage by which a community reduced energy against its 2013 and 2014 use. The overall energy score comprised 10 percent of the final qualitative evaluation. The 10 finalist communities ranked by overall energy score follow:

Since 2014, 50 cities and counties across the U.S. have worked to reduce their energy consumption through engagement in the competition. At the end of 2016, these communities had collectively saved 11.5 trillion BTUs of energy, reducing their carbon emissions by an estimated 2.76 million metric tons—the equivalent of taking one car off the road for every 30 minutes of the competition—and saving nearly $100 million from municipal and household energy budgets.

“The evaluation panel was thoroughly impressed with the deeply thoughtful and creative approach so many communities took throughout the competition,” said Brandes. “Each realized substantial savings and brought greater attention to this important issue, proving that small- and medium-sized communities across the United States are in the position to design and promote innovative strategies and further national and international conversations about energy use.”

“Their ingenuity and effective performance show us what is possible and will serve as valuable models for other communities seeking to innovate their practices. They have a lot of lessons to teach us all,” said Brandes.

About Georgetown University Energy Prize

The Georgetown University Energy Prize aimed to rethink America’s energy use by harnessing the ingenuity and community spirit of towns and cities all across America. From 2013 – 2017, the Prize has challenged small- to medium-sized towns, cities, and counties to rethink their energy use, and implement creative strategies to increase efficiency. Throughout the competition, local governments, residents, utilities, and other community leaders worked together to demonstrate success in sustainably reducing energy consumption. For more information, visit www.guep.org.

We know you’re excited for the weekend, but we want you to be ready for the expected snow! To report slippery conditions, and other non-emergency weather related concerns in Takoma Park please call the Takoma Park Police Department at 301-270-1100. If it’s an emergency situation, call 911. Our Public Works crews are prepared and will monitor the snowfall. Have a fun and safe weekend!