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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 08.14.2018 - Informal Generated 8/29/2018 10:13 AM SUSTAINABILITY DISTRICT ST. LUCIE COUNTY, FLORIDA Informal Meeting August 14, 2018 Convened: 10:41 AM Adjourned: 11:47 AM CALL TO ORDER - COMMISSIONER TOWNSEND, VICE-CHAIR SUSTAINABILITY DISTRICT Chairman Bartz arrived late due to jury duty. Attendee Name Title Status Arrived Linda Bartz District No. 3, Chair Late 11:13 AM Cathy Townsend District No. 5, Vice-Chair Present 9:00 AM Chris Dzadovsky District No. 1 Present 9:00 AM Anthony Bonna District No. 2 Present 9:00 AM Frannie Hutchinson District No. 4 Present 9:00 AM Alice Sennott Deputy Clerk Present 9:00 AM DISCUSSION ITEMS Solar Energy Loan Fund (SELF) Background and Inland Funding Agreement Extension County Attorney Dan McIntyre presented a background on the SELF (Solar & Energy Loan Fund) program. It was implemented with a grant; the grant expired but the county continued with the PACE program and initiated an agreement with SELF to administer the program. SELF continues to renew every two years. It renewed in July of this year for an additional two years. He noted that the County can terminate without cause with 90 days notice. The County also entered into an agreement with Inland, a PACE lender for commercial and multifamily properties. This agreement has a maturity date of Sept 1 2018, and so Board will need to decide if they want to let Inland continue. He stated that other residential PACE providers are permitted to come in to St. Lucie County (pending Board approval). Informal Meeting Tuesday, August 14, 2018 9:01 AM 2 | P a g e The County Attorney noted that the original process did not go as anticipated, primarily because of conflicts between PACE requirements and FREDDIE and FANNIE loans. He suggested that the Board consider its options going forward: they could decide not to continue with PACE; they could open up additional providers for residential properties; they could decide not to extend the loan agreement with Inland and open it up to other lenders; or they could keep what they currently have, which is an exclusive provider for non-residential multi-family, and open it up additional providers for residential PACE. P.A.C.E. Program Expansion The County Attorney stated that if the Board wants to admit other PACE providers, he suggested putting out an RFP to vet the program providers and looking at other municipalities for examples. He noted that the challenge will be in the contract administration piece (contract management). Barbara Guettler, MSBU Coordinator, explained about SELF and noted that even though SELF handles the administration, it is still a lot of work on the county side. She noted that if the county opens it up, it will need to decide how to handle the additional work. Commssioner Dzadovsky discussed the pros of keeping SELF as the sole provider and made it clear that he feels the system works well as is and he does not support changing it. The Board and staff discussed permitting additional residential PACE providers, the cost to the county of managing multiple providers, and the pros and cons of additional new providers to the county residents. Erin Dadee (phonetic), an attorney who works on legal and structural aspects of PACE programs and currently does work for Renew Financial (a PACE provider), gave an overview of how multi-provider PACE works in other jurisdictions. Commissioner Dzadovsky and the Renew Financial attorney discussed particular aspects of having multiple PACE providers and some details about (including pros and cons) of Renew Financial as a provider. Kate Westner (phonetic), of Ygrene Energy Fund (a PACE provider), gave a brief overview of some information that she had provided the commissioners regarding YGrene’s projects in Florida and noted that many other Florida counties have multi-PACE providers. She expressed her desire to see St. Lucie County open up the market to additional PACE providers and commented that her company has received requests from residents wanting to use their program. Commissioner Hutchinson said that her office has never received any calls about residents not being satisfied with the county’s current PACE offering. She also requested to see proof backing up Ms. Westner’s claim that some resident contractors are unhappy about not being able to do PACE work in St. Lucie County. Commissioner Bartz expressed concerns regarding Ms. Westner’s follow-up on several items that they had previously discussed. Commissioner Bonna commented that, on principle, he believes choice and competition benefit residents and he would be open to other agreements as long as there are consumer protections, Informal Meeting Tuesday, August 14, 2018 9:01 AM 3 | P a g e proper disclosures, etc. However, he said he had not made a final decision because he would need additional information from everyone involved. Commissioner Dzadovsky and Ms. Westner then discussed several litigation cases involving Ygrene. Commissioner Townsend restated that she would like to allow other PACE providers in order to give residents a choice. Commissioner Dzadovsky reiterated that the current SELF program works well and does not support changing anything at this time. Commissioner Hutchinson asked staff to estimate how much it would cost the County to manage multiple providers. The County Attorney again suggested that the Board put out an RFP or RFQ for residential PACE providers, vet the proposed providers, and decide who they want to permit to do business in the County. The Board agreed to have staff gather information on other residential PACE providers and present it to the Board for evaluation. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to be brought before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 11:47 AM. Please Note: Final minutes are recorded in the official minute books that are filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court and available for inspection upon request.