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Takoma Park Places Third in Nationwide Competition Aimed at Creating Innovative Solutions for Reducing Energy Consumption

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:

1.     Chula Vista, California (-9.5450)

2.     Walla Walla, Washington  (-9.1141)

3.     Takoma Park, Maryland  (-7.8790)

4.     Fargo, North Dakota  (-6.8472)

5.     Fort Collins, Colorado  (-6.0757)

6.     Berkeley, California  (-4.7207)

7.     Oberlin, Ohio  (-4.5536)

8.     Bellingham, Washington  (-4.4243)

9.     Montpelier, Vermont  (-4.2793)

10.  Bellevue, Washington  (-4.2333)

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.

Winter Weather Possible

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!

Voter Turnout and List of Write-in Votes for the 2017 City Election

Voter Turnout – November 7, 2017 City Election

Registered Maryland VotersRegistered Takoma Park-only VotersTotal Registered Voters*Voted Turnout
Ward 1231630234649120.9%
Ward 2220331223586638.7%
Ward 3229525232045920.2%
Ward 41511100161118114.8%
Ward 5140343144621414.8%
Ward 61626117174329817.1%
Total1135434711701258122%

* The number of registered voters above includes same day registration voters.

Turnout for 16/17 Year Old Voters

PreregisteredRegistered Same Day Total RegisteredTotal Voted
Ward 1174217
Ward 227123927
Ward 32082815
Ward 485135
Ward 5133165
Ward 6147217
Total993913866

*16/17 year old voters are included in the overall turnout.

Write-ins (first choice only)

Council Mayor
WARD 1Write-In (20) for CouncilWARD 1Write-In (23) for Mayor
1Alice Sims2Betsy Taylor
1Barbara Whitney1Denny May
1Betsy Taylor1Diane Curran
1Dick O’Connor1Donald Trump
2Emma Rose Borzekowski1Nobody
1Jonah Bregstone1Peter Kovar
3Lorraine Pearsall1Sam Abbott
1Marilyn Abbott3Seth Grimes
1No Big Dig10Sue Katz Miller
1Nobody1Takoma Park Co-Op
1None of the Above1Terry Seamens
3Seth Grimes
3Takoma Park Co-Op
20Subtotal, Ward 1 Council23Subtotal, Ward 1 Mayor

 

WARD 2Write -In (2) for CouncilWARD 2Write-In (33) for Mayor
1Cole Gilbert1Alex Marsell
1Tim Male1Bernie Sanders
3Catherine Tunis
1Chris Simpson
1Cindy Dyballa
1Cole Gilbert
1Co-Op
1Cynthia Terrell
1Donald Duck
1Ed Sharp
1Joe Edgell
1Maurice Grant
2Molly King
1Nadine Bloch
1Neil Gorsuch
1None of the Above
1Not Kate
1Ozzy Osbourne
1Paul Hewett-Mary
1Rino Aldrighetti
1Roger Schlegel
4Sue Katz-Miller
3Tim Male
1Tom Littlefield
1Wade Jennings
2Subtotal, Ward 2 Council33Subtotal, Ward 2 Mayor
WARD 3Write-In (30) for CouncilWARD 3Write-In (35) for Mayor
1Brian Ernst1BruceWilliams
1Byrne Kelly1Byrne Kelly
1Daniel Ruiz1Carolyn James
1Danielle Veith1Daniel Ruiz
1Doug Disrud1Debbie Gay
1Eloise Lindblom1Diane Curran
1Emily Van Loon1Fanny Lou Hamer
1Jeffrey Noel-Nosbaum1Green space + Grocery Store , not a dense dev of Junction lot
1Joe Uehlein1Hillary Clinton
1Lacey Logsdon1James Sexton Byrne
1Michael Graul1Michael Kempel
1Michael Koempel1Mickey Mouse
2Nadine Bloch1No one
1Nancy Glass1No Preference
1No one1Nola
1No Preference1None of the Above
1Nola1Other
1None of the Above1Roger Schlegel
1Rhonda Kranz1Someone who will stand up to the Co-Op
1Roger Schlegel14Sue Katz Miller
1Someone who will stand up to the Co-Op1Takoma Park Co-Op
5Sue Katz Miller1Tim Male
2Takoma Park Co-Op
1Talish Searcy
30Subtotal, Ward 3 Council35Subtotal, Ward 3 Mayor
WARD 4Write-In (9) for CouncilWARD 4Write-In (2) for Mayor
1Arthur David Olson1James M. George
1Holly Ann Freso-Moore1Kathy Porter
1James Major George
2Jarrett Smith
1Jonathan Anderson-Taylor
1Kate Stewart
1Tamara Robinson
1Vineda Myers
9Subtotal, Ward 4 Council2Subtotal, Ward 4 Mayor
WARD 5Write-In (0) for CouncilWARD 5Write-In (8) for Mayor
01Haywood Jablome
1Katz Miller
1Kinky Friedman
1Mark Rupp
2Mike Tabor
1Ron Paul
1Terry Seamens
0Subtotal, Ward 5 Council8Subtotal, Ward 5 Mayor
WARD 6Write-In (1) for CouncilWARD 6Write-In (12) for Mayor
1Kathie1Competition
1Janee Max
1Jose Issac Lava
1Mickey Mouse
1Molly King
1No Vote – Not Happy
1Prabrakar Cherukuri
1Praveen Raveendran Pillai
1Sammie Abbott
1Sterling Archer
1Taco Bell
1Walter Sobchek
1Subtotal, Ward 6 Council12Subtotal, Ward 6 Mayor
ALL WARDSWrite-In for CouncilALL WARDSWrite-in for Mayor
Ward 120Ward 123
Ward 22Ward 233
Ward 330Ward 335
Ward 49Ward 42
Ward 50Ward 58
Ward 61Ward 612
Total62Total113

