Municipal Action Team Progress

PUB board member Donna Baker at City Hall, with a copy of the

Sustainable Development Guide for Baraboo on July 16.

Helping Make Baraboo More Sustainable Through Better Planning –

July 16, 2024

On July 16, Powered Up Baraboo board member Donna Baker presented the recently completed Sustainable Development Guide for Baraboo to Baraboo Plan Commissioners Roy Franzen, Tom Kolb, Barry Hartup, and Matthew Boegner. Other Plan Commissioners, Alder Jason Kent and Alder David Olson, along with Mayor Rob Nelson, had already received their copies of the Guide.

As Donna stated in her presentation remarks, "The purpose of the Sustainable Development Guide for Baraboo is to deepen the conversation about what kind of new [building] development in Baraboo would best align with the goal of sustainability. The Guide’s audience is both elected officials and ordinary citizens. It describes how new development projects get approved at the City level and the points at which citizens can have input. It includes a list of questions to be raised with prospective developers to spark discussion. Also included are ways to reduce the cost of energy efficiency measures and renewable energy in new construction. So, the Guide will be useful for real estate developers and business owners too."

The Guide, Donna acknowledged, took many hours of volunteer effort to research the development process and gather input from City staff and citizen stakeholders. On behalf of the Board of Powered Up Baraboo, Donna thanked those who provided such input and feedback, including Mayor Rob Nelson, Pat Cannon (then co-interim City Administrator) and Raegen Trimmer, Broker/Owner of RE/Max Preferred. 

The authors of the Sustainable Development Guide for Baraboo hope it will be useful to members of the Plan Commission, as they work with prospective developers to make their building projects the best they can be with regard to sustainability, energy conservation, reduction of harmful greenhouse gas emissions, and the health of Baraboo residents and the earth.

PUB board member Rick Eilertson and City of Baraboo Director of Parks, Recreation, and Forestry

Mike Hardy comment on the newly-installed LED lighting in the Civic Center gymnasium.

City Completes LED Conversion Project in Civic Center with Assistance From Partnership With PUB –

December 4, 2023

On December 4, board members and supporters of Powered Up Baraboo met at the Civic Center to celebrate the completion of the LED Conversion project for that building. The project was made possible through a partnership between the City of Baraboo and Powered Up Baraboo. The non-profit organization raised $20,000 through donations to pay for this project, which is expected to reduce building energy costs attributable to lighting by about 50%. Savings accrued from the lighting conversion will be calculated and deposited in the City's newly-established Carbon Reduction Special Revenue Fund, which will be dedicated to funding other energy-saving projects in City buildings for at least the next 10 years.

City of Baraboo Joins Wisconsin Local Government Climate Coalition –

May 9, 2023

On May 9, 2023 the Baraboo Common Council voted unanimously to join the Wisconsin Local Government Climate Coalition (WLGCC). This 16-member organization offers Wisconsin municipalities a way to share resources, strategies, and information about taking local action to reduce their carbon footprint. In addition to learning from the experiences of other communities looking to change their practices and policies, members of WLGCC can have a "collective voice" at the state level regarding climate issues and policies. Baraboo City Administrator Casey Bradley said WLGCC membership and collaboration could increase grant funding opportunities for the City. Bradley cited the assistance of Powered Up Baraboo in making progress in tightening up the City's energy use.

An important component in taking local action to reduce energy use and seek environmental grants to improve energy efficiency in City buildings is to have a baseline for energy use in each building, as well as established procedures for tracking future energy use. To this end, Powered Up Baraboo volunteers have been working with City officials to benchmark energy use in City buildings.

Introducing the Carbon Reduction Special Revenue Fund – March 2, 2023

Powered Up Baraboo's Municipal Action Team members were instrumental in catalyzing the establishment of a clean energy fund for the City of Baraboo. At its February 28 meeting, the Baraboo Common Council unanimously approved a project at the Baraboo Civic Center in which the current lighting system will be replaced with an LED lighting system. This energy-saving conversion project also provides for the establishment of the Carbon Reduction Special Revenue Fund for the City. The savings in electrical costs enabled by new lighting system will be placed in the fund for at least five years, and used to fund other carbon-reducing projects for the City. Powered Up Baraboo is embarking on a fundraising initiative to fund the approximately $15,000 for the LED conversion. To view the video from the February 28 Common Council meeting where this resolution was passed, start at minute 2:24 of the video at https://pub-cityofbaraboo.escribemeetings.com/Players/ISIStandAlonePlayer.aspx?Id=5b148b8b-7852-46c1-a566-6104ea768c7d

Municipalities working towards reducing their carbon footprints need to have a strong system for tracking energy usage for lighting, heating, and cooling their buildings, fueling their municipal vehicle fleet, outdoor lighting, and other essential elements of City operations. This project in Baraboo, which Municipal Action Team members have been working on for over a year, is aided by a Municipal Action Team volunteer effort to assist the City of Baraboo in setting up the system for establishing the baseline costs for operating City buildings and monitoring ongoing energy costs.