Community Office for Resource Efficiency asks for less from Pitkin County Commissioners in 2025
CORE plans on launching Regional Building Performance Hub next year
Pitkin County/Courtesy Image
Pitkin County’s Community Office for Resource Efficiency (CORE) presented its 2025 budget request during a Board of County Commissioners work session last week.
CORE is requesting $783,750 to focus on facilitating building improvements regarding energy efficiency, onsite renewable energy, and electrification.
Broken down, $102,000 of this will go toward energy advising, $15,000 will go toward energy assessments, $510,000 will go toward grants and rebates, $63,700 will go toward administrative overhead, $43,890 will go toward fundraising, and $43,890 will go toward community engagement.
According to John Dougherty, CORE CEO, electricity and natural gas use in buildings is the largest source of carbon emissions in Pitkin County, representing approximately 60% of all emissions.
“The city of Aspen has adapted a BuildingIQ program, which ensures that 130 buildings are in compliance with reducing emissions, making Aspen among the best in the country,” Doughtery said.
Through BuildingIQ, 36% of the total square footage of buildings in Aspen has been benchmarked. Aspen Meadows, the Aspen Art Museum, and the Yellow Brick, are leading the way with year-over-year energy savings. The same is set to happen in Basalt.
In 2025, these resources will be enhanced through CORE’s Regional Building Performance Hub, which will be launched in 2024. The hub works to optimize carbon reduction results for the community, improve technical expertise and advising, and improve coordination with contractors.
“Some of this is aspirational still, right? It’s something we’re working toward,” County Commissioner Greg Poschman said.
Doughtery said it is something that will continue to be worked on, but as of Jan. 2025, all parts and pieces for the hub should be up and running.
CORE’s 2025 funding request will advance Pitkin County’s climate action priorities through energy assessments, energy advising, community engagement, fundraising and financing, administrative overhead, and grants and rebates.
Grants and rebates enable building owners to contribute to the reduction of carbon emissions by identifying and acting on electrification and fuel switching recommendations with financial incentives.
CORE also works to support Pitkin County’s Community Growth Plan Recommendations, which include reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2050, achieving Residential NetZero through the advancement of regional building code alignment, and addressing workforce housing imbalance by prioritizing 40% of services to a Community Priority Population and targeting multi-family workforce housing projects.
County commissioners approved CORE’s full 2024 budget request of $850,000. $678,125 went toward services, like energy advising, energy assessments, and grants and rebates, and $171,875 went toward capacity building to develop a building performance hub.
That year, CORE did not receive funding from the Renewable Energy Mitigation Program (REMP) funding. During the budget discussion with the BOCC, commissioners voiced concern that the level of funding may not be sustainable in future years from REMP and signaled that the county may need to step down funding in the future.
“Recognizing that REMP dollars alone, or local government dollars alone, are not going to fund a solution the size of the problem that we have in front of us and the opportunities that exist, particularly with environment,” Dougherty said.
For 2025, there are no other expenses anticipated in REMP, with the General Fund covering the costs of the Library and HHS electrification projects and REMP repaying in 2026 and 2027.
There are sufficient funds in 2025 REMP to absorb the full 2025 CORE funding request. It is unlikely, however, that REMP will be able to sustain this level of funding in future years, or it will need to defer repayment to the General Fund for electrification, Dougherty said.
REMP staff will present to the commissioners on Nov. 7.
Regan Mertz can be reached at 970-429-9153 or rmertz@aspentimes.com.
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