 

Takoma Park is one of 10 Finalists in National Competition for Energy Savings

Georgetown University Energy Prize recognizes top performing communities for increasing energy efficiency, reducing municipal and household energy budgets 

WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 21, 2017) – Takoma Park, Maryland, is among 10 cities and counties that have advanced to the final round of the Georgetown University Energy Prize (GUEP), a national competition to rethink the way America’s small- to medium-sized towns, cities, and counties use energy. Takoma Park has already saved almost 101 billion BTUs of energy, and reduced carbon emissions by 5,364 metric tons.

Today, the Energy Prize announced the 10 communities who have advanced to the final round of the competition. Takoma Park is among the highest performing communities in the nationwide, multi-year competition based on total energy savings per household. In December, a panel of judges representing academia and industry will evaluate each community’s approach to innovative, replicable, scalable energy efficiency programs and will select a winning community based on a combination of energy performance scores and the advancement of new best practices over the course of the two-year energy-saving period.  The final stage of the Energy Prize will be led by Uwe Brandes, faculty director of the master’s program in Urban and Regional Planning at Georgetown.

“Takoma Park is at the forefront of a nationwide competition to bring together communities with a shared goal of reducing energy consumption,” said Energy Prize executive director Uwe Brandes. “Our ten finalists have achieved impressive energy savings and reduced municipal and household energy budgets. They serve as models for other communities across our country and have offered innovative energy-saving strategies that can be replicated and scaled.”

“Takoma Park has worked hard during the competition to engage residents across our community and our city government to develop and implement projects that any community in the country can adapt and replicate,” said Mayor Kate Stewart. “I am extremely proud of the real results we have achieved, and even more excited by what we can learn from other communities to accomplish greater reductions in energy use city-wide in the coming years”

Since 2014, 50 cities and counties across the U.S. have worked to reduce their energy consumption. 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.

To reduce their energy consumption, the communities:

  • implemented bold new local policies on energy-transparency, energy-savings, and clean energy technology;
  • conducted deep data-mining of their energy use and community infrastructure;
  • focused on increasing energy efficiency in neighborhoods with high energy use in all income brackets;
  • created novel financing mechanisms to enable their residents to invest in new energy upgrades; and
  • used radically unique approaches to support behavior change, including gamification and the latest methods in social science research to help their communities rethink how they use energy.

“This is a national effort, so participants were encouraged to find solutions that were likely to yield continuing improvements within their own communities and also inspire replication in other communities,” said Brandes, who prior to joining Georgetown was Senior Vice President of the Urban Land Institute. “Takoma Park should be commended for their tremendous efforts and creative contributions to reduce energy consumption and innovate new best practices.”

The following 10 communities have been selected to advance to the final phase of the Georgetown University Energy Prize:

  1. Chula Vista, CA
  2. Walla Walla, WA
  3. Takoma Park, MD
  4. Fargo, ND
  5. Fort Collins, CO
  6. Berkeley, CA
  7. Oberlin, OH
  8. Bellingham, WA
  9. Montpelier, VT
  10. Bellevue, WA

In December, the Energy Prize Judging Panel will review final reports about each community’s energy-saving plan, performance, and future prospects. The final reports, submitted by the communities in November, will be 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 Energy Prize Judging Panel will select a winning community  based on the combination of these scores and the results of the two-year energy-saving period.

The winning community will be recognized in December and provided with a prize package that includes support toward $5 million in financing for an energy efficiency dream project, as well as workshops and education opportunities for the winning community.

About Georgetown University Energy Prize

The Georgetown University Energy Prize aims 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.

For more information contact:

Jeremy Dickey, Media Specialist

301.891.7236

JeremyD@takomaparkmd.gov

Traffic & Parking Disruptions at Community Center Parking Lot and Grant Avenue

There will be a number of projects beginning later this week that will impact the flow of traffic and parking at and around the Community Center. The first event is milling the back parking lot (near Philadelphia Avenue), as well as on Grant Avenue between the Community Center and the school. This work is scheduled to begin on November 3 and will take about 10 days. Once the milling is complete, paving will begin in these same areas. We expect that will occur the week of November 13.

In order to cause as little disruption as possible during high traffic times, it is our intention to have the contractors stop major work at 3pm, before school lets out. In addition to this work, much of the back parking lot will be closed during the day on November 9, as contractors will be installing two new HVAC rooftop units, which requires the use of a large crane.

We appreciate your understanding and patience for the duration of these projects.

Application for Youth Council Advisor

The Takoma Park City Council is seeking an adult volunteer to serve as the Advisor to the Takoma Park Youth Council. The Youth Council Advisor will work directly with the Youth Council to plan and coordinate meetings, guide and help prepare the Youth Council in its activities, encourage and empower Youth Council members in building their communication and leadership skills, and to facilitate their decision-making processes without controlling their decisions. The Youth Council Advisor will attend all meetings of the Youth Council.

If you are interested as serving as the Youth Council Advisor, please follow the link to submit an application.

Takoma Park Receives Sustainable Maryland Certified Award and is 2017 “Sustainability Champion”

The City of Takoma Park is proud to announce that it has achieved recertification for its sustainability efforts and has been named Sustainability Champion 2017.

Takoma Park accumulated 650 points, 500 above the minimum requirement of 150 and completed the mandatory priority actions necessary for certification. Priority actions consisted of implementing a community garden, performing municipal energy audits, developing a municipal carbon footprint, passing a green purchasing policy, creating a watershed plan, and developing a stormwater management program.

“Takoma Park is thrilled to receive the Sustainable Maryland Certified award for our commitment and hard work to maintaining and creating a livable community for all who live, work, and visit our beautiful city,” said Mayor Kate Stewart.

Takoma Park has been a pioneer of sustainable initiatives in Maryland. The City is fully committed to the idea of acting locally while thinking globally. If we all do our part on the local level, we will ensure that generations have a healthy planet to call home.

 

Takoma Junction Redevelopment: Project Update

During last week’s City Council meeting, Neighborhood Development Company (NDC) presented the design concept plan for the Takoma Junction Redevelopment project. The presentation provided an overview of the plan and highlighted some exciting proposed features including:

  • underground parking
  • retail, office, and event spaces
  • emphasis on access and mobility
  • public/gathering space
  • incorporation of green space, including a large green roof

NDC did a nice job of incorporating many of the features which residents identified from community conversations and the online survey into the concept plan.

Moving forward, City Council will hold a work session to discuss the concept plan further during the October 11 City Council Meeting. Additionally, Council will hold a voting session expressing the sense of the Council regarding the Takoma Junction Redevelopment concept plan on October 18.

As always, public engagement is encouraged and we invite members of the public to join us at 7:30 p.m. on most Wednesday’s for our City Council Meetings.

For a complete overview of the Takoma Junction Redevelopment project please take a moment to view the project page.

Suburban Deer Management Presentation

Members of the public are invited to a discussion on suburban deer management on October 16 at 7:00 pm in the auditorium of the Community Center (7500 Maple Ave).  George Timko, Deer Management Expert from Maryland DNR, will conduct the presentation. The presentation will last about 30 minutes and will conclude with a Q&A session. For questions please contact Rick Baravechia at duaneb@takomaparkmd.gov.